Washington, Dec 11 (IANS) An American socialite couple, who gatecrashed President Barack Obama’s state dinner for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh tried to pay their way out of a debt with a watch that has turned out to be fake.
A Patek Philippe watch surrendered by Tareq Salahi to Warren County General District Court last week has been deemed a fake by two jewellers asked to evaluate its authenticity.

The watch was transferred to the court to be sold to satisfy a $2,063.35 judgment against the Salahis from a past due lawn mowing bill.

Ray Cosey of R.E. Jewelers Watch & Clock in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, said he is absolutely sure it is a fake. “You can tell by looking at the back of the watch. It’s see-through. I could tell by the grade of the movement that it isn’t a genuine watch. You can buy them on the streets of New York for a little bit of nothing.”

A genuine Patek Phillippe can fetch up to hundreds of thousands of dollars. In a document filed with the court, Cosey estimates Salahi’s imitation to be worth $100.

Jean Plauger who has owned Jean’s Jewelers on Main Street in Front Royal for 12 years, was given the watch by the court to evaluate and have repaired if necessary. “As soon as I saw it I thought it was a fake. We sent it to Chambersburg to be sure.”

The watch probably doesn’t matter anymore, though.

Attorney J. Daniel Pond III, who represents Salahi’s landscaper, said a bank cheque delivered Monday for $2,063.55 will cover their mowing bill. A judge ordered the watch released Wednesday.