Let's Talk About Replica Watches... - Page 26

The irony of this whole fake/replica/counterfeit deal is the genuine watchmakers benefit from the trade. Yes, they do coz an average replica buyer is never satisfied with the fake watch, obsesses over the imperfections and ultimately ends up buying the real deal. This happens in most cases and these are the typical consumers that would never consider spending that amount on a watch if they had not indulged in replicas.
Rolex isn't worried and so is swatch group. I say live and let live.

Actually.... no.

I attempted to read this whole thread but around page 5 things started looking like a broken record. Anyways, my $0.02 (and apologies if this has been mentioned on here up to this point):

I used to wear fake watches all the time in middle and high school. I felt really cool for having a "Rolex." It was purely for looks and for making people think I had the status/means to wear nice watches. This is embarrassing to admit but I can 100% say it is the truth. And I think 95% of the people wearing fake watches fall into this group (granted some of them are far older than I was when I was wearing them).

The last fake watch I wore was a GMT that I wore every day for my last 2 years in college. However, I wore this watch for a far different set of reasons than why I wore fakes when I was younger. I actually was given a (real) Omega Speedmaster for my high school graduation that I wore for the first couple of years of college. And I beat the SHIT out of the thing. It actually pains me to think of how badly I treated the watch and, accordingly, it looks to have quite a bit of mileage on it these days.

I started wearing the fake when I found it moving out of my fraternity house and I really liked the way it looked. Even more importantly, I could pass out in all the gutters I could imagine without worry of losing or beating the shit out of my actually good watch. To be honest if the watch would have broken or stopped ticking I would have replaced it with a Timex or something but it was free, it was there, it looked good and I'll be damned if the thing ever lost a minute the two years I wore it.

I would never wear fake watches now that I have an appreciation for what makes them so nice and the means to purchase real watches. However, using a nice looking fake watch as a beater during a period of my life when I was making questionable decisions 90% of the time served me well.

The fact that they don't care is obvious ... otherwise they wouldn't have purchased thing. The point is they should care. But their faux persona is just too important to their 'perceived' well being ... and they do it anyway. It's SLEEZY guys. If you own one ... you're sleezy.

Not really ... if you think about it ... and you are totally honest.

Ah ... lets try and justify it.

BTW I know more than a few people -- including owners -- in the watch business; they are NOT happy about replicas. When some trasy 'douch' -- like those of you who wear replicas -- puts on his fake ... it tarnishes the image of the original.

Haha I suppose I should have said different primary motivations. Granted I was still wearing a fake watch, so from a psychological standpoint take that as you will.

However, when you're routinely not sleeping at home, drinking a lot (and making the decisions that come with that) and totally uneducated about watch care in general, it makes little sense to wear anything of worth on a regular basis. (The damage I did to my real watch my first 2 years at college underlined this.) At the end of the day it was a sharp-looking free watch that had zero monetary or sentimental value to me.

It's no justification for replica wearers, it's just the simple truth. Most people that can afford genuine watches will buy genuine and ppl that buy fakes will end up buying the real deal.

I personally won't buy a fake coz I believe in buying things I can afford and not projecting a false image to anybody but I won't crucify someone that buys a fake. It's his/her business

People that buy fakes are not going to all of a sudden drop $7,000+ on a watch. But I do agree that the fakes do help establish the real deal's presence in the market. People that will buy a fake generally don't have the means to buy the real thing. Nowhere close. People that buy the real thing wouldn't be caught dead in a fake.

I think that there are two very different kinds of people that buy watches. There are those who come at it from a rational point of view that say "If I can buy a high quality swiss replica of a rolex at 1/10th the cost, why not? I'm surely not taking a 90% dip in quality"

Then there are those who care about heritage, movement, and absolute precision, and price is not an issue.

I have a hard time believing that there is much crossover in these two markets.

Myself, I understand the draw of a replica. But I choose to own authentic items within my price range. I have a very simple Raymond Weil. It has no bells and whistles, it has the sort of understated elegance that I enjoy, and initially I was left wanting more after seeing other watches with so much presence. But then I realized something, the people that compliment me on my watch are people that understand and love watches. I once was told that my watch looks like a piece of crap from a girl that was showing off her new Michael Kors watch to me. Honestly, it made me love my watch more.

They can start with a $2000-$2500 Omega or Breitling

Or a $100 Timex. There is no justification, at least in my mind, for purchasing a known fake. None.

Not really ... people who buy fakes ARE fakes.

Reev, your friend who tells you that his $300 fake is the equal of the real thing is BSing you. But given that he wears rip-off watches, lying is a part of his daily life. I'm surprised this doesn't occur to you.

I would never buy a fake watch that said ROLEX on it if it wasn't a real Rolex. But I would buy a watch from a lesser manufacturer for a lower cost that looked similar to what Rolex has to offer.

I never mentioned anything about the illegal thing - which can vary between countries. Yes, it's morally dubious and I'm not saying that faking a brand down to the logo is a good thing. However, meanwhile there are tons of brands making essentially replicas of Rolex Submariners and other watches but the only thing that makes them more legit is that they use a different brand name. The brand name is often the protected part, not the design. Like I said, to me the Breitling name stamped on the watch was not important, I just liked the design. I tried looking for similar watches but couldn't find any that were close enough to what I liked. So I took a gamble at the replica thing and liked what I got.