Replica Watches

MooseJam

What do you think about replica watches, for some it would be the only hope they ever have of owning (or appearing to) a luxury watch, some of them are very good and you could never tell it's fake by looking at someone wearing it, you would really have to do an up close inspection, and how do these replica sites stay in business, surely it's illegal to sell them

Wibbs

OK Debate fine. No links please

Wibbs

Yep hugely illegal to sell them and if they ever go wrong and you bring them to a dealer, they'll likely destroy them.

The web has made it so much easier for dodgy types to sell the, 90% are very obviously fakes too. Now I've seen "good" copies, but the "good" ones are actually quite expensive. I've seen them sell for 100-300 euro. You can get a nice new legitimate watch for that. Go second hand or vintage and you can get some very nice pieces, from recognised names for that money.

Thomas_S_Hunterson

Wibbs wrote: »

Yep hugely illegal to sell them and if they ever go wrong and you bring them to a dealer, they'll likely destroy them.

The web has made it so much easier for dodgy types to sell the, 90% are very obviously fakes too. Now I've seen "good" copies, but the "good" ones are actually quite expensive. I've seen them sell for 100-300 euro. You can get a nice new legitimate watch for that. Go second hand or vintage and you can get some very nice pieces, from recognised names for that money.

I can't see how it could be illegal to own a replica watch. To sell one, yes, but I'm 95% certain that owning one is perfectly fine. If I take a bog standard seiko and replace the watch-face with one that just happens to say another brand on it, I've done nothing wrong. I've taken items which are my property and modified them. Likewise I could rebadge my car.

With this in mind, I'm at a loss as to how a dealer could destroy a watch without opening themselves up to liability for criminal damage, replica or not.

Wibbs

I agree, but I have heard first hand that they have done that(fake rolex). Rolex are particularly twitchy and proactive about this I gather. No doubt if it went all legal they would argue on the side of copyright infringement. If you had a real one and replaced the dial to say Bolex it would be less of an issue for them I would reckon. There are guys out there who do "frankenwatches" usually homages to watches no longer available, but they're not sold or described as originals and the backs are stamped accordingly. They're more a style than a copy kinda thing.

The military watch lads are big into that. They'll take a good base movement, build a case in the style of say an IWC mark 2 and copy the hands and dial style, but it's clear they're not an IWC product. Yes a replica style, but not like the fake crowd, trying to pass it off as an original.

Some of the makers do this too. Make copies of their older models or homages to their older models The IWC big pilots is a good example. The original was a ww2 luftwaffe navigation watch. It was a huge watch. I had one of the Laco ones. pretty much unwearable. The new one is much smaller and an homage to the old. Though they avoid the nazi past of the original like the plague.:)

Wibbs

Replicas are a big subject. The vintage market has a lot of dodgy lashups of common real deal base models tweaked to look like much rarer models. Rolex and Omega suffer this one a lot.

MooseJam

Passing off a replica as a real one to a buyer is obviously very bad but I don't see too much wrong with selling to someone who knows what they are buying, I can see how companies wouldn't like it but I doubt they are too worried, I'd feel farely safe that Rolex have not lost a single sale to 100 dollar replica's

Owen

I've seen, and actually bought for ****s-n-giggles a few replicas when I was in Asia, and in Turkey, and to be honest, it's really not hard to see that they're replicas. The weight of the watches, the quality of the surface plating, even the noise the hinge movements on the straps make, it's all tinny.

It's like slamming the door of a Micra, and a Masserati. One goes chink, the other goes clunk.

Wibbs

Good idea that, though why not embed a tiny chip in the watch case itself?

MooseJam

electronics , in my watch

utkik

(apologies to OP for slight hijack)

I was actively looking into this a few weeks ago. I always wanted a Panerai, and needless to say, replica is an easier option than the real thing!

There's no end of websites out there offering good replicas. I got pictures of the replicas and compared them to the original, and you could see the difference in quality in quite a few straight away.

Having said all that though, I noticed there are 2 kinds of replica out there - there's the ones powered by 'japanese automatic movement', but there are swiss replicas available too.

The appearence of the swiss replicas are very close to the original, and they're also guaranteed to match size & weight. Some of them have transparent backs, and you can see the individual parts, and I have to say I was very impressed. The downside of the swiss replicas, though, is the price: €300-€400. Having said that though, it looks like you're still getting a great quality watch (although just showerproof).

I'm really torn as to what to do. Bar the lotto win that everyone is waiting for, I'll never get a Panerai. But on the other hand, is a swiss replica still a good enough watch in its own right?
What do people think?
I won't post any links, but a google of 'swiss replica WatchBrand' will pull up results.

Ignoring the moral debate, I'd be very interested to hear from other enthusiasts. I have a Seiko Sportura for everyday, a G-Shock for training, and a nice Dalvey for occassions. But shelling out on a good replica with swiss movement is still tempting!

StealthRolex

For €400 you can buy a genuine ORIS.

What I don't understand is why anyone would want to give €400 to someone for a watch that contains a €15 ebauche in a €10 case with a €5 bracelet. Just because it looks like a Panerai or Cartier. And as has already been said, you will look at it and know it is a fake, and know you have supported an illegal industry. Physically. We're not talking dodgy downloads here.

You would be better off with an homage watch from someone like Timefactors.com. Check their Precista "Italian". Looks just like a vintage Panerai.

utkik

thanks for the pointer, stealthrolex.

You're dead right too - it's a lot to pay for a replica. I think this is just down to personal choice. I just happen to really like the Panerai design, simple as that.
But, I'm not an expert at all, I presume you're also paying for the inside of the watch, no? Good working parts etc?
FWIW someone I know has a swiss replica of another high-profile brand, and it'd take an expert to spot the difference. Every detail is perfect, the leather is great quality, excellent stitching which hasn't deteriorated after 2 yrs daily use etc.

Anyway, thanks again for the link, there's a whole area here that's new to me.

StealthRolex

no worries utkik, Eddie Platts, the guy behind Timefactors is quality all the way - he is also ISO9000 certified since 2004.

His Speedbirds are legend on some of the other watch fora and the limited editions can command serious money with collectors.