A fake IW371468 gives itself away in three places you can check in under two minutes: the dial print, the caseback engraving, and the feel of the chronograph pushers. Genuine examples trade in the thousands of dollars on the used market. If a listing sits near a few hundred dollars and the seller calls it authentic, the watch is a counterfeit, not a bargain.
What Reference IW371468 Is
IW371468 sits inside the IW3714xx block of the Portugieser Chronograph family. The layout is clean: a stainless steel case just under 41 mm across, two subdials at 12 and 6, no date window, leaf hands, applied numerals, and a leather strap. The chronograph runs on a Valjoux-based calibre that IWC finishes and regulates in house. Because the design is uncluttered, counterfeiters find it easy to copy at a distance. The differences show up close.
How to Check One Before You Buy
- Ask the seller for a sharp, straight-on photo of the caseback before any money moves.
- Read the engraved reference number on the metal, not the number in the listing title.
- Match that number against the papers, the warranty card, and any IWC service record.
- Measure the case with calipers: diameter, thickness, and lug width.
- Weigh the watch head on a scale that reads to the gram.
- Compare every figure with the official spec sheet for the reference.
- Inspect the dial print at 10x magnification for feathering or broken letters.
- Lay the subdials against a photo of a genuine example of the same reference.
- Wind the crown through all positions and feel for slack or grinding.
- Press each pusher, run the chronograph, and watch where the hands reset.
Dial and Hands
Print quality carries most of the weight here. Under magnification, the IWC and Schaffhausen lettering on a genuine dial is crisp, with even stroke weight and clean serifs. Copies show thickened letters, filled-in counters, and dropped periods. Subdial rings should be thin and unbroken. Look at the hands: leaf hands on the real watch are polished on all faces with a sharp center ridge. Fakes often show a soft ridge or a satin top surface. Lume, where present, sits in thin, even plots with no overspill onto the dial.
Case and Caseback
Engraving depth is the second tell. Genuine IWC casebacks are stamped or laser-etched with sharp edges and a uniform font. The reference number should read IW371468 with correct spacing and matching character height across every digit. Counterfeit casebacks often use a wider, rounder font and shallow etching that polishes away. Case finishing matters too: brushed surfaces on the real watch run in one direction with a tight grain, and polished bevels stay crisp where they meet the brush. Blended transitions point to a copy.
Movement and Pushers
A Valjoux-based IWC chronograph starts with a firm, short click and resets with a clean snap. Counterfeits built on cheaper Asian chronograph modules feel spongy, and the reset hand often lands slightly off zero. If your reference has a sapphire display back, look for Geneva stripes, a signed rotor, and correct bridge engraving. A blank rotor or a rotor carrying a sticker instead of engraved text is grounds to walk away.
Strap, Buckle, and Packaging
Straps and boxes are the easiest parts to swap, so treat them as supporting evidence, not proof. Genuine IWC alligator straps have a fine, irregular scale pattern, dense stitching, and a signed tang or folding buckle with sharp engraving. Counterfeit bundles often ship with a glossy box, a generic pillow, and paperwork full of spelling errors. Ask for the original receipt and any service papers. A watch with no history and a box that smells new raises questions.
Where Replicas Get Close
High-end replica factories have copied this reference well enough to pass a photo check. They get the case dimensions and dial layout right, and they fit sapphire crystal with coating. They still fall short on movement finish, engraving depth, and pusher feel, which is why the checks above lean on touch and magnification rather than pictures. A replica sold openly as a replica is one market. A counterfeit sold as a genuine IWC is fraud, and the price gap is the bait.
Red Flags
- Price far below the current used market for the reference.
- Photos that avoid the caseback or the movement.
- Seller refuses a video call or a timestamped photo.
- Reference number in the listing does not match the caseback.
- Soft dial print, filled letter counters, or misaligned subdials.
- Pushers that grind, or a reset hand that misses zero.
- No serial number, or a serial that IWC cannot match to the reference.
What to Do Next
If two or more checks fail, stop the deal and report the listing. If the watch passes, get the serial verified by an IWC boutique or a watchmaker who services the brand, and put the result in writing before funds change hands.