In modern-day watchmaking, even the likes of Casio and Seiko are not safe from counterfeiting. Even at the lower end of fashion watches, if a company produces a popular design, it is at a serious threat of being replicated.
Unfortunately, the Seiko Turtle is no exception to this rule and is a highly replicated watch. Due to the fact that it is not difficult for counterfeit sellers to get their hands on a real Seiko movement for a reasonably low price, this makes replication much easier compared to other brands.
Typically, fake Seiko Turtles are sold online from both Chinese and Indian sellers – as this is where they are manufactured. However, it is not enough to simply avoid websites such as wish.com since there are often middle-men in North America and European countries. These unscrupulous sellers purchase fake watches in large quantities from Asia and use their geographical location to pass themselves off as selling real watches.
Since being able to spot a fake Seiko differs from watch model to model, it is important to know exactly what you’re looking for within the Seiko turtle specifically.
Below is an outline of how to spot a fake Seiko Turtle SRPA21K1:
Table of Contents
Packaging
For the Seiko Turtle, the packaging is not a dead giveaway. This is largely because many fake Seiko turtles are sold without boxes. As the turtle is not a luxury watch, it is not unusual for owners to throw their boxes away once they receive their watch.
Furthermore, if counterfeiters are able to make a Seiko PADI that looks extremely similar to the real thing, there is no doubt that they are able to make a box that looks real too. It’s for this reason that it is generally a bad idea to rely on packaging to prove a Seiko Turtle is real or fake. If there is an obvious mistake on the packaging, there is no need to read any further since Seiko would not produce this.
One striking discrepancy is that fakes sometimes use standard Seiko tags – rather than the Prospex you would expect to find.
Case Material And Shape
The Seiko Turtle is made from high-quality stainless steel. Seiko understands that this is a divers watch made to professional specifications. Therefore it must be able to survive underwater and be highly pressure resistant. The steel used in fake turtles is less smooth and more patchy. This is visible to the naked eye, but would really show up underwater where there is no doubt a fake Seiko turtle would fail to survive a 200-meter plunge.
Dial
Counterfeit Seiko Turtle dials are really not too bad. Anyone other than an expert could be fooled by the appearance since they copy the original very well. The color, date wheel, and hands are all very similar to the real model.
One key area where the fake dial goes horribly wrong is the bottom area. A real Seiko turtle dial will display the code 4R36, whereas the fake will state “NH36” – which is an automatic movement manufactured by Seiko.
Bezel
On very poor quality counterfeit turtles, you will find that the red part of the bezel does not reach the 20 and is made too short. However, as counterfeiters have become more experienced at making this model, this mistake has begun to disappear.
The main way of telling the bezel apart from the real Turtle is the way it turns. Of course, this cannot be shown in an image, but it can be described.
Real bezels are very fluid and turn at 120 intervals around the dial (half minute divets). Fake bezels are also unidirectional, but turn at 60 intervals (full minute divets) and are also very loose when trying to turn anticlockwise. The fake bezel is also a lot louder than the real model.
Lume Test
If you know a friend with a real Seiko turtle – the lume test is the best way to tell whether you have a fake watch. This is because Seiko lumibrite has a strong luminescence. To cut corners, counterfeit watches skimp on lume and this difference is huge when the lights are turned off.
If you don’t have another Seiko turtle to compare with, this can be difficult for those who are inexperienced with watches to notice.
Caseback & Serial Numbers
The quickest and easiest way to immediately identify an obvious fake Seiko turtle is the serial number. Although a different number does not guarantee authenticity. It is common to find Seiko Turtles with Pepsi bezels to have the serial number: 630711.
If you do find this number on your case back, your watch is almost certainly fake. This is because there were only one of these genuine watches made, and many, many more fakes with this exact same serial.
Movement
Under the hood, both watches appear to be similar on the surface. Both the fake and the real Seiko Turtle have what appears to be a 4R36A movement. However, the fake movements used in the turtle are either clones or a covered-up NH36 posing as a superior movement. Perhaps most surprising, is that the fake Turtle keeps time well, which you would not expect.
Summary
Overall, there are some worrying similarities between the fake Turtle and the real Seiko turtle. Thankfully, there are enough poor quality differences when you inspect the watch closely enough.
The best way to instantly spot a fake Seiko turtle is either the giveaway serial number on the case back and also the “NH36” printed on the dial.
If you purchase a more modern fake, it is possible that the counterfeiters may have adjusted these two discrepancies, so it is important to note all differences, not just one or two.
