Short answer
"Fake Pasha gold" means a counterfeit Cartier Pasha watch sold as solid gold or gold plated. The case is steel, brass, or zinc alloy under a gold-colored coating. That coating is gold flash, PVD, or electroplating. Gold mass sits near zero. A real Pasha de Cartier in 18k gold uses one alloy for case, bezel, and bracelet, and it carries an assay hallmark.
What real Pasha gold looks like
Cartier launched the Pasha de Cartier in 1985. Gérald Genta designed it. Gold versions use 18k gold, which is 75% gold by weight. The stamp reads "750" or "18K". Older French pieces carry an eagle head assay mark. Swiss assay offices use the head of Helvetia for 18k gold. Case backs carry a reference number, a case serial, and a movement number.
Common tells on fakes
- Gold color that leans orange, from a PVD layer over 316L steel.
- No stamp inside the case back, or a stamp cut through a seam.
- Case back engraving with shallow depth and a wrong font.
- One reference number repeated across dozens of listings.
- Movement marked ETA, Seagull, or blank, with no Cartier calibre number.
- Plating worn through at lugs, crown, and clasp after a few months of wear.
Tests you can run
- Read the stamps with a 10x loupe. Check the position, the depth, and the font.
- Weigh the watch. Gold alloy has a density near 15.5 g/cm3. Steel has 7.9. A gold case and bracelet weighs close to twice what a steel copy weighs at the same size.
- Hold a magnet near the case. 18k gold is not attracted. 316L steel is attracted little. This test gives weak evidence on its own.
- Ask a jeweler for an XRF scan. A thick plating can pass a surface scan. File a hidden spot inside the clasp, then scan again.
- Have a watchmaker open the case. Check the movement, the gasket, and the case back threads.
- Call Cartier service with the reference and serial numbers.
Price and legal notes
An 18k gold Pasha sells in the five-figure USD range. A listing at $300 to $900 for a "solid gold Pasha" is a plated copy. In the United States, trafficking in counterfeit goods is a crime under 18 U.S.C. 2320. CBP seizes counterfeit watches at ports of entry.
First copy watches and gold claims
First copy watches are replicas. Sellers put "gold", "gold filled", and "gold plated" on the same page. Ask for three things: the metal stamp, the measured weight in grams, and the plating thickness in microns. Plating on a copy runs 0.5 to 5 microns. Base metal shows at the lugs and clasp in months. If a seller cannot give a stamp photo or a scale reading, treat the gold claim as unproven.