Chinese counterfeiters have reached a new level of sophistication: modern replicas are so accurate that they are nearly indistinguishable from the originals to the naked eye, reports infohub.kz.

Journalists from Wired purchased three fake Rolex watches from Chinese manufacturers. They paid $438 for a Submariner, $768 for a Daytona, and $498 for an Oyster Perpetual Celebration. All three looked very convincing on the outside.

The most telling incident occurred at the Rolex store on Old Bond Street in London. A journalist handed the staff a fake Oyster Perpetual and asked to have the bracelet shortened. The watch was examined by service staff, but the counterfeit was not detected.

Moreover, after the inspection, the journalist was returned the watch, congratulated on the purchase, and given the removed bracelet links in an official Rolex pouch.

Later, the watch was examined by authentication expert Adrian Hailwood. He was able to spot differences, but it required careful inspection under magnification and opening the movement.

Some bracelet parts were less finely finished than the original. There were slight imperfections in the luminous coating and the logo treatment. Inside, there was also a clone movement that at first glance closely resembled a genuine Rolex movement.

It is the movements that have become one of the counterfeiters' major achievements, or as they themselves call the fakes, replicas. Previously, opening a fake Rolex was enough to quickly reveal a cheap Chinese movement. Now the situation has changed.

According to the expert, manufacturers have begun using more sophisticated solutions in cloned movements, including a free-sprung balance, which is used in modern Rolex movements. Such parts were once considered a way to tell an original from a fake.

The expert believes that this is no longer the work of small underground workshops. The production of such movements is carried out by large factories that invest millions in the development and manufacture of copies.

In recent years, ordinary cheap fakes costing a few dozen dollars have evolved into so-called "superclones" that can cost $500-700 and look almost like real luxury watches.

Earlier, Kursiv reported that a resident of Karaganda, Anna Zakharova, put up for sale a watch given to her by President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, but later changed her mind after public condemnation and numerous user comments. The woman valued the memorable gift at 2.9 million tenge and said she was open to reasonable offers.