Who Watches the Watchmen (Our Chit Chat Thread)

I would and often do. I like the feeling of connection that it gives me to the mechanics of the watch; it's getting its energy from me. I also like the routine of winding every morning, but do occasionally forget as I'm moving between automatics and manuals.

With buying from Dubai, or indeed from anywhere outside of the EU, you need to remember to factor in VAT when the watch arrives in Ireland.
+ 23% on price including shipping fee.

I'd zero issue with recommending you buy pre-owned. It gives you far better value for money in the vast majority of watches.

Adverts and Chrono24 are the best places to start looking but if there's something specific you're after?
Let us know, one of us might well know of a lead.

wearing a handwound radiomir here, 3 day movement.

https://www.adverts.ie/for-sale/jewellery-watches/mens-watches/sports/1082/q_Tag/

Selection of Tags on adverts at various prices & locations in Ireland for you

https://www.adverts.ie/for-sale/jewellery-watches/mens-watches/sports/1082/q_Tag/

Regularly wear a hand wind.

My Speedie Mark II and a 3133 Sturmanskie.

Again, the nightly ritual and if I'm wearing for a week or so, both movements allow the low spring energy wind back to correct the time as I always regulate them to run + as opposed to -

I had ocassion to give this a very close look over. It's seemingly the current best sub replica, cloned movement, etc. Price wise it's at the higher end of what these go for. Could see it catching a fella out.

There was also this one

I believe north of 500 and below a grand territory.

There is a tell in the pic above and it's not that the pic was taken in my skoda lol. The end link to lug shows a tiny gap thats largely absent on genuine. I handled a genuine example in the past and that fitment was what blew my mind most.

But would you pay 1k to buy a clone of a 3k watch? Perhaps a 15k watch.

Certainly not.

But many do or they wouldn't be so prevalent.

What's retail for a brand new Sub? Versus $900?

It's too appealing for those who want the name not the horology.

So the question has to be, if a clone at less than 1k is near indistinguishable from the original watch at 10k, where is the added 9k in value in the real watch?

I assume the mostly the movement, if the finishing is identical (assuming metal used is the same as the original).

And if they are now cloning movements as well, then id guess the clone watch would keep good time too?

So where is the 9k of difference?

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-67761737.amp

even the thieves can’t tell the difference 😄

Seeing that comment from someone with as much experience of the top end of horology as yourself?
Really does hammer home just how good/dangerous the high-end fakes are!

I have thought for quite a while that Rolexes are now just too well copied to have faith in buying from anything other than an AD or a trusted seller.
On the one hand?
That has the benefit of opening folks up to consider brands other than Rolex, and with bigger watchmaking chops, too. I've learnt via folk here that if you are spending Rolex money?
That so many better options are available, hell even for less than Rolex money, 2nd hand high horology has enormous value and less chance of having your arm hacked off in London ;)
On the other?
It really does throw second-hand markets into a tumult, and that's without the considerations of the morality of buying fakes.
The criminal enterprise underpinning production and the IP theft, and indeed why one would pass off a fake.

There are a lot of people on Reddit and elsewhere who'd argue that a clone is 90% of the watch at 10% of the money.
So is a good homage, and that comes without the taint of fakery or indeed the implicit lie that wearing one as "real" comes with.