Replica Rolex

6 Vintage Swiss High Quality Fake Rolex Watches UK That Offer Surprisingly Good Value

The stage is set: You’re killing it at work. You’ve got some extra cash. It’s time for a nice watch. A Rolex watch. There’s just one problem — or three, rather. Unprecedented demand, a global pandemic and limited production mean there’s too few perfect Rolex replica watches to go around.

Your best bet? The preowned market, where supply’s aplenty and even deals await. Here are the tips to dial in your search.

Think small, literally. There’s more to Rolex than Submariners, Daytonas, and GMT-Master IIs. There’s a mind-blowing variety of options, many under $5,000, in the 34 to 36mm range. Forget the small-watch stigma and check out 36mm Datejusts and vintage 34mm Oyster Perpetuals. If sub-40mm is good enough for Ryan Gosling, it’s good enough for you.

Study your target. The Rolex world — vintage, preowned and new — is rife with fakes, “Frankenwatches” and all sorts of shenanigans. Once you’ve found a model you want to buy, study up on what it’s supposed to look like. Watch YouTube videos, go into boutiques and stores and begin handling watches. Speak to experts, buy some reference materials. This part might seem tedious but it will save you a lot of trouble when it’s finally time to buy.

Buy from a reputable seller. Can you score a deal off a random internet sale? Sure — but it’s risky. Instead, the best bet for newbies is to start with established dealers. Two great places to start are Eric Wind from Wind Vintage and James Lamdin from Analog:Shift. These guys are consummate pros and exploring their offerings will help you learn what’s worth buying.

Take your time. Don’t rush into a purchase and buy the first watch you see. Look at 15 Datejusts if necessary, or at least two or three — that’s half the fun! Aim for a piece that won’t incur extra service or other costs. It’s much better to spend a bit more on a watch that’s already been properly serviced and is in good condition. Buying a screaming deal on a “project” watch is not for beginners.

Wear the living hell out of it. You earned it! Just know that preowned (and especially vintage) best UK Rolex fake watches need extra care. Don’t take it in the water unless it’s meant for that express purpose. And only after you’ve had it pressure tested. Also understand that at some point, it will require service, and that won’t be cheap. The same is true of a sports car, a home or anything cool worth buying.

Need help settling on a model to set your sights on? Here are some models and ranger that hit the sweet spot: timeless enough to wear, common enough to be affordable.

Replica Rolex Oysterdate Precision ref. 6294/6694 Watches

Manually wound and offering a date complication, 34mm cheap copy Rolex Oysterdate Precision watches is a fantastic introduction to vintage Rolex. Prices have remained fairly steady over the past few years no doubt to their relatively small 34mm size and manually wound movements, but don’t let the case diameter fool you.

These are fantastic AAA China Rolex copy watches that wear light on the wrist, and can be had on leather for under $3,000. Just keep in mind that service on vintage in-house movements like those in Precisions can be costly, as parts have become scarce.

Price Range: $2,500 – $4,000

Fake Rolex Air King ref. 5500 Watches

Often also signed “Precision” on the dial, denoting non-chronometer signed status of the movements, the luxury replica Rolex Air King watches is another bargain in Vintage Rolex Land. The ref. 5500 features an automatic movement and an Oyster case, meaning you get plenty of utility in a small package.

There are tons of interesting dial varieties on offer in silver, blue, black and more, and you can find them on Oyster or Jubilee bracelets, as well as on straps. Prices are a touch above those of the Oysterdate Precision, but they’re still relatively affordable for vintage Rolex.

Price Range: $3,000 – $5,000

Rolex Oyster Perpetual ref. 1002 Replica Watches

Very similar to the top fake Rolex Air King ref. 5500 watches in size and look, the 1002 utilized chronometer-certified movements, and say as much on the dial. Because of their higher-end movements, prices are generally somewhat above those of Precisions, and somewhat above those of the ref. 5500s.

Equipped with acrylic crystals and smooth bezels, most of the 1002s featured solid-color dials, though once in a while an interesting “linen” or “mosaic” type turns up. If you’re looking for other options, just about any Oyster Perpetual with a 4-digit reference number hits the same vintage sweet spot. (Note: Air King 5500s sometimes used 1002 case backs due to their utilizing the same case.)

Price Range: $3,500 – $6,000

Rolex Datejust ref. 1601 Fake Watches

Though prices on vintage Swiss movements Rolex Datejust replica watches have taken off in recent years, the fact that you can get a 36mm, chronometer-certified Rolex from the 1960s or 1970s for under $5k is still vaguely remarkable. Though there are smooth-bezel (ref. 1600) and steel, engine-turned bezel variants around (ref. 1603), the 36mm 1601, with its white gold, fluted bezel, is a true classic.

With its pie pan dial, stick hands and famous date wheel that flips over exactly at midnight, the 1601 is arguably the quintessential Rolex non-sport model. Try to snag one on a bracelet if you can — you won’t be sorry. If you’re looking to expand your options in the vintage Datejust range, you can branch out to any with a 4- or 5-digit reference number.

Price Range: $4,000 – $6,000

Replica Rolex Precision Dress Watches

Because “Precision” (ironically) graced the dial of anything that wasn’t chronometer-certified, we’re not really referring to a specific reference here, but to a host of men’s dress watches made roughly from the ’40s-’70s that feature 34mm cases and manually wound movements (after the 1970s these slim dress AAA wholesale Rolex super clone watches generally appeared under the Cellini moniker).

Extremely simple and elegant, they’re available in different metals and feature svelte cases, minimalist design and a variety of dial configurations.

Price Range: $3,000 – $4,000

Fake Rolex Submariner ref. 14060 Watches

So-called “neo-vintage” Rolex Submariner replica watches for men marry characteristics of classic references with more modern watches — some are distinctly transitional watches that were available for less than a year. You can find them in with 5-digit reference numbers, like the 14060, successor to the long-lived ref. 5513.

Early versions featured two lines of text, while (later) “M” versions featured four lines. The ref. 14060 also added sapphire crystal and an increased depth rating of 300m (vs. the ref. 5513’s 200m).

Price Range: ~$8,500 – $15,000

UK Cheap Rolex Replica Watches For WWII POWs And The Great Escape

World War II wreaked havoc around the globe. Many millions died, and at times, it must have felt like the end of the world as nations committed everything to defeating their enemies. Swiss made Rolex replica watches also lent a hand in a small way by providing timepieces to prisoners of war (POWs).

As a graduate history student, I have always had a deep interest in this period. And as a journalist who, in my day job, has worked in conflict zones, something about WWII as a subject has always drawn me in. I think it’s because I hope that by studying that period, we can all take stock of the true human cost of conflict.

Rolex and WWII

This isn’t the first story about Rolex and WWII that I’ve written on Fratello. I’ve looked at how an Australian soldier with the Rats of Tobruk fought against the Axis in North Africa with a Rolex strapped to his wrist. A local collector here in Australia later found this 1:1 UK Rolex fake watches and even managed to track down images of the soldier (and watch) in action.

I wrote another story about the role that Rolex and early Tudor watches played on the wrists of many Royal Canadian Navy officers during the Battle of the Atlantic. This included tracking down some incredible historical images. But what follows is a story about Rolex and POWs in particular.

Rolex and POW watches

For soldiers who faced internment in a prisoner-of-war camp during WWII, things must have seemed particularly grim. In a stroke of marketing genius, however, Hans Wilsdorf of Rolex decided to provide Allied POWs with best replica Rolex watches from his company.

A grim conflict

Why not let prisoners purchase new perfect Rolex copy watches on the proviso that they could pay for them postwar upon their release? The notion served multiple purposes. Not only did it act as a morale boost for the POWs, but it was also a good way to raise Rolex’s profile.

In this wonderful article by Rolex Magazine, we can see the personal story of one such POW, Clive James Nutting. For those interested in the story of one Allied POW soldier and his high quality Rolex fake watches, please read it. And, as Watches of Espionage noted, this move could not have come at a more appropriate time. The scale of human misery in WWII made every human conflict up to that point simply pale in comparison.

Neutral Switzerland provides an opportunity for Rolex

Now, the logistics for Rolex to deliver watches to Allied POWs in Germany were possible because of Switzerland’s neutrality in the conflict. As I have reported here on Fratello before, though, even if Switzerland was neutral, it still faced accidental bombing by Allied air forces as well as the constant threat of a German invasion. In fact, Nazi Germany had drawn up plans to invade Switzerland but never carried them out.

Packages could be sent from Switzerland to camps inside Germany. Even so, Wilsdorf was taking a risk because there was no way to guarantee that the POWs could pay him back at the end of the war. No one knew who would win WWII (except perhaps in the very late stages of the conflict) or even when it would end. Wilsdorf must have realized there was a chance he would have to write every single Swiss made Rolex replica watches off.

Thousands of Rolex watches delivered to POWs

Interestingly enough, according to sources like Rolex Magazine, British POW officers ordered as many as 3,000 top fake Rolex watches. Wilsdorf’s decision to let the Allied soldiers sort out payment after the war implies that he believed that the Axis (Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan) would lose, and this certainly would have raised morale among the Allied POWs when receiving their watches. Imagine the feeling of getting a brand-new Rolex watch while stuck in an internment camp. It must have felt wonderful.

It also turns out that some of those Allied POWs who took part in what became immortalized as The Great Escape were wearing luxury super clone Rolex POW watches. This escape consisted of 76 Allied airmen from Stalag Luft III Nazi Luftwaffe Prisoner of War camp in March 1944. It has since become one of history’s most famous prison breaks and was the subject of the 1963 film The Great Escape.

Rolex watches and The Great Escape

Stalag Luft III was 100 miles southeast of Berlin. The historical escape is incredible when you consider the lengths to which prison security went to keep prisoners inside. These included raising prisoners’ huts about two feet off the ground to prevent tunneling from within and burying microphones 8–10 feet underground along the perimeter fencing to pick up any sounds of digging. The Germans had purposely built the camp on top of a sand base that made tunneling dangerous and unstable. It also made it harder for prisoners to conceal when they were digging.

According to historical accounts and modern estimations, POWs must have excavated more than 100 tons of sand to prepare for their escape. They hid it (just like in a scene in the 1963 movie) by raking the sand into the prison gardens.

The moment to escape comes

The escape was orchestrated by Roger Bushell, a Royal Air Force pilot who had been shot down over France while assisting with the Allied evacuation of Dunkirk. Bushell and as many as 600 fellow prisoners started building three tunnels (with the code names Harry, Dick, and Tom) which would stretch to about 300 feet, which was the distance to forest cover outside the camp fenceline. The penalty for being found outside the camp could be death, so they were all taking huge risks. However, the POWs reasoned that if they could reach the forest, they might just stand a chance. To avoid the microphones, they dug to a depth of around 30 feet. They used a trap door concealed beneath a stove which was always kept lit to discourage their guards from looking underneath.

According to historical records, “Prisoners stripped some 4,000 wooden bed boards to build ladders and shore up the sandy walls of the two-foot-wide tunnels to prevent their collapse. They stuffed 1,700 blankets against the walls to muffle sounds. They converted more than 1,400 powdered milk tin cans provided by the Red Cross into digging tools and lamps in which wicks fashioned from pajama cords were burned in mutton fat skimmed off the greasy soup they were served.”

The hunt for the escapees

After the 76 prisoners escaped, the manhunt was enormous. Within two weeks, the Germans had recaptured 73 of them. Three ended up successfully fleeing. Two were Norwegians who stowed away on a Swedish freighter, and one was a Dutchman who made it to Gibraltar. Adolf Hitler personally ordered the execution of 50 of the escapees.

Among those who planned to escape was RAF Corporal Clive James Nutting. According to this article by Rolex Magazine, Nutting’s stainless steel wholesale replica Rolex Oyster Chronograph ref. 3525 watches was delivered to the camp on August 4th, 1943. The construction of the tunnels had already been underway for at least five months by this stage. The Rolex Magazine story notes that Nutting wrote to Rolex seeking his final invoice in 1948.

Concluding thoughts

Nutting was unable to use the tunnel before it was discovered, a sequence of events that most likely saved his life. He ended up moving to my home country of Australia with his family in the early 1970s. His watch and associated correspondence with Hans Wilsdorf were sold at auction by Antiquorum for £66,000 in 2007. Nutting went on to work as a consultant for the 1950 film The Wooden Horse and, over a decade later, The Great Escape. Other POW Rolex copy watches for sale have also come up for auction in the past.

Buying New UK Top Online Rolex Daytona Fake Watches Is Now Almost Impossible

If you want to purchase cheap Rolex Daytona replica watches new at retail, you are among what appears to be millions of people who “register their interest” at authorized dealerships every year. Our recent research shows that, unless you’ve got an “in” at a Rolex dealership, chances are near zero that you’ll score a Daytona at retail.

I walked into to four Rolex authorized dealers in Manhattan, asked about buying a new Daytona, and was universally shot down and offered no hope. Three of the Rolex salespeople I spoke with said there was no chance I’d get a brand new Daytona, with the fourth citing a curiously specific 15-year wait. As you might imagine, this was all rather demoralizing. What I learned, however, was fascinating.

Why Bother Trying?

If it’s so impossible, why would one bother trying to get a Daytona at retail? Answers usually include price and bragging rights.

Concern over price makes common sense, because a current steel 1:1 wholesale fake Rolex Daytona reference 126500LN watches retails for $15,100, while a pre-owned example will cost you right around $30,000 today. Common sense and luxury goods aren’t always comingled, however.

The deeper reason people long for a Daytona at retail is the status flex of having gained access to these exceptionally rare retail opportunities. Anyone with the cash can go drop $30,000 on a pre-owned Daytona, but vanishingly few people out of many millions who inquire each year will become first owners of high quality Rolex Daytona replica watches at retail pricing. Add in the buy-low-sell-high mentality of the financial class obsessed with nabbing a Daytona at retail, and we get the horological equivalent of a trading floor showdown.

Whatever motivates those hungry to score a Daytona at retail, you’re in for a fight.

“Register Your Interest”

Back in May of 2020, our esteemed colleague Lucy Alexander wrote an article for Robb Report entitled “How to Get Your Hands on the Elusive Rolex Daytona.” Lucy went to a Manhattan Rolex authorized dealership and was told two things you’ll never hear today: 1) She’d have to wait a bit for a Daytona, and 2) she could walk out with a two-tone Submariner, right then and there.

Things have changed drastically in the four years between 2020 and 2024. Today, Rolex dealerships will sell you nothing if you walk in cold, and it can take years to get the call for a new Submariner, two-tone or otherwise.

At three of the boutiques where I inquired about getting best UK copy Rolex Daytona watches, the salespeople quickly made it clear that I would not be able to get one. Each of them said they would “register my interest,” however. This phrase is now ubiquitous in the esoteric subculture of Rolex retail shopping. Confusingly, “registering your interest” has nothing to do with getting on an actual waitlist. That would require a “request,” which means you’ll be entered into the “registry.” One of the salespeople went out of her way to make this distinction crystal clear, noting that registering my interest was, “not a request. It’s just registering your interest.”

“What would be the point of registering my interest, then?” I asked.

“Well, we would take your name and number, and then we’d know that you were interested.”

This absurdity rendered me momentarily speechless, but I snapped out of it and asked her how many people bothered to register their interest. She told me that between 50 and a 100 people register their interest in the Swiss movements replica Rolex Daytona watches every day. Taking the mid-range estimate of 75-inquiries-per-day, that’s 27,375 people registering their interest per year—at just one Rolex authorized dealer. Millenary Watches reported in 2022 that Rolex operated 1,816 retail sites globally, bringing a conservative estimate to something like 30 to 40 million Daytona inquiries per year globally. That’s a lot of names and phone numbers to write down for no apparent reason.

“Fifteen Years?”

At one boutique, I got an actual, specific answer on the wait time. A handsome and tall woman with brown hair and a licorice voice told me the wait for a Daytona would be, “Probably around 15 years.”

My brain failed to process this number. “Five years?” I asked.

“No, fifteen.”

“Fifteen years?” I asked.

My incredulity curried me no favor with this sophisticated woman, who then literally looked down her nose and added, “Probably longer.”

I almost laughed out loud, partly because I realized I’d be 70 by the time I got a Daytona, and partly because I found her estimate of 15 years oddly specific. Are there people who are waiting just 14 years? Was I supposed to give her my phone number and ask her to call me in 2039?

The Truth Bomb Drops—Buy Other Stuff First

I slipped into another boutique that doesn’t sell Rolex, but their other locations do. I asked if the saleswoman thought I might be able to get a new perfect Rolex Daytona replica watches at one of their other locations, and she laid out what seemed like the plain truth. “Honestly, you’d need to buy other things in order to be considered.”

“Would I need to buy other Rolexes?” I asked.

“Rolex? No, you could buy an Omega, and then maybe a Cartier, and then you would maybe be considered for a Rolex. Some of the Rolexes have become easier to get lately, but not the Daytona.”

I thanked her for her candor and, as I left, she said, “Good luck with your Daytona search!”

I turned and said, “It sounds like I’ll be in an old folks home saying ‘I finally got one!’”

“Exactly,” she said.

That you can build up credentials with a Rolex authorized dealer by purchasing AAA 2024 Rolex fake watches from other brands (as well as jewelry, where applicable) has long been common knowledge, but this was the first time a salesperson came straight out and told me that’s how it works. I can’t find anything unethical about this practice, but it strikes many as unsavory.

It also occurred to me that Rolex could use the scarcity of its new watches to leverage sales of its certified pre-owned models.

“We Can Offer You a Pre-Owned Daytona”

Naturally, the above conversations swiftly pivoted to pre-owned Daytonas. One stylish saleswoman who knew every historical and technical detail about the various China online Rolex Daytona super clone watches on offer was blunt. “So, yeah, you’re not going to be able to get one new, but we have these exceptional pre-owned models just over here,” she said while extending an elegant arm and effortlessly corralling me and my friend over to the pre-owned section.

She told me that the 1999 Zenith-powered Daytona with the white dial used a high-beat movement, which Rolex later replaced with a movement with a mid-range beat rate, and that this neo-vintage model would cost $31,500. She then shared a current-model 2019 reference 126500LN with a black dial for $32,500 (a new one, remember, would cost $15,100). I tried them both on and told her I still wanted to buy one at retail.

“What if I went for a solid gold Daytona? Would that be available at retail?”

Her fading smile suggested she was growing annoyed. “I like to be a factual person,” she said, and refused to hypothesize on when I might be able to get a gold Daytona at retail. She explained that they have many people on the registry for them. Then I heard another refrain I’d heard before: A Rolex dealership has no idea when Rolex will allocate a Daytona (or any other watch) to their store. When I asked how Rolex decided which dealer gets this or that “allocation watch,” she said she didn’t know.

Did Rolex Create New-Model Scarcity to Drive Pre-Owned Sales?

Many have wondered why Rolex has transformed itself from an accessible (if not cheap) premium watch brand to an exclusive luxury brand with zero new models available to walk-in customers. The answer I used to give was that Rolex replica watches store was playing an obvious game of luxury positioning in a bid to protect the brand from the tarnish of overexposure. One of the key differences between a premium and a luxury brand is access. That’s literally a text-book luxury branding strategy, one that Rolex seems to have gradually adopted over the last ten years or so.

But when Rolex announced its Certified Pre-Owned program last year and rolled it out globally, it seemed there might have been a different method to the madness. By limiting access to their entire catalog at retail, Rolex could now point all its customers to the pre-owned models just across the room. And in the case of the Daytona—as well as many other desirable models—the prices for the pre-owned Rolexes are usually well above retail.

Ferrari is famous for this exclusive approach, and watch expert Eric Wind told Robb Rerport that he thinks, “Ferrari makes more money from certified pre-owned models than new ones, so perhaps Rolex feels it is a great revenue source or, at least, can help their authorized retailers make more money.”

Just last year, we reported that the pre-owned luxury watch market was going to outpace the new market over the next decade. My colleague Demetrius Simms wrote that, “In 2022, pre-owned watch sales rose by 20 percent year-over-year to $27 billion (€25 billion). New watch sales, meanwhile, only climbed 12 percent to $56 billion (€52 billion).” The report by Swiss firm LuxeConsult went on to project massive growth for pre-owned Rolex fake watches paypal in the coming years.

Is Rolex shorting the new market to drive sales toward the increasingly profitable pre-owned market? Is this why I can’t get my hands on a $15,100 new steel Daytona but can readily spend over $32,000 for a used one?

Maybe the trick is to just give up on the Daytona and settle for one of Swiss made replica Rolex’s other excellent watches, which on the pre-owned market we’ve reported can now be had right at around retail prices, and sometimes below. That’s good news. But if you absolutely must buy a Rolex Daytona at retail, I’m afraid we don’t have any good news to share.