First things first, and I can’t stress this enough, if the price seems too good to be true, it probably IS. Like, seriously, if you’re finding a “brand new” Certina DS-1 Powermatic 80 for the price of a decent pizza, alarm bells should be ringing louder than your grandpa’s old wind-up. These things ain’t cheap, and there’s a reason for that.
Okay, so you’re past the price hurdle. Now comes the fun part: detective work! Grab a magnifying glass (or your reading glasses if you’re like me and need ’em for everything) and start inspecting. Look at the *details*. Is the finishing crisp? Are the lines clean? Does it feel solid? A real Certina will have a certain heft and quality that those fake ones just… don’t. You know, kinda like the difference between a real leather jacket and something you picked up at a gas station.
And speaking of feeling it, how does the crown feel when you wind it? Smooth? Precise? Or does it feel kinda gritty and cheap, like you’re about to break something? Trust your gut on this one.
Then, and this is a biggie, check the serial number. Every real watch has one. And you gotta make sure it actually *exists*. Go to the Certina website (the REAL one, not some dodgy look-alike) and see if you can verify the serial number there. If it comes up as a blank, or worse, as a different watch entirely, you’ve got a problem.
Also, about the face… check for misspellings, like SERIOUSLY check. Fake watches are often made by people who don’t exactly have a PhD in Swiss watchmaking. And sometimes those misspellings are hilarious but also a dead giveaway. And the movement? Listen to it. Does it sound smooth and even? Or does it sound like a bunch of angry bees trapped in a tiny box?
Oh, and don’t forget the materials. A real Certina uses good stuff. So, is the metal cheap and flimsy? Does the crystal look like it’s about to fall out? These are things to look for. And about the movement… Look through the caseback if you can. You should see a well-finished movement. Fake ones often have a movement that seems, well, like it came from a gumball machine.
