There is a watch that brings this topic to mind is the recently announced “McQueen” Rolex Submariner heading for the Phillips auction in New York this coming October. It’s safe to say this piece has quickly become the most controversial bit of news in the fake watch industry these years. To begin with, there’s the matter of its origins, which Phillips is presenting as a watch owned and worn by Steve McQueen that he then gifted to his friend/stuntman Loren Janes. A letter signed by Janes in the last year of his life was the only true document that identifies the watch as having come off McQueen’s own wrist. We had our questions and doubts about this statement to start with, and as the story has continued to unravel, a lawyer for the McQueen family estate has gone on record saying that they dispute the provenance of the watch in question. 
We hope there’s more to come with the McQueen story, but this is anything but the only instance of a replica watch being sold at auction that didn’t live up to its catalog essay. Given the scarcity of FAP-issue Seamasters, this replica watch soon raised some questions, which unfortunately only yielded answers after its new owner had finished raising his paddle.
Even the most recent “Unicorn” Daytona raised a good number of eyebrows as well. Heavily debated via the Rolex forums, this unique “1 of 1” Daytona had seen extensive restoration and refitting in all its life, including case reshaping, bezel refinishing/repainting, a replacement dial, hands, the fitting of a steel crown. Given that 100% of the proceeds from this sale were destined for charity, at least this remarkable premium fetched went to a good cause, but in the same breath it’s somewhat a tough pill to swallow that such an un-original piece fetched such a high premium, effectively on the sole fact that it’s the only white gold Daytona case out there.
The other serious consideration in the auction world is reported condition versus what you can see with your own eyes. There are many an example out there of how fundamentally different a vintage watch can appear in some of the auction house imagery versus how they look and feel first-hand. Among others, this Rolex replica watch is a prime example, seeming to be quite mint in the Christie’s imagery, whereas an obvious dial repair was picked up by the RPR team ahead of the 2016 auction. While this isn’t the kind of thing that will necessarily make or break a sale, it’s actually the kind of thing that will affect the value of a watch in the long haul.
The moral of the story is simple at the end of the day. With vintage prices soaring these days, there are a lot of folks out there looking to make a quick buck, making it even more crucial to ensure you’re buying from someone you can trust.