7,000 replica Rolex watches were smooshed

15-30% of internet searches on watches involve people looking for replicas. According to the Swiss watch industry, the replica watch market costs them billions of dollars each year, and efforts are made to confiscate fake watches and destroy them in spectacular ‘demonstrative’ ways. One of my favorite examples was from 2010 when about 7,000 replica Rolex watches were smooshed with a steamroller in front of press cameras as the culprit was sent to jail for six months. Most counterfeit goods aren’t given this treatment, and in reality this theatrical performance was done at the behest of concerned watch makers working in tandem with customs officials. How big of a problem are replica watches and are they actually a substitute for the real thing?