Stop the fakes!
Counterfeiting is a crime
All too often treated with undue leniency, counterfeiting has reached alarming proportions, and the number of companies falling victim to counterfeiters continues to grow. Watches, as well as medicines, films, music and fashion items, among other products, are systematically copied. As a form of theft of intellectual property rights, counterfeiting is now a worldwide scourge. It undermines brands, threatens existing jobs, damages the environment and endangers people's health. With estimated annual turnover of more than 400 billion dollars, the sums involved are astronomical. Another disturbing fact is that the counterfeit goods industry finances criminal organisations involved in drug trafficking, gambling and prostitution, extortion, money laundering and human trafficking.
Counterfeiting affects us all. We must face the fact that our behaviour as consumers has helped create a scourge that is now universal. The reality is simple: without demand, there would be no supply of counterfeit goods.
Counterfeiting and watchmaking
Tens of millions of counterfeit Swiss watches are offered for sale every year, while the Swiss watch industry produces around 30 million genuine watches. Counterfeit watches account for 9% of customs seizures, making watches the second most frequently counterfeited product after textiles. There are several reasons for this unwelcome success. First and foremost is the internet. By offering counterfeit goods to consumers under a cloak of anonymity and without physical intermediaries, the internet has transformed the distribution of fake watches and considerably boosted sales. Secondly, watch counterfeiting is a highly effective means of laundering proceeds from other illegal activities, making it a particularly attractive business for unscrupulous operators.
Make no mistake: buying a counterfeit watch means becoming involved with highly disreputable circles and setting in motion a chain of events that may ultimately have serious consequences.
It is worth remembering that, in Switzerland and many other countries, importing a counterfeit watch is prohibited by law, even if it is a single item purchased in good faith for private use.