tenacious_b Posted September 8, 2006 Report Share Posted September 8, 2006 http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/feature/low-end-theory-198969.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crystalcranium Posted September 8, 2006 Report Share Posted September 8, 2006 http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/feature/low-end-theory-198969.php Actually I thought the article was very flattering to both us and the rep makers and basically spurned the Rolexs of the world to get with the program, follow China's example, and put out a high quality product that doesnt carry a luxury price tag just for the privelige of wearing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tenacious_b Posted September 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2006 I quite enjoyed it myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcrooz Posted September 8, 2006 Report Share Posted September 8, 2006 I quite enjoyed it myself. Me too, most enjoyable! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted September 8, 2006 Report Share Posted September 8, 2006 I couldn't figure out the part about Guangdong, because I've always read about Guangzhou as the watch capital of China, but Paul apparently lives in Guangdong and his bank's in Guangzhou. I guess Guangdong is a suburb of Guangzhou, maybe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted September 8, 2006 Report Share Posted September 8, 2006 I thought it was amusing, myself. Although, I'm sure I've seen the tagline "Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes?" on this forum. If I could just remember where... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
infinitime Posted September 8, 2006 Report Share Posted September 8, 2006 I couldn't figure out the part about Guangdong, because I've always read about Guangzhou as the watch capital of China, but Paul apparently lives in Guangdong and his bank's in Guangzhou. I guess Guangdong is a suburb of Guangzhou, maybe. Guangzhou is the capital city of Guangdong province. Shenzhen is a smaller city, which is also in Guangdong province. Most of the reps sole by our dealers are manufactured either in Shenzhen or in the suburbs of Guangzhou. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted September 8, 2006 Report Share Posted September 8, 2006 Thanks Infinitime. As they say, it's all Chinese to me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
infinitime Posted September 8, 2006 Report Share Posted September 8, 2006 Thanks Infinitime. As they say, it's all Chinese to me! You're welcome! I actually had an opportunity to visit one of these plants in Shenzhen last year, when I was in China on business. Contrary to popular belief of a sweatshop operation, the factory was quite new and extremely clean, with the factory works in white-overalls seated at rolls of tables, assembly-line fashion. This particular factory was a subcontractor for an ETA affilitate, which manufactured and assembled the cases, crystals and steel bracelets for an unspecified medium-tier Swiss marque (given the case design, it was easily recognizable). I was told that the plant was set up to run three shifts per day of seven hours each, with the 3 remaining hours used for maintenance... Yes, you heard right, the plant runs essentially 24 hours a day!!! With a nudge and a wink, my guide told me that the plant often produced surplus inventory, which was sold to "secondary customers" for "other" applications. Without giving away too much, he basically hinted that the overproduction was deliberate, and used for rep watches. Apparently, quite a few of the legitimate sub-contractors did this. If this guy was to be taken at his word, at least some of the parts used in the reps are genuine, or at least manufactured by the same people who make the genuine parts. Another piece of information which came as a surprise to me, apparently the unit price of the cases charged of the Swiss company was LESS than for the "secondary customers". That means that the Swiss companies are actually paying less for their parts, then the rep dealers are paying! (Due to the volume of the order i imagine). Overall, an interesting trip. In a subsequent phone conversation with the representative I spoke with, he quickly changed the topic when I raised questions about the "secondary customers"... I guess he got in trouble with his superiors for sharing too much information... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted September 8, 2006 Report Share Posted September 8, 2006 Very interesting! The one thing I can say about collecting replica watches is that it has made me very aware of how, now days, so much of the manufacturing has moved to China. So much of what we use in our everyday lives is "Made in China". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djtimodj Posted September 9, 2006 Report Share Posted September 9, 2006 I agree very good read!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KB Posted September 9, 2006 Report Share Posted September 9, 2006 I'm willing to bet that he is either amongst us or has been Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watchmeister Posted September 9, 2006 Report Share Posted September 9, 2006 Entertaining read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watchmeister Posted September 9, 2006 Report Share Posted September 9, 2006 And I agree with Ken. He seems very knowledgeable about the product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KB Posted September 9, 2006 Report Share Posted September 9, 2006 Should also point out for those that missed it that he is using Puggy's tag line Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watchmeister Posted September 9, 2006 Report Share Posted September 9, 2006 Wait a minute, who copied who? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KB Posted September 9, 2006 Report Share Posted September 9, 2006 Wait a minute, who copied who? Copied? How do we know they are not one and the same? Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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