“Heart Stopper Moment”

[jgas]

Hello all treasure hunters. Found my way back to the beach for a hunt. Water is warming up but still I wear my wet suit just to stay warmer. Sunny day out and high in the 80s. Got back from Indiana from my daughter’s wedding. A great day for sure. Proud Dad moment.
Back home now and headed out to a spot where I’ve found several gold rings. Hunted for several hours around 20/50 feet from shore. Pulled out numerous pulltabs and the occasional penny and trash items. Some rusty screws. Moved up the beach a bit just to get closer to where I park. Was on my last stretch when I got a faint signal between all the chirping hot rocks and frequency interference. Dug one big scoop about 8 inches down through the shells and out pops a wrist watch. All I saw was the watch band. I thought no way. I slowly flipped it over to see it was a Rolex. Omg. No freaking way. I started having thoughts about who I would help out with the proceeds from this. Or who the heck lost it so I could return it. After looking at it closely I had a suspicion it was a fake. But I took it to a reputable Rolex Dealer. He confirmed it was fake but yet a really good one. Ugh. It still works. Needs a little cleaning and some fix on the band but I think I will fix it and wear it. Just to act rich for a day. Ha. It sure is fun detecting the beaches. Goodluck out there all. Be safe. Jgas

 

[ArfieBoy]

Nice recoveries. Thanks for sharing. Congratulations!

 

[Gare]

Jgas welcome to a very fine forum

 

[Sandog]

Did you get more than one jeweler's opinion?

 

[Jose The Goon]

^ Sandog,
I'm with you. More opinions are warranted in this case. Looks excellent for one that has been in the water for who knows how long, especially if it was salt water. And it still works ?? Doesn't sound like a knock-off to me.
Great find jgas!! Congrats!! But before you write it off as a fake, do a little careful checking yourself. The following link tells you what to look for:

Google Search

 

[oldmxrat]

That's a heart stopper for sure, good fun, congrats!

 

[Drew61]

Have a watch shop open the back and take pictures, then post them back here if possible. It may be obvious close up to them but hard to tell from the pictures. A heart pumper for sure!

 

[Sandog]

Search "back view of Rolex watch". The real thing seems to have a smooth, unmarked back, like yours, while the fakes may have some markings.

 

[UnderMiner]

Certainly an excellent fake (if it's indeed fake) I would be fooled. It doesn't have many of the tacky attributes or poor quality craftsmanship plainly apparent as most fakes have, not to mention if it's still ticking then it has good waterproofing, most counterfeits wouldn't. Did they do a spectrum analysis of the metal to see if it was indeed base material and not precious metal?

 

[Jose The Goon]

^ "UnderMiner" wrote: "not to mention if it's still ticking then it has good waterproofing, most counterfeits wouldn't."
Funny how of all the websites that tell you how to spot a fake Rolex, not one of them tells you to stick the watch a few inches down under the sand in water 20 feet from shore, dig it up a few years later & see if it still looks great & still works fine. (Of course that test wouldn't be feasible) "jgas" is lucky that the mentioned test was already done for the watch that was just found.

 

[UnderMiner]

^ "UnderMiner" wrote: "not to mention if it's still ticking then it has good waterproofing, most counterfeits wouldn't."
Funny how of all the websites that tell you how to spot a fake Rolex, not one of them tells you to stick the watch a few inches down under the sand in water 20 feet from shore, dig it up a few years later & see if it still looks great & still works fine. (Of course that test wouldn't be feasible) "jgas" is lucky that the mentioned test was already done for the watch that was just found.

The ocean tends to do us all a favor, it finds the stuff we don't want, such as bottle caps, base metal jewlery, and other worthless foils and ferrous metal objects, and it corrodes them away to dust in just a matter of months to a few years. Conversely the ocean preserves precious metal objects. So given enough time, the only metal objects in the ocean actually capable of being detected will be precious metal objects! 😄👍

 

[Gare]

Jgas I have found a couple of the fake ones. But i can say at FIRST it sure makes your heart PITTER PATTER !!! lol still a nice find Thank you for sharing wuth us

 

[bc5391]

did you do the happy dance, congratulations

 

[E-Trac-Ohio]

Genuine or not it's still a very cool find !
And yes, getting a second opinion just to be sure sounds like a good idea.

 

[Silvermonkey]

Well that's a bummer. Still a great find. Congrats!

 

[camichael]

I'd at least test the case to see if it is 18K...That's a sure way to tell if fake... I found one in a client's estate...it was fake also

 

[Drew61]

The only thing fishy I see from the pictures is I don’t think Rolex stamps the outside of cases with the karat. Just saw the corrosion on the bracelet, bummer! I’d still wear it!

 

[Digger RJ]

Hello all treasure hunters. Found my way back to the beach for a hunt. Water is warming up but still I wear my wet suit just to stay warmer. Sunny day out and high in the 80s. Got back from Indiana from my daughter’s wedding. A great day for sure. Proud Dad moment.
Back home now and headed out to a spot where I’ve found several gold rings. Hunted for several hours around 20/50 feet from shore. Pulled out numerous pulltabs and the occasional penny and trash items. Some rusty screws. Moved up the beach a bit just to get closer to where I park. Was on my last stretch when I got a faint signal between all the chirping hot rocks and frequency interference. Dug one big scoop about 8 inches down through the shells and out pops a wrist watch. All I saw was the watch band. I thought no way. I slowly flipped it over to see it was a Rolex. Omg. No freaking way. I started having thoughts about who I would help out with the proceeds from this. Or who the heck lost it so I could return it. After looking at it closely I had a suspicion it was a fake. But I took it to a reputable Rolex Dealer. He confirmed it was fake but yet a really good one. Ugh. It still works. Needs a little cleaning and some fix on the band but I think I will fix it and wear it. Just to act rich for a day. Ha. It sure is fun detecting the beaches. Goodluck out there all. Be safe. Jgas

Very Cool!!! Congrats!!! Next time 😁

 

[jgas]

The only thing fishy I see from the pictures is I don’t think Rolex stamps the outside of cases with the karat. Just saw the corrosion on the bracelet, bummer! I’d still wear it!

Thanks for all the replies guys. I am gonna take it to another watch dealer and at least have them fix the band. So I can look sorta cool wearing it. Ha. I’m quite sure after all the research it is a fake. But a very good one. And it is still in working order. Yep a heart stopper but still a great find. Coincidentally I went back a couple days later and found an Ironman watch. Ha. It still works too. Crazy fun. Thanks again all. Jgas

 

[Drew61]

Awesome! I have found 6 watches, all working, none mechanical, I wear 2 of them.