Grey market or counterfeit: why a genuine watch can be different, on video

Chapters

1. 0:00The misunderstanding in a shop
2. 0:11One watch, several markets
3. 0:49What can change
4. 1:20What doesn't change
5. 1:36Grey market, not counterfeit
6. 2:11What the law says
7. 2:32Checking with peace of mind

Transcript

Were you told in a shop that your watch might not be authentic? Don't worry: very often, it's a misunderstanding. And it's easy to explain. The same watch is sold all over the world: in Europe, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the Middle East, the Americas or Asia. For each market, the brand can plan its own version. At Seiko, for example, the same model exists with different endings, such as J1 or K1, which tell the versions apart by market and place of assembly. As for fashion watches, they are made under licence by large watch groups, in several workshops around the world. What changes from one country to another is mostly what surrounds the watch: the box, the warranty card, the labels, the markings. Because each country has its own rules. Great Britain, for example, has kept its own rules on batteries since Brexit, and Switzerland, which is not in the European Union, applies its own. So a different box is not the sign of a fake. It's the sign of a watch made for another market. What matters is the watch itself. The movement, the engravings on the case back, the serial number: all of it is original. And it's easy to check: any watchmaker can open the case back and identify the movement. Two things must be clearly told apart. A counterfeit is a copy that imitates a brand. It's a criminal offence, punished by law and tracked down by customs. The grey market, also called the parallel market, is something else: a genuine watch, made by the brand, but sold outside its own distribution network. Shops mostly know the European versions. Faced with another version, some jump too quickly to the conclusion that it's a fake. And what does the law say? A watch put on sale in the European Union by the brand, or with its consent, can then be resold freely: the brand cannot object. And whatever the channel, the seller owes you the legal guarantee of conformity for two years. To be on the safe side, keep your invoice, note the serial number, and trust a watchmaker's opinion rather than an impression. At Montres Outlet, our watches come from wholesalers based in the European Union and in Switzerland, and each one is checked before it is shipped. A watch that's a little different is still a genuine watch. Discover a whole selection of watches at Montres Outlet.