Friends,
With more and more franken watches reaching the wrists of innocent watch enthusiasts with professionally made after market dials
the difference between original and fake watches is reducing to a thin line.
What I have learnt and observed
is that the watches with printed dials are the most faked ones and one must be very careful
while buying watches with printed dials. Examples – Janata (art deco), Saathi,
Chinar etc. Old discarded dials are repainted assembled with original cases old
HMT movements and sold as new-old-stock.
Though there is no full-proof way of
identifying the fake dials from the originals there are still a few giveaways.
HMT watches come with pie pan shaped dials and most of the fake dials do not
have printing closer to the dial edges and ends at the curve of the dial. They
have a separate print for the edges (movement details, made in India) and it stands
apart from the printing on the rest of the dial. Another point is the quality
of printing it won't be as neat and sharp as the original dials. One more
factor is the lack of lacquer finish on the fake dials. Original HMT dials have
a lacquer finish which is done post the printing of dial making it more
resistant to damage due to heat and moisture. This gives a shine to the dial of
the watch and thus fake dials look dull due to absence of lacquer finish. The
hands on these watches are often taken from older watches and since hands are
too thin to be buffed they often look older as compared to the condition of the
watch or if they are brand new you might find them slightly different from the
original hands (length of the hands, shape etc).
Another important factor is that not everybody is a purist who wants the dial, case, hands, crown to be as it came off from the assembly line and the watch dealers cater to such customers too therefore do your due diligence for dealers sell to masses and not classes before buying a watch.
So how should we tackle this
problem two probable solutions –
1. Do your homework before you buy a watch. Only
your knowledge can save you from buying cheap imitation dial watches. Compare
the watch you intend to buy by closely comparing it with the photographs of
original watches. If you feel it’s not right, don't take a decision walk away
from the deal it’s not the last watch on the planet there are plenty more
waiting to be unearthed.
2. Don't just concentrate on the Janata, Pilot, Sona
etc there are lots of other variants that are equally gorgeous and less in
demand chances of you finding an original Deepak or a Kohinoor or a Vijay, Sartaj
is much higher than the big three. Also, you might find them reasonably priced
as compared to the much in demand watches.
What I have just mentioned here is what i have learnt from
other experienced collectors, HMT staff and through my own good and bad
experiences. I am not an expert
therefore my observation should be used with personal discretion.
