# IWC Pilot Spitfire purchase 3717-02. Real or Fake



## maxslugen (Dec 1, 2013)

Hi, new here. I am new here and new to IWC. I am considering purchasing a IWC Pilot Spitfire, 3717-02. The watch comes with papers, IWC AD card but no box. The serial number on the case back matches the AD card. I called and emailed the AD to try and verify the watch. They verified that they are an AD, have sold this model and the AD card is theirs. Their opinion based on the pics is that the watch is authentic but could not say 100% without the watch in hand. I have looked all over the net for replicas to see if I can spot any differences with this watch and the replicas on the web. The watch appears to be legit to me but I have seen some pretty good fakes. Also, with the 7750 movement in the watch it would probably be easy to throw a base set in a fake-o. Anyway, I would like some feedback on the pictures below to see what the experts here think. I did my best to resize very large photos, hope they are clear enough. Thanks in advance for the feedback.


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## maxslugen (Dec 1, 2013)

Another shot


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## maxslugen (Dec 1, 2013)

Anyone, thoughts?


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## iceman767 (Jan 3, 2013)

Watch looks legit based on internet pics! 
(1) The case back number matches the card! That is normally a very good proof of authenticity. 
(2)The dial with the hour markers should also be textured i.e have a guillouche look to it and not be plain cream coloured.
Is the outer dial as described - textured?

Given the fact that these two visual criteria are met you may rest assured that it isn't a fake.
However, if still in doubt then you'll need an authorise dealer to open and examine the movement to ensure it is a modified IWC movement.

On the face of it it looks legit. Hope that helps.

BTW word of caution:
Remove your serial number details from the web if you don't want your watch number copied onto another iwc fake watch - Afterall this is the worldwideweb.

Goodluck and wear and enjoy the spitfire in good health


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## maxslugen (Dec 1, 2013)

iceman767 said:


> Watch looks legit based on internet pics!
> (1) The case back number matches the card! That is normally a very good proof of authenticity.
> (2)The dial with the hour markers should also be textured i.e have a guillouche look to it and not be plain cream coloured.
> Is the outer dial as described - textured?
> ...


Thanks for the feedback. Yes, the outer dial is textured, it is not smooth. Reducing the size of the pic lowered the resolution. Good call on the serial number. I didn't think about someone copying it. I will try to black it out.


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## Kromag (Nov 27, 2012)

The DW is not aligned well and the print on the sub dials looks poor though that's probably the photo. You need to have them open the back, which is easy to do, and take some clear photos.


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## leicashot (Sep 5, 2008)

Regardless, anyone can steal pics of legit watches and use as advertising.....lesson is you need to know about your seller, more than how the item looks in pictures


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## maxslugen (Dec 1, 2013)

Kromag said:


> The DW is not aligned well and the print on the sub dials looks poor though that's probably the photo. You need to have them open the back, which is easy to do, and take some clear photos.


Do you mean the date window (DW) looks poorly aligned? The numbers on the sub dial look much better on the high res pics I have. Unfortunately, I had to re-size them for posting.


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## maxslugen (Dec 1, 2013)

leicashot said:


> Regardless, anyone can steal pics of legit watches and use as advertising.....lesson is you need to know about your seller, more than how the item looks in pictures


I looked into the seller and he appears to be on the up and up but you never know. I agree with the pics and what the actual item may be but based on the history of this particular seller, I would say its unlikely that the actual product would differ from the pics. Assuming the pics are legit and of the actual watch, is there anyone who could say this watch is not authentic? I do not have pics of the case opened at this point. For what its worth, the back case serial # did match the AD's warranty card. The AD did verify that the warranty card is theirs. Not to say that authenticates the watch 100% but that is what I have at the moment.


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