Excellent and informative post.

It highlights just how much of a risk you are exposed to when buying a second hand Rolex - sounds like you may not be safe even with bricks and mortar stores, unless they really know their stuff.

Before buying my first Rolex from the AD i toyed with the idea of buying a second hand one, but given my lack of experience and knowledge, I didn't think it was worth the risk particularly as the price differential between new and used isn't that much. Clearly isn't an option for older models though.

Reading this post, i think the safest option when buying second hand must be to focus on reputable and experienced bricks and mortar stores, or to buy models which have been recently serviced from Rolex - or can evidence of the latter also be faked easily?