COUNTERFEIT WATCH AND THE STU WATCHES

On a road in Guangzhou, we come close to a male holding a number of signs with the names of some rather appealing high-end watches, consisting of several minimal collections. We follow him. He leads us behind the scenes of this open-air market. After climbing the rustic staircases of an old building, we pass “with the looking-glass.” We enter a bright, fully furnished lounge with neon-lit logo designs of prominent brand names. And also, thousands of watches by Swiss brands. Several salesmen provide the versions to us. Particular focus is placed on the most effective finished designs, with the special name “Noob.”

All of a sudden, we hear terrible strikes at the door. “Police!” a voice shouted from behind. The vendors freeze for a moment. After that, as the shouts, as well as strikes, proceed, they surrender themselves to opening the armored door. Uniformed police officers show up. Then starts the careful sorting, by brand, of the versions. The salesmen, as well as their watches, wind up at the station, while a crowd of interested sightseers gathers outside the foot of the structure, smart devices in hand.

We keep a reduced profile, as well as head straight to the local administration structure for a debriefing.

The scene we have simply seen is amongst the lots of day-to-day seizures of counterfeit watches [นาฬิกาก๊อป, which is the term in Thai] made in China by the Selective Trade Union, a business representing the interests of deluxe brand names, together with local authorities. The organization carries out an average of 50 raids daily throughout Asia.

Almost all Swiss watchmaking firms are STU customers. However, during the day’s procedure, which the organization had been preparing for several weeks following area examinations, a few watches were not confiscated. This held true of the Breitling designs. We were informed why: complying with the acquisition of the brand name by CVC Capital Allies in 2017, its agreement with STU was not renewed. In a similar way, none of the fake Hublot or TAG Heuer watches were confiscated.

To look at counterfeit watch AAA class [นาฬิกาเกรด aaa, which is the term in Thai], please follow the link.