Lil Baby, Neymar and John Mayer - Fake Watches and the Celebrities who end up with them

Social media was ablaze with the recent revelation that Lil Baby’s 40th anniversary stamped Patek Philippe Nautilus was a fake. Lil Baby himself was surprised by the revelation, having bought the piece from a New York City Diamond District (47th Street) reseller who claimed he had no idea that the watch was fake. Every once in a while, the internet will catch a celebrity wearing a fake watch and questions about the watch industry and fakes will resurface. I will discuss the fake watch industry (which is an industry itself), why you shouldn’t participate in its propagation, why the problem of fakes is getting worse, and some celebrities that have been caught red-handed.

Fake watches, particularly fake Rolexes, have been around for a long time. If you head to Canal Street in New York City, you will be greeted with dozens of storefronts that proudly display fake watches in their windows. These fakes watches range from Rolex to Panerai to Patek Philippe and even Richard Mille. Some of these watches are “fantasy” models that just bear the brand’s name while not actually representative of any model made by the brand, while others are practically indistinguishable from the real thing (unless you open it up).

Canal Street, however, is just a small part of a much bigger problem. Back in 2017, the Federation of the Swiss Watch industry stated that Switzerland produces 30 million watches a year, while also estimating that that 1.6 million fake watches a year. While the 1.6 million is but a small fraction of 30 million, that still amounts to about 5 percent of the high-end watches you see on people’s wrists being fake. This number fits in line with Crown & Caliber’s findings that “Historically, less than 5 percent of the watches that we authenticate are fake.” On top of that, 75% of these fake watches are imitation Rolexes.

One of the storefronts on Canal Street selling fake watches. Photo courtesy of the The Local Artisan Guide.

You may ask what is the harm in buying a fake watch if it is just for your enjoyment? There is the obvious answer that nobody should profit off of the work of another. All of these factories producing fakes are fully capable of coming up with something original and selling it in the marketplace. However, selling fake versions of real watches with an already-established market is the easy way out. You don’t have to put in all of the hard work of creating a new and desirable brand.

But that’s not the true harm. The confluence of a scorching-hot watch market and increasingly realistic fake watches have caused real issues. I will be the first to tell you that if you are not a watch expert and want to make sure you are buying the real deal, buy from an Authorized Dealer. This is because even I won’t be able to spot every fake. And not only do the fakers make fake watches, but they make fake boxes and papers too. So, as I said, my advice is go to an Authorized Dealer. But nowadays not everyone can just pull up to Rolex or Patek Philippe and get that watch they want. If you want that highly sought after Rolex Daytona most of us will have to pay an almost 3 times markup from a reseller. Passing off fake watches as the real thing is a huge problem in today’s market. The more fakes there are, and the more realistic they become, the bigger problem this will be. Lil Baby and other celebrities are famous enough to be able to use their platform to put these unscrupulous grey market watch dealers on blast, but will all of us be that lucky. What can you do when your seller refuses to give you a refund? Write a bad review?

Fake watches have become so realistic that even the experts have been having a hard time telling the difference. Not only that, with fake watches circulating in the market, it is possible to have real watches with fake parts in them. For example, John Mayer has been a collector for many years, and might be considered an expert on the subject. He even writes reviews for Hodinkee. Mayer was embroiled in litigation with a vintage watch seller in 2014, accusing him of selling watches with fake parts in them. He eventually dropped the case, but the point is clear. If even the most knowledgeable collectors can’t always tell the difference, what can the average buyer do?

On top of all of these reasons not to buy a fake watch, there is the fact that fake watches can help fund criminal organizations, human trafficking, child labor, and even terrorism. Indeed, officials say terrorists who attacked the French magazine Charlie Hebdo in 2015 financed their weapons in part by selling fake Nike sneakers.

Yes it is frustrating not being able to get that watch you want, whether it is out of your price range or just not available. Social media has made people want that Rolex or Richard Mille more than ever. But resorting to buying counterfeit watches is bad for the industry and bad for collectors. What’s even more frustrating, though, is celebrities that can afford nice watches and choose to buy fakes anyway (I’m not talking about those celebrities like Lil Baby that are swindled themselves, they are also victims).

For example, during the first two weeks of the 2019 NFL season, star Cleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was seen wearing two different Richard Milles during his games. That’s great as Richard Mille himself will tell you that his watches are made to take a beating and be put to the test (that’s why Rafael Nadal and Bubba Watson wear Richard Mille watches while playing tennis and golf). The problem, however, is that the second Richard Mille that Beckham Jr. wore, a reference 56-01, was a fake.

Neymar, the Brazilian soccer star, has also been spotted numerous times wearing fake Richard Milles. Most recently, Neymar was spotted wearing a fake Richard Mille 68-01 Cyril Kongo. The real version of this watch is a tourbillon limited to only 30 pieces and with an astronomical price-tag of $685,000 USD. If Neymar had not been caught before wearing fake watches, I’d give him a pass. But after being seen wearing fake watches numerous times, he has to know better.

I would love to hear your thoughts on fake watches and how it affects the watch industry. Let me know in the comments.