A community for watch & horology discussion.
I am new to watch collecting and it all started when I was given this watch, a dual tone Rolex Daytona.
Now, I don't care if it's fake I would like to keep it all the same but if the person who gifted me this watch did pay full price for it thinking it was real, I would like to pursue some legal action of sorts.
But before any of that, I would like to ask you guy's opinion, is this movement real?
As a general rule of thumb, I don't think Rolex ever used plastic movement spacers in their watches. I have never personally seen one. Also, gold with an 18k stamp is required to have hallmarks and makers stamps is required by law in Switzerland (and many other countries). So if there isn't a hallmark on a relatively modern Swiss gold watch, it isn't real. As for the movement, it's likely a Chinese movement of some sort.
18K ๐๐๐
As /u/NicJamCo has noted, that's a Chinese movement, and along with the Chinese clone of the Valjoux 7750, it is frequently used in chronograph fakes. The 7120's 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock subdials are for the day of the week and the date, not for timing as it would be for an actual chronograph.
The Chinese movement (Rolex, and some other major watch brands, use their own in-house movements), the plastic spacer, the poor finishing of the movement, the fact that the movement's rotor looks nothing like something from Rolex...these things all point to the fact that this is unmistakably fake.
With regards to pursuing legal action, how long ago was this purchase made, and from whom did your gifter purchase it? What constitutes "full price" (note that Daytonas are usually in the ballpark of U$15,000)? Did the seller truly claim that this was an authentic Rolex, and is there documented evidence to prove that the seller made this claim? These things, among others, will be highly relevant if you choose to pursue legal action.
I will need to speak with the person who made the purchase first and then confirm the details but at this point I know they were scammed. The reason why is because they are open about other purchases they have made that were fakes and paid the appropriate price for said "replicas" and the reason why I am making a post now is because even though I had my suspicions I did not have the tools to actually open the thing without risk of damage.
A sad event really and I know people are making jokes about this or perhaps they think I mistakenly bought a "cheap" Rolex thinking it was real ๐ฌ so I got what I deserved.
The sad reality is that an older man got scammed but I thank most of you for the incredible information you so kindly provided thus far.
If in the future there is anything else to add to this story I'll be sure to make another post.
Lol bra...