Fake Yes or No?

[automatico]

Slow times for the forum so I wrote some fodder to ponder:

 

Interesting...

http://www.mwrforum.net/forums/showthread.php?81296-Rolex-1680-5513-1675-mid-cases-with-erm-big-problems&s=307e5c82219e956072b42b2a59284afb

 

I would say the cases are probably genuine but without legible serial numbers it does not matter a whole lot as most buyers will claim Fake! just to get the lowest price.  I have seen a lot (and owned a few) old rolex watches with the serial/reference numbers worn away by the hoods and it is usually easy to tell the watches were original to begin with.  Now that 'near perfect' replica cases are being made, this is much more of a problem. 

 

Would a high grade unsigned vintage style replica rolex case be worth a lot less that the same supposedly genuine case with no numbers?  I would say 'No' (in the real  world) without absolute proof of some sort that the 'no number genuine case' is 'genuine' for sure...and absolute proof would be very hard to come by.  But...just the hope that the no number case could  be genuine can boost the value.

 

Something else to think about...take a 'naturally aged' low mileage YukiPhong 5512/13 case with a 1970s serial number, genuine dial, movement, crown with crisp bevels, thick lugs etc and many 'experts' will bust it as Fake! right off the bat (naturally aged = aged by use, not by attacking it with hammer and tongs).

Why?

Probably because of the excellent condition.  They can not help it because they are conditioned to do so.

 

Take the same YukiPhong watch, aged and all with a '444' serial number and many of the same 'experts' will pass it as a genuine rolex recased watch. 

Why?

Because it is a '444'.  Detail differences can be explained because "New '444' cases are not 100% the same as they were in the 1970s, everyone knows that."

 

Perception is reality in the watch biz.  How else could the swissies get $25k for a $2000 watch?  

 

Why is perception reality?

Because it is all we have.

 

[Nanuq]

Another aspect: how do preconceived notions affect our perceptions?

My dad used to to say "You always find what you're looking for. What are you looking for?"