I initially thought Ben (Owner of Elsies Watch Repair) was an honest, trustworthy, and kind businessman, however my experience at his shop has me wondering if his true character is just held up by a facade. I was in the market for a Mid 2000's Rolex Submariner, after finding a private party that was willing to sell one, he insisted we take it to Elsie's Watch & Jewelry Repair for authentication. Not knowing this store myself and being reluctant to take the Rolex in question to a jeweler that was not my own, I was very skeptical. However I went on Yelp and read page after page of only stellar 5 star reviews going back a few years and thought that Ben could be trusted with appraising and authenticating fine items, after all thats what Yelp is for right? I was WRONG.
Anyhow, I arranged to meet with the seller of the Rolex at Bens shop to have it authenticated before the purchase. Ben inspected the watch thoroughly, opened up the case back, examined the movement, the serials, and the certificate of authenticity of the watch in question. (Rolex Submariner 16610LV) After looking at the watch through the loupe and examining it he told me it was a 100% genuine rolex in beautiful condition. He EVEN stated he would buy the watch back from me if I had any concerns. After entrusting my purchase with Ben's word, I purchased the Rolex for almost 5000$.
When I took it to Rolex later that day for service, they told me that the watch was completely FAKE, a 50$ CHINESE COUNTERFEIT. The engraving were incorrect, the bracelet was incorrect, the certificate of authenticity wasn't even the correct style and print for the model year. Infuriated, I went on a mission to find the seller who at this point of course had disposed of the prepaid phone they used and wasn't answering to me. I luckily found his trying to sell the same watch to another sucker in an online classified. Knowing this was my only chance to stop this criminal I contacted the LAPD and a counterfeit goods and piracy sting operation was set up to catch the seller. He agreed to meet at another store, Best Time in Sherman Oaks to have the 2nd watch authenticated, there he was arrested by undercover law enforcement.
Now Ill let you guys be the judge, but I am 99% sure that Ben was personally involved in this counterfeit Rolex scheme. The seller and Ben were both of the same ethnicity and spoke the same language, the watchmaker at the second store was also of the same ethnicity as Ben and the seller, more likely than not, they all know each other and our perpetrating this scam together. After doing some undercover work on my own, I found Ben, the seller, and Berge (the other watch store owner) were all MUTUAL FRIENDS ON FACEBOOK. At the store, Ben acted like he had no idea who the seller was and that he was just another customer getting his watch appraised for resale. That was a dead giveaway to me. After that I realized that Ben was not just bad at appraising Rolex watches, he was running a cleverly drawn out scam. He has the seller post an ad online, reel in a buyer to his store by using his 100% stellar yelp feedback to build trust and scams them into thinking they are purchasing an authentic rolex. I was scammed of almost 5000$ thanks to Ben at Elsies Watch and Jewelery Repair on Hollywood Blvd.
Someone that has been a watchmaker for over 15 years should easily be able to spot a counterfeit Rolex. Ben even had the audacity to tell me he purchases vintage Rolexes at auction for resale and this one was one of the best newer models he has come across. Someone who does this for a living would not make this kind of mistake. Ben was paid out by the seller to pass off a fake Rolex as a genuine one. He is a crook, don't be fooled by his charm "nice" personality. BUYER BEWARE
Elsie's Watch & Jewelry Repair Reviews
I initially thought Ben (Owner of Elsies Watch Repair) was an honest, trustworthy, and kind businessman, however my experience at his shop has me wondering if his true character is just held up by a facade. I was in the market for a Mid 2000's Rolex Submariner, after finding a private party that was willing to sell one, he insisted we take it to Elsie's Watch & Jewelry Repair for authentication. Not knowing this store myself and being reluctant to take the Rolex in question to a jeweler that was not my own, I was very skeptical. However I went on Yelp and read page after page of only stellar 5 star reviews going back a few years and thought that Ben could be trusted with appraising and authenticating fine items, after all thats what Yelp is for right? I was WRONG.
Anyhow, I arranged to meet with the seller of the Rolex at Bens shop to have it authenticated before the purchase. Ben inspected the watch thoroughly, opened up the case back, examined the movement, the serials, and the certificate of authenticity of the watch in question. (Rolex Submariner 16610LV) After looking at the watch through the loupe and examining it he told me it was a 100% genuine rolex in beautiful condition. He EVEN stated he would buy the watch back from me if I had any concerns. After entrusting my purchase with Ben's word, I purchased the Rolex for almost 5000$.
When I took it to Rolex later that day for service, they told me that the watch was completely FAKE, a 50$ CHINESE COUNTERFEIT. The engraving were incorrect, the bracelet was incorrect, the certificate of authenticity wasn't even the correct style and print for the model year. Infuriated, I went on a mission to find the seller who at this point of course had disposed of the prepaid phone they used and wasn't answering to me. I luckily found his trying to sell the same watch to another sucker in an online classified. Knowing this was my only chance to stop this criminal I contacted the LAPD and a counterfeit goods and piracy sting operation was set up to catch the seller. He agreed to meet at another store, Best Time in Sherman Oaks to have the 2nd watch authenticated, there he was arrested by undercover law enforcement.
Now Ill let you guys be the judge, but I am 99% sure that Ben was personally involved in this counterfeit Rolex scheme. The seller and Ben were both of the same ethnicity and spoke the same language, the watchmaker at the second store was also of the same ethnicity as Ben and the seller, more likely than not, they all know each other and our perpetrating this scam together. After doing some undercover work on my own, I found Ben, the seller, and Berge (the other watch store owner) were all MUTUAL FRIENDS ON FACEBOOK. At the store, Ben acted like he had no idea who the seller was and that he was just another customer getting his watch appraised for resale. That was a dead giveaway to me. After that I realized that Ben was not just bad at appraising Rolex watches, he was running a cleverly drawn out scam. He has the seller post an ad online, reel in a buyer to his store by using his 100% stellar yelp feedback to build trust and scams them into thinking they are purchasing an authentic rolex. I was scammed of almost 5000$ thanks to Ben at Elsies Watch and Jewelery Repair on Hollywood Blvd.
Someone that has been a watchmaker for over 15 years should easily be able to spot a counterfeit Rolex. Ben even had the audacity to tell me he purchases vintage Rolexes at auction for resale and this one was one of the best newer models he has come across. Someone who does this for a living would not make this kind of mistake. Ben was paid out by the seller to pass off a fake Rolex as a genuine one. He is a crook, don't be fooled by his charm "nice" personality. BUYER BEWARE