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Fake watches - harmful to health?


testhm

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Hello everybody,

did anyone of you think about the risks of harming your health through wearing fake watches with harmful materials used during production?

If you think about the missing standards and supervision in the industry (China), i think there is quite big risk of having lead and other heavy metals used.

Just think about Mattel, the maker of Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels cars, who has had recalled one million toys in the United States because the products are covered in lead paint.

I mean if even a multinational company has had this problem, how will it look with the chinese fake watch manufactured in the "backyard"?

I am very happy to hear you oppinions on this.

Thanks in advance.

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Surely a fake watch is an item pretending to be a watch...

I wear a replica :)

Seriously though mate ..... I dont see that as an issue nowadays given what watches are made of generally whether rep or gen :D

And the fact most places that make reps also make gen parts

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I worry about many things In this world,this Is not one of them ;) People have been wearing reps for years,Im sure there would have been a lot more on the subject If there were any real concerns/med Issues IMO....(ps) That foot growing out of my elbo Is starting to bug me a bit :o

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Stainless steel is more or less stainless steel. I am not aware of many lead painted reps out there. At least on the skin touching side.

Silicon straps are hypo-allergenic.

Titanium is hypo-allergenic.

Rubber....meh, probably no different then a Seiko strap.

Leather, people have been wearing dead animals dyed with color forever.

Unless you plan on eating the watch, I think we are safe.

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In some cases, especially with the better quality reps, it'll be less of a health risk than a gen. The case backs of reps are often 409 steel, because it's cheap - but the more expensive steels have nickel in them. 904 in Rolex watches is well known for giving rashes to people with nickel sensitivity. Also, a modern rep of a vintage will not be radioactive - whereas some vintage gens have radium lume. :shock:

Any lead inside the watch is not going to present any risk at all to the wearer. If the bezel paint contains lead there might be a risk.

There have been posts in which people have tested reps for the types of steel used. It'd be interesting if people could test for lead and nickel. I remember reading that Alpha 'explorers' have a bracelet clasp that contains lots of nickel, and these are re-branded reps.

I always give the bracelet a good clean, and usually wear natos though ^_^

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Any lead inside the watch is not going to present any risk at all to the wearer. If the bezel paint contains lead there might be a risk.

Only if you chew on it. The whole "Lead based paint" thing is a bit ridiculous. It is only a hazard in large quantities of ingestible, breathable doses (sanding old paint, demolition, etc). The reason for the panic amongst children is-- kids are dumb and put shit in their mouth and chew, thus the Matchbox car argument, or window sill worry. Children are more at risk as they are still developing.

Hell, there are hundreds of thousands of miles of Copper pipe delivering drinking water that were soldered with 50/50 lead based solder. But the dilution and ppm is small enough not to worry about it.

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I just realised the OP is correct !!!

I recently suffered a peptic ulcer through stress (Apparently) Stress I thought !!!! Me !!?? No!!!! But then I remembered all those hours sitting in front of the laptop on Track&trace looking at whether those numbers will get past.."Awaiting Customs"

;)

Yes!!!! Its true...... reps can be bad for your health!!!

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So THATs what is wrong with me!!

Man the docs at the hospital are gonna be stoked when I tell them I found the problem at long last!!!

Sixx :bones:

Joshua and Andrew.........watch out, here comes a massive lawsuit!

I just realised the OP is correct !!!

I recently suffered a peptic ulcer through stress (Apparently) Stress I thought !!!! Me !!?? No!!!! But then I remembered all those hours sitting in front of the laptop on Track&trace looking at whether those numbers will get past.."Awaiting Customs"

;)

Yes!!!! Its true...... reps can be bad for your health!!!

Oh $hit....got the same problem! :black_eye:

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I would never buy a fake watch. All my watches are fully functional. :D

Now sit tight so you don't fall off your chair. Nowadays most (apart from Rolex) watch cases, crystals, bracelets, etc are made .... wait for it ... China!!!!

A well known secret is that many cases reps are so good (e.g. UPO) because the originals were made in the same factories, using the same materials.

Most cases are made of 316L SS. It's cheaper for them to use the same materials for the reps. Why would they put a soft metal like lead to make the whole process more convoluted?

I don't have any caseback that are painted. Not sure what kind of watches you guys are buying these days.

It's funny we see this kind of thread from time to time. Lighten up, there's already real issues for you to be worried about. Just enjoy your watches.

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Okay thanks for your comments,

i see. The risk from a rep is almost the same as that from a gen watch, cause there are often the same meterials used or even same pruduction factory.

I was just a litte anxious about this and wanted to hear the opinions from you, or if you have had any inside knowledge.

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