Section 02 of 05
Condition & authenticity
Fakes, replaced parts, box and papers: what you can check yourself, what needs a watchmaker, and what it does to value.
- Guides
- None yet
There is no guide in this section yet: we publish one only when every price in it has been checked. Until then, this is what our other guides already say about condition & authenticity.
Findings about Condition & authenticity
- Buying guide · step 1Where eBay’s automatic authentication starts$2,000In the US, an independent authenticator checks the watch before it reaches you. Water resistance and timekeeping are not tested.
- Buying guide · step 3Photos to ask for instead of the listing photos5 photosCaseback and serial, the clasp inside, case sides and lugs, the dial straight on, and the movement, if the seller’s watchmaker can open it.
- Buying guide · step 3Where counterfeits get caught3 in 4Customs seizures, roughly, that come from postal shipments, according to Swiss reporting on the 2025 destruction campaign.
- Buying guide · step 1Rolex Certified Pre-Owned, checked by the retailer2 yearsInternational guarantee from purchase. Since May 2025 the program covers watches at least two years old.