Most of us probably know that if you're paying 50 bucks for it, or buying it from a guy in a trench coat on 6th Avenue, a Rolex is probably a fake. But with so many counterfeit watches out there, sometimes you need a little more info to go on. Fortunately Ben Clymer, founder of the popular online wristwatch magazine Hodinkee, has teamed up with Complex News to create a video with three foolproof tips to help figure out if a Rollie isn't on the up-and-up.
The first thing to know is that a real Rolex will have a smoothly sweeping second hand. If it's ticking, then the watch is counterfeit.
The second is the date window. On a real Rolex, the date window will have a lens with a 3-4 times magnification, while a fake one will have zero.
And finally, there is the hallmark stamp. According to Clymer, any gold watch that has been imported to the U.S. has an import hallmark that's stamped on either the inside of the case or the wristband (or both). Without hallmarks, the watch probably isn't real gold, i.e. it's fake.
Simple enough, right?
This story originally appeared on Esquire.com.
* Minor edits have been made by the Esquiremag.ph editors.
