Listen, I get it. You’ve bought Nixon before, so you probably know the *feel* of a real one. But fakes are getting, like, *scarily* good these days. It’s not just some blurry logo anymore. They’re paying attention to the weight, the details… it’s a whole thing.
Here’s the deal, from my own probably-not-worth-much-but-here-it-is experience:
First off, price. If it’s too good to be true, seriously, run. Like, faster than you run from that weird guy at the gas station asking for spare change. I saw one online once, “brand new” 51-30 for like, 50 bucks. Yeah, right. That’s not even enough to cover the shipping, let alone the actual watch. Duh.
Then, check the seller. eBay? I’d be extra careful. Look at their feedback. Read the comments. See if anyone’s mentioned anything shady. A lot of times they have like generic pics that dont match the watch. Red flag! If they’re using stock photos and not showing the actual watch they’re selling, big yikes. I’d rather buy from someone a little more expensive if they seem trustworthy.
Also, the little things. The Nixon logo… is it crisp? Is it centered? The weight… does it feel right? A real 51-30 is hefty. It’s a big ol’ chunk of metal. A fake will probably feel lighter and almost like plastic. Compare it to other watches you have, even if they’re not Nixons, just to get a sense. And honestly, sometimes it’s just a gut feeling. Ya know?
And this is super important: the serial number. Every real Nixon watch has one. Find it, then Google it. Does it match the model you’re looking at? Does anything weird pop up? If the serial number doesn’t check out, bail. Fast. Like, “ghosting your date after the appetizer” fast.
Honestly, even with all that, you can still get burned. It happened to my buddy Dave. He thought he was getting a steal on a used one, did all his research, everything seemed legit… turned out the movement was completely different than a real 51-30. It looked the part, but it was all smoke and mirrors.
My slightly cynical (but hopefully helpful!) advice? If you’re *really* worried, maybe consider finding a reputable jeweler who deals in used watches. They might be able to authenticate it for you, or at least give you their opinion. It’ll cost you a few bucks, but it could save you a lot of heartache (and money) in the long run.
