The guides
The first six guides cover the brands buyers ask about most; the next six cover the watches that fill the rest of the pre-owned market. Each one lists the checks that are specific to that maker and says where a detail changes by reference or year.
- How to authenticate a Rolex: Submariner, Datejust, GMT-Master II, Daytona, Day-Date. Cyclops magnification, rehaut engraving, the applied coronet and the laser-etched crown in the crystal.
- How to authenticate an Omega: Speedmaster, Seamaster, Constellation, Aqua Terra. Applied-logo geometry, subdial recesses, tachymeter alignment and the helium escape valve.
- How to authenticate a Patek Philippe: Nautilus, Aquanaut, Calatrava. The embossed dial pattern, Calatrava cross geometry and bezel symmetry.
- How to authenticate an Audemars Piguet: Royal Oak, Royal Oak Offshore, Code 11.59. Tapisserie depth, bezel screws, the case chamfer and the bracelet links.
- How to authenticate a Cartier: Santos, Tank, Panthère, Ballon Bleu. The cabochon crown, Roman-numeral typography, the secret signature and blued hands.
- How to authenticate a Jaeger-LeCoultre: Reverso, Master Control, Polaris, Memovox. The cradle, case proportions and the finishing behind a display back.
- How to spot a fake Tudor: Black Bay, Pelagos and Ranger. Snowflake hands, the rose or shield logo by era, and in-house or ETA-based calibres.
- How to spot a fake Breitling: Navitimer, Chronomat, Superocean and Avenger. The slide-rule bezel, logo changes by era and calibre numbers.
- How to spot a fake TAG Heuer: Carrera, Monaco, Aquaracer and Formula 1. Reference codes on the caseback, the square Monaco case and the Aquaracer bezel.
- How to spot a fake IWC: Portugieser, Pilot’s Watch and Ingenieur. Dial layouts by calibre, crown and caseback details and the archive record.
- How to spot a fake Panerai: Luminor, Radiomir and Submersible. The crown-guard lever, sandwich dials, PAM numbers and the year letter.
- How to spot a fake Hublot: Big Bang, Classic Fusion and Spirit of Big Bang. The layered case, bezel screws, strap fitting and the Unico chronograph.
How a scan works on any brand
You take guided photos in WatchRadar: three useful angles to start, five (dial, bezel, crown side, caseback and clasp or bracelet) for stronger evidence. The photos are analysed on WatchRadar’s servers. The app suggests the likely brand, model and reference with a confidence level, reads visible dial and caseback text, and flags details that support or contradict that identity. The result is a hedged verdict, Likely authentic, Uncertain or High risk, with the reasons and a recommended next step, plus an estimated value range next to the asking price.
Why each brand needs its own checks
The capture flow is the same for every watch. What changes is which details carry the most information, and the guides are organised around that.
- High-volume sports models are checked on consistency. A current Rolex, Omega or Tudor sports reference is made to tight, well-documented specifications, so the useful checks are whether the details match the reference and year claimed: the magnification of the cyclops, the rehaut engraving, the serial format.
- Design-led watches are checked on finishing. On a Royal Oak, a Nautilus or a Hublot Big Bang, much of what separates the real watch is hand-finished surface: chamfers, the transition between polished and brushed, dial texture. Those guides are stricter about lighting because finishing shows up as texture and shadow.
- Low-volume and complicated watches lean on the movement and the papers. For Jaeger-LeCoultre, IWC and complicated Patek references, the finishing behind a display back and the manufacturer’s archive record matter more than the dial. The guides say so rather than over-read a photo.
- Jewellery-led watches are checked partly on metal. On Cartier, hallmarks, the cabochon crown and the colour of heat-blued hands carry weight that a dial pattern would carry elsewhere.
Brands without a written guide
WatchRadar identifies watches beyond these twelve brands, including Vacheron Constantin, A. Lange & Söhne and Grand Seiko. They do not have written guides here yet; we add a guide when there is something specific and checked to say about that maker. The guide to identifying a watch from a photo and where to find the reference and serial number apply to any brand. If a scan comes back Uncertain, treat that as an honest answer and ask for the papers or a manufacturer extract.
Model guides
- How to spot a fake Rolex Submariner
- How to spot a fake Rolex Daytona
- How to spot a fake Rolex GMT-Master II
- How to spot a fake Omega Speedmaster
- How to spot a fake Patek Philippe Nautilus
- How to spot a fake Audemars Piguet Royal Oak
- Rolex serial numbers by year
Which page you probably want
- Buying: read the brand guide, then the pre-purchase walkthrough for the photos to ask for before money moves.
- Selling or brokering: read the brand guide, then the reseller workflow.
- Cataloguing what you own: the collection box keeps photos, papers, service history and value context per watch.
- Working out what a watch is worth: how to value a watch.
- Choosing between an app and a service: WatchRadar vs Entrupy and the wider services comparison.