Fake Rolex, Patek Philippe watches sold for up to $1,330 each in Vietnam

Police in Quang Ninh Province have opened a criminal case against an online watch seller after finding that 87 of the 96 luxury timepieces seized from her, spanning 18 brands from Rolex to Richard Mille, were counterfeit. The provincial police investigation agency named Bui Bich Thuan, 40, as the accused on July 17 for infringing industrial property rights, according to the provincial Economic Police Division.Officers caught Thuan on May 30 selling watches branded Rolex, Hublot and Patek Philippe to a customer in the lobby of the S2 tower at the Sapphire apartment complex in Hong Gai Ward. The 18 she was offering carried no invoices or paperwork proving their origin.A search of an apartment in the same building, which she used for storage, turned up 78 more watches. Altogether police impounded 96 watches carrying brands including Bvlgari, Richard Mille and Gucci.The Vietnam Intellectual Property Research Institute assessed 87 of them, across 18 brands, as counterfeit, with a combined value of VND310.58 million (US$11,800). Counterfeit watches bearing well-known global brands seized by authorities in Vietnam. Photo courtesy of the police Thuan began selling in 2020 from a storefront called "Thai Trinh Luxury Watch" in Bai Chay Ward.She closed it in early 2025 and shifted to her personal Facebook account and a fan page under the same name.The fakes, of uncertain origin, went for VND300,000 ($11) to VND35 million ($1,330) each.