2011 Seamaster Professional

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HoLeChit

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That fake watch is pretty easy to tell at a glance... holding one I'd bet the fakes feel light and cheap.
True, but some are pretty good. I was watching a documentary of a guy who sells jewelery and is known for being “the” go to guy for Rolexes; he was saying that it’s getting increasingly harder to catch fakes, and that he even has to be careful. The profitability in making a $400 watch that can pass as a $15,000 watch can demand some serious effort in mimicking.
 

thor447

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They may not have submitted their watches for COSC or METAS certifications back then. It's possible it never had one. Usually it will say on the dial if it is a certified chronometer.

Edit. I just noticed that the one you referenced was a quartz model. Chronometer certifications are for mechanical movements. That quartz will keep better time than any mechanical, but you won't have one of those certification cards with that watch.
 

rhart

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True, but some are pretty good. I was watching a documentary of a guy who sells jewelery and is known for being “the” go to guy for Rolexes; he was saying that it’s getting increasingly harder to catch fakes, and that he even has to be careful. The profitability in making a $400 watch that can pass as a $15,000 watch can demand some serious effort in mimicking.
I believe it could be done, but what kind of investment would be required to set up a production run?
 

HoLeChit

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I believe it could be done, but what kind of investment would be required to set up a production run?
I imagine it would be sizable, but there’s Chinese companies that make good replica seiko movements now. That’s a minuscule profit margin in comparison. Assuming the infrastructure is there, they just have to improve tolerances and improve QC to produce a better product. We all know that the intellectual property has been stolen and duplicated for years.
 

rhart

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They may not have submitted their watches for COSC or METAS certifications back then. It's possible it never had one. Usually it will say on the dial if it is a certified chronometer.

Edit. I just noticed that the one you referenced was a quartz model. Chronometer certifications are for mechanical movements. That quartz will keep better time than any mechanical, but you won't have one of those certification cards with that watch.
Well my tired old eyes can't see anything on the dial except "Seamaster, Professional, 300m/1000ft." and 'Swiss Made"
 

OKCShooter

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In my experience; if anyone gets into high end watches (5 figures and up) there are a few things that increase likelihood of true authenticity:

1) Buy watches that were limited/rarer variants (Replica makers go for the usual - for example, Rolex Submariners are faked but less likely to see a LV version faked, especially with rare year changes)
2) Buy from well known DEALERS, not individual sellers.
3) Buy secondary where watch has been serviced by Maker (My 16618 was fresh back from Rolex when I bought it so it had supporting documentation from them) I haven't seen fakes with "extra" paperwork
4) Obviously get all original cards, boxes, receipts - but these are getting faked well which is why I want recent service docs.
5) Buy watches made with high end material (Gold, Platinum, Diamonds, etc) Its one thing to fake a SS Submariner, its another to fake it and throw it into a $10,000 case/bracelet.

Anyway, those are my requirements to feel 99.9% secure with my purchases.
IMG_9154.jpeg
 

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