TeeJay

If you want to earn the respect of these people, as opposed to simply 'impressing', then my advice is to not wear a replica at all, as it would be a false image on false pretenses, and if you were to get caught out, that earned respect, in an office environment, would turn to an equal amount of distain and ridicule. I would agree with the suggestion of a Seiko, as while they're not considered a 'luxury brand', they are acknowledged and respected as a good brand. My other suggestion, is to look into a clone watch, like Alpha watch, Kingston or MK II. Any one of those will have the same looks to be playing with the Big Boys, and not be a fake. Someone might say "Well it's a copy of a [insert brand here]" to which you just point out that you have financial obligations and can't justify X amount of £/$s on a watch at the moment, but wanted something which would last you till you were in a position to treat yourself to a [insert brand here] [Edit to add] I've nothing against folks wearing reps at work, or even going to a new job wearing a rep, because as far as others would be concerned, that would 'be you', but if someone is to suddenly roll in wearing a new watch, it's possibly going to get noticed, and if these folks think for one second that you're trying to 'get one over' on them, or make yourself out to be more than you are, you might as well tender your resignation, as I can guarantee that afterwards, they would never take you seriously, never value your input, and never view you as anything other than a pretentious poser... Best thing I can suggest, is buy 'something decent' for now, then treat yourself to something like a 42mm Planet Ocean at Christmas, and roll it out following the holiday. If anyone asks or comment, simply say "It was a gift...". By all means allow people to view it, but refuse to be drawn on the subject further, so you can keep deception to the bare minimum Anything more than that, given there is a watch culture at the office, is leaving yourself open to becoming at best, the office buffoon, and at worst, someone universally rejected...

I guess it's worth a try, let me see if I can find Monica's number As above, anywhere else, I'd be happy to just walk through knowing that chances are nothing will be said I guess this gives me reason to build something sterile

PAM is a slang term for Panerai, but I forget the reason for the 'm'...

Thanks for the comments, amigos, always good to get other's viewpoints

Likewise, I also agree, it is highly unlikely that customs would spot anything (especially in other places) I just think that given Italy's customs reputation, it's really not worth the risk of taking something which is outright illegal in said country and having a holiday delayed or spoiled by getting it swiped by the federales

I've not tried the dry lube myself, but have heard many positive reviews from others I've also had good results in the past using sewing machine oil

No change. As far as the watch is concerned I got bored last night and decided to draw on myself for a bit Please bear in mind that these are not intended to be considered as 'finished tattoos', simply outlines/permanent stencils to be further worked on... There will be additional detailing added to the sleeve by coloring the flowers and falling petals, as well as cloud spirals and lightning bolts to create the background and definition, and that will be done by another artist at a later date, but I really wanted the flower motif extended immediately, and the only option was to do it myself...

Who knows... Someone posted a while back that an airport in, I believe, Germany, had an 'examination room' with gens for comparison... Maybe this is how things are going to become in the United States of Europe... Italy is said to be very strict (at the border) on rep items, so all it would take would be one thing for the customs inspector to be suspicious of 'something' about the traveler, and then everything fakeable, CDs, sunglasses, watch etc would get scrutinized, and that could potentially lead to a confiscation... I remember reading a few years back that a kid from some private school on a trip to Italy got busted for wearing a fake Rolex when the Polizia did a raid on a market known for selling replica merch As above, I personally wouldn't want to take that risk with a watch with as much invested in it as a grail super franken. I wouldn't even risk it with my quartz sub, because although the item would be easily re-createable, the ear-bashing I would get from Wife.Gov for causing a delay at customs simply wouldn't be worth it Any other country, I would run the gauntlet and take the chance, but not Italy, given it's reputation...

:rofl: Submariner case with an SMP 300 dial and a tweaked Tudor logo... Homage wannabeism at its peak That said, the price is right

I quite agree, a franken or super rep is highly unlikely to get identified as such even if seen, I just wouldn't want to run the risk of losing such a piece in the event that it was Such pieces tend to be grail watches, and by that I don't just mean someone's flavor of the month watch, but a watch which may have been an extended build, possibly with hard to find or gifted parts, and in my mind, that makes them emotionally irreplaceable, even if physically, they could be recreated, so I feel they deserve a better fate than at the hands of a customs monkey

Another thread just got me thinking about this... Reps are reps, and contraband due to their obvious misuse of an existing brandname. I get that, but I was wondering, what about unbranded homage watches? For example, Helena Rou sells an unbranded clone of the DSSD. Sure, it doesn't have any Rolex brandings, but the design itself is still patented (I believe ) Rolex intellectual property, so would that make it just as much an infringement say to a country like Italy or France, as its branded replica cousin? I've never really been a fan of homages or self-branded clones, as I always felt they were just evading the counterfeit title by either slapping on their own brand, or omitting one entirely, yet still really 'want to be' that brand model. Reps are at least 'honest in their dishonesty', in that they make no pretense about trying to be anything other than what they are trying to be. But the legal aspect of the IP of the design itself never really crossed my mind till now, so I just wondered if anyone might know the legal side of things? Not really concerned if anyone has traveled safely with a homage (or a rep), as evading the law is still breaking it, just not getting caught, and I wanted to know if the homage would be breaking the law, in any actionable sense, from a purely legal perspective TIA for a good discussion, let's keep it clean and above the belt

Of course not, because it's gen, and thus not eligible to be seized by customs. Any rep in Italy, on the other hand, good or bad, is theoretically seizeable, which is why personally, I wouldn't take the risk at all... Anywhere else, yes, I wouldn't be worried, but if it ever comes to me visiting Italy, I'll be wearing either a cheap gen, or if I had the time and the funds before hand, I'd build myself a sterile homage which would be totally safe. I wouldn't want to risk starting the vacation on a bad note by being detained by customs to lose a lesser quality rep, and I definitely wouldn't want to doubly spoil it (and all the time after) by being down a high-quality or meaningful rep Equally, as another member pointed out in another thread, more than one is just ego, and for the hassle, I'll only ever travel with the one watch again

Fantastic piece

Totally agree, I don't think I'd want to go for beers with the guy, but it's still good viewing

In Italy?

I saw an episode a while back where someone took in some inherited pistols which should have been worth Big Dollars, but the experts who were called in felt that one of them was an Italian reproduction. I have to admit, personally, I would have attributed the variances mentioned to variances in production models rather than a repro, but it was interesting to see Another interesting piece, was I believe called a gambler's pistol, and combined a small revolver with a brass knuckle. Very interesting little piece If I had a choice of anything, I'd rather like a Walter P99, but if I was having something custom built, I think I'd go for a revolver with ergonomic grip, 3 inch barrel, and chambered for Desert Eagle ammo

Reps are total contraband in Italy (even possession) so given that, personally speaking, I don't think it's worth the risk of a spoiled vacation if a special piece was to get confiscated either at customs, or by the polizia...

:tu:

I'm going to say gen, possibly with a replacement to the mid-case over the years, but I would have thought that if it had gone in for servicing recently enough for the case to be replaced, they probably would have done something about the dial as well... I think the markers might simply have migrated over the years, rather than being a 'factory seconds' (which I doubt Rolex would have released anyway) Only other possibility, is that a Master Forger has built this and intentionally re-finished the dial thus as a kind of double-bluff ie who in their right mind would intentionally put the markers on that off-center... On another note, I love that linen-dial OysterDate

Functional, brother, functional!!!

I put this on last night on a whim, but have woken up to a rather hot day, so sticking with it Have a great weekend, amigos

There was a UK show, the name of which escapes me, where people could come into a group of Big Players, and try and convince them to buy their collectibles (could be absolutely anything from a vintage Rolex, to one person bringing in a dinosaur skeleton which had been prepped for wall-mounting) and most of the guys on that wore Rolexes too

You got me too, dude, and damn, that would have been one of those crazy finds that can happen :tu: Simply stunning build though, 100% pure class I suspect it wears larger due to the size of the dial relative to the case (as DJs can) but also the white dial itself. What a piece though

I know what you mean, bro, I think the thing that bugged me, was that the jackass would probably go ballistic if someone made a comment like that about any of 'his womenz' On the other hand, they're clearly one of life's losers, so not worth taking them too seriously, I doubt anyone else did Hope you have a good weekend too, bro That's pretty damn cool What would you have them make first? Damn the UK and its lack of 2nd Amendment rights...