Counterfeit Luxury Goods
It seems like almost everyday I get a phone call or somebody walking in off the street asking me if their “Rolex” is real. My thought on this has always been this: if you don’t know if the Rolex you are holding is authentic, then chances are it is not. In other words, MOST people know if the item they have is authentic or not.
And I don’t mean to just focus on Rolex here, though they do make the best example. Virtually every popular brand deals with counterfeit issues, and brands are fighting very hard to prevent this from happening. Montblanc has certain logo’s/stamps they put on their writing instruments, Rolex is always inventing new ways to make their product harder to counterfeit (for example, they actually laser inscribe the Rolex crown INTO the crystal; not on top, or below, but in the crystal itself), and virtually every piece of product from each luxury brand will come with the proper documents/serial numbers to help ensure that the piece you are buying is the authentic one.
So lets be clear on one thing: it is illegal for you to own counterfeit goods. So when you bring me your “Rolex” that is so obviously a fake, don’t be surprised when I tell you I can’t help you with fixing it. This is not because we can’t fix your watch, simply because to do so would not only jeopardize our current relationship with Rolex (and any other brand for that matter), but to do so would only be helping something that is illegal to begin with. And if you really think about it, bringing an imitation Rolex to an authorized Rolex dealer for repair is a bit insulting, don’t you think?
Lastly, online buying. First of all, if the deal is to good to be true, THEN IT IS FALSE. Simple logic. Here is a quick story: a few years ago a client wished to purchase a Rolex President (which at the time retailed for around $22,000); this is a solid gold watch. At the time it was a little bit out of his budget, so he decided to search for a better deal online. Sure enough, a few months later he came in sporting a Rolex President that he found online for around $10,000. Good deal right? Wrong. After he had us open it up to verify it’s authenticity, we unfortunately had to inform him that it was not authentic. Sure it had Rolex parts, and it was made of gold, but the parts were taken from other Rolex’s, and the gold was 14K not 18K.
All I’m trying to say is be careful. If you are going to make a big purchase, investigate who you are buying from regardless if it is an online company, or a physical company. And remember, be distrustful of deals that look too good.
Public | Jonathan November 8, 2011 | 
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