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Old 31 January 2020, 03:17 PM   #1
imgook
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HOROLOGY HOUSE FAKE ROLEX 116500LN Serial 357Q00K9

I'll keep this short. My mate was sold a Daytona 116500LN for $29k AUD ($19.5k USD, yeah too good to be true I told him).

The seller has quite the online presence in Australia, so funds were transferred without question. I have a feeling there's plenty of people out there that have been scammed by him without even knowing yet.

Watch was meant to be sent overnight, but it wasn't till 2.5 months of excuses later, he finally sent the watch overnight express to my friend.

Because of the time frame and endless excuses of why there was a delay, we started to suspect he was scamming us, turns out we were right.

I hope this post will help other in the future to not get suckered by this scum. It's so sad, cause probably without my genuine Daytona to compare with, my mate would have not known he got scammed until his first service.

Full transcript of text communications:
https://pastebin.com/CMQKnnL5

Seller/Scammers Details below

Member:
HOROLOGY HOUSE
https://www.rolexforums.com/member.php?u=213405

Name: Christopher Andrew Essery
Location: Perth, Australia

Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt9...WTeIUQ1H_WKZIw
He even has videos have how to spot a fake.

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/horologyhouse/

Without further adieu, here's the watch that this expert sold my friend.
Looks pretty legit on first glance.


Next to my White one, still looks quite nice.


Suspicion started with the box and accompanying documents






Notice how when you push the card into the fake card holder it doesn't even show the serial.


Because of the fake box and cards, we thought watch might be stolen but still genuine. But upon further inspection, it was definitely a super fake.

Starting with oyster band, you can see how the groves differ.




Spring bars were cheap and fragile.



Holes differ


Dodgy serial, not straight and the font for the "3" is obviously incorrect.



Other macro shots of the fake vs real. Scariest part is you couldn't see any of this from the naked eye. White dials is mine, Black dial is the sold fake.












If you've reached this far and need more info or proof, feel free to PM me or just post here. I will add more evidence if there's any doubt.
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Old 31 January 2020, 03:28 PM   #2
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FAKE 116500LN Australia Perth Serial 357Q00K9

I’m sorry your friend got stung - that really sucks, but the info you have provided is excellent & gives some super detail.

The box is a definite giveaway - I’ve called people out on YouTube when they are reviewing their ‘genuine’ watch because you can clearly see the box is a terrible fake.

Here’s a link to a thread I posted a few weeks ago regarding how to spot a fake warranty card.

Hope this helps check your friends.

You will need a UV light source to check for the hologram.

Thanks





Warranty Card Authenticity Check
https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink/top...ink_source=app


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Old 31 January 2020, 03:37 PM   #3
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Excellent thread & super detail.

Here’s a link to a thread I a posted a few weeks ago regarding how to spot a fake warranty card.

Hope this helps check your friends.

You will need a UV light source to check for the hologram.

Thanks





Warranty Card Authenticity Check
https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink/top...ink_source=app


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Thanks mate, much appreciated. I can't believe there is this sort of scum out there, praying on watch newbies.
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Old 31 January 2020, 03:41 PM   #4
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Thanks mate, much appreciated. I can't believe there is this sort of scum out there, praying on watch newbies.


I know, you have to be so careful these days.

Personally I’ve only ever purchased from AD’s for all my watches - not just Rolex, but Omega & Panerai as well.

Maybe this will be a reminder for all of us to check & double check before handing over our hard earned cash.


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Old 31 January 2020, 03:42 PM   #5
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I know, you have to be so careful these days.

Personally I’ve only ever purchased from AD’s for all my watches - not just Rolex, but Omega & Panerai as well.

Maybe this will be a reminder for all of us to check & double check before handing over our hard earned cash.


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Couldn't agree more.
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Old 31 January 2020, 03:43 PM   #6
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Link to the sale thread? That members pretty upstanding, could have been a clone
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Old 31 January 2020, 03:49 PM   #7
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Link to the sale thread? That members pretty upstanding, could have been a clone


I'm pretty sure that is the case. Why wait 2.5 months to share the story and warning?
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Old 31 January 2020, 03:51 PM   #8
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FAKE 116500LN Australia Perth Serial 357Q00K9

I can’t actually believe this - I follow this guy on YouTube

Here’s a screen shot from one of his vids where he’s reviewing a CHNR.

He has nearly 68,000 subscribers

I’m genuinely shocked by this.









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Old 31 January 2020, 03:53 PM   #9
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Link to the sale thread? That members pretty upstanding, could have been a clone
We have his license, home address, bank details and WhatsApps logs. PM me if you want the details. My mate has already contacted the police and is lodging a complaint with WA Consumer Protection.

Unfortunately he is the Administrator of the AWBSS (Australian Watch Buy, Swap and Sell). Post has been long deleted. And any post against him are quickly deleted and removed. He has recently been on damage control, trying to make the group more private because his scared of being exposed.

Anyone who frequently on that group will remember him posting up a Black Daytona for sale in November last year.
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Old 31 January 2020, 03:53 PM   #10
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Holy shit, if true, then this is massive.

For those who don't know, Chris is the admin and founder of the two largest FB Watch groups in Australia, and is very well known here. Australian Watch Forum which has 10k members and Australian Watch Buy Swap Sell which has 18k members.

Someone posted the link on AWF but it was insta deleted.

Would love to hear his side of the story
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Old 31 January 2020, 03:54 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by Swiss Mad! View Post
I can’t actually believe this - I follow this guy on YouTube

Here’s a screen shot from one of his vids where he’s reviewing a CHNR.

He has nearly 68,000 subscribers

I’m genuinely shocked by this.









Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Where on his site does he sell Daytonas or any watch? Be careful not to smear this guy if it's just some poser that pretended to be him to steal cash.
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Old 31 January 2020, 03:54 PM   #12
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I'm pretty sure that is the case. Why wait 2.5 months to share the story and warning?
We waited to get the money back, before starting any action.
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Old 31 January 2020, 03:56 PM   #13
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Where on his site does he sell Daytonas or any watch? Be careful not to smear this guy if it's just some poser that pretended to be him to steal cash.
We ended up getting a refund and a bunch of "gifts" from him. He definitely doesn't want his name smeared on the internet.

He claims he had no idea it was a fake... like really come on....
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Old 31 January 2020, 03:57 PM   #14
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Where on his site does he sell Daytonas or any watch? Be careful not to smear this guy if it's just some poser that pretended to be him to steal cash.
He doesn't sell through his site, he sells through the FB Group Australian Watch Buy Swap Sell, which is the largest platform in the country
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Old 31 January 2020, 03:59 PM   #15
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He doesn't sell through his site, he sells through the FB Group Australian Watch Buy Swap Sell, which is the largest platform in the country
Yup, and he is the Admin.
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Old 31 January 2020, 03:59 PM   #16
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We ended up getting a refund and a bunch of "gifts" from him. He definitely doesn't want his name smeared on the internet.

He claims he had no idea it was a fake... like really come on....
Okay I'm not in your favour on this one anymore David, if the seller has no idea a watch is fake when he sells it, then when the buyer finds out, refunds the buyer in full and apologises, then that is a different matter.

Mistakes happen, he fixed the situation - please post all the facts from the beginning
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Old 31 January 2020, 04:00 PM   #17
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Where on his site does he sell Daytonas or any watch? Be careful not to smear this guy if it's just some poser that pretended to be him to steal cash.


And you please be careful not to put words in my mouth.

Not once have I mentioned I think he sells Daytona’s.

I have simply commented that this guy is a very famous YouTuber with nearly 68,000 followers & that particular vid I took the screen shot from has had over 100,000 views.

That is why I said I am genuinely shocked by this, meaning I can’t really believe this guy would do something like this.

I’m not taking sides or disputing what the OP is alleging, but this Chris guy needs to be given the chance to defend himself.

Hope this clarifies my position.


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Old 31 January 2020, 04:03 PM   #18
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Okay I'm not in your favour on this one anymore David, if the seller has no idea a watch is fake when he sells it, then when the buyer finds out, refunds the buyer in full and apologises, then that is a different matter.

Mistakes happen, he fixed the situation - please post all the facts from the beginning
I'm getting the WhatsApp log now for you guys. You can read and make up your own mind.
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Old 31 January 2020, 04:06 PM   #19
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WhatsApp log attached.
Attached Files
File Type: zip WhatsApp Chat with Chris Essery.zip (21.2 KB, 1698 views)
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Old 31 January 2020, 04:14 PM   #20
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It's a very long read the WhatsApp chat log, but you can see the amount of excuses and lies this guy has used to delayed the shipping of a fake watch...
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Old 31 January 2020, 04:14 PM   #21
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WhatsApp log attached.
Copy and paste into a word doc and it will format properly
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Old 31 January 2020, 04:15 PM   #22
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I am the person who was sold the fake watch. Happy to answer any questions.

Given the seller knows as much as he does about watches and has even posted videos on youtube on how to spot a fake, does anyone really think he didn't know. Put your crack pipe down.
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Old 31 January 2020, 04:16 PM   #23
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So disappointing to here, he seemed to be a valued member of that AWF group as well.

I just saw a post in that group with another member linking this thread's URL. Surprise, surprise - it was quickly deleted by Admins.

I found that to be a wrong move in a public forum to censor/delete the post with the URL, to protect the imagine of the group.

That group is known for not allowing anyone to sell fakes, but if you have an accused/potential admin doing exactly that.
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Old 31 January 2020, 04:24 PM   #24
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So disappointing to here, he seemed to be a valued member of that AWF group as well.

I just saw a post in that group with another member linking this thread's URL. Surprise, surprise - it was quickly deleted by Admins.

I found that to be a wrong move in a public forum to censor/delete the post with the URL, to protect the imagine of the group.

That group is known for not allowing anyone to sell fakes, but if you have an accused/potential admin doing exactly that.
He's not only a valued member but the founder and runs a watch business, whether full time or part time I'm not sure.

I'm only about 1/3 way through the Whatsapp transcript but yeah certainly interesting reading
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Old 31 January 2020, 04:32 PM   #25
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He's not only a valued member but the founder and runs a watch business, whether full time or part time I'm not sure.

I'm only about 1/3 way through the Whatsapp transcript but yeah certainly interesting reading
I just downloaded the ZipFile. I will have a read.

Note: There is always 3 sides to the story, his, theirs and the truth.

I hope for everyones sake, we find the truth.
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Old 31 January 2020, 04:39 PM   #26
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I am the person who was sold the fake watch. Happy to answer any questions.

Given the seller knows as much as he does about watches and has even posted videos on youtube on how to spot a fake, does anyone really think he didn't know. Put your crack pipe down.

Sorry to hear, I hope this gets resolved for you.

At what point did you realise that the watch was fake? are you a member of that AWF group?
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Old 31 January 2020, 04:47 PM   #27
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Seller had stories of the Transport company stealing the watch, to Australian bush fires and another 101 excuses on why he couldn't send the watch or return my mates money for over 2.5 months. We only received the fake last week.
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Old 31 January 2020, 04:50 PM   #28
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Okay having read the whole thing here are my 2 cents.

Whilst I don't think Chris set out to scam the client, I think what happened is

- He got a decent price on a Daytona that he intended to flip

- Sometime between posting the watch for sale and promising to ship out the watch he realised it was fake.

- To protect his reputation he went panic mode stalled and stalled and stalled on shipping to try and find a real watch to send, hence all of the excuses regarding the shipping, and refusing to give the buyer any details at all about the supposed shipped parcel, as well as refusing to provide any correspondence between himself and DHL and insurer.

- Using family issues, NZ volcano and Bushfires as excuses - some or part of those excuses may be true but I find it hard to believe that all of these issues compounded at the same time - whilst possible, unlikely.

- Buyer understandably threatens legal action and Chris makes the drastic move of just sending out the fake watch hoping the problem will go away.

- Once buyer finds out it's fake, Chris doesn't have the funds to refund and drags the process out longer

That's my assessment based on the facts, really poor from Chris actually and should rightfully damage his rep
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Old 31 January 2020, 04:52 PM   #29
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Sorry to hear, I hope this gets resolved for you.

At what point did you realise that the watch was fake? are you a member of that AWF group?
I work away so the day after it arrived at my house I had my old man take it to rolex Brisbane who confirmed it was fake. I then asked a friend to compare it to his (real) panda to identify all the issues.... hence the images.

I delayed posting about this until the financial issues were resolved so if anyone thinks I this is late because I may be dishonest, imagine finding out in a year or two during a service after assuming this 'business' owner was legit and trustworthy.

The sale was initiated on AWBSS which I am a member.

I suggest anyone who purchased from him take a good look at their watch.
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Old 31 January 2020, 05:06 PM   #30
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Man, this sale of a fake is not cool.

I could not believe a seller got $30k in his bank account and then as an excuse for not going to the airport to send the watch immediately said, "I got pulled into work."
Just one excuse after the next after the next and so on and so on.
It stinks real bad

This seller is know as a guy for 'high magnification' on watch details, and this fake could have been spotted in a jiffy. Hard to swallow...
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