I've got $3k into my El Primero Daytona... And I'd gladly do it again.
I don't mind spending what I do on watches, and I don't spend what I do because I'm desperate to have something that's only pretending to be something else.
I do what I do because it's fun. It's fun to build. It's fun to see how close to gen I can get. Not because I'm trying to fool someone into thinking my rep is a gen... But because it's a hobby, and buying genuine is frankly quite boring to me. The last gen I bought was my vintage Seamaster 300, and it just sits in my watch box, as there's nothing to do to it. I bought it, brought it home, took some pictures of it, and put it away. Don't get me wrong... I appreciate gens, and there are some I'd still like to purchase, but they're just not as interesting to me as reps.