40 years of checks, red flags and seller questions, written as a field guide for anyone about to pay for a pre-owned or vintage watch.
309 pages · 21 Counter Rules · Profiles of the 7 most faked watches · 5 meeting plans · Printable checklists.
Instant AccessPDF + EPUB, right after checkout
Secure CheckoutEncrypted, handled by Stripe
7-Day GuaranteeFull refund, no questions
309 PagesLarge print, short chapters
Superclones are now so good that photos and papers prove very little. Long waitlists at official dealers push buyers toward grey and private sellers, and many buyers feel too embarrassed to ask basic questions in watch forums. This book is the plain checklist for that moment, written to be used with the watch in your hand or the listing on your screen.
Every part is made by someone other than the brand. Cheap copies are easy to spot. Modern superclones can match weight, finish and even serial formats.
Chapters 2 and 6 show which checks still help and which prove nothing any more. Pages 19 and 140.
A real case with the wrong dial. A real movement in a fake case. Parts from several watches assembled into one. It can pass a lot of checks because much of it is genuine.
The places where a Frankenwatch gives itself away, and when only a watchmaker can settle it. Page 154.
The watch is genuine, but the dial has been refinished or replaced to hide damage or to make a rarer variant. Collectors care about original dials, and the difference can be large.
How to look at printing, lume and ageing, and what to ask the seller. Page 166.
A confident story, perfect photos and a good price do not make a watch real. The way a seller answers a few plain questions often tells you more than the watch does.
The three questions, the red flags, and a script for your first message. Page 219.
A field guide, not a story to read cover to cover. Open it at the page that matches your situation. The 21 Counter Rules are explained once, then referred to by number throughout the book.
The three kinds of bad watch, the check you can run on any watch in about a minute (weight, crown, cyclops and date, seconds hand, lume, caseback, bracelet), the 21 Counter Rules in the order you use them, your toolkit and its limits, and when to buy and when to walk away.
Profiles of the Rolex Submariner and Datejust, Rolex Daytona, Omega Speedmaster and Seamaster, Cartier Santos and Tank, Panerai Luminor, Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and Patek Philippe Nautilus. Each one covers the checks without tools, the checks with a loupe, what only a watchmaker can confirm, common seller claims and a Quick Ten list.
How each type of bad watch is put together, why it is hard to spot, which checks help and which do not, and how service dials differ from redials.
What papers and boxes can and cannot prove, how to read online listings and photos, and the three questions that show you how a seller deals with a request to verify the watch.
Step-by-step plans for a private seller, a dealer or jeweler, a flea market or vintage fair, an online purchase and an inherited watch, with timings, scripts, walk-away points and safety rules for meetings and payments.
One printable checklist for each of the seven models, the seller question sheet, a meeting notes template with a sample inspection agreement, and where to look things up. Followed by a full index.
Large type, short chapters and a checklist to tick off at the end of each one. Readable on a phone next to a listing and on paper at a flea market.
The table of contents. Every chapter and meeting plan with its real page number.
The Counter Rules. Each of the 21 rules on its own card: what it catches, what you need, how it works, and what it costs you.
A model profile. Checks without tools, checks with a loupe, and the one check that needs a watchmaker.
The index. Find any check, model or term in a few seconds.
Read the book for seven days. If it doesn't do what it promises, reply to your purchase receipt and ask for a refund. No explanation needed. Keep the files.
Launch price: $39.99. The regular price is $59.99. Prices are net, and applicable sales tax or VAT is calculated at checkout from your billing address.
Get the book →
"Photos lie, papers lie, sellers lie. The watch itself, checked properly, usually tells the truth."
Henry Rochat trained as a watchmaker in a small workshop in the Swiss Jura and went on to run his own shop, buying, selling and repairing pre-owned and vintage watches. In this book he talks to you the way an old shopkeeper talks across the counter: calm, dry, honest and never salesy.
Each story from the counter is followed by short, practical checks. He tells you plainly when a check proves nothing, and when it is time to put the watch down and pay a watchmaker to open the caseback.
Please read: Henry Rochat is a fictional narrator. The checks in this book are based on researched, publicly documented authentication methods, and the stories from the counter are illustrations. This book does not replace an inspection by a qualified watchmaker.
Step-by-step plans with timings, scripts and walk-away points, so you know what to do and say when you sit across from a seller.
A café, a bank lobby or a parking lot. A timed plan for the first thirty minutes, the three questions, the weight and loupe checks, and how to agree a written inspection before any serious money moves. Includes safety rules for meeting a stranger.
What to ask, what return terms to look for, which phrases like "sold as is" should slow you down, and how to ask for the name of the watchmaker who serviced the watch.
No returns, no paperwork and a seller who may not know what they have. How to look, how to negotiate, and why you only pay what you can afford to lose.
From the first look at the listing to the day the parcel arrives: what to ask for, how to pay, how to film the unboxing, and how to get the watch to a watchmaker inside the return window.
What to photograph, what to write down, how to choose an independent watchmaker, and your options once you know what you have.
No subscription, no special tools and no jargon without an explanation.
Yes. Terms are explained the first time they appear, and each chapter ends with a checklist. The book assumes you are about to buy your first or next serious watch, not that you already know the vocabulary.
No, and it says so. Fakes keep improving, and some checks only work if the seller cooperates. The book lowers your risk, tells you what each check can and cannot prove, and shows you when to pay a watchmaker to open the caseback.
The seven profiles cover the Rolex Submariner and Datejust, Daytona, Omega Speedmaster and Seamaster, Cartier Santos and Tank, Panerai Luminor, Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and Patek Philippe Nautilus. The 60-Second Check, the 21 Counter Rules, the seller questions and the meeting plans apply to any watch.
A 10x loupe, a small digital scale and a flashlight cover most checks. The toolkit chapter lists what each tool costs and what it cannot tell you (page 48).
No. It is not investment advice and it does not rate brands. Where it mentions typical prices, they are rough guides only, to help you notice a price that is far from the market.
Henry Rochat is a fictional narrator. The checks in the book are based on researched, publicly documented authentication methods, and the stories from the counter are illustrations. The book does not replace an inspection by a qualified watchmaker.
No. Brand names are used only to identify models. This book is not affiliated with or endorsed by any watch brand.
PDF and EPUB. Read it on your phone, tablet or computer, or print the pages you want. The PDF uses a compact A5 page that reads well on screens, and it prints on standard paper with the print dialog's fit-to-page option.
Not at the moment. This is a digital edition, delivered as a download right after checkout.
A good seller will let you verify the watch. A book that costs less than a single mistake is a cheap way to know what to verify.
Get the book →Henry: If you have a specific listing in front of you this week, start with the 60-Second Check on page 19, then the three questions on page 219. If the seller will not answer them, you have learned what you needed to know before spending anything.