5 Ways to Check Authenticity
There are some really, really good fake Oakley Holbrooks out there. So good, they pass for the genuine article.
And that means unsuspecting people are getting ripped off — paying a premium price for counterfeit Holbrooks.
That price isn’t as much as what you’ll see on Oakley’s website or other reputable sites. And not too little to make you suspicious.
The sellers charge right in that sweet spot — between $40 and $70. Just enough to make you believe they might be real, but low enough to make you think you’re scoring a sweet deal.
We went in search of counterfeits that sellers were passing off as real. Beyond the universal signs you can look out for in spotting fake Oakleys vs real, below is a list of specific details for checking the authenticity of Holbrooks.
Double-check against everything here, and you should be able to spot fake Oakley Holbrooks.
1. Look for OO9102
SKU stands for Stock Keeping Unit, and it’s the service identification code for a product. On Oakley Holbrooks, it almost always starts with OO9102 (the only exception being a few collector’s editions).
Notice that those are not zeros at the start - they are double Os (the letter). There should be a difference in shape between the Os and the zero that follows after the “91” later in the SKU.
A lot of counterfeiters have started to use real SKUs, but they slip up here, using zeros instead of letters.
Note: the absence of a SKU doesn’t automatically mean the Holbrooks are counterfeit. They could be warranty replacements, customized Holbrooks, or the numbers may have just worn off.
2. Double-check the SKU on a search engine
The SKU format of Oakley Holbrook should look like this: OO9102-##. AS noted above, OO9102 specifies that it’s a Holbrook. The 2 numbers after the dash specify the colorway (frame and lens combination).
If your Holbrooks have “OO9102-01,” then the sunglasses you have should be Matte Black with silver Oakley icons. If you purchased them from an authorized dealer, the frames will also have grey lenses.
Legit third-party sellers do sell real Oakley frames with aftermarket lenses, so different color lenses isn’t necessarily a red flag. Trust-worthy sellers will note the aftermarket lenses in the listing.
Again, the makers of fake Oakleys are wising up slightly and putting real SKUs on their counterfeits. However, the SKU often doesn’t match the real product.
You may get a frame that has “OO9102-01” on the arm. That indicates you should have a matte black frame. If it’s any other color, those are fakes.
The best way to check this is to plug the SKU into a search engine and see which pair of Oakley Holbrooks is returned as the main result.
3. Verify the format of the frame specs
Most eyewear, from any manufacturer, has the frame size somewhere on the inside of the frame. These measurements are the size of the diameter of the lens followed by the size of the bridge (in millimeters). It often looks like this: 55-18.
Oakley does not use a dash to separate these two numbers. It does not use a square.
On Oakley Holbrook, the frame specs are separated by the elliptical Oakley O.
Standard Oakley Holbrook specs are 55-18. Asian Fit Holbrook specs are 56-17. You shouldn’t see any other numbers for these measurements.
4. Compare the font of “Holbrook” to a certified real stamp
This might be a little tricky to do without a side-by-side comparison in real life, but whip out a magnifying glass and study the “Holbrook” stamp on the inside of the left temple.
In the example below, the fake Holbrooks have a slightly skinnier font. For an idea of what to compare, look at the “Os” specifically.
The “O’s in the genuine Holbrooks are thicker on the sides and narrower on the top and bottom. Instead of forming a perfect circle inside and out, the inside of the “O” is actually more of an oval.
On the fakes, the O is round on the outside and on the inside.
5. Study the set of icons in the arms
The O icons in real Oakley Holbrooks are not flush with the rest of the arm — both the outer edges and the inside of the O sit above the plane of the ear stem.
Fake Oakleys are often inconsistent when it comes to icons. The icon will be flush with the ear stem, the inside of the O won’t indented, or the icon might not be level.
In 2 pairs of fake Oakleys that we compared, the top of each icon jutted out while the bottom of the icon tilted inward.
Some fakes are obviously fake — the counterfeiter isn’t trying too hard. They know they’re fake, you know they’re fake, and you’re paying $10 to some guy on the beaches of Mexico for your knock-off Foakleys.
But if the seller is claiming they’re real, the quality seems passable, but you’re questioning the authenticity, remember: the devil is in the details.
Hopefully, these tips will help you identify whether your Holbrooks are Oakleys or Foakleys. And remember, if you have the real deal, a scratched lens doesn't mean you're out the $100-plus you spent on your sunglasses. Find out more about refreshing your Oakleys with new replacement lenses for Oakley Holbrooks.
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