This is not a matter of prejudice. I will qualify my statement by saying that the majority of fake vintage watches listed on ebay are from S. America. If you need statistical proof, I can supply it. Vintage Breitlings and Baume et Mercier from S. America are the highest percentage. As a watchmaker, I look at the inside of the watch 1st - altered or fake signatures are easy to spot but they are getting better at it all the time. Recently I have seen some that are nearly impossible to tell if they are fake, especially if they have used an original dial.
Buying a fake and trying to correct it is a waste of time and money.
Granted, there are fakes being produced all over the world but S. America still appears to be the most prolific. I am sure that there are others who view this site know what I am talking about so chime in. Craig

: Well... I live in this part of the world. Though I am used to
: northern world prejudice, I stil can't understand it.
: I know some well known collectors who have made nice deals here
: around - am I wrong Jeff?

: I've seen many watches with wrong replacements all over the world.
: One can call this a fake, others can see this as an opportunity
: to make a fair deal and spend some extra time & materials to
: get the watch correct (isn't it part of the hobby?). I also know
: some companies dedicated to produce "replicas" of
: everything - none of them in S.A; many in Europe, Asia...

: Sorry