Authorities smash million fake Swiss watches

The Swiss Watch Industry Federation (FHS), in cooperation with local authorities, lawyers, detectives and others worldwide, helped bring about the seizures of the fake timepieces, organization chief Jean-Daniel Pasche told AFP.
   
Most of the watches were produced in China, but they were found "in basically every single tourist region on the planet," he said, adding that most of the seizures were made in Asia, and especially China, as well as Italy and Turkey in Europe and in South America.
   
Tracking down and destroying the imitations of often pricey Swiss time pieces is important in the fight against counterfeiters, he said, pointing out that the fakes drain some 800 million Swiss francs ($895 million) from the Swiss watch industry's coffers each year.
   
In addition to tracking down and destroying fake watches, FHS also helped halt some 280,000 online auctions of fake Swiss watches last year, and ensured that several sites dedicated to counterfeit time pieces were taken down, Pasche said.