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Posted

Hi everyone. 

 

Hope you guys are doing fine. I ve been asked for my expertise on that box of Siglo 6 Gran Reserva. As i don't see such kind of boxes often i figured out i could ask the community. 

 

Thanks. 

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  • Like 1
  • Lunettesman changed the title to Siglo 6 Gran Reserva
Posted

I have to say @Lunettesman, the box, packaging, inserts et al looks genuine but of course it's the cigars that matter. Of course, one could say smoke one and you will find out but it's not that easy. In the the case of the Cohiba VI Gran Reserva, one will know within the first puffs whether it's real or not, it's that obvious. The blend itself cannot be imitated.

Below are some links to some other topics on the matter pertaining to genuineness and even some reviews of some real ones...

 

  • Like 1
Posted
8 hours ago, JohnS said:

I have to say @Lunettesman, the box, packaging, inserts et al looks genuine but of course it's the cigars that matter. Of course, one could say smoke one and you will find out but it's not that easy. In the the case of the Cohiba VI Gran Reserva, one will know within the first puffs whether it's real or not, it's that obvious. The blend itself cannot be imitated.

Below are some links to some other topics on the matter pertaining to genuineness and even some reviews of some real ones...

 

Thanks for sharing your opinion. They indeed look very real to me too. 

Posted

This type of item is DEFINITELY out of my league. But things seem to match up pretty well. The two things that gave me pause were some of the water damage next to the XXXX/5000 plaque and some of the varnish dissipating from the golden hinges. Both of those very well could just be wear and tear however. 

Posted
2 hours ago, gormag38 said:

This type of item is DEFINITELY out of my league. But things seem to match up pretty well. The two things that gave me pause were some of the water damage next to the XXXX/5000 plaque and some of the varnish dissipating from the golden hinges. Both of those very well could just be wear and tear however. 

Thank you. I had notice also like water which looks like glue residue. As far as your second point i don't quite understand it. Golden hinge?

Posted
2 hours ago, Lunettesman said:

Golden hinge?

In the 7th photo from the top. Just appears that the gold on the hinge is a little varnished. But as I mentioned, could very easily just be wear and tear. 

Posted
6 hours ago, gormag38 said:

In the 7th photo from the top. Just appears that the gold on the hinge is a little varnished. But as I mentioned, could very easily just be wear and tear. 

Oh ok. Thanks. In reality it looks.better

Posted
7 hours ago, Lunettesman said:

In reality it looks.better

Good to hear brother. Truly I think the box looks pretty damn good. I'm just nit picking small cosmetic things (which we all know Cuba doesn't do well with). 

Posted

The rule with a box like this is that if you have to ask: it's fake. History is everything. The value of an empty box of these is effectively about $20,000.

That said, your box looks pretty good, so I did some comparisons with a genuine example.

1. The finish. Your box looks a bit dusty. I guess the cardboard and velvet bag were thrown away? Bit strange that it would have been sitting somewhere where it could get dusty, as opposed to in a humidor. What I was looking for in these pics is the finish, which on very close inspection of the genuine example has random poc marks across the surface. I'm not sure if these imperfections were there from the start or if they are something that has happened as the finish has deteriorated over 14 years. Can't really tell if they are present in your photo, but would be an interesting comparison as presumably a newly manufactured replica wouldn't have the same marks.

image.jpeg.8dff01e5f7950b28cc44367b266bd87f.jpeg

Otherwise the outside box looks perfect. Placement of the logos etc are exact to the genuine one.

2. The push button. Your push button is off kilter a little bit. My genuine example is also off a little bit. Not as much, but still off.

The gold finish in your picture looks like it has worn away or tarnished. On the genuine example it is still bright and shiny. If yours has tarnished due to deterioration with age, that maybe indicates a fake made from slightly different materials. Another possibility is that it has tarnished due to being opened a lot, although not sure what scenario that would have happened in. For what it's worth, the example I am comparing it to has been opened maybe once a year during its lifetime.

image.png.816bc9555ab084a0a9b4c36487dd3f0b.png


3. The glue spot next to the numbering plate. Factory defect. On an ordinary box, nothing to worry about. On a Gran Reserva box, well, probably could happen but definitely not a point in its favour. The gold colour on the plate looks different to mine, but I put that down to light reflection in the photograph.


image.png.fc4fb3bd31fc3f3a38265fbe6241b76e.png

4. Hinge. In a previous post you mentioned that this looks better in reality than in the photograph, however it clearly appears to show white dusty wear and flaking around the edges. Again maybe indicates the box has been opened a lot, or else the finish is deteriorating with age. On the genuine box there is no sign of wear or deterioration. As far as the placement of the logo, the screws etc goes it all looks perfect.

image.png.b1319a2b56115d66e6871eb3c87a2635.png

5. The vitolina. Very common that fakers screw these up, but yours looks perfect. Text is the same, line ending etc all appear to line up.

image.jpeg.a55a203d34059a3cd7e604662c9bff46.jpeg

6. The cigars. By far the most important aspect, as it is incredibly easy to refill a box of these with genuine Siglo VIs for fun and profit, with the only bit that really needs to be 'faked' being the GR bands.

It could be that your pictures are all slightly out of focus, but in my opinion the printing on the GR bands looks a bit muddy. The gold strips should have two layers to them, one flat and one embossed, but it is not clear if this is present on your sticks. The GR text is not perfectly crisp on the genuine bands - these were printed before Habanos moved their premium band printing to Holland - but in my view, it looks a little worse on your bands than it does on the genuine.

image.png.292f0a196f086e869b5f475f45460594.png

In conclusion, I wouldn't say either way on this box from photographs. You would need to do an in person side by side to come to a better conclusion.

But, as I said at the outset: if there is any question about one of these boxes, it's fake. Way too much money on the line for anything less. If you can't trace it back to the original owner and the store they bought it from, forget it.

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Posted
On 6/11/2023 at 1:04 PM, ATGroom said:

The rule with a box like this is that if you have to ask: it's fake. History is everything. The value of an empty box of these is effectively about $20,000.

That said, your box looks pretty good, so I did some comparisons with a genuine example.

1. The finish. Your box looks a bit dusty. I guess the cardboard and velvet bag were thrown away? Bit strange that it would have been sitting somewhere where it could get dusty, as opposed to in a humidor. What I was looking for in these pics is the finish, which on very close inspection of the genuine example has random poc marks across the surface. I'm not sure if these imperfections were there from the start or if they are something that has happened as the finish has deteriorated over 14 years. Can't really tell if they are present in your photo, but would be an interesting comparison as presumably a newly manufactured replica wouldn't have the same marks.

Otherwise the outside box looks perfect. Placement of the logos etc are exact to the genuine one.

2. The push button. Your push button is off kilter a little bit. My genuine example is also off a little bit. Not as much, but still off.

The gold finish in your picture looks like it has worn away or tarnished. On the genuine example it is still bright and shiny. If yours has tarnished due to deterioration with age, that maybe indicates a fake made from slightly different materials. Another possibility is that it has tarnished due to being opened a lot, although not sure what scenario that would have happened in. For what it's worth, the example I am comparing it to has been opened maybe once a year during its lifetime.


3. The glue spot next to the numbering plate. Factory defect. On an ordinary box, nothing to worry about. On a Gran Reserva box, well, probably could happen but definitely not a point in its favour. The gold colour on the plate looks different to mine, but I put that down to light reflection in the photograph.


4. Hinge. In a previous post you mentioned that this looks better in reality than in the photograph, however it clearly appears to show white dusty wear and flaking around the edges. Again maybe indicates the box has been opened a lot, or else the finish is deteriorating with age. On the genuine box there is no sign of wear or deterioration. As far as the placement of the logo, the screws etc goes it all looks perfect.

5. The vitolina. Very common that fakers screw these up, but yours looks perfect. Text is the same, line ending etc all appear to line up.

6. The cigars. By far the most important aspect, as it is incredibly easy to refill a box of these with genuine Siglo VIs for fun and profit, with the only bit that really needs to be 'faked' being the GR bands.

It could be that your pictures are all slightly out of focus, but in my opinion the printing on the GR bands looks a bit muddy. The gold strips should have two layers to them, one flat and one embossed, but it is not clear if this is present on your sticks. The GR text is not perfectly crisp on the genuine bands - these were printed before Habanos moved their premium band printing to Holland - but in my view, it looks a little worse on your bands than it does on the genuine.

In conclusion, I wouldn't say either way on this box from photographs. You would need to do an in person side by side to come to a better conclusion.

But, as I said at the outset: if there is any question about one of these boxes, it's fake. Way too much money on the line for anything less. If you can't trace it back to the original owner and the store they bought it from, forget it.

Thank you so much for your deep analysis and that you took time to answer so deeply. I will DM you for further details. 

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