Does anyone have any thoughts / insights on using weight to spot a fake ? I had been looking at pre-owned Moon Watches (005s and 3570.50s - 1861 calibre), and wondered if a simple weight check could identify a knock off. I checked the weight of a new 005 MW with stock bracelet at the AD and it was 157.6g. Is the weight of authentic watches with stock bracelets consistent enough to identify a knock off (if one factors in removed links) ? Seemed like it might be good way to spot a fake to me. P PS - Sorry if this has been discussed before, but nothing showed up when I searched this sight.
I don't imagine that this is a good way way to spot fakes. There's no way of telling what the weight of a fake would be, or if it would be the same as an original, either by accident or intent. It's much easier just to develop the skill of recognizing fakes and their attributes, plus the skill will serve you in many ways going forward. The Speedmaster really isn't faked terribly often (relative to more popular watches like Rolex's). Don't get me wrong, fakes exsist - but the market isn't rife with them, and most seem to be pretty bad fakes and are easily spottable. Or just buy from a trusted seller and don't bother yourself with the worries.
It even gets more complicated when you do it by weight when it comes to seamaster divers..I mean they already have a different weight depending on if helium already escaped through the watches valve or not
If you can't spot a fake moonwatch just by glancing at it, you should really take a step back before even considering buying one from a non-rock solid source (Boutique/AD/Trusted Seller) . This goes 100x for vintage.
Agreed. When I decided I wanted to hunt down a 145.022-71 as my birth year model (1971) I spent about 6 months reading everything I could (S101, MWO, forums like this one) to educate myself about the fine nuances between the different references. Then it took another 1.5 years to find the piece that I felt was the one. Just so happened to also be sold by a very reputable reseller here in the community which made the decision much easier.
I have heard that some counterfeiters are already using various isotopes of Helium to alter the weight of the watch, such as, Helium-2 (diproton, and 4He & 3He ) This is going to make really tough to id and spec out the fakes.
The fake manual wind Speedmaster Professionals have the running seconds subdial in the wrong place. The dial is marked the same but the seconds run on the 12hr subdial at 6:00 instead of 9:00 (if memory serves correct). edit: This is only for the Chinese replicas. The franken watches are a much bigger problem.
The very first Speedmaster professional I ever purchased was handed to me by my wife at a pawnshop. She thought it was a fake because of the lightweight bracelet. It was a 1971 Speedmaster with a 1039.
Funny you say that - the first Speedmaster I ever held (a -69 premoon) had a 1039 on it, and my first impression was "damn, that bracelet is really light!"
I'll save you the time by using two examples. An on-line purchase: You to Seller: "Hi, could you tell me the weight of the watch not including the bracelet or strap?". Reply: "#%*@ off!". An in store purchase: You to Seller: "Hi, could you remove the bracelet/strap so I can weigh the watch?". (As you pull your Mum's kitchen scales from your man bag). Reply: "Security!" <Note: This post is intended to be humorous and is not to be taken in any other way.>
Thank you everyone for your thoughts and advice (and a chuckle or two !). I was just curious about weight consistency and whether knock offs tried to match OEM weights too. Thank you.
Always buy the seller. Do a lot of research because there are some good fakes out there, weight can be misguiding sometimes. Read, handle because experience is very important Cheers
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