Since there is already an extensive thread on real/fake Vuitton, I thought I%26#39;d add another interesting (at least in my opinion) tidbit. A couple of weeks ago, we were at the flea market talking with a dealer friend from whom we bought a gorgeous pair of Van Cleef %26amp; Arpels diamond earrings. He mentioned that the %26quot;controle%26quot; had just the week before raided the St-Ouen market searching for fake jewelry (goods made with real gold and gemstones, but bearing false signatures such as Cartier, Mauboussin, Chaumet, etc.). Aparently, the authorities were accompanied by employees from several of the major jewelry houses who provided professional expertise regarding authenticity. Those dealers who were found to be offering forgeries were shut down immediately! God knows what sort of fines they may be facing. As a dealer in antique and estate jewelry, I can tell you that knock-offs are getting increasingly difficult to detect. The dealers at St-Ouen rely on the market for their livelihoods. Most of them are too smart to start knowingly dealing in forgeries because their reputations (i.e., their livelihoods) would be at stake. Thank goodness that France takes the problem of forgeries seriously and doesn%26#39;t allow the horrid scene that is prevalent on Canal Street and in other US cities.
|||
%26quot;Thank goodness that France takes the problem of forgeries seriously and doesn%26#39;t allow the horrid scene that is prevalent on Canal Street and in other US cities.%26quot;
Ummm....Truffaut...have you ever been to Italy?
There are cities all over the world that make Canal Street look pretty clean...
|||
Yes, that%26#39;s true, but the US has the law enforcement and customs capacity to stop this problem and chooses not to.
|||
Even with tough laws France is still having difficulties stopping the large flow of fakes. That is why they are now targeting customers as much as producers and giving heavy fines for the possession of even one fake handbag.
The fakes industry is costing annually 30,000 jobs in France, and 200,000 in Europe. It affects work legislation, fiscal legislation and safety legislation. The implication of criminal organization has been proven. But to me the more serious problem of the fake industries is the burden it put on innovation and creation.
Personally I just do not understand why someone buys a fake. Some people think it give then “status” which is totally stupid since people can recognize a fake. With all the others choice available why brake the law, sustain the mafia and show one bad taste!!
|||
I%26#39;m going to take issue with the proposition that the US has the personnel %26amp; budget to wipe out the distribution of counterfeit goods and simply chooses not to do so.
* There are many competing demands on law enforcement units%26#39; not-unlimted budgets... think %26quot;homeland security%26quot;
* The USA is VASTLY larger, with many more points of entry -- and is a very desired market for a whole host of counterfeit items besides fashion accessories, such as DVD%26#39;s and CD%26#39;s
* Customs/law enforcement efforts are not non-existent; they do, however, focus on the %26quot;bigger fish%26quot;, the middle-men %26amp; distributors and airport/seaport seizures rather than confiscatory %26quot;sweeps%26quot; of local peddlers -- which is not irrational because...
* we don%26#39;t have a Napoleanic Code of criminal justice: the burden of proof is on the prosecution to establish, in the first instance, probable cause for arrest, and then guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial. So we need expert opinion from the get-go... it%26#39;s not enough to stand up in court %26amp; say that the price alone and the fact that the guy deals out of a Canal Street location means these handbags are fake. And quite frankly, LV, for one, is not as interested in %26quot;policing%26quot; the sale of fake goods here as, e.g., Chanel.
There is more attention being paid to this problem than 10 years. Witness (a) the enactment of specifcally targeting legislation, on both the national and states%26#39; levels, which have expanded civil remedies and better captured the sale %26amp; distribution as criminal offenses, and (b) the establishment of more special units even in smaller states where the volume is less.
|||
Let me amend my previous post. It would be more accurate to say that LV itself doesn%26#39;t have unlimited resources to help %26quot;police%26quot; the sale of fake goods here. For example, Chanel not only has someone assigned to keep tabs on eBay listings but also provides contact info there for other eBayers to alert them to the presence of fakes so that they can be yanked from auction. LV does not. Chanel too has generally been more willing/able to make itself available to enforcement/regulation efforts on smaller cases. But, there are far fewer counterfeit Chanel products than the typhoons of fake LV%26#39;s .
|||
Let me add something that may or may not be pertinent. I don%26#39;t know about Paris, but I do know that handguns are against the law in England. What does this have to do with fake merchandise? Well, it seems that since other countries outlaw handguns (and let%26#39;s not get on that subject!) they don%26#39;t have as much violent crime to deal with as we may have in the United States. Perhaps we%26#39;re spending more time with violent offenders than we are chasing down those who traffic in fake merchandise. I don%26#39;t know if this is true or not, just a thought.
|||
Truffaut,
Do you have a website for your goods? If so, I%26#39;d love to have a link as I am a big collector of antique jewelry.
mascara4@gmail.com
Thanks
|||
What I can%26#39;t figure out is where is the status if you are carrying a fake and everyone knows it? Women around here talk about finding a fake LV or whatever. All their friends know that they are buying fakes. What is the point?
As an artisan myself, I support efforts to stop copies and fakes.
|||
Hi, Mascara, our site is www.KensingtonHouseAntiques.com We also have a website more for collectibles at www.AntiquesDC.com
|||
Yes, we do have homeland security issues to deal with, but to a degree, forgeries ARE a homeland security issue. Every time a forgery is sold on Canal Street, it robs an honest person of his/her livelihood. This directly impacts the income of every person in the retail chain--from the small cotton farmer in Mississippi, to the cotton broker in Memphis, to the mill worker in North Carolina, to the dyemaker in New Jersey, to the seamstress in Manhattan, to the sales clerk on 5th Avenue. This loss of income and jobs IS a homeland security issue.
Forgeries are generally not made and distributed by small-town hoods. They are the focus of very well-organized and well-financed crime syndicates--many of which are headquartered in foreign countries (which shall remain nameless) that are not necessarily friendly toward the US. That IS certainly a homeland security issue.
Forgeries coming into the US do not pass through the normal channels, and are not assessed duty. This loss of income to the Federal government is enormous and contributes to our ongoing deficit. The national debt IS a homeland security issue.
No comments:
Post a Comment