“Richard Mille brand offers limited quantity of each style, making each watch model unique,” states a release from a public affairs officer with CBP. “This watch seized was a RM 88 Automatic Winding Tourbillon Smiley. This limited edition was produced only 50 times making it extremely valuable. Black market sellers attempted to reproduce the look-alike Richard Mille RM 88 Smiley, but it takes one glimpse at the merchandise to know it’s a fake,” the release states.
“The packaging, lack of fine details, its originating country and the fact that the shipment was uninsured all aided the officer’s determination that the merchandise was a counterfeit.”
Some boutiques selling the real watch have it listed for around $1.2 million.
A second shipment was seized Nov. 17 and it contained various counterfeit jewelry and watches with a total manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $846,695.
“The shipment originated in Hong Kong with a destination of Mesquite, Texas. The shipment consisted of brands including Rolex, Van Cleef, Chanel, and Louis Vuitton to name a few. CBP officers are trained to identify counterfeit merchandise and use their experience to stop the flow of such illicit merchandise in and out of the United States,” states the CBP release.
Counterfeit pieces are determined to be fake by the Centers for Excellence and Expertise — CBP’s trade experts.
“One important job we have at CBP is to protect intellectual property rights for American consumers and businesses,” said LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke, Director of Chicago Field Operations. “With the holidays approaching, consumers need to be ever vigilant when shopping online. Not only is it our job at CBP to stop the flow of counterfeit merchandise, but it is also the job of each consumer. If you notice suspected fraud, please report it.”
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