I bought my Rolex Submariner 116610LN in 2021 from a local store. It came without a box or papers, but that never bothered me. I wore it only on special occasions, and every time I checked the time, it felt like I was rewarding myself for something I had done right in life.
Last week, a friend of mine showed up with a smile that looked slightly suspicious. He told me he had purchased a “super clone” from a company called VSF. He was proud of it, almost too proud, like someone who just found a shortcut in a game and wasn’t sure whether to brag or stay quiet.
Naturally, we compared the watches.
Our wrists were the same size. The watches looked identical. Same weight, same shine, same confidence on the wrist. At some point, curiosity turned into carelessness. We swapped them back and forth, joked about it, and then suddenly stopped.
We had no idea which one was mine.
At first, it felt like a small puzzle. Then it became a problem. Then, slowly, it turned into a quiet panic. I realized I had never written down the serial number anywhere. Both watches had been used very little, so there were no visible scratches or clues to tell them apart.
We even opened the case backs, expecting some obvious difference inside. Nothing. If there was a difference, it was hiding better than both of us.
Silence filled the room for a moment. Two grown men staring at two identical watches, both pretending to be calm, both calculating the same uncomfortable possibility.
In the end, I made a decision.
I paid my friend the 450 dollars he had spent on his watch and bought it from him. It felt like the fastest way out of a situation that was getting more absurd by the minute.
Now I own two Rolex Submariner 116610LN watches.
And the funny part is, I still have no idea which one is real.