Strange tale of Cartier watch

[Beacon]

My brother has a female friend who had a bad break up with her bf. This guy was very urbane and international and had a penchant for expensive things, including fancy watches. After the break up, the gal noticed a box of the ex-bf''s stuff lying arond her apartment. She called him asking what to do with it and he nastily told her, "just throw it out!"

So that box of stuff ended up being given to my brother by the traumatized gal who wanted it out of the house ASAP. My brother went through it and in there was a very fancy looking Cartier watch. He took it to a Cartier store to have it authenticated. Not only was it real, but it was number 1 of a limited edition of 90, a special production in the Pasha series. Wow! My brother gave it to Cartier to have it serviced. He was very surprised anyone would forget about such a fancy watch but at the same time pleased with his windfall.

The watch was sent to Cartier NYC. In New York, they took the watch apart and declared it the finest fake Cartier they had yet seen! Too bad for my brother!

What I got out of this story is that a used Cartier watch can be a tricky thing, considering this one even fooled Cartier, at first.

Motto: use great care in authenticating any used brand name watch!

 

[VRBeauty]

Beacon -- what a tale! My watch repair guy warns me -- darkly -- not to bother with used big-name watches. I guess he''s seen more than a few fakes. But to fool even Cartier!!? I''ve taken a liking to vintage watches and I''ve been trolling e-bay for a while now. I''ve bought a few of the "b-list" (and even c-list) brands, but lately Iately I''ve started to think... hmmm... wouldn''t it be nice to have a Cartier? Or maybe a Rolex????

Thanks for injecting a bit of reality!

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 7/6/2009 2:25:16 AM
Author:Beacon
The watch was sent to Cartier NYC. In New York, they took the watch apart and declared it the finest fake Cartier they had yet seen! Too bad for my brother!

What I got out of this story is that a used Cartier watch can be a tricky thing, considering this one even fooled Cartier, at first.

Motto: use great care in authenticating any used brand name watch!

that''s why i always prefer a clear back on expensive watches so you can see the movements.

 

[purrfectpear]

What I got out of that was that the GF''s former BF was a big ''ol poser

 

[rainwood]

I''ve purchased used Cartier watches from eBay twice and both were authenticated after service by Cartier. You do need to know what you''re doing though. I did a lot of research and even though I''m not an expert, I''ve spotted lots of fakes. But there are ways to be shrewd about it. I know what to look for, I got the original papers with one, and the other was a version that isn''t available anymore so the used route was the only way to go, and was less likely to be a model that the counterfeiters would target. It also helps to buy from a dealer who specializes in high-end watches. Don''t buy from a "I''m selling this for my aunt" or "I don''t know anything about watches" people. Those are almost always going to be fake.