New Guy and hopefully his new 16710

[aaron850]

hey guys, I have been lurking for a couple days and I have mustered up enough courage to post.


I have a question, I have "purchased" a 16710 GMT II blk/blk.

It was done over the phone/internet and not with an AD (i know I know, first mistake).

When it came in the mail I researched it over and over, looking for somthing to make me think the $500 under retail I paid made it fake. I couldn't find anything besides the fact the original AD was from HK.

It was loose and my AD was closed so I took it to a watch store and a young guy (like myself) adjusted it for me and told me it was fake. I was knocked off my high horse.

He said simply because of the crown guard clearance and "it was a little too heavy" it was a really good replica. I think because the guy saw i was young (26) I couldn't afford the real thing so it had to be fake.

I will post pictures but is there something blaring please let me know, and this thing is going back to LA on the first thing smoking...

now what you have been waiting for...pictures (bad ones at that)









let me know what you guys think, also I can (try) to take better pics if there is a problem area I should be looking for.

thanks

[colemanitis]

It looks good to me, but I'm no expert. I'm sure others will chime in soon.

[infoe]

aaron welcome aboard friend...don't worry you came to one of the best forums on the web. not just for watches but in general... in terms of not getting flamed..people trying to genuinely help and everyone getting along..take it from me I'm a young guy as well 25 and just bought my first rollie...your solution is simple there are a lot of experts here but everyone is going to tell you...JUST GO TO YOUR AD...they will give you a definate answer on that watch.

now if you want opinions the rest of what I'm going to tell you are my opinions.

the watch doesn't look real.the clearance on the crown does not look good nor does the holo on the back it could be the pics and the fact that I'm browsing the forum from my pda phone.

secondly if u can return it I suggest you do...yes its just a watch but it is a good amt of money your spending and personally I feel more comfy and cozy in a potential watch that you can have with you for a lifetime to buy it from an AD...if money is an issue some of them even have financing pograms where u can have x amount of months with no interest....

hope this helps....goodluck

[aaron850]

I dont think there is a bigger rollercoaster ride from the time I opened the box (pure excitement) to when this young guy told me he thought it was fugazi (pure embarrassment).

if you also have a gmt that makes me feel a hint better. Hopefully this will be the last watch I ever buy, but if I ever decide to get another one its AD all the way!

[Flyjet601]

Hard to tell for me, and I am no expert either, but from what I can see on the clasp, in small print, MA12 places the band date around 2005, but that doenst mean anything. The bezel should be bi-directional a "click" everytime you turn it. Again no expert opinion here, just my thoughts.
Best thing is to take it to an AD and have it checked out....

Here is a shot of my GMT for a comparison. I really hope it works out for you.


Good luck
cheers

[aaron850]

Originally Posted by infoe

aaron welcome aboard friend...don't worry you came to one of the best forums on the web. not just for watches but in general... in terms of not getting flamed..people trying to genuinely help and everyone getting along..take it from me I'm a young guy as well 25 and just bought my first rollie...your solution is simple there are a lot of experts here but everyone is going to tell you...JUST GO TO YOUR AD...they will give you a definate answer on that watch.

now if you want opinions the rest of what I'm going to tell you are my opinions.

the watch doesn't look real.the clearance on the crown does not look good nor does the holo on the back it could be the pics and the fact that I'm browsing the forum from my pda phone.

secondly if u can return it I suggest you do...yes its just a watch but it is a good amt of money your spending and personally I feel more comfy and cozy in a potential watch that you can have with you for a lifetime to buy it from an AD...if money is an issue some of them even have financing pograms where u can have x amount of months with no interest....

hope this helps....goodluck

thanks here's a little better pic of the clearance on my wrist (excuse my hairy hands)



With regards to going to an AD, the one in my area was treating me very poorly (i would rather not name names). I decided to check out my other options and I came accross a reputable (or so they seem) independent in LA. and that leads us here. If its determined to be fake ill get my refund and shell out the extra grand (i have it) and go to the Wynn or something to pick it up.

I'll check out my AD but they may tell me it's fake simply out of spite. The whole buying experience there was not to my liking (another time another thread)

[aaron850]

Originally Posted by Flyjet601

It also looks good to me, but I am no expert either, but from what I can see on the clasp, in small print, MA12 places the band date around 2005. The bezel should be bi-directional a "click" everytime you turn it. Again no expert opinion here, just my thoughts.
Best thing is to take it to an AD and have it checked out....but I think you can breath easy.

Good luck
cheers

thanks, I checked the clicks first (120, YES!) as soon as I took it out of the box.

[Launch Mini]

I don't have a GMT, but the first looks like a different font than the 22.
Is this normal? or just my eyes?

[JJ Irani]

Hi Aaron,

Welcome to TRF.

While your watch does look pretty genuine from certain angles, the pics are not doing it any justice...so it's hard to tell.

Also, you do need to keep a soft cloth and get rid of all those grubby fingerprints you've so lovingly left all over the crystal and watch.

The best thing would be to take it into your nearest AD to have it checked out. The marks on the bracelet look pretty genuine as do the protective sickers, bits and pieces of which are evident around the lugs of the watch.

Good luck and do keep us updated.

Cheers - JJ

[padi56]

Got to agree with JJ there is a bit of camera shake in picture slightly distorting the picture,plus quite a lot of finger marks.The bracelet number is correct and its hard to see the date font from picture.But your watch fonts on the bezel have me slightly worried.The 2 fonts dont look quite right,but that could be your picture, take it to AD to be 100% sure to put your mind at rest.

[mailman]

First off welcome to TRF Aaron.

As others have said, the only way to know for sure if it's real on not is to take it to your AD and have them pop off the back to check the movement. This will confirm either way. Good luck and let us know how you make out

[colemanitis]

I'm looking at your new pic and at my 16750 and yours looks good. It's either genuine, or a VERY GOOD fake. The numbers on the bezel look good, the dial looks good (crisp lettering), and the date magnification looks good. The crown/crown guards is the only questionable thing I see, but I think it may be poor quality pics and bad angles (let's hope this is the case). As the others have mentioned there's only one way to know for sure... take it to an AD. Good luck!

[C.J.]

It looks good to me, but there are some great fakes out there. The only way to put your mind at ease is to go to your AD and let him open it up. Nobody can fake a real Rolex movement

[Rockrolex]

Welcome to TRF, Aaron. I won't belabor the point since everyone else has told you the same thing.

There are plenty of pics of black dial GMTs on the forum. Here's one. Compare it to yours and see what you think.

[djemmtee]

hey aaron,

looks pretty good to me, sounds like your in la right ? if you are i would shoot down wilshire blvd to the rsc and get them to check it out for you, just make up an excuse like " can you show me how to wind my watch".....the ladies can smell a fake from a mile away. the ussually check your serial number before they give you any information. hope that helps!


im the same age as you and i get the look from people all the time thinking that my watches are replicas......but a real rolex enthusiest can tell!

mike

[Wolfgang427]

Hello Aaron; Sorry to say but your pic's are terrible. It's very hard to authenticate a watch over good pic's, so your's is much tougher. With that said I would be very concerned as the dial has a few things wrong with it. Could be your pic's, though. As everyone here has said the only way your going to get some sleep is to have it opened up and verified. Pick a AD that has a full-time watchmaker on the premises who can do it for you while you wait. Good luck.

[howitzer]

From my research that I did online prior to my purchase of a GMT II, is looking at the face, the "A" in MASTER, that the font Rolex uses is flat on top of the "A" not coming to a point. The replicas use a font that is close,but not exact. Comments?

[JJ Irani]

Originally Posted by howitzer

From my research that I did online prior to my purchase of a GMT II, is looking at the face, the "A" in MASTER, that the font Rolex uses is flat on top of the "A" not coming to a point. The replicas use a font that is close,but not exact. Comments?

Good observation, Howitzer. Our friend's is also a flat "A" so I really think it's pretty genuine. A trip to his AD will put all doubts to rest!!

JJ

[JJ Irani]

Originally Posted by wolfgang427

Hello Aaron; Sorry to say but your pic's are terrible.

Love your diplomacy and the way you DON'T believe in mincing words, Wolfgang!!

[howitzer]

Also, if AAron850 is so inclined to pop off the bracelet, take a close look at the serial number with a loupe. The engraving will be nice & clean with no roughness in the valleys of the numbers. This also goes for the bracelet engraving as well.

[aaron850]

guys I'm going after work today, I'm not in LA , more like AZ, I just had it shipped from a store in LA. The "A" is flat. I think my pics are throwing a lot of you off. I have had to pull my sleeve down all day over my wrist to cover it in the unlikely event its a replica, lol!!!

[morgman]

Originally Posted by aaron850

thanks here's a little better pic of the clearance on my wrist (excuse my hairy hands)



.....

Hi Aaron and welcome to the forum!

My first impression is that something is not right. I'm no expert yet, but the heavy weight 2, 4, 6, 8 on the bezel looks wrong, and the "E" in the "ROLEX" logo looks wrong. Both of mine have the middle arm of the "E" coming out right in the middle, not up higher like yours. The top & bottom of the "O" doesn't look thin enough either. The crown guards look OK to me.

Of course, the fonts on both of mine are different though! LOL

[aaron850]

ok just came back from the AD...


let me start of by saying, I take terrible pictures. Those of you who thought it something was wrong, sorry for misleading you. I have and official rolex. I wont get into the specifics but the rolex repairman gave it a lookover and it was legit. Also a side by side comparison with a black and red, and pepsi GMT they had there showed no differences. Crown guards, bezels, weights, links, fonts, and most importantly movements matched up.

Next step is getting some respectable pictures, lol!

[C.J.]

Originally Posted by aaron850

ok just came back from the AD...


let me start of by saying, I take terrible pictures. Those of you who thought it something was wrong, sorry for misleading you. I have and official rolex. I wont get into the specifics but the rolex repairman gave it a lookover and it was legit. Also a side by side comparison with a black and red, and pepsi GMT they had there showed no differences. Crown guards, bezels, weights, links, fonts, and most importantly movements matched up.

Next step is getting some respectable pictures, lol!

That's great news, Aaron Glad to hear it and congratulations

[colemanitis]

Awesome! I had a feeling it was legit, but you never know just by pics. Now get that camera out and start practicing!!!

[RandyS]

Originally Posted by aaron850

ok just came back from the AD...


let me start of by saying, I take terrible pictures. Those of you who thought it something was wrong, sorry for misleading you. I have and official rolex. I wont get into the specifics but the rolex repairman gave it a lookover and it was legit. Also a side by side comparison with a black and red, and pepsi GMT they had there showed no differences. Crown guards, bezels, weights, links, fonts, and most importantly movements matched up.

Next step is getting some respectable pictures, lol!

my initial reaction was looked good to me, I once owned one so I compared to my pics, also, this story pisses me off in that I am so sick and tired of everyone out there thinking they are an expert on anything, let alone Rolex

you already know the only way to have avoided all this...buy from an AD...

congratulations! enjoy your ROLEX,. enjoy owning something that 97% of the worlds population will never know...

[aaron850]

Originally Posted by RandyS

you already know the only way to have avoided all this...buy from an AD...

my AD wanted $4850 out the door, I got it for $3950

was this little bit of hassle and self doubt worth $900?

I don't know....


what I do know is that I am on cloud nine and one of my two markers for career success has been attained!

[RandyS]

Originally Posted by aaron850

what I do know is that I am on cloud nine and one of my two markers for career success has been attained!

then it is all good...

[slim]

Hey aaron which retailer did you get it from? Stein diamonds located in La? Let me know because i was looking at there watches too. Were they negotiable? I ended up buying from an AD instead.

[Wolfgang427]

Congrats Aaron, but next time get it at an AD. The $3950 you paid is obtainable at a AD if you do enough hunting around. Please post some better pic's when you get a chance.