How do I tell if this watch is fake...

I doubt anyone would commit to tooling up to make a fake of that. You could search the model on DHGate and see if it exists?
Quartz, hollow bracelet links, I'm certainly not paying over 80 for it.

It's quartz so the movement is unlikely to be a problem. No idea if the £80 watches will be a fake but for the same sort of money you can get a genuine Pagani Design with a Japanese quartz movement from Aliexpress. Quality of Pagani is good - check out Just One More Watch on YouTube for loads of cheap watch reviews.

Up to £250 you've got lots of choice e.g. Citizen Ecodrive. There are still savings to be had buying from Creation Watches in Singapore, I've used them before with no problems.

Probably worth a look at creation watches to see if there is something like a seiko 5 with a suitable/acceptable colour scheme.

Fwiw, try and steer him to a proper watch, not a fashion brand disappointment. I know kids need to get through this sort of thing, but next year's landfill item is a pointless purchase when the budget is decent and a proper watch that will last him years can be had.

Fwiw, try and steer him to a proper watch, not a fashion brand disappointment. I know kids need to get through this sort of thing, but next year’s landfill item is a pointless purchase when the budget is decent and a proper watch that will last him years can be had.

My fiancee has a quartz Calvin Klein watch she got about 20 years ago and still treasures. It is without question a 'mall watch'.

Conversely I am something of a watch snob and have often mooted getting her a different ('proper') watch as a gift, but she flat out isn't interested.

I guess what I'm saying is, if he really likes the Boss watch, let him buy it.

I guess what I’m saying is, if he really likes the Boss watch, let him buy it.

Yeah, fair enough. I suppose I am only grumping as I bought a fashion one once in my youth (oakley/animal/surfbrandwhatever?) . Was rubbish at everything then leaked. But 20 years out of a watch is quite impressive.

Yeah, he really likes the Boss watch, there’s a nice Seiko he likes but it’s not available on the Creation website (says not available for sale 🤷‍♂️)
I’d much prefer if he bought a decent watch but it’s all about the look at 13…!

Probably end up with the Boss from Amazon then..

Some of the colour schemes on the https://www.paganidesignwatch.com/pagani-design-pd-1644/ that  @murray mentioned look a lot nicer than the BOSS one to me..

But kids and 'designer' lables... etc. does he like it because of the colour/style or because of the BOSS brand?

I showed him the Pagani ones and he didn’t like any of them! 😂 it’ll be the brand I am suspecting…🙄🤷‍♂️

This same colour Invite pro diver auto has a decent reputation as a budget diver and he's save half his money:

You know you’re buying it ! And 6 months later when his eye is taken with another watch !! Yes it was your fault for buying the boss one as it’s no longer cool 🤣

Yeah branding has a lot to answer for... Take Armani for example...

EA7 - cheap shopping mall crap.
Emporio Armani - Same but better.

Basically it's not 'proper' Armani unless its simply branded 'Giorgio Armani'

I think it was Tommy Hilfigger once said - theres no way I'd ever wear any of my 'branded' stuff - showy lables just make you look cheap.

I'm paraphrasing massivley, but words to that effect.

I like that Invite Pro - he doesn’t. Boss it is then. 🙄😟🤣 As long as he’s happy that’s the main thing, he’s been to try one on in a jewellers as well so I think it will be hard to persuade him otherwise. I did show him a £150 Rolex Submariner from replicawatch.io too which he liked but I just couldn’t buy it!!!!🤣🤣🤣🤣

This same colour Invite pro diver auto has a decent reputation as a budget diver and he’s save half his money:

See, to me that just looks cheap and brash, like the boss one, but I'm 45yo, not 18 so what do I know? 😉

What's DHGate? It's on there but has no branding at all. It's still £146 though for a single unit...

https://www.dhgate.com/product/new-montre-heros-sport-luxe-cadran-bleu-deux/833692817.html?d1_page_num=1&dspm=pcen.sp.list.1.kiWxiq237tAmQFiw6QvR&resource_id=833692817&scm_id=search.LIST..@.prerank001|3|0|unrerank|7_0|newes|7_0.newC.#s1-0-1;searl|0086282999:1

@mattyfez - yes personally I don’t like that look but I’m way too old to be 😎 according to the skipperlets (actually according to Mrs OS too come to think of it! 😂😂😂😂) fortunately I’m old enough not to give a toss what anyone thinks!!!.

If he’s into motorsport Omologota do some nice designs…

https://www.omologatowatches.com/all-watches?sort=price_asc&page=1

If he wants to buy the Boss one then just help him find it at the cheapest possible price. Online will invariably be cheaper than a main dealer.

I can understand why Boss as a brand is more desirable to kids (and some adults) than Seiko, San Martin or Pagani.

That won’t be a fake, nobody will fake a watch that cheap! Homage watches are different, they’re self branded, but designed to have the appearance of a classic watch. Well known brands do exactly the same thing; there are loads of dive watches in high street dealers windows that have the same style hands, dials and bezels as Rolex, for example, the ‘Pepsi’ bezel is very common. They aren’t fakes, obviously, but they’re relying on the style and design details to sell their own products.

Re: the Boss watch, as it’s stainless steel, at least it won’t corrode due to skin contact, which used to be the case in the past. Gold cases would be a thin layer of gold plated over brass, so scratches during wear would allow skin acids would eat away the soft base metal - I had a cheap ‘dive’ watch when I was at school, and the case eroded quite badly over the years I wore it, until I replaced it with my Yema. <br />It was chrome plate over brass.

If the lad gets use out of it until he’s getting money of his own and can afford something else, then he’s had his/your money’s worth out of it.

Who knows, it might last him twenty-odd years, and he’ll be really attached to it and not want to replace it. The only issue might be the movement failing over time. I’ve got a really cheap Casio analogue watch that I modded to take a nylon ZULU strap instead of the crap plastic one, it’s had several batteries replaced and it keeps excellent time, and I paid I think £20 for it - about 20 - 25 years ago, so cheap can last.

@MattFez - absolutely right. What you're describing there is called a diffusion brand. Most large companies do it to some extent:

For anyone growing up in the 00's John Rocha had Rocha by John Rocha. Range Rover have the Evoque. It's clever marketing  that gets you into the brand you can't normally afford!! 😀

Buy off eBay.

At Beaverbrook your paying the extra for marketing and retail.

At Amazon your paying Jeff.

Or it's £61 here

https://www.onbuy.com/gb/p/hugo-boss-1513767-mens-hero-sport-lux-watch~p29520183/?exta=gshp&extac=gshppa&stat=eyJpcCI6IjYxLjA1MDAiLCJkcCI6MCwibGlkIjoxMTI0ODk1NTUsInMiOiIyMSIsInQiOjE2OTgyNjIzOTAsImJtYyI6MH0=&exta=gshp&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=17937894440&utm_medium=pmax&utm_content=&gclid=CjwKCAjw-eKpBhAbEiwAqFL0mvbdJhvZX1krdK5jYaGH95HJ8-KdKqgWmJDeTPBUAvvPNA8A1NkiDRoCUpkQAvD_BwE

Yeah I saw Onbuy, never used them before and was sceptical of fakes - however that was before asking on here so Onbuy might be worth the risk…

Thanks all, useful info gained as always 😎👍

What’s DHGate? It’s on there but has no branding at all. It’s still £146 though for a single unit…> https://www.dhgate.com/product/new-montre-heros-sport-luxe-cadran-bleu-deux/833692817.html?d1_page_num=1&dspm=pcen.sp.list.1.kiWxiq237tAmQFiw6QvR&resource_id=833692817&scm_id=search.LIST..@.prerank001|3|0|unrerank|7_0|newes|7_0.newC.#s1-0-1;searl|0086282999:1

No idea, but the streched image is a red flag.

And some come 'with box'.

So take that as you will.

Call me cynic, but that souds like a Turkish market special to me... it's worth five quid tops.

Range Rover have the Evoque.

The Vicky Beckam edition?.. rare ones them, since the Luton car park fire.

That won’t be a fake, nobody will fake a watch that cheap! 

You can get fake Vostock Komaderski's and they are about 40 quid new and original so I'd not be too sure about that.

The tiny crown is the give away here, and the fact it keeps good time. 😁

@bob_summmers mentioned DHGate - he said to check if the watch is on there. Not sure if that is a good or a bad thing that it is!

If it’s not likely to be faked I don’t understand how the same watch can be £60 on one site and up to £250+ elsewhere. Even Amazon have it for £130 and £220. Those are big differences.

@oceanskipper

So, no 1 son has saved up for a watch and has his eye on this...
I know nothing about fashion branded watches so a couple of questions

1. Are they bound to be fakes or is it only really worth £80

2. If it is a load of rubbish can anyone recommend a similar style watch (he likes the gold and blue) up to the £250 mark…

Just high street/fast fashion trash really. The fact that something has a high RRP but is massively discounted elsewhere tells you all you need to know IMO.

Due to BOSS’s rebranding, the logo displayed on your order may be different to the image advertised

That bit aswell, hardly fills you with confidence.

I know that for a young lad/teen some of this might not matter and theres always an element of his money, his choice, but it does sound like he has maybe asked for some advice/guidance.

A Seiko 5 will always be a perfect first 'nice' match. Automatic movement - which means it feels properly fancy. The act of winding ever so often, it really turns it from just a 'thing' like your phone or whatever, to a proper special posession.

They have a couple of options with the Gold/Blue colour schemes - bit over budget, but worth saving for, or even looking for used. You do get a bit of discount online with Seikos sometimes, search for the variant/model numbers in google, eg SRE003K1.

https://www.seikoboutique.co.uk/product/seiko-5-sports-compact-sre003k1/ for the Blue,

Or the Gold version - https://www.seikoboutique.co.uk/product/seiko-5-sports-compact-sre004k1/

The range is massive, colours, styles etc -you can go waaaay down the rabbit hole looking into them on google!

They have history, quality, class, a great backstory and made by one of the worlds very very best watchmakers. Seiko are one only two fully, vertically integrated companies in the world. They make EVERYTHING in house. The only other watchmaker in the entire world that can make that claim is Rolex.

There are many, many, many other variant. The Seiko 5 is an insitution, and something really to cherish. I've got a few and ill be getting my boy one when he's old enough. They do of course have a massive range of Quartz too, but for 'specialness' and his first 'nice' watch, a proper mechanical, automatic winding Seiko 5 would be lovely, a proper forever ownership prospect too.

https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/watches/article/seiko-5-sports-watch

Thanks @snotrag - I see the like button is broken again 🙄

I've never used DHGate, just mentioned it because if a watch has been faked, it will be on there. They photoshop the logos off to avoid detection, not just watches but football shirts, designer clothes. The goods that arrive will have Boss or Gucci etc on them*. If they don't get nuked at customs.

I still don't believe that's been faked. Possibly a pallett of them has gone out the back door of the factory.

*The only reason I know this bc a 13yo student comes to class dressed head to toe in Gucci or Armani XD he says his mam gets it all from DHGate...