Scammer Uknowingly Sells Rare Gem-Set Rolex Worth RM331,000

By Danial Martinus • 22 Apr 2026 in Tick Talk

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(source: The Keystone & Roman Petrov / Unsplash)

An Italian scammer’s attempt at selling what he believed to be a fake watch to a Singapore watch dealer ended up backfiring in the most spectacular and embarrassing way, with Singaporean authorities calling it an “impossible” crime.

The watch was later confirmed to be genuine, and an ultra-rare piece at that.

A funny story with many twists and turns

The scammer, 24-year-old Deepak Singh, pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to cheat. Despite the watch being genuine after all, it was his ill intentions that have landed him behind bars.

The supposedly “fake” watch in question is a Rolex GMT SARU, the latter being an acronym for “Sapphire and Ruby”, a very limited run of GMT Master II watches that feature gem-set details straight from the factory. Reportedly, only 20 units exist, making the watch extremely rare and highly coveted.

It all started when Singh bought the Rolex from an acquaintance back in 2025 for €55,000 (RM255,000) as well as a Cartier bracelet. He initially thought he got the watch for a good deal after looking at its current market value, being around RM418,000.

But after finding out from friends that there were only 20 such units of the watch ever made, doubts about its authenticity slowly began to set in. After bringing it to a watch shop for a second opinion, his fears were “confirmed”, with the watch shop suggesting the case had been swapped, featuring a laser-engraved serial number.

In an attempt to get his money back, Singh flew to Singapore to sell the “counterfeit” watch and buy more luxury watches to then resell in Europe.

On 28 November 2025, Singh paid a visit to The Watch Room, a certified watch dealer on Bencoolen Street. Instead of a typical cash transaction, he proposed a trade with the shop’s director, offering his Rolex GMT SARU for a Rolex Daytona, GMT, and Submariner amounting to S$94,700, or around RM331,000.

Quite a big profit considering what he paid for it

Just in case anything went sideways, Singh also faked his identity, completing the trade with a soft copy of his passport featuring a different name and passport number.

But it didn’t take long for the shop director to get suspicious about the watch’s authenticity. He later consulted with other retailers, starting to believe the watch was fake due to the laser engraved serial number. So he did what anyone in that situation would: call the police.

Police managed to catch up with Singh at Changi Airport, successfully detaining him before he could leave the country. But there’s one final twist.

When police sent the watch to an official Rolex Service Centre, the technician there confirmed every single part of the watch to be genuine. Singh not only got a good deal out of his initial purchase of the watch, but could’ve easily resold it (legally) at a much bigger profit.

Pre-owned Rolex SARUs fetch anywhere between US$100,000 and US$500,000 depending on the configuration.

“This was not a case where the accused had voluntarily desisted from cheating… rather, this was an accused who followed through with his attempt to cheat the victim to completion,” said the prosecution, seeking a 12-month sentence.