r/PakistanWatchMarket

Planning to buy my first Casio watch. Which model would you guys recommend and if not casio which one then

Yo, quick help needed from the watch fam 🙏

So I’m starting out with reselling. My plan is simple: I joined some Facebook groups that sell watches, grab their daily updates, and repost them with my margin on my socials. Figured it’s the easiest way to learn the market + understand what customers actually want before dropping cash on stock.

But here’s the problem… I know nothing about watches. Like, I can’t look at one and tell if it’s real or fake.

I’ve been posting with the same description the group gives me - if they say “genuine/original” I just copy that. But people in the comments are calling it out as fake and saying I’m selling fakes as original. Not trying to scam anyone, I just don’t know better yet 😅

If anyone here does watch reselling or just knows their stuff, could you drop some beginner tips?

Stuff like:

- What’s the fastest way to spot a fake vs real?

- Any red flags I should look for in pics/descriptions?

- Good resources/youtube channels to learn basics?

Really appreciate it. I just want to do this right and not mess people over. Thanks fam!

I keep on seeing adverts for watches being described as 'Master Copy' here - I had to look this up to realise that they are just fakes.

I then asked Claude about this (bearing in mind it is AI, so not reliable, but what it told me is interesting):

"Master copy" is a euphemism the Pakistani (and broader South Asian) grey/black market developed to make counterfeits sound more legitimate and craftsman-like. It's essentially a fake, but the terminology creates a kind of plausible deniability.

The hierarchy they've invented

Sellers have created an entirely fictitious grading system to justify different price points:

• First copy / A grade — basic fake, cheap materials, dies quickly
• Super copy / AA — slightly better finishing
• Master copy / AAA — supposedly the best fake, "indistinguishable from original"
• Some sellers now even claim "Swiss made master copy" which is almost poetic in its audacity

None of these grades have any standardised meaning whatsoever. It's purely marketing language invented to extract more money.

Why "master copy" specifically

The word "copy" acknowledges it isn't original, which oddly makes it feel more honest to buyers. "Master" implies skilled craftsmanship. Together it sounds like a legitimate artisan product rather than a criminal counterfeit. It also gives the buyer psychological cover — they're not being "deceived," they knowingly bought a "copy."

The reality

• The movements inside are usually cheap Chinese quartz regardless of what's on the dial
• A fake Rolex master copy sold for 15,000-20,000 PKR is still just a fake
• Quality is universally poor compared to even mid-range genuine watches
• They often use stolen brand identity, fake serial numbers, and copied documentation

Why it thrives in Pakistan specifically

• Genuine luxury watches are extremely expensive relative to incomes
• Import duties make authentic watches even pricier
• Social pressure to display status is significant, particularly at weddings and formal events
• Enforcement of IP law is weak
• The market is so established that it feels almost normalised

The fascinating sociological bit is that often everyone knows it's fake — the buyer, the seller, sometimes even the person receiving it as a gift — but the social performance of wearing a Rolex-shaped object is still considered worth something.