Some Reps Should Not Be Worn

[Watchmeister]

I walked into my local bank to meet my new investment counselor. The old one had left and the new guy had simply been assigned to the account. I sit down across from him and what am I staring at on his wrist - the "Rose Gold" PP Sky Moon. It looked ridiculous. It took all my willpower not to say "You must be a hell of a broker. I wanted that watch but $1.2 million was not in my budget." I actually have one but had never worn it. And I am not about to either. It is not that this particular rep is good or bad. It was a gentle reminder to me that as far as reps go keep it simple.

[Chronus]

Peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...

[thedoctor]

That was not a rep, my friend. You just had an encounter with the infamous, Jetmid.

[chad]

I could not agree more...You have to fit the part.

I remember seeing a posting on here when i first started collecting of a guy in a wife beater with tattoos drinking a mountain dew wearing a panerai.....(unless of course you are a rockstar)

I do not think so....haha....could be a real one and i would still think it was a rep.

I shy away from reps I could not really afford if I was to stretch my budget as a gen.

Also as much as I think the rolexs are great reps I could never bring myself to wear one. (gen or rep)

Here in NYC, a friend has a gen sub and the first thing people ask him when they notice it is...is it a fake?

chad

That was not a rep, my friend. You just had an encounter with the infamous, Jetmid.

[Watchmeister]

the doctor-

Too funny. But I am one of the few people who knows exactly who Jetmid is and what he looks like. I met his dad. And by the way, his dad had a very nice gen PAM - compliments of his son. After all, how many guys are described by their Dad as being one of the world's top corporate jet salespeople, having an extensive watch collection which I heard described ad nauseum and which includes pieces Jetmid had shown on the forums previously and who grew up in Long Island. By the way, at the time his Dad showed me a pic of Jetmid in his latest client's plane. No kidding.

chad-

In NYC the only way to go with Rolexes is MBW vintage or DW Daytona. The knowledgeable folks appreciate it and the "is it fake?" idiots don't get it.

[panerai153]

I walked into my local bank to meet my new investment counselor. The old one had left and the new guy had simply been assigned to the account. I sit down across from him and what am I staring at on his wrist - the "Rose Gold" PP Sky Moon. It looked ridiculous. It took all my willpower not to say "You must be a hell of a broker. I wanted that watch but $1.2 million was not in my budget." I actually have one but had never worn it. And I am not about to either. It is not that this particular rep is good or bad. It was a gentle reminder to me that as far as reps go keep it simple.

Kruzer,

You are so right. There are some watches that you really should never buy or if you do own, don't wear except to family reunions or out at night where no one is going to notice your watch.

No matter what, the investment counselor probably went down a few points in credibility when you saw his watch.Either it was a fake, or this guy is making so much money he can afford a 1+million dollar watch. Now the first is plausible and probably correct. I would venture to guess that investment counselors, working for a bank probably would be hard pressed to afford a solid gold "plain jane" PP. Now if this guy was a big time hedge fund manager or one of the Wall Street brokers that we read about, maybe so, but not a Bank employed investment counselor.

I think that a simple rule of thumb with replicas is, don't wear a watch, especially in a business setting, that you could never afford to buy (the genuine model). There is always the chance that you are going to come across someone who is pretty knowledgable about watches and they can tell. Now maybe they couldn't tell whether the nicely modded MBW sub on your wrist is genuine or Rep, but they know that a 400k watch is beyond your budget. This person may never say a word to you, but just like Kruzer and his banker, they know.

I have a MBW DRSD that i'm having redialed to the white dial version. Also I chose a White dial Sub 1680 over the Red sub. Simply because they are,especially the DRSD, pretty scarce and desirable watches. They demand a high price and most folks who own DRSD's are keeping them in a safety deposit box or safe, not wearing them out to the local bar or to work every day. More than likely where I live, no one would ever be the wiser, but you never know when you are going to run into someone who knows enough about watches to at least say to himself," that guy has on a fake watch", what else about him is fake? Did he fake his University transcript, pad his resume'. I wonder if he really went through a Residency program, or even went to Medical school!!! May seem far fetched, but you never know. I love my replicas, but I believe they need to be approppriate to you and your profession.When in doubt wear a simple genuine. No one has ever been criticized for wearing a Seiko.

[Watchmeister]

Actually, I am about to convert my Comex into a White SD for exactly that reason. No one has actually worn a comex in many years.

[longshot]

Sacramento is not much of a watch town. I've only ever seen one gen Pam and even Subs etc are pretty rare. But I do make the effort with my reps to make sure they fit me

My job (newspaper) is pretty casual and I dress that way for work. I usually wear Abercrombie khakis or Chip and Pepper or Paper Denim jeans and Dieslel shirts with Puma or Diesel shoes, and drive a Saab.

I can easily pull off my Sub or GMT II or an SS Pam and never get questioned. I've actually had a number of people ask about the Rolex's, and at least in Noerthern California, the assumption seems to be that an SS Rollie is genuine but that almost all gold or gold and diamond 'bling' Rollies are all fakes!!!

But I do save my FM Conquistador for days that I wear a suit or a sportjacket

[sssurfer]

I am not so hard against that guy. You seem to take it for granted that if someone is wearing a rep, then he is trying to fool the others. Maybe he simply liked that watch and he could not afford the gen (a likely assumption, considering $1.2 million). Rather, he showed quite a good taste in choosing that watch (which most people are even unaware of its very existence).

My point is: in a word where everyone can get a good copy at a reasonable price, we are going to meet people with oustanding watches often and often. So it will not make for an attempt to impress people anymore: seeing and showing Daytonas, PP, etc, will become (has become?) common. In such a word, 99% of pricey watches are reps, and anyone seeing such a watch thinks it is a rep, so noone can try to impress people with his watch anymore. In such a word, when someone wonders whether a watch is a gen or a rep it means that HE is interested about the guy's financial income, not that the other is wearing it in order to show "Hey, I have $$$!"

SF? We'll see... As for now, I give anyone the benefit of doubt, especially when he is wearing a watch clearly too expensive.

[Goochenbrau]

haha great story. I used to work at a very well known investment banking firm, and my boss wore an IWC on a regular basis. There was no doubt that it was gen, and a man at his position could easily afford one.

I couldnt agree more that you must buy a gen that matches your personality and income.

[fotoman]

i stick in the 5 to 10k watches

But - at least where i live, there are tons of people who's family is wealthy and they wear expensive watches - not, 1.2 million.

but, i know people that are state attorneys make 35 k and wear rolex's

legislative aids that make 30k that have mont bloncs to match ever outfit.

investment guy who only makes 50k but has several 5k plus watches (his father owns a few banks)

and another guy whos father buys 10k watches wears them for a while then passes them off to his kid

just saying - you can't really tell

[Highflyingclive]

For business meetings, I wear an Omega SMP pro GMT or an Omega Deville GMT. Either would be appropriate for my pay-grade and management position. The originals cost a little under £2K... but are excellent watches... entry-level high-grade, if you like.

I like to think that these watches indicate that I am a man of taste, discernment and prudence... an image that, in my job, I am quite anxious to promote. Wearing a mega-dollar watch would blow my credibility in an instant.

If I had a Sky-Moon, I'd wear it whilst playing pool in the public bar of my local. If I played pool.

[archibald]

The best point here is that accuracy or even genuine-ness is irrelevent if you try to wear an implausible watch. I could wear a genuine sky-moon and everyone would think it was fake. If you couldn't or wouldn't plausibly own the gen, don't wear the rep.

[narikaa]

Everyone as they say has one.....opinions

But pleeease threads like this really make me laugh

So a guy has on a rep - the origional of which in discommensurate with his alledged income.....eeeer so what!

I would estimate perhaps 90+% of the people patrolling this planet do not and never will own a watch of any sort. Of the residue, a miniscule proportion of them know more than how to tell the time on a watch. Of that almost statistically dismissable section how many of them know any more of which we speak than 'its a Rolex, is it a fake?' or perhaps the really knowledgeable ones with their 'its not heavy enough....does it sweep' BS. So just what statistical sector of the people out there should rep wearers be in fear of ??????

Watches are produced and broadly sold on their appeal to the eventual wearer. If the guy likes his PP rep he has all the rights in the world to own it and enjoy wearing it.

I think this 'I caught you wearing a rep... tee hee' mentality reflects a little on yor own insecurity - and perhaps a little rationalisation of your own rep owning motives is in order.

And as for 'I saw a penniless no-mark wearing a Pannie / Sub' remarks - last time I looked, back in the UK, any penniless no-mark (even one on benefits) could easily secure the relatively meagre finance needed to buy the origional. So the point is ????????

Rant over,

Back to the rep-pots of Bangkok for another day's shopping

.

Edited October 1, 2006 by narikaa

[mikellem]

Actually, I am about to convert my Comex into a White SD for exactly that reason. No one has actually worn a comex in many years.

I could not agree more!

[Chronus]

I guess sssurfer and narikaa are correct, wear what you like.

Brands like Lange etc are not as well known so you can get away with it, if that's what you want to do.

If someone calls you out, just say you saw it, liked it and bought it. If they ask where? Respond with: local market or internet. The reply will most likely be "it's probably fake"; response is "I don't care, it looks so nice."

[Watchmeister]

Goochenbrau-

I fall into the category of your boss. So you never know. And no I have never been asked whether my watch is real. I did once sit down for drinks with a client wearing an FM Vegas rep and he was wearing a genuine gold one that he picked up as an impulse buy on a winning trip to Vegas. In this case when I told him about the rep and my overall watch obsession he did not feel threatened but was rather very interested. He did want to know which of a few watches he remembered me wearing were reps and which were gens though.

Narikaa-

I understand your sentiment. People can wear what they want. But that is not a rep you wear by accident. Nor is it a rep that is simply disproportionate to income. It is a $1.2 million dollar watch of which 6 or so were made. IMHO, ridiculous. A stock broker who deals with sophisticated clients (not me of course) should know better. More importantly, I am glad I saw it on someone else before I ever put it on. In my case it is one of many watches I will happily own in my collection as being unique but will never actually wear.

[sam_tgg]

Sorry but I disagree: I work in an electronic supplier fot the OEMs in south Germany (Stuttgart and Ingolstadt). I will never go to an engineering meeting with a golden Rolex with diamonds.

1.- If the meeting is going OK, I would not like to atract attention to my watch.

2.- If the meeting is going bad, I would not like to atract attention to my watch (so, to me).

If you are triying to sell confidence and credibility, it is not so good that someone see that you are going with a "fake".

Also it will be no good idea to go to a bussiness meeting atracting a lot of attention. I don´t know in the States, but here in south Germany, it will be not so positve...

[robertk]

Yesterday, after reading some of these posts I decided to wear my Sky/Moon. Wore it to a party. Within an hour I had about seven comments (I mean.....it kind of stands out!). When they asked me what it was and what it costs I told them the original costs over a million........but mine only cost a $100 bucks. Everybody just laughed.....and then wanted to know where they could get one.

[jfreeman420]

I think that a replica of a one million dollar watch is more appreciated than a replica of a $4,000 watch. Any watch over $20,000 is more unatainable by most people. Wearing a replica of a $4,000 or even $10,000 watch sometimes says to people I want to be someone I'm not. Wearing a replica of a one million dollar watch says i appreciate watches and this is an homage to something I could never have. Still, I would not do business with someone investing my money wearing a fake watch. You want someone who is successful investing your money.

This hobby is our communities' little secret. I collect replicas for me only. Most people don't know the difference between a Patek and a Seiko. When I do business face to face I always have a genuine Rolex on and there is no question to my client whether I am successful or not.

[4fun]

In my collection, this sky/moon is the only one I didn't and will never wear.

This one is so ridiculous, but interesting, that it worth a spot in my watch box.

BTW, anybody knows how to change the battery on the back ?

[MechWatch]

I agree that anyone has the right to wear what they want, rep or gen. However, in business settings, it is a different story. I took my wife shopping in the diamond shops on Canal St (gen diamonds, different than "canal St" rep quality). One shop we visited had three sales women, on the young side, were all wearing Rolex. This did not impress me, since not only did it look like they can't afford them, they were too cool to wear those conservative style ladies rolex that looked like smaller versions of the men's model. It came across as the boss bought all of them reps and make them wear it to impress customers.

Having said that anyone has the right to wear what they want, it still bugs me that I see people wear fantasy watch, like a black SMP with skeleton hands. They are encouraging the rep manufacturers to place low priority on producing accurate reps by buying what ever is out there.

[Goochenbrau]

Could someone post a picture of this million dollar watch? I was searching for it, but I dont think I found it.

[slay]

http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showtopic=12440&hl=

[Goochenbrau]

http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showtopic=12440&hl=

Thanks, I knew I should have checked the photo section here instead of looking for the gen through Google.