Image courtesy: cbp.com
While the luxury timepiece market may face demand and pricing fluctuations, knockoff designer watches continue to find their way to the United States. Fresh off a recent seizure of knockoffs valued at over $9 million (if legitimate), US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officers in Chicago, Illinois nabbed another $6 million worth, keeping this batch away from US buyers.
Read: CBP Seizes $9 Million of Knockoff Designer Watches
The latest shipment arrived from China on May 4, heading to an Illinois address, with 243 watches. These items purported to be from Audermars Piguet, Breitling, Bvlgari, Cartier, Omega, Paneria, Patek Philippe, Richard Mille, Rolex, Tag Heuer, and Vacheron.
Per LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke, Director of Field Operations, Chicago Field Office:
“The distribution of counterfeit goods defrauds U.S. consumers and has a significant adverse impact on businesses by robbing our country of jobs and tax revenues . . . CBP is the first line of defense, and our officers intercepted this threat before these fake items were introduced into the commerce and reached consumers, which provides economic security for our nation.”
As always, if it seems to be too good to be true, it probably is. For CBP advice on avoiding being duped by fakes, read here.
- Maura Carlin posted 7 days ago
- last edited 6 days ago
