'Rolex' spam taps into bling-bling culture

Rolex watches have long been seen as a must-have product among the aspiring nouveau riche - but a brand built upon high standards of quality and exclusivity is in danger of being sullied by unsolicited email.

In the same way as Viagra has been a brand made synonymous with spam, so Rolex is in danger of becoming a generic by-word for unsolicited emails.

A vast number of spam emails offering cut-price Rolex watches and fakes of the popular timepieces are currently flooding users' inboxes - growing in number more than any other kind of message, according to email security firm MessageLabs.

The deluge appears to have begun in earnest last week and Natasha Staley, information analyst at MessageLabs, said the company has seen this Rolex spam explode onto the scene.

"Of all the brands out there being exploited by spam, Rolex is now by far the most common," she said.

Staley believes the unscrupulous marketers behind the products may be trying to cash in on "bling-bling culture" which is fuelling a desire for famous-name jewellery and flashy trinkets and accessories - whether fake or genuine.

Many of the offers are promising watches indistinguishable from the real thing for as little as $75. Behind the campaign would appear to be a website called www.onlinereplicastore.com which also offers watches from other prized manufacturers such as Bulgari, Cartier and Chopard.

Some emails appear to offer, at first glance, the genuine item. One subject line reads: "Order Rolex or other Swiss watches online" while the body of another email reads: "Always wanted an expensive watch such as a Rolex? Stop dreaming and check out these prices".

Forgeries are nothing new. In the past many holidaymakers have returned from destinations, typically in the Far East, with fake Rolex watches, but the launch of spam campaigns to sell such products threatens far greater market saturation.

A statement on the Rolex website claims: "Official Rolex watches are sold through official Rolex jewellers and are not available on the internet."

But for many the fakes, openly sold as such, will be close enough and will still do enough to dilute the exclusivity of the Rolex brand.

Staley said: "These products are appealing to the kind of people who buy fake Burberry caps. They probably don't care that they are fake."

"The Rolex brand is built upon exclusivity and this does erode away at the brand," added Staley.

As with all spam marketing, however, consumers should be aware that there is no guarantee the product bought will even turn up, and MessageLabs' Staley warned against handing credit card details to anybody who sells ripped-off goods via spam, suggesting they are unlikely to be winning a Which? award any time soon.

"If these people are prepared to rip off watches they are probably prepared to rip off credit cards," she said, sounding a warning to any consumers tempted by some cheap "bling".