Okay, so I’ve been messing around with watches lately, and let me tell you, it’s a wild world out there. Today, I’m diving deep into the whole Rolex GMT-Master II thing. I wanted to see if I could spot a really good fake, you know, a high imitation. It’s like a treasure hunt, but way more complicated.
So, first things first, I got my hands on a couple of these watches. One was supposed to be the real deal, a Rolex GMT-Master II ref. 116710, and the other was a known fake. My mission? To figure out what gives away the fake one.
I started with the dial, just staring at it, trying to see any tiny differences. The markers, the hands, everything. I even pulled out a magnifying glass. No joke! It felt a bit extra, but hey, gotta be thorough, right? The real Rolex, the dial just looked cleaner, crisper. The fake, it was okay, but up close, you could see the printing wasn’t as sharp.
Then, I got into the whole hand stack thing. Apparently, and this is something I learned along the way, the order of the hands on the dial is a big deal. On a real GMT Master II, the hour hand should be the closest to the dial, then the 24-hour GMT hand, and then the minute hand on top. I checked the fake, and guess what? They had it wrong! The order was all messed up. This is what people call hand stack order.
- Hour hand closest to the dial.
- Then the 24-hour GMT hand.
- Then the minute hand on top.
I also remembered reading somewhere about quartz Rolexes. Now, I’m no expert, but I know the GMT-Master II is supposed to be automatic, not quartz. The fake I had? Automatic. So, that wasn’t a giveaway this time, but it’s something to keep in mind. There are some real Rolexes that are quartz, like the Oysterquartz or some Cellini models, but not this one. This is a big point.
Hands-on Check
I spent hours comparing these two watches. I wound them, set the time, played with the bezel – the whole nine yards. The real Rolex just felt smoother, more solid. The fake, it worked, but it felt a bit… rough, I guess? Like, the crown was harder to turn, and the bezel didn’t click as nicely. After a lot of checking, I finally knew the differences.
Honestly, it was a pretty fun experiment. It’s crazy how good some of these fakes are getting. But if you know what to look for, you can usually spot them. I’m not saying I’m a pro now, but I definitely learned a lot. It’s like being a detective, but for watches! It was way harder than I thought it would be, but it was worth it. Now I can tell my friends all about it, and maybe save them from getting ripped off. I am so happy to share my experience with you guys. Hope it is useful to you.
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