Short answer
A copy Rendez-Vous Moonphase watch is a replica of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Rendez-Vous Moon, a women's watch with an automatic movement and a moon phase display. Copies sell for a fraction of the genuine price. Quality splits into three groups: quartz fakes with a printed moon, mid-range automatics with a working 29.5-day moon disc, and high-end copies that match case size and use sapphire glass. The moon phase is the part most often faked. Import into the US is illegal under 19 U.S.C. § 1526, and CBP can seize the parcel.
The genuine watch
Jaeger-LeCoultre launched the Rendez-Vous line in 2012. The Moon version puts the moon phase in an aperture at 6 o'clock. Case sizes across Moon references run from 34 mm to 38 mm. Metals are steel and pink gold. Some references add a diamond bezel. Movement is automatic, and the calibre number changes with the reference. Genuine retail prices sit in the five-figure USD range. Total production numbers for each reference are not published, which makes serial number checks hard.
Three tiers of copies
- Quartz tier. Battery movement. The moon display is a printed disc or a 24-hour day and night wheel, not a lunar cycle. Case is plated brass or steel. Glass is mineral. Price: under $80.
- Automatic tier. Chinese or Japanese automatic movement. A 59-tooth disc drives a real moon phase. Case is 316L steel with gold plating. Glass is mineral or low-grade sapphire. Case thickness runs 1 mm to 2 mm over the genuine spec.
- High-end tier. Cloned automatic movement with a moon module. Sapphire crystal. Plating measured in microns. Case dimensions close to the original. Price: several hundred dollars.
How the moon phase works
A true moon phase uses a disc with two moons behind the aperture. The disc advances one tooth per day on a 59-tooth wheel. One full cycle lasts 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes. That gear ratio drifts about one day every two to three years, so the wearer corrects it with a pusher or the crown a few times a year.
fake rendez-vous moonphase watch
A day and night disc looks the same at a glance. It turns once every 24 hours and shows a sun on one half and a moon on the other. Test: watch the aperture for two days. A moon phase moves one step in 24 hours. A day and night disc moves half a turn in 24 hours.
What to check
- Aperture at 6 o'clock. Off-center placement is a fault.
- Disc advance rate. One step per day.
- Case thickness. Measure with calipers and compare to the reference spec.
- Glass. Sapphire sits at 9 on the Mohs scale. Mineral glass sits near 5. A scratch test on a hidden edge tells you which one you have.
- Plating. Gold-tone plating under 3 microns wears to the base metal in months of daily wear. The genuine case is solid gold.
- Weight. A plated steel case weighs less than a solid gold case of the same size.
- Water resistance. Most copies carry a printed rating with no test behind it. Do not swim with one.
- Caseback text. Reference numbers, 'Swiss Made', and brand spelling are frequent error points on low-tier copies.
US law and shipping
19 U.S.C. § 1526 bars import of goods that carry a counterfeit trademark. 18 U.S.C. § 2320 makes trafficking in counterfeit goods a federal crime, with penalties that rise for repeat offenses. CBP inspects parcels from known source countries and destroys seized items. A single watch in a personal shipment can be seized, and the buyer has no refund path.
Watches appear among the most seized counterfeit categories in US and EU customs data. The OECD tracks the trade and lists watches and jewelry in the top product groups by value.