What happens quite often when people shop for pre-owned Rolex watches, for either men or women, is that they are normally concerned about whether or not the watch is genuine. This guide is designed to educate any potential customers who are researching and in the market for a pre-owned Rolex watch, or any second hand watch really, to help instruct you on the authentication process for see highly sought after timepieces.
Once you have purchased the watch, whether it’s online or in-store, the first thing on your mind should be making sure it’s authentic. The first thing you should not do is to take it to a jeweller, this is a common mistake that people make when buying watches. It is confusing, but most jewellers do not specialise watch repair or watch authentication.
You must first do some research and find a watchmaker in your area who has some credibility to their name. Ask them if they specialise in luxury watches such as Rolex. This is always the most appropriate and logical choice for where to take your watch. It is a watchmaker’s job to work on them, service them, polish them, and ultimately authenticate them. This is their profession and their speciality. They also profit from servicing automatic and mechanical watches.
Every single authentic Rolex watch has its own unique serial number, this is obvious. Remember though, to ask your watchmaker to remove the bracelet so you can both see the model and serial number which are at the 6 and/ or the 10 o’clock positions. They should then remove the back case cover and have a good look at the mechanism inside the watch. This is where a stamped serial number should reveal itself, for this very job, authentication.
Unless the bracelet and back cover are not removed, there is no real way to make 100% sure that your Rolex is genuine or not. These instructions are the proper processes to go through in authenticating pre-owned Rolex watches. Once the process is complete, ask you watchmaker to put anything he has found, including his statements of authenticity, into writing for safe keeping. This is extremely important, as you a verbal opinion won’t count for much if decide to sell it years from now. A signature should at least be provided to give the certificate the credibility it needs. Congratulations, and enjoy the years you’ll have with your new best friend.