Have You Ever Been Caught...

[Antonio]

I agree. There can be many reasons to buy fakes but the "quality" of them is just simply NOT one of them... period. Even if your fake has a quality movement the way they have been assembled is an absolute joke as compared to ANY genuine, even super cheap ones. There is no QC, no repurcusions for making them poorly, no warrenty, nothing. I have had more issues with my fake watches by a factor of 100 over any gen of any quality I have ever owned.

It is really just a silly argument to make. If we are interested in quality accurate time keeping we would all buy Casio digital watches. If we were interested in inexpensive nice looking, well made automatics we would all buy dept. store brands. These all have quality easily on par and in most all cases far superior to even the best of fakes. We in fact buy fakes because of the fact that they mimic genuines. Now this is where things may differ from person to person. Some may want that fake to fool people, others may want to for a myriad of other reasons... but the fact that it is a fake of a genuine watch DOES come into play.

If I might add something to this, though you're right about accuracy, we here tend to like the soul of the mechanical watch. And quality control if you buy "off the rack" can vary. The way to insure that the watches will be better than average for QC, buying from a reputable dealer (I know, funny thing to say considering) and having the watch serviced works. I've had a watch arrive not working as expected, it was replaced in days. Current version runs like a top, dealer (Josh) serviced both. Actually all of my watches have come from him and been serviced, all are so far running fantastic, pretty accurate as well.

We want to impress people usually, but it also allows for good conversation starters with watch lovers and casual observers alike. I've had people with no knowledge of watches marvel at my Bentley GT, it's started some great conversations. And for those who do know watches, they're impressed even more whether they know it's a rep or not.

[tvt]

>>>TVT, my friend......i must compliment you on your well-reasoned responses to this question/statement. Even though you're completely and totally wrong about most of it, you can at least articulate your point-of-view without resorting to name calling and the blatant self-justification that plagues a place like this. (and the internet at-large)

Good on you for being so correctly incorrect. :-)<<<

I'm so confused at this point that I am not even sure what side of the debate I am on any longer, but I will always take a compliment be it back handed or not... so thanks.

I just think at the end of the day you cannot pigeon hole everybody into little boxes and in fact any argument any of us makes here probably reflects the person making that argument MUCH more than it does the board as a whole.

I also think there is an important distcintion to be made here. Are we talking about EVERYBODY who buys fake watches in general, or those specifically on this board?

The fake watch buying public at large DO I believe by them almost exclusively to trick people into thinking they have something they do not. This may be a misguided attempt at elevating social cirlces. It may be an insecure soul desperately trying to find a tangible item that will make them feel better about themselves (just a hint, that will NEVER happen, get some therapy) or in most cases it is probably pretty normal people thinking that "Hey, I've always liked that kind of watch but would never spend the money... what the hell, I'll buy that fake."

Now the people on the board are different to some extent in my opinion (not just this board but all those that proceeded it and which I have been involved with the past 6 years or so). We are idiots who get sucked into the world of these things and get addicted and it may be for any number of reasons... most of them probably NOT about fooling people.

One last thing that I find very ammusing is that some folks on these boards seem to think that these "fine replicas" are made for the collecting world. They are made for this tiny fragment f the population that knows about and collects higher end fake watches. The simple truth is that these are illegal items made by a fringe segment of society in order to fool people into purchasing something other than what they thought it was. We are the lucky bastards that enjoy the fall out. We have honest dealers who are straight with us and sell us what they say it is. But all the fake box sets, papers, hang tags, holograms, warranty cards and so on are made for one reason and one reason only... to decieve people... period.

Al it takes is one trip to the watch markets in China where you will see literaly tens of thousands of Rolex boxes and papers stacked up waiting to fool the poor guy on eBay or out of the back of a not so great jewelry store or in the back rooms of Hong Kong or what have you. Most peopel walking aroud with some of these high end watches have been fooled themselves and don't even know they have fakes... or maybe sort of think that it might be a stolen watch or even a fake watch, but greed made them overlook that in the quest for a "once in a lifetime deal".

I like to try NOT to fool myself, I know what these are and I STILL enjoy them.

[deltatahoe]

i find it really interesting that people get so worked up about this whole question. it's obviously a sensitive subject, and nobody likes other people telling them why they behave in a particular way.

the way i see it, everyone has their own reasons for buying a replica watch.

honestly, i enjoy the whole process:

i) the learning (history of various watches/movements, finding good watch/strap combinations),

ii) the community (personalities, cultures and countries represented here), and

iii) of course, the watches.

dt

[Chronus]

The fake watch buying public at large DO I believe by them almost exclusively to trick people into thinking they have something they do not. This may be a misguided attempt at elevating social cirlces. It may be an insecure soul desperately trying to find a tangible item that will make them feel better about themselves (just a hint, that will NEVER happen, get some therapy) or in most cases it is probably pretty normal people thinking that "Hey, I've always liked that kind of watch but would never spend the money... what the hell, I'll buy that fake."

Wish I'd known that before I started buying reps and watches and everything else!

I remember having a conversation with ThomasNg (he of AP fame).. and worked out with all the money I spent on reps (in the space of less than a year), I could have had a genuine AP Royal Oak.

It went on, and I felt that I wouldn't be comfortable wearing a $10k watch around the place unless I could afford to replace it easily if lost, and I also like to have lots to change through. Reps allow me to wear something that is more within the range I am comfortable with, while still having that name on it. I have genuine watches which cost a lot more, but I seem to be wearing reps a lot more. Last Thursday and Friday I wore my genuine Zentih Rainbow El Primero, but this week so far has been the rep Breitling Avenger Seawolf, and tomorrow may be back to the PAM036 or PAM063, who knows?

One thing I DO know is that this hobby (addiction) is bad for my bank balance. Wait a minute, what bank balance? There's nothing left...!