Fake Apple watches on sale across China

Fake Apple Watches – or at least watches that appear similar to the new devices and are suspiciously affordable – have gone on sale across China, as consumers jump the gun before the genuine items are available next month.

On ecommerce websites such as Alibaba’s Taobao, the watches appear nearly identical to Apple’s product, right down to the distinctive digital crown controller on the side of the device and four sensors on the underside.

Most do not have a brand marking and cost 250-500 yuan (€38-€76) – about a tenth to a fifth of the price of the cheapest Apple watch exhibited this week by Tim Cook, chief executive of the California-based group.

Revealed on Tuesday and scheduled to go on sale in Ireland on April 24th, Apple’s gold-cased luxury model costs more than €16,000 and appears to be aimed at wealthy Chinese buyers.

The early proliferation of fakes will not help Apple’s hopes of replicating the success of its iPhones in China, which is the world’s second-largest market for the smartphones behind the United States. (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2015)