Disclaimer

The site does not authenticate watches

A result compares the numbers you typed with tables compiled from published sources. It says whether a serial's format fits patterns a brand has used, which years those tables assert, and whether the serial and the reference are consistent with each other. It does not say that a watch is or is not what it claims to be, and nothing on the site should be read that way. The site has not seen the watch.

The tables are not the brands'

The years come from published tables compiled by collectors, dealers and auction houses. The brands do not publish them, do not endorse them, and in several cases hold records that contradict them. The tables disagree with one another; where they do, the result shows the disagreement with the name of each publisher rather than picking one.

"Not derivable" is a result, not a fault

For many watches the serial carries no date: every Rolex since spring 2010, most Omegas after about 2008, all modern Tudor, Breitling, TAG Heuer and Cartier, among others. For those the honest answer is "not derivable", and the warranty card or the brand's own archive extract is the only reliable source of the date. A result that says so is correct, not broken.

No lost-or-stolen check is performed here

The site does not query any registry. It links to Enquirus and The Watch Register so that you can run that check yourself, and it never states that a watch is or is not reported lost or stolen.

Reported issues are attributed reports

Where the site describes an issue owners have reported with a calibre or a family, it names the community that reported it and the date, and it says whether the manufacturer has made a public statement. Such a line is an attributed report of what owners say, not a finding of fact about the manufacturer or the watch.

Not affiliated

Sminto is not affiliated with, endorsed by or an authorised service of any watch brand named on it, including Seiko, Grand Seiko, Rolex, Omega and Tudor, nor with Enquirus or The Watch Register. Brand names are used to refer to the brands' own watches and for no other purpose. Trade marks belong to their owners.

The terms say what this means for liability; the method and the sources say where every line comes from.