Fake Calibre de Cartier: Short Answer
A fake Calibre de Cartier is a counterfeit copy of a watch Cartier brought to market in 2010. The genuine watch ran an in-house Cartier movement, the 1904-PS MC, inside a 38mm or 42mm case. Counterfeit versions use third-party movements, base-metal cases, and printed dials copied from photos. Cartier's current catalog does not list the Calibre de Cartier line, so nearly all fakes copy references built between 2010 and the late 2010s. Prices for these copies run from about $50 to $400. That figure is far below the cost of the real movement alone.
What the real watch is
- Introduced in 2010 as Cartier's entry into the men's round sports watch segment.
- Caliber 1904-PS MC: automatic, in-house, 27 jewels, 28,800 vibrations per hour, 48-hour power reserve.
- Case sizes: 38mm and 42mm. Steel, rose gold, and white gold versions existed.
- Dial: large Roman numerals, date window at 3 o'clock, three-quarter layout on some references.
- Chronograph references used the 1904-CH MC, a modular movement built on the same base.
- Steel automatics carried 30-meter water resistance. Diver versions carried more.
How fakes differ
- Movement: generic Chinese or Japanese automatic. No Cartier finishing, no 1904-PS MC engraving, no perlage or Geneva stripes.
- Case: brass with plating or low-grade 316L steel. The watch weighs less than the real piece.
- Crown: glass or plastic cabochon instead of the blue spinel Cartier sets in the crown.
- Dial: Roman numeral spacing is off, date font is wrong, and applied indices sit flat instead of raised.
- Case back: engraving is shallow. Reference numbers and serial numbers often do not match each other.
- Box and papers: printed cards, wrong fonts, and serial numbers that fail a Cartier service check.
Legal status and market facts
Counterfeit watches are illegal to import, sell, or traffic in the United States under 18 U.S.C. 2320 and related trademark law. U.S. Customs and Border Protection seizes shipments and publishes seizure data each year. Watches and jewelry rank among the top categories by seized value. The OECD puts counterfeit and pirated goods at roughly 3.3 percent of world trade. Cartier, owned by Richemont, is among the brands most copied.
How to check a watch
- Ask a watchmaker to open the case back and identify the movement.
- Weigh the watch against a known reference. Fakes run light.
- Send the serial number to Cartier service for verification.
- Check the crown stone under a loupe. Spinel has depth. Plastic looks flat.
- Compare dial printing to archive photos of the same reference and year.
Note: "1:1" and "super clone" labels appear on nearly every counterfeit listing. Quality varies. Most high-effort cloning goes into Rolex references. Cartier copies sit lower in that market.