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A good Rolex can cost anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars or more.

While the company unquestionably makes fine watches well worth what they cost, not everyone can afford one. For those who like the style of a Rolex or Cartier, but haven’t the bank account, there are replicas.

A replica is a watch that has a similar design, but is made by a lesser-known company, in a style meant to resemble the original. These replicas are often called ‘knock-offs’. But keep in mind that a replica is not the same thing as a counterfeit.

A counterfeit watch is one that is made to look as much like the original as possible, including logos and other details, in order to fool a buyer. The buyer is made to believe they’re getting the real thing, but at a substantially reduced price.

Counterfeits are illegal to produce, and illegal to sell and buy. They violate trademarks, copyrights and are a form of fraud.

Detecting counterfeits can be difficult or easy, depending on the care with which the original is reproduced. Most people aren’t familiar with the details of the original and can sometimes be easily persuaded that they are looking at the genuine article.

Almost all Rolex models, for example, have a smoothly sweeping second hand, while counterfeits move it in one second ticks.

Cheap knock-offs will substitute a quartz movement, in order to lower their production costs. Those quartz movements use circuitry to reduce 32,768 per second oscillations to one pulse per second. That results in the discrete ticks of the second hand.

But not everyone will notice that subtle difference, and it isn’t the case for all counterfeits anyway. Instead, look for more obvious signs - incorrectly drawn or missing logos, the absence of documentation such as the genuine Rolex hologram sticker, a date magnifying window (genuine) vs large numbers (fake).

Take time to study a real Rolex and you won’t get ripped off by a counterfeit.

But not all replicas are counterfeit. When a manufacturer or distributor makes no effort to hide the fact that they are not selling the genuine article, they are offering only a replica.

Replicas emulate the design - and the more upstanding ones will make every effort not to violate the copyright of a real high-end watch.

Rolex, Cartier, Hamilton and other major watchmakers often copyright their designs, just as an author or artist would. But altering those designs in certain ways can put the manufacturer out of the realm of violation and into the realm of imitation.

With the absence of any identifying logos or by substituting materials a replica watch seller is on much safer ground. Most make no attempt to hide the fact that they are selling a replica. They may use the company’s name, but only in a way that makes it obvious they are offering only a knock-off.

For those who want a close match to the original, but are on a more average budget, a replica can be a fine purchase.

Imitation, it’s often said, is the sincerest form of flattery. Buying a replica says ‘I like the style of an expensive watch’ even when you can’t reproduce the bank account.

Then you’ll be the one being flattered - for your good taste.