I met a luthier who really liked Gretsch hollow body guitars, so much so that he counterfeited a late 1960s vintage model right down to the serial number, building every part by hand. Gretsch are highly collectable, can sell for up to $5K and more for a vintage year in good condition, but many if not most of them are notoriously poorly made and play terribly. The only way you could tell the counterfeit wasn't real was that it was too well made and played like butter. His 1968 Country Gentleman counterfeit Gretsch would sell at auction for over $30K. He probably finished it in 1991. No one believed it was real, that's just what his guitars sell for.
> The only way you could tell the counterfeit wasn't real was that it was too well made and played like butter.
Fascinating! I'm no aficionado, though I've read that—similarly—luxury watches lose around two minutes per year.