More Than 23 Million Fake Watches Are Circulating Around the Country, New Data Shows

More than 23 million fake watches are circulating around the United States, at least according to data recently shared by the folks at Watchfinder & Co.

Broken down by city, the data reveals New York as the No. 1 hotspot for fakes at 20.22 percent, followed by Los Angeles and Chicago at 14.75 percent and 11.48 percent, respectively.

“Purchasing a luxury watch is a really special moment and something that often involves a significant amount of consideration and investment, so you can imagine the devastation people feel if they discover the watch they’ve purchased turns out to be a fake,” Arjen van de Vall, CEO of the pre-owned watch specialty organization Watchfinder & Co, said in a press release.

Key findings from the data include that an estimated one in five Americans have unknowingly purchased a fake, roughly 19 percent of watch are fake watches. Meanwhile, Watchfinder says that “at least half” of the luxury watches sent to them over the last year that were later determined to be fake “or containing fake parts” were originally billed as being a Rolex piece.

To further illustrate the prevalence of fake watches, the Watchfinder team put together a map showing the counterfeit hotspots across the U.S. including previously mentioned locations like New York and other active areas such as Memphis, Austin, San Diego, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and more.

See the full map below.