alterego Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 Interesting reading. This has ben the point since the very beginnig regarding the debate Genv/s replica watches. Gen geeks- not people who can afford expensive watches and buy them "regularly," feel threatened as they perceive the replica as a blow bellow their waist. And I can see why they feel this way. Someone mentioned this on a reply above. They know they will never own as many gens as we own replicas, that pixxxs them off. Nothing feels like a gen, but by the same token, the next best thing is to own the rep, as it is the closest you'll get to the real thing. Now, ethically I think it's not good to tell people your rep watch is a gen, because that's cheating on yourself. Not good !!! I'll never try to pass a rep as gen becasue that defeates th purpose of the replica, that is paying tribute to the original. Now if you want to look at this isue from a practical point of view, Replicas are out there because gen brands contract Asian companies to manufacture their caees, bracelets and movements (ETA did that for along time). They do this to maaaaaaaaximize their profits - Hong Kong made cases are a lot cheaper than Swiss made counterparts - so they pass the blueprints, and matrixes to these "foreign" companies, to get their orders taken care of. So a few months or years later the subcontractors sell the information to smaller factories and shops - to increase their profits as well - which ultimately results in the production of the the replicas that you and I buy. So, who's to be blamed for the existence of watch, radio, tv, cel phone, computer, bag replicas ? Not he consumers, but the manufacturers, whoever they are. In retrospect: if Da Vinci had painted a thousand original Mona Lisas, the owners of the originals would be screaming about the millions of copies of the msterpiece that are sold in Museum souvenir shops around the world. By the way, I love the copy I bought at Louvre a few years ago and I'm very proud to have i in my living room. My 00.2 cents contribution Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vandal.tbh Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 The brand of your man-jewelry does not make you a good person but somehow they are wired to think it does. Very sad. They have been taken completely by an advertisement copy writer .. Wow, you so eloquently captured exactly what I've been thinking for so long.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vandal.tbh Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 I agree, I love watch designs, I've never been a 'brand' fan, even when I buy clothes I go out of my way to try to avoid logo'd stuff...or at the very least minimize them, it's much more subtle and discreet and less gaudy infact. I never get the argument from some on gen watch forums about, homages and sterile 'replicas' being the only way as an alternative to reps to satisfy the need for a particular design. To me, there are some good hommages but with many there is just something odd about the designs, sterile dials look flat and drab to me, it's nothing to do with the missing logo, it's just more that they lack balance and just don't look right. Also many hommages just don't capture the aesthetics of the gen close enough to be worth buying, they can be too big, or have some stupid design feature that throws the whole watch off balance. That ruins the design that you originally fell in love it. Reps are fantastic. If I really really want and love the gen I'd buy after a test run with the rep, but there are many watches I really like, but I don't love enough to part with 4 figures for. That's my 2c anyway . Couldn't agree with you more Cougar! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vandal.tbh Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 (edited) The funny thing is, I stumbled into the rep scene while shopping for a gen PO. I was on this thread: http://forums.watchu...ake-542065.html I found out that none of the gen "experts" could tell the difference between a gen and a rep. I don't chime in until page 4. But I quickly learned that most of these guys are douchebags with a superiority complex. I had to ask then, and I still ask now, where's the value in paying an additional $4200 for a gen watch when almost no one can tell the the difference?? Edited January 30, 2012 by vandal.tbh 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jkay Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 vandal.tbh - I love your sig pic. Some people feel that only a Gen can "give you that feeling" ... when the truth is that the feeling comes from within you. You give it to yourself. I get that feeling when I see beautiful watches. Rep or Gen.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronin Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 I also find that people HIDE behind the anonymity of the internet. I dare any of those "anti-rep/you are a fake person" guys to say that to my/our face in person. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 Interesting reading. This has ben the point since the very beginnig regarding the debate Genv/s replica watches. Gen geeks- not people who can afford expensive watches and buy them "regularly," feel threatened as they perceive the replica as a blow bellow their waist. And I can see why they feel this way. Someone mentioned this on a reply above. They know they will never own as many gens as we own replicas, that pixxxs them off. Nothing feels like a gen, but by the same token, the next best thing is to own the rep, as it is the closest you'll get to the real thing. Now, ethically I think it's not good to tell people your rep watch is a gen, because that's cheating on yourself. Not good !!! I'll never try to pass a rep as gen becasue that defeates th purpose of the replica, that is paying tribute to the original. Now if you want to look at this isue from a practical point of view, Replicas are out there because gen brands contract Asian companies to manufacture their caees, bracelets and movements (ETA did that for along time). They do this to maaaaaaaaximize their profits - Hong Kong made cases are a lot cheaper than Swiss made counterparts - so they pass the blueprints, and matrixes to these "foreign" companies, to get their orders taken care of. So a few months or years later the subcontractors sell the information to smaller factories and shops - to increase their profits as well - which ultimately results in the production of the the replicas that you and I buy. So, who's to be blamed for the existence of watch, radio, tv, cel phone, computer, bag replicas ? Not he consumers, but the manufacturers, whoever they are. In retrospect: if Da Vinci had painted a thousand original Mona Lisas, the owners of the originals would be screaming about the millions of copies of the msterpiece that are sold in Museum souvenir shops around the world. By the way, I love the copy I bought at Louvre a few years ago and I'm very proud to have i in my living room. My 00.2 cents contribution I agree completely, and I think the bit I've boldened hits the nail on the head precisely: Those who shout the loudest about reps, are most likely guys who, while able to get the money together to make the purchase, can't really afford said purchase, so they put the watch on a pedestal: Worshiping it, keeping it in a safe and, to quote Cameron Fry "rubbing it with a diaper", rather than just strapping it on, thinking 'this is my watch now...' and then promptly forgetting it is there and putting it through the daily [ab]use it was originally intended for. They see reps as a threat because it shows that even though they 'paid the price for admission', not only are others still getting in on food stamps and getting the same meal, but it reminds them that they couldn't really afford it in the first place, so they then get that secondary sting of Buyer's Remorse, doubting the validity of their own purchase, and equally their own shallow lives I can buy a £30 sub*, not care what happens to it, and if it breaks, buy a new one and equally, wear that till destruction. That attitude is what the people who can actually afford a gen would have, not the whiny SalaryMan who is eating Ramen noodles for a month so he can wear a pre-owned DateJust on birthdays and special work functions, but that's okay, because his is real! Real like his hunger (or whatever else he scrimped on to get that money together) *At the moment, I've not even got the spare cash for said £30 sub, but that's not the point I was trying to make Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
automatico Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 Can I look myself in the mirror when I am wearing a genuine watch? Yes...but I feel like I've been screwed. Can I look myself in the mirror when I am wearing a replica watch? Yes...but I close one eye. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asciwhite Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 Brilliant thread! I love watches, and I have learned so much from all of you wonderful people on RWG. I am proud to be one of you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philbob Posted January 31, 2012 Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 I'm sure it's been discussed ad nauseam, but I'm happy to see the tide is turning for reps. I hope to get a few gens in the next few years, but I simply want too many watches to make that a feasible option right now. Plus, almost none of my friends know anything about watches, so I'm not trying to fool them or anyone else. Just trying to enjoy some nice watches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cougar1 Posted January 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 Maybe I overstated it when I said the tide is turning, but what you said is right, many watch fans just want to have a few good watches rather than just being able to afford one, reps are the best way of going about this. With the current gen prices I think quite a few more watch fans see that these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pynchon Posted January 31, 2012 Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 Well, they convinced me - can I borrow $10k from someone for a gen fifty fathoms? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rpc_1989 Posted January 31, 2012 Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 This is such an interesting subject, and one that will ALWAYS cause controversy. I would guess that I am like 99% of this forum on here and rep geeks.... We are here because we love watches. Not because we love the name printed on the face and we want to impress people. If I am window shopping, it's the design of the watch that catches my eye. In my opinion, people who buy watches to boost their ego's or higher there social standing are just daft. That's why I own about 6 Casio watches, and a few Skagens too.... Because they are pretty... Not because they are £6000 with a name plastered over them. I'm not saying that if I had £10000 spare I wouldnt search out a GEN Pam, because they are a beautiful bit of engineering and design. But not all of us are in that fortunate position. If anything, gen owners should be proud that they have a product that is lusted over, but it is when they get on their high horse that things go belly up. I am in the same boat as vandal. I was looking at GENS first and didn't want to get done over. I didn't come onto this forum thinking 'oooo if I buy a rep I can fool my friends into thinking I'm really wealthy' but if I can show them what a nice bit of design a watch is, they can enjoy it too. I do greatly agree with the forum rules that say if you have a rep, don't go flashing it around to AD. A watch is there to give you a personal feeling, and for you to enjoy, it doesn't have to be flashed around to be 'shown off' Anyway.... That's just a newbies thoughts lol. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanuq Posted January 31, 2012 Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 IMHO there are people who calculate their "worth" by what they own. Their possessions define them. That's a pretty slippery slope to live on. Any thing can be taken from you. And then where will you be? We need to develop "who" we are by "what we do". And remember that our "stuff" is just .... stuff. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knarfster Posted January 31, 2012 Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 I do love the car analogies. If I rolled into a Porsche Club event in a Beck Spyder, I would be welcomed. If I showed up at a Rolex GTG with a 6542 Franken, I would be burned at the stake. +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knarfster Posted January 31, 2012 Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 I for one have learned a lot on this forum. My first good watch was a Tag 2000 Auto, which I got on eBay and have loved. I then got a Gen Datejust with anniversary jubilee dial, TT (which turned out to not be so popular, but i still love TT). My then wife sid it looked like an old man's watch, and having just blown the money on it, I bought a rep seadweller classic back in 2009, I now can see just how aweful the Seadweller rep is, after spending hours on here learning about reps. I can't afford a Patek, but i can afford a gen Seadweller or a couple of Maurice Lacroix (My next gen purchase) But I can appreciate enthusiasm the collectors on this site have for watches. I like whoever said they own 50+ reps, how many gens have the guys on those forums owned? Anyton who can afford 50+ gens probably doesn't hang out in a watch forum, they're loaded and spend their time on their jet or yacht. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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