Let's Talk About Replica Watches...

[Hayward]

Technically I own a fake watch. It's a Rolex Air King with an Explorer dial and hands. Rolex did make such watches for the UK markets in the 60s and 70s, but the serial on my watch case indicates it was made in the 80s, so it's a redial. I paid under a grand for it, which is a good price for an Air King. It's awfully dainty compared to my other watches but it's fun to wear, more so than the Sea Dweller I had which invariably attracted inappropriate attention.

I don't think I'd buy an outright fake but in many ways the watch companies have brought the situation upon themselves. Rolex transformed their brand from a mark known for reliability and value into the horological equivalent of the stretch Humvee limo. And what is worse is that other great companies have gone in the same direction even faster.

What about someone who buys an old brand and makes their product differently than their namesakes, like Stowa, or Lip?

 

[MikeDT]



Bravo ... you've hit the nail on the head.

The wearer always knows it's not real. I can't imagine that anyone will be happy wearing a fake. And what is is the reason for wearing a replica watch ... to revel in the envy of those who covet the real thing?

There's many here wearing replica, knock-off, copy, counterfeit, homage, fake or bootleg watches. All seem perfectly happy to brand whore and think how nice they look.

I wear a Rado Ceramica myself mainly because of the style. Sometimes there's looks of disbelief when I say it's a real one.

 

[RSS]



There's many here wearing replica, knock-off, copy, counterfeit, homage, fake or bootleg watches. All seem perfectly happy to brand whore and think how nice they look.

I suppose this is why the 'knock-off' market is so big. Still, from my point of view something is quite off about wanting something so much that one is willing to fake it. In a sense the person wearing a fake hasn't really even made it to brand whore -- which is sad enough -- they are brand whore wannabes. This is one to think about and ponder. It's a very sad situation.

Advertising and its carrots ... good god!

I wear a Rado Ceramica myself mainly because of the style. Sometimes there's looks of disbelief when I say it's a real one.

In my world wearing a replica watch -- were it to be made known -- would be thought a desperate measure. I'm not saying it's never done ... but I've never considered the possibility that others I know might be wearing a replica. If I found out someone was ... I'd be worried about him/her and his/her stability. On the other hand, wearing an inexpensive but well designed original wouldn't draw concern or notice.

 

[Reevolving]

I have a friend that pulls down $500k a year.
He also has liquid assets totaling as much.
In the big picture, a small timer, but not a $30k guy either.
The point being, he can easily afford a few nice watches.

He absolutely LOVES his fake watches.
He has several. (Rolex, Brietling, etc)
He spends on nice stuff: clothes, trips, cars, etc.
They perfectly fit his lifestyle, so they do not look suspect on him.
B/c he's got the rest of the package, everyone simply assumes they're real.
In fact, I am the only person he's told they are fake.

He gets loads of compliments on them...
His logic is that he's getting "$5000" worth of "value" for $200.
He actually laughs aloud with glee when he tells of people who paid $5000 for what HE views as the exact same thing.
He laughs and says it would be utterly marsupialed to pay $5000 for the same thing. "Do I look like an idiot?"

So, some men have the opposite reaction to wearing a fake.
They feel they got the deal of the century.
He would feel dirty paying $5000, after getting away with only paying $300.
Is he a wanna be? No. He is a SERIOUS watch guy (ironically), and would pay $5000 if he had to.
But, he feels only a fool would pay more, when you have alternatives.

 

[coffeecupman]

^^ Check out your own sig file.

Your friend may make 500K, but from your character writeup, he doesn't sound like anyone I'd like to hang out with.

ccm

 

[Journeyman]



So, some men have the opposite reaction to wearing a fake.
They feel they got the deal of the century.
He would feel dirty paying $5000, after getting away with only paying $300.
Is he a wanna be? No. He is a SERIOUS watch guy (ironically), and would pay $5000 if he had to.
But, he feels only a fool would pay more, when you have alternatives.

I think that the real question is why does your friend want to wear a fake Rolex/Breitling/Panerai/IWC etc?
Why not just buy a decent watch that doesn't carry the brand name? As others have noted, there are plenty of companies out there that make decent automatic or manual-wind watches for not much money.

I suspect that it is mostly men who purchase "replica" (ie fake) watches, and it seems to me that it is the male equivalent of the woman with the fake LV/Hermes/Prada handbag.

The reality is that - despite all the defensive comments such about it being a good watch, getting a good deal, being just as good as the real thing and so on - people wouldn't buy these replicas if it wasn't for the brand name on the dial, just as women buy fake handbags so they can get a cheap bag with the LV monogram.

Quite frankly, I'm surprised that there is anyone on SF who would condone this practice. It doesn't matter whether some watch brands - just like handbags - are hideously overpriced, the products are still fake and are being worn under false pretences.

 

[CDFS]



I have a friend that pulls down $500k a year.
He also has liquid assets totaling as much.
In the big picture, a small timer, but not a $30k guy either.
The point being, he can easily afford a few nice watches.

He absolutely LOVES his fake watches.
He has several. (Rolex, Brietling, etc)
He spends on nice stuff: clothes, trips, cars, etc.
They perfectly fit his lifestyle, so they do not look suspect on him.
B/c he's got the rest of the package, everyone simply assumes they're real.
In fact, I am the only person he's told they are fake.

He gets loads of compliments on them...
His logic is that he's getting "$5000" worth of "value" for $200.
He actually laughs aloud with glee when he tells of people who paid $5000 for what HE views as the exact same thing.
He laughs and says it would be utterly marsupialed to pay $5000 for the same thing. "Do I look like an idiot?"

So, some men have the opposite reaction to wearing a fake.
They feel they got the deal of the century.
He would feel dirty paying $5000, after getting away with only paying $300.
Is he a wanna be? No. He is a SERIOUS watch guy (ironically), and would pay $5000 if he had to.
But, he feels only a fool would pay more, when you have alternatives.

If I could fool only one person on this earth I was wearing fake watches; it would be you. Something to think about.

 

[Reevolving]

Well, the logic is quite simple for him.

First, why does he want the name brand watch? Same reason as everyone else!
$5000 watches have a certain "utility" in the social status and compliments they bring.
If he actually wanted to tell time, he's got a cell phone for that, or a $300 Seiko that looks just as good.

Relatively speaking, he feels he is getting a huge value, as others pay $5000 for what he's getting for $300.
So, he's getting 100% of the same social status and compliments at about 7% of the cost.

He absolutely loves this "discount" and feels these watches are the best deal & value he has ever gotten in his life.
In fact, he mocks and disdains people he meets and does business with who have the real thing.
He has basically said, "You've got to be an idiot to pay $5000 for this." He always laughs vigorously after saying this, shaking his head.
He "knows" it only costs $300 to make these watches, and the rest of pure profit. He feels the lux watch makers are marketing geniuses.

You must remember, this guy invests heavily into his business and into many real estate holdings. He has wealth. And he is shrewd.
He feels that most of the (broke wage slave) people he meets have no business spending that much on a watch in the first place.
As such, he feels they are bigger fakers than he is. (and naive suckers, to boot) LOL !

 

[coffeecupman]

The logic is indeed simple.

You and your friend feel that deception is clever and shrewd.

The people on the other side of the argument feel it is ugly, and psychologically unhealthy.

If your friend A) seeks to deceive the people he involves himself with on a daily basis (presumably his philosophy of deception is not limited to watches, since he is so proud of it)
and B) Mocks and disdains people whom he does business with...

Are we supposed to be seeing these as good qualities in a person?

Why do you hang out with this asshole?

ccm

 

[pkiula]

Some amusing things in this thread and it'll be painful for me not to share my 0.02 --

1. Aesthetically, most Panerais just look butt-ugly (any bigger font and it'd be Braille), but so do most golden Rolex's! You're right, IWC has some under-stated, elegant designs, as do Omega, A Lange & Sohne, Longines, Vacheron Constantin, Baume & Mercier, and several others. It's now a crowded market -- pick up any male magazine and you'll see a Swiss classic watchmaker or another on every other page.

2. There are fakes, and there are replicas. The former are almost invariably made in Guangzhou or thereabouts, and last about 5 days. The latter if you are lucky can be from Japan or Korea, look a lot closer to the real thing, and last a few years.

3. Either way (fake or replica), get one with a leather strap. The steel or metal stuff is nearly tin-class, and will have color peeling off etc. With leather straps, you can at least change to a decent one and that makes it look much more decent.

4. Trust me, people who own 1 or 2 specimens of the real thing, can tell the difference. It's in the quality of the metal and so on. I invested in an Omega and a Baume & Mercier (Hong Kong DFS had some excellent deals last x'mas), and the quality is palpably different.

Go ahead and buy replicas if you wish. Watches are almost a redundant accessory nowadays anyway (we tell time off our iPhone, do we not?), so if you want to show off a more expensive thing than you wish to actually pay for, go for it.

I for one do think you can do this in the area of watches or cufflinks (I saw a Mont Blanc cufflink pair today that was US$ 1,750 -- whatever they're smoking) as long as you don't think the same way for more important piece of attire such as suits and shoes

Do know that the discerning can tell the difference. Luckily for you, most people can neither tell nor care to.

 

[Zeppelin]

He always laughs vigorously after saying this, shaking his head.
He "knows" it only costs $300 to make these watches, and the rest of pure profit. He feels the lux watch makers are marketing geniuses.

I'm not so sure who is laughing at whom... Sounds quite pathetic, your friend, I have to say. If he had only a glimpse of knowledge about the watch industry he'd know that he is NOT getting the same watch for a fraction of the price. He might get the same design (depending on the quality of the copy), but the movement and the overall craftsmanship involved is definitely different. Hopefully he doesn't intend to hand down one or two of his fine watches to his children (should the copies even last that long). But wait, let me guess ... he doesn't have children anyway, right? Way too expensive in the long run, considering the raw material cost and hence their "real" value.

 

[kasakka]

I've got a fake Breitling Navitimer. I've never even seen the "real thing" in real life. I really didn't care what brand name was on it, I simply loved the design. Of course, I would've been insane to spend 3000+ euros for a real one. The fake does just fine. It has the design I liked, it's an automatic and runs well. Likewise I have no need to impress anyone with the watch (or anything else) I'm wearing. That's just stupid.

 

[pkiula]

Btw, about that table that the OP linked to, it doesn't make any sense. Any documentation to prove that idealwatches (dot com) is real Swiss made quality? And so on? How? Based on what they state on their website?

 

[jd2010]

Dont use that website. Its a well known scamming network of websites working in tandem.

If you don't know where to get good replicas, don't bother. Youll get trash, or more often, straight up stolen from.

 

[Reevolving]

He researched it heavily, and spent big on his replica.
He knows watches as well as the next guy on watch forums.
It is identical to the real thing.
The only difference is that if you open it up, one of the tiny screws is not blue.
Not all replicas are made the same, and he found the best maker.
Very limited supply. You are talking about $20 replicas made of tin.
His are the real deal. Not even dealers can tell the apart.
You may have never seen how far the replica market has come.
Again, he paid over $300 for his watches, which is more than most non-replica watches.
These are not your father's replica Rolex's is what I am saying.

Why do I hang out with him? He's a great guy.
Very funny. Intelligent. Hard worker. Successful. Knows how to have a good time.
Very generous also. He has given me free reign of his summer homes, and has taken me up in his plane many times.
(Beats driving to the Cape!)