In early 2020, buyers and watch-forum users accused Christopher Andrew Essery, associated with the Horology House YouTube channel and Instagram account, of selling a counterfeit Rolex Daytona and failing to deliver watches or refunds in other transactions. The claims remain allegations in the sources cited here: they do not establish that Essery knowingly sold a fake, and they do not provide a verified account of every transaction or its outcome.
How the Horology House controversy became public
The controversy surfaced on 31 January 2020, when a Rolex Forums user wrote that a friend had paid A$29,000 for a Rolex Daytona reference 116500LN and received a counterfeit watch. The poster shared photographs and raised concerns about the box and papers. Those details are the poster’s account; the available reporting does not include an independent forensic authentication of the watch. Read the Rolex Forums post.
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In a report published on 2 February 2020, Boss Hunting described Essery as the owner of Horology House and reported that multiple parties had made complaints involving the alleged fake Daytona and money paid for watches that were not delivered. Read Boss Hunting’s report.
What buyers and reports alleged
The Daytona transaction
The first public allegation concerned a Daytona 116500LN and a stated payment of A$29,000. Both the amount and the claim that the delivered watch was counterfeit come from the forum poster; neither is an independently verified finding in the cited material.
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Other transactions and refunds
Boss Hunting reported complaints about watches or money that buyers said they had not received, alongside reports that some buyers received funds back over time while others said they were still waiting. A separate Rolex Forums post recounted one buyer’s earlier transaction for a different watch, alleged delays, and refund installments. That account is one user’s version of events, not a verified total of losses or affected buyers. Read the separate forum account.
A 24.hu report said the buyer who initiated the Daytona complaint ultimately received a refund after more than three months. That reported refund concerns that buyer; it does not establish what happened in every other disputed transaction or resolve the question of intent. Read the 24.hu report.
What is established—and what is not
James Want, author of the 2 February 2020 Boss Hunting article, wrote that Essery “has been accused, by a handful of parties, of intentionally selling a fake Rolex Daytona and scamming many others out of funds.” This is a journalist’s description of the allegations, not an official finding that the claims were true or that Essery acted knowingly.
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- The cited material does not establish through a court judgment, regulator finding, or independently reviewed forensic report that the Daytona was counterfeit or that Essery knowingly sold one.
- It gives no independently verified total for the number of buyers, losses, or refunds. Individual forum accounts and media reports should not be combined into an aggregate figure.
- The sources reviewed do not establish whether legal action occurred or what the current official status of any case may be. The absence of an authoritative disposition in these sources is not proof that no later development occurred.
Who was @horologyhouse?
The early-February coverage identified Christopher Andrew Essery with Horology House, a watch-focused YouTube channel and Instagram account. A Reddit question about the accounts deleting social media also circulated during the controversy, but that question is evidence of reader concern, not proof of what happened to the accounts or why.
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This episode is a reminder to separate a seller dispute from an authentication finding. In this case, the initial buyer’s reported concern involved a specific Daytona reference, photographs, and questions about its box and papers, but the cited sources do not provide a verified authentication assessment. Likewise, a reported refund to one buyer is not proof that every complaint was resolved. Treat forum posts as attributed accounts unless supported by independent documentation, and avoid treating allegations as established facts.
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