mhinagoya

Admin. Try the ladies' night market in Kowloon. The reps come out after 9:00pm or so. No, you probably won't find much in the way of super high quality (like our dealers offer here), but you will see thousands of watches and they can be had cheap. Who knows, you might get lucky and stumble across something worth taking home. Bill.

Gayla and I are still here in Taichung and we are rolling at your reply. Gentlemen, this is absolutely classic TTK. Bill.

Sorry guys, no pic. Hamilton Khaki X-Wind. Genuine. Bill.

Gentlemen. The site mentioned has some 'questionable' copy describing the product. In my opinion, no more nor any less questionable than ad copy used by most cosmetic manufacturers, many car manufacturers and at least one motorcycle manufacturer. There may be something interesting to be gleaned from a debate over the legitimacy of intellectual property (a logo or trademark and a style design). Character assissination and/or slander among friends will edify none of us. Most watches are luxury items, and as such, are priced at (and are worth) whatever the market wil bear. If these folks can sell their wares at the quoted prices, then that is what their market will bear. I personally feel that anytime a product is retailed using 'hyped' ad copy, with the intention of selling at a price that would not attract the market otherwise, then a 'scam' is in the offing. That is my feeling and it is neither right nor wrong. That is simply how I feel about this sort of marketing. For your consideration: There is a certain motorcycle manufacturer (who shall remain anonymous) that builds one of their products for a production cost of around $1,000. This has been verified by 'in house' documents that have been leaked. That same product is then sold in retail establishments for an asking price of $12,000. This is accomplished by convincing the buyer that they are also getting some kind of 'lifestyle' to go with their new bike. They tout that the new bike will make the rider somehow different (better). Most people never notice this. In fact, they will buy all kinds of junk at the local mall, just because the manufacturer licensed their logo to be used on those products. So the watch folks throw the "Swiss" idea around a lot. So what? The bike manufacturer had to start using "Made in America" (no legal definition) on their product, because they could no longer say it was "Made In USA" (a legally defined term), as so much of it is now outsourced to Asia. Whether overpriced watches or overpriced vehicles, capitalism can occasionally have an ugly face and this is one of them. Now y'all play nice. Get your motorcycle out and go for a ride. Bill.

Pretty smart watchmaker. He was protecting himself. It isn't inconceivable that someone might take a rep in for service, then when they went to pick it up, claim that the store had switched a rep for their genuine. As to being able to spot a modded rep, the man is a watchmaker after all. If he couldn't tell the difference, I wouldn't let him work on one of my watches. Bill.

It's really a matter of perspective. Brand name watches are luxury items and as such, are priced at what the market will bear. If they were priced significantly lower, the manufacturer couldn't meet the demand. If the manufacturer then upped production to meet the demand, the label would lose the mystique. In short, yes, they are worth what they cost simply because people are willing to pay it. Another example is the Harley Davidson motorcycle. A couple of years ago, someone slipped a document out of HD that showed the production cost of a 1200 Sportster was about $800, yet they sell for $12,000. Motorcycles, like high-end watches, are luxury items and again, are priced at what the market will bear. Boats are the same way. When we talk about luxury items, value is whatever the public believes it to be. The value of a luxury item has absolutely nothing to do with the cost of manufacture. Bill.