Why buying a green hang tag?

[LeBapt]

Random question; while I was browsing on ebay and other local equivalents, I found that there are loads of green hang tags from the 70's to nowadays. As far as I can see, god knows that some sellers have sold a lot of them, but what is the point of buying them?

I mean, in the eventuality of completing a set, there is zero chance for a hang tag to match a serial number. Am I missing something?

[Haywood_Milton]

I work a lot with the insurance industry.

People buy genuine accessories in the hope that it will support a spurious claim.

They usually don't realise what resources and intelligence are working against them :-)

[Dan S]

People probably forge replacement labels. It would be easy enough to do with a little time and effort.

[TuRo]

The unscrupulous 'value-adder' will buy a 60s typewriter (with the Rolex style font) @ c £75-100 and remove the stickers from 'raised crown' 60/70/80s green tags and then type out a fresh old school paper wrap-around which are usually shiny green / matte white..... and viola have a 'matching tag' and added value ! The paper sheen/feel is the only giveaway and requires quite a bit of experience to spot!

[LeBapt]

That's interesting, wouldn't have thought that it was "a thing".

[Tools]

People collect anything and Rolex stuff is high on the list

Some enthusiasts enjoy looking around for all of the bits that might have come originally with their watch.

[ExplorerI]

Full kit can add 10-20% in price. That’s a lot of money when you’re dealing with 50k-200k pieces. Lots of incentive for bad actors there

[baumare]

Originally Posted by Tools

People collect anything and Rolex stuff is high on the list

Some enthusiasts enjoy looking around for all of the bits that might have come originally with their watch.

This...

It's true that we have to be careful, but people can buy this gadget just for the fun of serching and try to recreate a set.
I bought this with the period correct labeled box and booklets for a watch for which I don't even have the original papers, so no added value there...

Actually if someone has the watch with this serial number, I'm happy to trade for a beer

IMG_2486 2.JPG

[cm70]

Rolex memorabilia are always nice but not always useful … it is fun …����

[Incroyable12]

Sotheby's was auctioning off a single Rolex Kubik winder as a stand alone lot so that tells you the market for Rolex esoterica.

[Incroyable12]

Originally Posted by pauldavidthorpe

The unscrupulous 'value-adder' will buy a 60s typewriter (with the Rolex style font) @ c £75-100 and remove the stickers from 'raised crown' 60/70/80s green tags and then type out a fresh old school paper wrap-around which are usually shiny green / matte white..... and viola have a 'matching tag' and added value ! The paper sheen/feel is the only giveaway and requires quite a bit of experience to spot!

What if they use old paper?

[Dan S]

Originally Posted by Incroyable12

What if they use old paper?

Ooooh, like the Dead Sea scroll forgeries! Clever.

[FrenchBigCrown]

Originally Posted by Dan S

Ooooh, like the Dead Sea scroll forgeries! Clever.

Or... the 'Hitler Diaries'.

[FrenchBigCrown]

'Full set'... advertised on Chrono24.

[Haywood_Milton]

Originally Posted by baumare

This...

It's true that we have to be careful, but people can buy this gadget just for the fun of serching and try to recreate a set.
I bought this with the period correct labeled box and booklets for a watch for which I don't even have the original papers, so no added value there...

Actually if someone has the watch with this serial number, I'm happy to trade for a beer

Attachment 1303075

That could be an especially happy reunion, as I believe 8435724 is a Explorer II model 16550 . . . and some in the same batch came with the desirable cream dial !

Insta : haywood_milton_rolex

[Incroyable12]

Originally Posted by FrenchBigCrown

'Full set'... advertised on Chrono24.

What did those green tags have on them originally?

[baumare]

Originally Posted by Haywood_Milton

That could be an especially happy reunion, as I believe 8435724 is a Explorer II model 16550 . . . and some in the same batch came with the desirable cream dial !

Insta : haywood_milton_rolex

That's interesting... So I guess this serial is in the range of 16550 from 1984/85?

[rwk246]

Originally Posted by LeBapt

Random question; while I was browsing on ebay and other local equivalents, I found that there are loads of green hang tags from the 70's to nowadays. As far as I can see, god knows that some sellers have sold a lot of them, but what is the point of buying them?

I mean, in the eventuality of completing a set, there is zero chance for a hang tag to match a serial number. Am I missing something?

Even more inexplicable if not frankly ridiculous are the Rolex paper guarantees (with the punched serial number), of which at any given time there are MANY for sale on eBay. Completely useless without the matching-number watch.

[Incroyable12]

Originally Posted by rwk246

Even more inexplicable if not frankly ridiculous are the Rolex paper guarantees (with the punched serial number), of which at any given time there are MANY for sale on eBay. Completely useless without the matching-number watch.

They're also quite expensive. Several hundred dollars each.

[TuRo]

Originally Posted by rwk246

Even more inexplicable if not frankly ridiculous are the Rolex paper guarantees (with the punched serial number), of which at any given time there are MANY for sale on eBay. Completely useless without the matching-number watch.

This is going to freak you out, but we all know there was a gang, I think in Germany but I might be wrong, making 'punched papers to order'. The dealer stamps were often wrong/incorrect period and they were caught a year or two back I recall Mike Wood told me....BUT much, much worse still, a Special Branch (UK MET police) pal told me recently of the first few cases of 'reverse ordering' happening now eg say a set of legit 1675 punched papers are bought on ebay and then the manufacturer of the fake/counterfeit watch has this number stamped onto the counterfeit case! All the more reason to forensically check engravings and everything else even on full punched sets. * Ps example he gave was not an old 1675 (just used that as example) btw, it was a much later turn of century watch.

[Haywood_Milton]

Genuine (possibly stolen, but not necessarily) ) watches from the Far East were also re-numbered extensively over recent years to match loose sets of genuine papers. I know of several big London-based sellers who sold a bundle of these, mostly 69173 and 16233 models, and let us hope it was in ignorance alone.

The more value one attributes to watches with papers, the more people will try to manipulate the position.

I maintain a library of macro images in the hope of determining what style of numbering is correct for which model, at any point in time. It is a minefield for the unwary.

As I commented earlier in the thread, too, there are many who will try dishonest insurance claims and produce papers to support their claim that they had a watch, which of course they did not. There are ways that such fraudsters are picked up, which is always amusing, but the world has a never-ending supply of bent idiots who think they have a bright idea.

[TuRo]

The more value one attributes to watches with papers, the more people will try to manipulate the position.

Totally agree - in other markets I have a bit of interest in, e.g vintage cars/guitars, the original receipts and other bits add just 5-10% or so (and that's what the watch market should be, not the mental 50% it is sometimes). If it was, this whole fake doc shananigans would cease I'm sure !