Authentication Standards

Rolex · Submariner No Date · Ref. 5513

Expect 'SWISS' or 'T SWISS T' / 'SWISS - T<25' at 6 o'clock for tritium-era dials. LumiNova ('SWISS MADE') on a 5513 dial is incorrect for the reference's period.

Rolex · Explorer II · Ref. 1655

Period-correct 'SWISS', 'T SWISS T' or 'SWISS - T<25' at 6 o'clock; a LumiNova 'SWISS MADE' dial on a 1655 is wrong.

Rolex · Explorer II · Ref. 16570

Early-to-mid 16570 uses the 3185; later examples use the 3186. The successor 216570 uses the 3187 — a 3187 in a 16570 case is wrong.

Seiko · Willard / Captain Willard · Ref. 6105-8110

The case number names the caliber family, so any 6105 movement is the right family. Within it, the -8110 is documented with the 6105B. A 6105A in this case is most likely a service or donor movement rather than a counterfeit — Seiko service work moved parts freely — but it should be recorded, because the movement no longer dates the watch.

Hamilton · Khaki Field · Ref. H69439931

The H-50 runs at 21,600 vph where its ETA 2801-2 base runs at 28,800. The reduction is deliberate and is how the 80-hour reserve is obtained. A timing trace showing 3 Hz on a current-production Hamilton is the expected result; treating it as evidence of a swapped or mis-serviced movement is a false finding.

Hamilton · Ventura · Ref. Ventura (1957 Electric)

The caliber 500 had chronic problems with its contact system and Hamilton replaced large numbers under service with the revised 505. Finding a 505 in a watch whose case dates to the 500 period is therefore the EXPECTED outcome for a watch that was actually used, and should be classified as a manufacturer service replacement rather than as an incorrect movement. A surviving, working, original 500 is the rarer and more valuable configuration precisely because so many were replaced.

Montblanc · 1858 · Ref. 1858 Monopusher Chronograph (Minerva)

Large, hand-finished, with a column wheel, the distinctive devil's-tail arrow-shaped chronograph bridge, and finishing — bevelled and polished edges, hand-drawn straight-graining — executed by hand rather than by machine. Nothing in the Le Locle range resembles it, and no generic movement does either. Where a watch is offered as a Villeret Minerva, the movement settles the question completely, and the display back means it can be settled without opening anything.

Montblanc · 1858 · Ref. 1858 Automatic (Le Locle)

Montblanc does not conceal that most 1858 references use outside movements, and finding one is confirmation rather than a finding. The mistake to avoid is the inference from the collection name: 1858 is Minerva's founding year and appears on watches that have no Minerva content whatever. Establish which production the reference belongs to before forming an expectation about the movement.

Universal Genève · Compax · Ref. 885103

The Valjoux 72 is one of the most widely used chronograph calibers of its era, fitted by many manufacturers, and finding one here confirms only that the movement is period-plausible. It does not confirm the reference, because the same caliber sits in far cheaper Universal Genève watches. Use it to exclude — a movement that is not a Valjoux 72 is a finding — and never to confirm.

Yema · Rallygraf · Ref. Rallygraf

These chronographs use widely distributed Swiss calibers found under many marques. Finding one is period-consistent and establishes nothing about which brand's watch this is. The dial, case and caseback carry the brand identity; the movement carries the date.

Universal Genève · Polerouter · Ref. 20217

The 138SS is a bumper automatic: the winding weight travels through an arc and strikes sprung buffers at each end, producing a distinct knock felt through the case as the wrist moves. A micro-rotor turns continuously and silently. An examiner can therefore tell which generation of Polerouter they are holding before opening anything, which is worth doing precisely because the dial spelling has to be checked against it.

Baume & Mercier · Clifton · Ref. Clifton Baumatic

The Baumatic's headline specification is a 120-hour power reserve, which is well beyond what a standard Swiss automatic delivers. It is one of the few specification claims that can be verified conclusively by an owner rather than an examiner: wind it fully, set it aside, and check it on the fifth day. A Baumatic-marked watch that stops after two days contains a conventional movement.

Frederique Constant · Slimline Perpetual Calendar Manufacture · Ref. Slimline Perpetual Calendar Manufacture

The display back exposes an in-house movement with the perpetual-calendar works. A watch carrying calendar subdials over a Sellita with a bolted-on module is a different and much cheaper object; the module construction is visible from the back as a separate plate carrying the calendar works above the base movement.

Laurent Ferrier · Classic Micro-Rotor · Ref. Classic Micro-Rotor

Expect a winding weight recessed into the plate rather than sweeping above the bridges, and a case built thin around it. A full overhead rotor, or a case of ordinary thickness, is inconsistent with the construction the model is defined by. The same reasoning applies to the Universal Genève and Hermès micro-rotor references in this catalog.

Hermès · Slim d'Hermès · Ref. Slim d'Hermès (H1950)

Expect a movement whose winding weight is recessed into the plate rather than sweeping above the bridges, and a case built thin around it. A thick case, or a full overhead rotor visible through the display back, is inconsistent with the caliber the model is defined by.

Laurent Ferrier · Classic Tourbillon Double Spiral · Ref. Classic Tourbillon Double Spiral

Two escape wheels impulsing the balance directly, with no pallet fork mediating between them and the balance, is a visibly different architecture from the Swiss lever escapement in essentially every other watch. It cannot be approximated by decorating a conventional movement, and it is visible through the caseback. Where a watch is presented as carrying one, this settles the question.

Bulova · Lunar Pilot · Ref. 96B251

The 262 kHz oscillator drives the seconds hand in increments fine enough to read as a continuous sweep. An examiner who takes a sweeping hand as proof of a mechanical movement will misidentify the watch, and one who takes a sweep on a watch specified as quartz as evidence of substitution will report a correct watch as wrong. Bulova has used high-frequency quartz across several lines and the behaviour recurs — it is a brand signature and should be read as one.

Frederique Constant · Slimline Perpetual Calendar Manufacture · Ref. Slimline Perpetual Calendar Manufacture

Wind the date forward to the end of a 30-day month and continue. A perpetual calendar steps straight to the 1st; an annual calendar handles most short months but fails February; a simple calendar shows a 31st and needs correcting. The leap-year indicator should also advance in step with the year subdial. This is the definitive test of the complication and it takes minutes, not months — the calendar can be advanced by hand.

Chanel · J12 · Ref. J12 (2000 original)

The manufacture caliber arrived with the 2019 redesign. The earlier automatic J12 carries an ETA 2892-A2 — a thin, well-regarded Swatch Group automatic — and finding one is confirmation rather than a finding against the watch. Expecting a Kenissi movement here, or reading a 2892 as a substitution, are the two errors this record exists to prevent. The quartz executions of the same period are less well documented and the catalog does not assert their calibers.

Zodiac · Sea Wolf · Ref. Super Sea Wolf

STP is Fossil's Swiss movement subsidiary and its calibers are 2824-family architectures produced from the 2010s. Their presence places a Zodiac firmly in the modern era regardless of how closely the design quotes the 1950s watch, which makes the movement the most decisive generational separator available on this brand.

Jacques Bianchi Marseille · JB200 · Ref. JB200 Re-Edition

The standard JB200 Re-Edition and the Méduse run the Seiko NH35 automatic (24j, 21,600 vph, ~41h). The Poulpro / Night Diver sub-line uses the Swiss Soprod P024. A movement other than NH35/Soprod for its reference is a red flag.

Rolex · Explorer II · Ref. 16550

The 16550 uses the 3085 exclusively (first independent 24h hand). A 3185/3186 belongs to the later 16570.

Rolex · Submariner Date · Ref. 116610LN

The 116610LN runs the 3135; the 3235 belongs to the successor 126610LN. Movement/reference mismatch is disqualifying.

Rolex · Explorer II · Ref. 216570

Uses the 3187 exclusively. A 3186 belongs to the earlier 16570; a 3285 to the later 226570.

Omega · Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch · Ref. 145.012

The 145.012 uses the column-wheel caliber 321. A cam-actuated 861 in a 145.012 indicates a service swap or a married watch, not a correct example.

Rolex · Submariner No Date · Ref. 124060

The 124060 uses the 3230 (~70h reserve). A 124060 fitted with a 3130 is inconsistent with the reference.

Rolex · Submariner Date · Ref. 126610LN

Genuine 126610LN runs the 3235; a 3135 (48h) indicates a prior-generation movement or a fake.

Rolex · GMT-Master II · Ref. 126710BLRO

The 126710BLRO runs the 3285. A 3186 movement indicates a prior generation (116710) or a fake.

Rolex · Explorer II · Ref. 226570

The 226570 uses the 3285 with a ~70h reserve. A 3187 belongs to the earlier 216570.

Omega · Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch · Ref. 310.30.42.50.01.001

The current Moonwatch uses the co-axial, anti-magnetic (15,000 gauss) 3861. A 1861 belongs to the prior generation (311.x / 3570.50).

Rolex · Cosmograph Daytona · Ref. 16520

The 16520 uses the 4030; the in-house 4130 belongs to the successor 116520. An in-house movement in a 16520 is incorrect.

Omega · Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch · Ref. 145.022

The 145.022 introduced the 861. An earlier column-wheel 321 belongs to the 145.012/105.012 generation.

Omega · Seamaster Diver 300M · Ref. 210.30.42.20.01.001

The current Diver 300M uses the anti-magnetic (15,000 gauss) co-axial 8800 with a display caseback. A closed caseback or an ETA-based 1120 indicates an earlier generation.

Vostok · Amphibia · Ref. 420

Genuine calibers carry the caliber number engraving (e.g. 2416B, 2409) and a period origin marking. The 24xx family shares a 24.0mm plate, 19,800 vph, ~31h reserve and Glucydur balance. A '2416B' claiming other than 31 jewels, or a movement of non-Vostok architecture, is a red flag.