How to know if a Rolex is original

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Rolex 'Red Submariner' 1680

Before answering how to know if a Rolex is original, let’s put ourselves in context. We live in an increasingly ‘connected’ world. Online shopping has gone from being something specific and rare in our day to day, to being something more than usual. We have lost the fear of buying online and every time we dare to buy more expensive things, objects that a few years ago we would not have even crossed our minds.

When placing an online order we cannot see or touch the specific object that we want to buy. When it comes to low-cost or everyday items, we don’t think twice. But what happens when buying something like a high-end watch, for example a Rolex watch?

Going to a jeweler / watchmaker that is an official Rolexdealer gives us a guarantee and confidence that is difficult to match when buying online. Logically before venturing to make a purchase of such value, you have to be well informed. Look at the opinion of other buyers, if it is a well-known website, if it is a website with official certificates of secure purchase / online trust, etc. This aspect is precisely one of the great reasons for the success of the Chrono 24 website, where all sellers have to meet certain requirements, there is insurance for transactions, protection for customers, etc.

Distributors like us, NordWatches, are always looking for ways to improve our services and add all possible guarantees so that our customers feel more secure and make things easier for them. For this reason, despite having our own online store, we are also Trusted Seller on Chrono 24,where we are the first trusted dealer in Spain.

Counterfeits and replicas

As clients, and more so with the times that go by with the replicas that arrive from Asian countries (it’s not just China anymore), we always have that doubt, that fear, what if they scam me?

Counterfeits have always existed in the world of high-end watchmaking and luxury watches. You don’t have to be a great expert to tell the difference between an original Rolex and a cheap copy. The first indicator will be the price. You won’t find a new Rolex that costs less than a few thousand euros. The ‘cheap’ copies do not usually exceed € 100 or € 200.

These counterfeits are easy to identify.

For example:

  • Rolex does not manufacture watches with a glass case back with the movement exposed. Although there are some old limited special editions, they are very specific exceptions. If our Rolex is wearing it, we will know it is a fake.
  • Most Rolex models have sapphire crystal. If the model we have purchased has a sapphire crystal, we can do the test of trying to scratch it. If it is scratched we know that it is false. Sapphire can only be grated by a diamond.
  • If there is aluminum or plastics in any part of the watch we will know that it is false. Rolex does not work with these materials.
  • The Rolex second hand moves smoothly, smoothly and constantly. If the second hand stumbles forward or in the typical ‘ticking’ movement, or if we hear the ‘ticking’ directly, we will know that it is a fake Rolex.
  • Weight is another key factor. If our so-called Rolex is a lightweight watch, we will know that it is a fake. Rolex only works with heavy metals and crystals, so the result is always a watch that has a certain weight.
  • The internal machinery. There are replicas that externally may seem authentic, but the movement of the watch, the caliber, is usually a cheap copy.

But today there are replicas so faithful that their cost amounts to over € 1,000. Here we are no longer talking about counterfeits, if not almost 100% replicas. They are not only made of the same metals and sapphire crystal, but they copy almost perfectly all the details and logos. With cheap fakes opening the watch does not fail. We will find a fake movement, many times it will not even be a mechanical watch. But these ‘professional’ replicas have even made copies of the movements, using the same materials and techniques, to the point that they are as precise as the original watch.

In these cases it is necessary to have the original version of the watch in hand to be able to compare each detail of the watch one by one to see the differences between the replica and the original. Using high-magnification magnifiers we will begin to see small details, such as that the letters or digits on the dial are not so fine and well finished in the replicas. But apart from these details, there is no way to differentiate the replica from the original, unless you are an expert.

You will find many videos on You Tube comparing an original Rolex to a ‘professional’ replica. At NordWatcheswe plan to acquire a replica of these in order to illustrate our article and show the differences, but we refuse to contribute to this counterfeit market and to allow a replica to enter our offices. The trust of our clients is something sacred to us.

In conclusion, how to know if our Rolex is original? Trusting serious distributors would be the first recommendation. But if after the recommendations and clues that we have given you, you still have doubts, take the watch for service to an official house, they will clear up your doubts.

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Omega Speedmaster Silver Snoopy 50th Anniversary

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Omega Silver Snoopy 50th Anniversary

Snoopy and NASA

Snoopy has been associated with NASA since the late 1950s, long before man reached the moon. The creator of the comic strip, Charles Schulz was a fan of the space race and NASA, and frequently used space exploration themes in his comic strips. In this way he began a relationship with NASA, to which Schulz gave permission to use his characters without benefit to him, provided that he was the one who created all the illustrations of Snoopy that NASA required.

There is a lot of relationship between Snoopy and NASA since then. Apollo 10 was launched in 1969, as a dress rehearsal for Apollo 11 that was to land on the moon. They carried a lunar module that the crew nicknamed Snoopy, and a command module that they called Charlie Brown.

Snoopy has always been related to safety at NASA, and that is why in 1968 NASA created the Silver Snoopy, an award that is given to those who have contributed significantly to the manned space flight program, to guarantee the safety of the flight and the mission success. These awards are given to employees and contractors. The award consists of a silver Snoopy lapel pin. All the pins that are given as awards have been in space.

Omega Silver Snoopy 50th Anniversary

Omega Silver Snoopy 50th Anniversary

1970 Apollo 13 mission had serious problems and lost much of the instrumentation. The astronauts used an Omega Speedmaster to accurately measure the ignition timing of the engines to perform a complicated maneuver that brought them home.

On October 5, 1970, Omega was awarded a Silver Snoopy, in recognition of his work in the rescue mission.

50 years have passed since that October 5, 1970. And the people of Omega have thought that this was the indicated date to release their new Omega Speedmaster Silver Snoopy 50th anniversary watch.

Omega Speedmaster Silver Snoopy 50th anniversary.

It is the 3rd watch made by Omega with Snoopy as the protagonist. The first was released in 2003 and the second in 2015. Both came out in limited editions, with 5,411 and 1,970 pieces respectively. Obviously it was difficult to get hold of a unit and that is why they are watches listed on the second-hand market, widely exceeding their P.V.P, especially the 2nd version of 2015.

This time Omega has decided that this 50th anniversary version of the Silver Snoopy award is not a limited edition, so, stock problems aside, anyone who wants and is not in a hurry, can get one from November in exchange for 9,600 €. Of course, it will have to be at an official dealer, since the watch will not be sold online.

Omega Silver Snoopy 50th Anniversary

Omega Silver Snoopy 50th Anniversary

Features

We already know the story behind this watch, but how is this Omega Speedmaster Silver Snoopy? Well, it is a Speedmaster with a 42mm stainless steel case with a white dial and 3 blue counters. It has a blue ceramic bezel with the tachymeter notation, and with Snoopy in his spacesuit in the background on one of the counters.

At the bottom of the box, Snoopy appears in his command module. When using the chronograph seconds hand, Snoopy takes a trip around the opposite side of the moon. There is also an image of the Earth, which rotates once a minute in sync with the watch’s second hand. There is also an image of the Earth, which rotates once a minute in sync with the watch’s second hand.

The watch carries the caliber 3861, the latest update to the Moonwatch movement.

The strap incorporates a die from the Apollo 13 trip, with the moment when they had to start the engines blindly, using only the relative position of the earth through the lunar module window and with an Omega Speedmaster to control the time. ignition.

Omega has undoubtedly created one of the most beautiful watches in its history with this Omega Speedmaster Silver Snoopy. An incredible edition full of details, and as always in Omega, with spectacular packaging.

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ORIS – NordWatches Brand Series

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Oris

Most people, when we talk about luxury watches or high-end watches, automatically think of Rolex, Omega or Patek Philippe. But there are many good watch brands that are unknown to the vast majority. Brands that manufacture watches of tremendous quality, and that, if they had the reputation of others, their models would be highly demanded and valued.

For this reason, from NordWatches we are going to bring you a series of articles talking about these watch brands, from the best known to the least known.

Today we are going to talk about… ORIS.

History

Oris was founded by Paul Cattin and Georges Christian in the Swiss city of Hölstein. They bought the recently closed Lohner & Co watch factory and on June 1, 1904, the two men signed a contract with the local mayor. They named their new watch company Oris after a nearby stream and began industrial pocket watch manufacturing. In its founding year, Oris employed 67 people.

In 1906, the firm opened an assembly plant and a second factory in the nearby town of Holderbank. Another factory in Como followed in 1908. By 1911 Oris had become Hölstein’s largest employer, with more than 300 workers. To attract more watchmakers, he built houses and apartments for his staff, expanding so that by 1929 he had additional factories at Courgenay (1916), Herbetswil (1925), and Ziefen (1925).

The first Oris wristwatches

With the opening of the Ziefen factory and the electroplating plant in Herbetswil, Oris expanded its product range. The company began placing bracelet buckles on its pocket watches, thus transforming them into full wristwatches.

After the death of Georges Christian in 1927, Jacques-David LeCoultre became Chairman of the Board of Directors. A year earlier, Oscar Herzog, Christian’s brother-in-law, had taken over as CEO in 1928, a position he held for 43 years.

Alarm clocks

In 1936 Oris opened its own dial factory in Biel / Bienne. At that time, the company produced almost all the elements of its watches and watch products in-house. Oris introduced its exclusive pilot’s watch in 1938, the so-called Big Crown. The collection takes its name from the watch’s oversized crown, which is used as an aid to pilots adjusting their watches with leather gloves. Variations of this watch still occur today.

During World War II, the Oris distribution network beyond Switzerland was significantly reduced. To keep the business alive, the company made alarm clocks.

The status of Swiss watchmaking

On March 12, 1934, the Swiss government introduced the so-called “Statute of Surveillance”. This peculiar law designed to protect and regulate the industry, prevented watch companies from introducing new technologies without permission. For Oris, the statute turned out to be an obstacle, as, up to that point, Oris had been using pin lever escapement movements (Roskopf escapement), which were less precise than the lever escapements used by some of the competitors of Oris, who had adopted such technology before the law was passed.

Oris fought in the courts for more than 10 years, and eventually the statute was gradually liberalized, until its abolition in 1971.

The quartz crisis

In the late 1960s, 44% of all watches sold worldwide were made in Switzerland. Oris employed 800 people and produced 1.2 million watches a year, making it one of the 10 largest watch companies in the world. The company developed its own tools and machinery, and even conducted an apprenticeship program, training 40 engineers and watchmakers every year.

But then the turning point came. In the 1970s and early 1980s, Asian quartz watches gained huge market share. The so-called “Quartz Crisis” saw the end of some 900 watch companies in Switzerland and the unemployment of two-thirds of the employees in the watch industry. The market share of Swiss manufacturers fell to 13% worldwide.

In 1970 Oris renounced its independence and became part of Allgemeine Schweizer Uhrenindustrie AG (ASUAG), the predecessor of the Swatch Group. Oris started manufacturing quartz watches as well, but this did not return success. In the early 1980s, Oris employed only a few dozen people. In 1981, the production of their own movements was abandoned.

New starts

Like many other Swiss watchmakers in the early 1980s, Oris was on the verge of closing. Managing Director Dr. Rolf Portmann, who was instrumental in revoking the Statute of the Guard, and Marketing Director Ulrich W. Herzog took over the rest of the company in 1982 as part of a buyout by of the address. Soon after, the newly formed and independent Oris SA decided to abandon quartz and exclusively produce mechanical watches in the mid-price segment. Oris made its last quartz watch in the early 1990s.

Recent developments

Since the turn of the millennium, the company has focused on the worlds of diving, culture, aviation, and motorsports. Since 2002, Red Rotor has served as a trademark and distinctive feature of Oris.

  • In 2004, the Quick Lock Crown system was developed, which only requires a single 120-degree clockwise turn to secure it in place.
  • In 2009 Oris introduced the Rotation Security System, a device that locks the unidirectional rotating bezel of a diver’s watch in place, preventing accidental adjustments underwater.
  • Oris patented the Oris Aquis depth gauge, its first mechanical depth gauge, in 2013. Allows water to enter a channel through a small hole at 12 o’clock. Water enters the well under pressure, creating a water mark that corresponds to a depth gauge.
  • In 2014, Oris celebrated 110 years of watchmaking with its first in-house developed caliber in 35 years. The caliber 110 was a hand-wound movement that featured a 10-day power reserve and a proprietary non-linear power reserve indicator.

At NordWatches we have this fantastic ORIS Divers Sixty-Five Chronograph.

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