Replica compared to similarly priced Seiko, Casio, Orient or others

[automatico]

CzM:

"BTW, When I was looking at Orient watches here in Czech Republic, they dont seem to sell CEM75001M, which is a BEAUTY!!! (it is almost like Omega PO). I might as well consider them, but, on the other hand, no one will think I am wearing Omegas then, and with Omega reps, I might fool at least someone..."

Orients are not easy to find in the USA either (at least for me), I would guess the best selection is on the internet. I have never seen one like in the link but it sure is nice.

I currently have a couple 44mm Orients with 50 year calendars and a couple 34mm versions with day and date that have been for sale in a jewelry store for a few months but shoppers are not familiar with the Orient brand and will not buy them.

JD:

"Also, I'm not 100% sure the "Sapphire" glass that is advertised on $300 reps are actually sapphire. I'm more inclined to say they're mineral. Kind of the same way how sellers will drop ship you "ETA SWISS MOVEMENT" and it'll be a clone most of the time."

In my experience, some are and some are not. I have an F520117 noobsub with a chipped crystal and it is sapphire for sure...I scratch tested it with a tungsten carbide graver. The TC graver will lightly mark a sapphire crystal but it easily cuts grooves in an MG crystal.

I would rather have sapphire but I can live with an MG now and then. The problem is finding replacements the right thickness with the correct polished bevel (for rolex type watches).

Paying the extra $$ for a swisseta and getting a chineta would make me red in the face though.

[Guest asim]

You can always find superior quality in a gen watch BUT i have dealt with a few gens and QC ain't all that.

I work at an AD that sells IWC ROLEX BREITLING BELL&ROSS ETC and the amount of Rolys that don't have their cyclops attached flush over the date window, the Bell&Ross's that have slightly unstraightened dials, IWC's that have faulty movements (or scrappy lume markers on 3717 and BP crown not screwing in smoothly)

I believe we live with the myth that ALL reps are poor quality. My REP 3717, albeit modded to death, is as good as the gen if not slightly better because I was picky about the dial, datewheel alignment, tolerance of movement, AR on glass etc...

If you really really want to, you can build a super rep for good money and thereby save buying a cheaper end gen and a higher end rep that equals or even betters the gen!!

[yaron]

If you owned gens like Breitling or Omegas with actual double AR, the best factory double AR that comes on reps don't even come close to anything like a real OEM double AR. It almost just looks like they put on some bluing treatment on the glass that doesn't really have any anti-reflective properties.

Also, I'm not 100% sure the "Sapphire" glass that is advertised on $300 reps are actually sapphire. I'm more inclined to say they're mineral. Kind of the same way how sellers will drop ship you "ETA SWISS MOVEMENT" and it'll be a clone most of the time.

I think the AR that comes with rep breitlings is very good, almost as good as the gen (At least I can say it about my SOSF, BB and BCE). But you can't compare the lume and of course the movements (although the SOSF rep that was mentioned by By Tor has almost the same 2824 movement as the gen).

[mbjoer]

Plus 1

And to the above poster the AR and crystals that you get on our better reps is as good as the high end gens

Here is a challenge.

Find a Gen that costs $300 with the following

Saphire crystal

Double AR

ETA type, inc selitas automatic movement or a seiko movement infact i will alow allow a miyota auto

Steel bracelet

100m + water resistance

stylish

any takers

The other challange is to find the rep where you could be sure that it actually is water resistant at all.......

[JohnG]

Where can you get a monster for $145,? never seen them that low

On the Bay, every day of the week.

[Pugwash]

But this topic was about quality and if the quality of UPO with Swiss ETA is good enough to last few years, then I'm in...

A UPO will eventually need a new crown/tube.

If you want to look at the quality of a rep v gen of the same price, compare a SOSF rep (a stand-out high-ender) to a similar-priced gen, like a Monster, the SOSF will be better as it's a 28k Swiss movement, AR Sapphire, etc, whereas the Monster just has better lume. The reason for this is that our reps are tax-free and have no advertising/marketing costs to recoup. If you treat a rep price as a trade price, then the Gen starts to prove to be better.

The Noobmariner is another build-quality stand-out. That quality for that price is unparalleled in the gen world. However, once again, you're looking at a lack of warranty, no water-resistance guarantee, shitty lume ...

[Pugwash]

Where can you get a monster for $145,? never seen them that low

Oddly enough, try Amazon.com. Usually, they're around $170-$200, but occasionally, they'll dip towards the $150 mark. Last year, they were $145 all over Amazon.

[KB]

@KB: Gen PO will cost only about $2K

My bad I was thinking of Chrono.

That aside I asked the price of a non chrono PO at our international airport a while back and was quoted closer to 4K

Ken

[visitor]

I dislike citizen and seiko both (citizen ive had bad luck with, and seiko.. well they are just awful looking, all of them) so i'll stick with reps:)

[chris5264]

you can pick up a monster at longislandwatches.com for 145,,,plus shipping. It is on a strap,,no box or papers,,,but a decent deal..

[JohnG]

Oddly enough, try Amazon.com. Usually, they're around $170-$200, but occasionally, they'll dip towards the $150 mark. Last year, they were $145 all over Amazon.

They close on the Bay for $130 or even less, every day of the week. Just a couple of days ago I saw THREE close for under $130 in the same day.

[CzechMate]

how about an Invicta pro diver, decent cheap watch. Meets those qualities.

I've done some research and Ivicta pro diver seems to be a bit poor quality - at least there is enough evidence on different forums, that their customer care is nonexistent and when you run in trouble, they will let you down (actualy, some customers claim they sent watches for warranty repair, and not only got their watches back in the same broken state, but also damaged by poor servicing - scratches and cracked glass and so on...)

[mick92627]

I've done some research and Invicta pro diver seems to be a bit poor quality - at least there is enough evidence on different forums, that their customer care is nonexistent and when you run in trouble, they will let you down (actualy, some customers claim they sent watches for warranty repair, and not only got their watches back in the same broken state, but also damaged by poor servicing - scratches and cracked glass and so on...)

Agreed. I've bought 3 Invicta's only to have one arrive DOA, and a second crap out in a few months. Third is with my brother and he's happy with it.

I won't buy Invicta anymore.

[jkerouac]

For all the reasons one buys reps, I still think you are comparing apples to oranges:

I buy classic designs (albeit at rep prices).

I buy quality movements (the 7750, Venus, or 2836), albeit with generally less quality control than a regular manufacturer supposedly exercises.

For the price, I am prepared to let the watch die at an early age, sell/trade it for something more interesting, or invest in a quality service and possibly other mods to bring it much closer to gen standards.

From the sell/trade, service perspectives, I think reps win out over their Seiko/Casio counterparts any day of the week. And if they just happen to keep going and going, then reps stack up favorably. On the other hand, if you consider reps as disposable die at an early age items, then yes, I think you would be better off with a decent quality Casio or Seiko.