Yeah, I caved. I bought a jar. It has a Rolex band marked stainless steel and 14K. I did an acid test, and it is 14K. How do I find out if this is real and not a knock-off?
Take it to an authorized Rolex dealer. There are real looking 14K and stainless steel after market Rolex bands out there and allot of folks buy the after market band because a genuine Rolex band cost allot more. You'll be able to compare the difference next to a genuine Rolex band. If it is a well made after market band it'll still be worth some bucks. You will find a fair amount of genuine preowned Rolex's on line and they will have after market bands on them. I think their putting those on the watches and selling the genuine band on their own and getting allot more money?. Buddy of mine purchase an all 14K Rolex datejust on ebay and found it had a real looking 14K after market band that was not a genuine Rolex band. He didn't grip as the listing said (wasn't sure of the band authenticity). Still he was satisfied. The good after market bands come from Italy and they will be real gold.