"Rolex Submariner Wanted: will pay up to $500."

Is there any guy on the planet who thinks that they're going to get a real Rolex Submariner for $500? The watch of James Bond - Sean Connery, the real James Bond, not the new guy with the hair and pouty looks. The watch that's equally at home with hip hop bling and big time old money?

I doubt it. But every day thousands of people spend less than $500 on a Rolex watch. They're buying Replica Rolex watches. And people are buying them for a number of reasons, and not just to fool their friends or impress the boss.

Learn the Three Kinds of Rolex Replicas

Let's face it you're buying an item that's in a legal grey area so don't expect everyone to be as pure as the driven snow. Makers of fake Rolex watches run the gamut from back alley hackers to sophisticated Swiss factories using Swiss made parts. There are three categories of fake Rolex watches:

1. Crude Cheapos - These watches cost about $7 to make and use Chinese made movements. The cases are badly machined, parts are often stamped metal and the dials have fuzzy numbers, the hands are clunky and they have mismatched date windows. These watches almost always have quartz movements. The good news is they run OK and they're really cheap - under $50. The bad news is that no one, even your blind Aunt Millie will think they're authentic Rolex timepieces. You'll find these Chinese fakes being sold on the street with strange names on the dials like Folex or Rolexx. Our advice is to stay away from these cheapos. They're only good for gag gifts - at best.

2. Knockoffs -- These watches usually cost the manufacturer no more than $40 to make and are known for their price to quality ratio. From afar, your Aunt Millie and that drunk brunette you met in a dark bar might buy that this is a real Rolex. But inside these watches use generic movements and lower quality components. For a while these knockoff watches mostly came from Japan. These watches might look ok, but their Japanese movements, which can be a bit clunky, are a dead giveaway. Expect to pay under $200 for one of these.

3. Replica Watches - At the highest tier sits the Swiss made Rolex Replicas. Swiss refers not to the country of manufacture, but rather to the origin of the movement used in the watch. These watches are the most expensive of the lot and can cost the manufacturer up to $300 or more to make. What sets the Swiss Rolex Replicas apart is their incredible attention to the little details that others get wrong or just ignore. These watches frequently utilize movements incorporated into Omega or other top end watches and often use real gold in the casework and bracelets. At the highest end, these Replica Rolex watches can be such exacting copies that many professional jewelers have a tough time identifying them as replicas. Expect to pay between $500- $1000 depending on the model and the amount of gold used in the case.

Because of the limited availability and high-price of authentic Rolex watches, the market for Replicas is booming. In addition to shady street vendors, there are all kinds of online scammers just salivating over your hard earned cash. But there are also some "reputable" online retailers who specialize in selling very real looking replicas. They offer guarantees, warrantees and even COD shipping. So do your homework and get ready to flash some 100 year old bling.

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