Rubbish. The problem is that, although I'm fairly well paid, I simply can't afford a genuine Panerai - my favourite PAM 1950 is around £6000 in the UK, and I don't have a spare £6000. Besides, I'd rather have 4 x replica PAM 1950s, with different straps, than one original. The other thing is that if I damage or lose one, it's cost me a few hundred pounds, not a few thousand.
I do buy expensive equipment. For instance, B&O kit, which people would regard as way over priced. True, but they reside in my home and are less likely to be damaged or stolen.
Also, the other issue I have is that now the replicas are so good (and fool many dealers), why invest the extra in the genuine model? Apart from you knowing that you've got a genuine model, who else knows? My Swiss PAM 1950s keep superb time, so it's hardly going to perform much better than these models.