Interactive checklist · 18 checks
Go through the watch in front of you check by check. Mark each one as looks right, red flag or can't check, and the checklist tells you what you've found. It takes about ten minutes and doesn't need any tools.
Look at the seller's history, reviews and how long they've traded. Ask why they're selling and how they got the watch.
Compare with recent sales of the same reference from established dealers.
Compare the reference and serial on the warranty card with the numbers on the watch.
Look up the reference (between the lugs at 12 o'clock or on the card) in our reference decoder.
Hold it and move the bracelet. Compare with the published weight of the model if you can.
Watch the seconds hand for ten seconds, filming it in slow motion if you can.
Hold the watch to your ear in a quiet room.
Open and close the clasp, look at the engraving inside it, and check the link edges.
Unscrew the crown, wind the watch a few turns, then screw it back down.
Look at the date through the magnifier over 3 o'clock (date models only).
Pull out the crown and turn the hands past midnight a couple of times.
Tilt the watch under a light and look at the crystal just above 6 o'clock with magnification.
Look at the inner ring between the dial and crystal.
Zoom in on the logo and text with your phone camera.
Charge the dial under a bright light, then look at it in the dark.
Rotate the bezel through a full turn on a dive or GMT model.
Turn the watch over.
Look between the lugs (remove the bracelet if you're allowed) and at the rehaut.
A Rolex service centre or authorised dealer can open the case and confirm the movement and parts. Make your purchase conditional on it.
A genuine Rolex can still be stolen property. Search the serial number before you pay.
Keep the seller's details, the invoice, photos of the serial and your search result together.
Bezel, cyclops, case generations and clasp details.
Fluted bezel metal, reference digits and dial checks.
Chronograph function, sub-dial layout and case back.
Two-colour ceramic bezel and the jumping hour hand.
Precious metals, the full day name and the President bracelet.
Work through the checks above: a smooth seconds sweep, a 2.5× cyclops, crisp dial printing and engravings, a solid plain case back, a bezel that clicks precisely and papers that match the numbers on the watch. Any clear red flag means the watch needs a professional inspection before you pay.
The best counterfeits can pass most visual checks, which is why a clean checklist is a good sign rather than proof. Only an inspection of the movement and parts by a Rolex service centre or authorised dealer confirms a watch is genuine.
No modern Rolex Oyster model ticks once a second. Their mechanical movements sweep in small steps. A one-second tick means a quartz movement and a fake (vintage Oysterquartz models are the rare exception).
Almost never. Oyster watches have solid, plain case backs. A few exceptions exist, such as the 2023 platinum Daytona, so check the specification of the exact reference.
No. Boxes and warranty cards are counterfeited too. Papers help only when their numbers match the watch, the seller is credible and the watch passes inspection.
Yes — authenticity and ownership are separate questions. Always search the serial number against stolen-watch reports before buying, even when the watch is clearly genuine.
Enter a serial to see roughly when the watch was made, with the full chart from 1926.
Decode a reference number and browse key models with sizes, movements and years.
Bezel, cyclops, case generations and clasp details.
Fluted bezel metal, reference digits and dial checks.
Chronograph function, sub-dial layout and case back.
Two-colour ceramic bezel and the jumping hour hand.
Precious metals, the full day name and the President bracelet.