Over at the 'Calibre 11 Forum' we get quite a lot of instances where someone joins the forum solely to post one simple question, 'Is my watch a fake and how can you tell?'. Regrettably, more often than not the answer to the first part is a resounding 'yes', but as to the second part of the question... well that's a little more difficult to pin down.
If you have spent any amount of time looking at watches and TAG Heuer watches in particular, I'm hoping that you would be able to spot the 'Link' above as a fake without having to look too hard at it. It's not a very good fake, but to be fair it's probably good enough to fool quite a lot of people who aren't as engrossed in the subject as I am.
Though I wouldn't consider myself an 'expert', if you immerse yourself in a subject long enough certain things become second nature to you and you can spot some fakes without even going into detail; they just look 'wrong'. But if not, when it comes to Links and S/ELs the first thing I would look at would be the bracelet. Fakers are always wanting to cut corners and make things as cheaply as possible to maximise their profit, so they generally tend to make the bracelet links for these watches as one piece rather than two 'side by side' pieces. That's a dead giveaway.
Often times you see watches listed on eBay where they don't show you pictures of the backplate. While that doesn't necessarily mean the watch is fake, you should always look at the backplate if you are unsure about a watch's authenticity as it can often provide vital clues.
Looking at the backplate for this watch we can immediately see that this has a large 'Heuer' badge right in the middle where the dial is branded 'TAG Heuer'. This is an obvious red flag, but there are instances where you will find mixed branding on TAG Heuer watches. For example 'TAG Heuer' branded watches from the mid 1980s often used leftover parts such as 'Heuer' branded clasps and a lot of resin Formula 1s from the same period have 'Heuer' stamped on the crown. Even today, if you bought a 'Heuer' Autavia Heuer 02 with a glass display back, the movement is stamped 'TAG Heuer' so again, it's not cut and dried.
Often you will find misspellings on the backplates of fake watches, with 'chronometer' and 'stainless steel' among the most common mistakes. The fact that the watches in question are not in fact 'chronometer' certified is rather irrelevant in this context, but if someone is trying to sell you a Swiss made 'chronometer' for a relatively small sum of money then that in itself is worthy of caution.
This particular watch scores another own goal with the inclusion of the part number CR2111. If you Google CR2111 you will find that what comes up is actually a TAG Heuer Monza, rather than a Link, another major red flag. Sure there are occasions where genuine watches end up with the wrong backplate, but they are few and far between. This is a simple test, and while not conclusive on it's own, you'd be surprised how often the fakers get it completely wrong and the results should definitely not be ignored.
Image selected by Mr Orange
Because this watch doesn't even have the correct part number, it doesn't give us the enjoyment of pulling up an image of the real watch and comparing the two, but thanks to Mr Orange at the Calibre 11 Forum, we have this one as a comparison.
While a direct comparison is slightly pointless given the possible variances in genuine Link models, this does show immediately that the subdial layout is wrong. If both watches contain the Calibre 36 movement then they would definitely match, as you can see on the original the running seconds is at the '9' position on the real watch and '6' on the fake (more on that in a moment).
And while different pieces could have different hand set styles, the ones on the fake are clearly way too short for the watch dial.
While Googling for this post I believe I have come across a source (actually several, it's not at all difficult) for this particular fake... albeit they are showing it with a different (but still incorrect) caseback. This model is selling for $103 (£81), whereas the genuine article would be approximately £1800 pre-owned (judging by Watchfinder's website) and £3000+ when new, but then again the real thing contains a high quality 'El Primero' movement and this fake contains a Japanese quartz.
Unfortunately this is one of the easier fakes to spot, modern fakes are getting better and better all the time and it's now to the point where I and many other members of the Calibre 11 Forum simply wouldn't buy a modern Aquaracer from eBay under any circumstances. Older models are less likely to be faked, and older fakes are easier to spot because they just aren't very good... but if you want a modern TAG Heuer it really is best to stick to boutiques or authorised dealers. You might be able to save 20% going to a grey market dealer but are you actually getting the watch you are paying for? Judging by some of the photos I've seen, unless you are able to take the watch apart and compare it with the genuine article you wouldn't even know.
Surprisingly though, it's not usually those relatively expensive fakes that we get asked about, it's mostly the 'middling' ones like the example used here. Admittedly the forumites can be a bit harsh and abrasive when it comes to these posts, but generally these people have paid very small amounts for the watches they are asking about and they surely know deep down that they've bought a fake. Alternatively they could be fakers themselves looking for tips and advice on how to improve their craft..
If you are looking to purchase a watch on eBay, please visit this page which lists sellers known to have listed fake TAG Heuer watches previously:
If you are looking to purchase a watch on eBay, please visit this page which lists sellers known to have listed fake TAG Heuer watches previously:
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