The price of a genuine Rolex ranges from around 5,000 euros to over 70,000 euros. (representative)
Paris:
The trial of a Frenchman accused of making millions selling counterfeit designer watches has shone a spotlight on the complex global trade in replica watches, which is lucrative.
Before his arrest, Julien V., nicknamed the “Prince of Counterfeiters,” confessed that he operated a counterfeit watch sales network in France between 2019 and 2022.
He told investigators that Chinese contractors produced up to 10 watches a day for him, mostly fakes of the Swiss luxury brand Rolex, and sold a total of 12,000 watches for a turnover of 3 million euros ($3.3 million).
However, Nice Morning quoted watch expert Michel Vittini as saying he believed Julien V. had sold “at least 50,000” fake Rolex watches.
Some of them look almost indistinguishable from the real thing, and Julian V. claims he can “make it completely real, or completely fake,” depending on “what makes the customer happy.”
A credible replica of a Chinese-made Rolex sells for 500 euros, he said, rising to 1,300 euros if it is also engraved with twice the serial number of the original.
Equipped with the original automatic mechanism, the watch sells for 6,500 euros, while custom-made watches made entirely from genuine parts can cost up to 60,000 euros.
Genuine Rolexes range in price from around €5,000 to over €70,000 and can retain or increase in value on the second-hand market.
According to French media reports, these high-quality fakes attracted the attention of Swiss watchmakers, who hired private investigators.
Investigators rounded up Julien V. after arresting some of his online dealers.
Since his trial began last week, he has led his own defense in the trial, facing a swarm of lawyers from six Swiss luxury watchmakers who have filed civil lawsuits against him.
Julien V. was born in Nice on the French Riviera in 1994. He was a pizza delivery boy. He said that he became a millionaire at the age of 25, owned 4 million euros in the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, and owned a car. Lamborghini and several properties in Thailand.
He takes orders via WhatsApp and ships the watches first to Germany to avoid attracting the attention of French customs, then into France via the open border between the two countries.
One of his co-defendants, dealer Florian R., said he would buy fake Rolex watches for 200 euros and sell them for 400 euros.
When the presiding judge asked him why he did not charge more, Florian R. said: “These are fakes, I will not deceive others.”
The trial verdict will be handed down on March 20.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
