Hi all,
This posting is the culmination, for the time being, of my extensive research and time spent on what I suspect may become a plaguing problem for IWC and its parent company Richemont. The subject of concern is COUNTERFEITING and an increasing phenomenon with other Swiss luxury watch manufacturers as well.
[i]Now, let's examine the ref. 3714 photos I've posted. Here is one combined photo I pasted together for the purpose of this discussion (again, sorry for the poor images).[i]
One of these two is authentic and the other is a knock-off. Which one?
The genuine IWC is shown to the right on all three photos. The one on the left is counterfeit and what I would consider a remarkable lookalike. I confess that at first it fooled me until I disassembled it in our service center. It may be difficult to show here the precise differences from these images but I'll try to point out what I can.
- The left watch “crown” is thicker than the genuine.
- The left watch sub dials are white while the genuine ones are a grey shade.
- The numerals and fonts of both are remarkably similar at a casual glance.
- The left watch caseback is milled from the inside incorrect.
- The left watch caseback has no perlage finish on the inside.
- The left watch movement is a roughly made copy of a Val 7750 nickel plated movement shoddily assembled with a cheap oscillating weight illegally engraved as an IWC.
- The authentic right watch is gilt plated with a beautiful perlage finish.
- The left watch movement is held to the case by two cheap screws while the genuine IWC watch is held by two small triangle shaped case clamps and highly polished screws.
I may have inadvertently missed some other differences but I think that for now these will do.
What troubles me is that the ref, 3714 movement used by IWC is by no means a standard Val 7750 movement merely decorated with a luxury finish. The entire movement and primarily the main plate has been redesigned and redeveloped by IWC in-house to accommodate a small seconds function at the bottom of the watch versus the standard position to the left at the 9 o'clock side.
I have written a review of the ref. 3714 some years ago which can be downloaded from the link below.
For a counterfeiter to reproduce all the movement parts inside even with noticeable quality differences should be quite alarming to real IWC watch collectors. However disturbing it has come to light that in the last two years a number of fake IWC watches hit the market which nearly look like the original. At our service center we have seen in just over 6 months two counterfeit 3714 watches which had the same serial number, 2678159, stamped on the case back. They both had the same cheap movements which timepieces were possibly made in China.
The legal department of Richemont has been informed but at the moment may be an uphill battle finding the producer of these fakes. Moreover, the internet sites which sell those fake watches change nearly once a month which makes criminal prosecution, especially in China, very challenging.
[b]As a result of these findings, I can offer the following advice for now:
- Be aware that the mentioned serial number, for ref. 3714, 2678159 could be a sure giveaway that the timepiece may not be an authentic as it seems a series of watches all with the same case number were produced with casebacks stamped and not engraved as normally done by IWC.
- ALWAYS buy any IWC timepiece from an IWC authorized dealer who is required to provide a warranty card which carries the store stamp and a purchase date entered.
- When buying a pre-owned watch make sure you know the seller is a reputable person and one who gives you an option of having the watch verified for its authenticity by an expert.[/b]
In the meantime, you can rest assured that both IWC and Richemont is taking this matter very seriously and looking for ways to assure its customers that counterfeiting is a priority concern.
Best regards,
Jack Freedman
[i]P.S. Please notice this discussion is based on my personal research and are NOT the official opinions and conclusions of either IWC or Richemont.[i]
