themeditator Posted May 12, 2012 Report Share Posted May 12, 2012 Have noticed having been on the forum now for a week that some people sell "modded" watches. Cannot understand however that some of these watches are 2 or 3 years old however selling for double if not tripple the price? Is there a justification here? As in surely when you pay $300-$400 from a trusted seller you would think that the watch does not require modding? What is actually being modded that makes it then go for potentially double? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fixen Posted May 12, 2012 Report Share Posted May 12, 2012 A watch from a td is newer 1:1 so you can always make it better with some modding, thats why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justasgood Posted May 12, 2012 Report Share Posted May 12, 2012 Genuine parts, service and labor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FxrAndy Posted May 12, 2012 Report Share Posted May 12, 2012 Try it your self and see Skill, getting the gen parts in the first place, research time, labor, tooling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted May 12, 2012 Report Share Posted May 12, 2012 No out-of-the-box replica watch is an exact match for its gen counterpart (if you are new, you should have read this). Mods generally include reshaping inaccuracies of the case, replacing rep parts with genuine parts (typically, crystals, crown/tubes, pushers (on chronographs), handsets & in more advanced cases, movements, cases or dials) or customizing to the owner's preference. In addition to the cost of the parts, most charge for the labor required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watchmeister Posted May 12, 2012 Report Share Posted May 12, 2012 As folks intimate there is all kinds of modding - it can be simply reluming a dial, altering a case to make it closer to gen, replacing rep parts with gen parts. You can take a rep PAM for $300. Add a gen dial and hands and low and behold it is a $1,000 or $1,300. You have to decide how good you want your watch to be. If a new state of the art PAM is 95% of gen (aesthetically) you have to decide how much that 5% is worth to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cats Posted May 12, 2012 Report Share Posted May 12, 2012 For me reps are expensive mainly because of the the lack of skills and guts to modd them myself. Some reps i owe i stopped calculating what's invested in them cause that would spoil the fun a little. But if you do the modds step by step you forget the bill you had to pay the last time and it doesn't hurt to get the next modd. Carpe Diem Cats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jkay Posted May 12, 2012 Report Share Posted May 12, 2012 Why does an AMG or McLaren Mercedes cost more than a stock Mercedes? It's been modded!! Rousch Porsche! Calloway Corvette! MTM Audi! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pre V Posted May 12, 2012 Report Share Posted May 12, 2012 All boils down to the fundamentals of supply and demand. Some parts are harder to source, install, and often and then, require an acute level of watchmaking expertise to make it happen. $$$ is just a gauge and by no means factor in the waiting times, the mistakes involved, and need for a replacement, shipping costs, parcel costs, transportation costs to the PO and back....good lord, if you want to factor right down to the minuscules, there are dime a dozens that will add up the final amount. Expensive by what measure? against what value? that is the real question.... for some...this hobby is priceless, as are the precious modded(s) on their wrists right at this moment ~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panerai153 Posted May 12, 2012 Report Share Posted May 12, 2012 Quite frequently, the cost of the original rep becomes a very small part of the "Whole" after modding. As everyone above has stated, the price of genuine parts, labor, etc. can run the price up pretty quick. Most watches will profit by some simple modding, such as reshaping the crown guards, replacing the bezel insert, re drilling lug holes to accept genuine springbars,dial and hand lume etc. Others will need more to make them as close to the genuine as possible. When you start replacing dials,hands, movements, crowns/tubes with genuine, the price can go out the roof. Although this isn't a hard and fast rule, and some folks go much over on occasion, it's probably not advisable to spend more than 20-25% of the genuine's cost on a rep. Thus if you are modding a Rolex Submariner 16610 replica and the genuine is selling on the used market from 3500-5000 USD depending on age condition and whether or not it has the original papers,box,etc, you probably shouldn't spend over 1000 to 1500 USD on the replica including the watch cost plus mods.If you spend enough time on the sales forum, looking at modded watches for sale, you will probably begin to get a handle on sales prices. You will learn tha some sellers have so much in a watch, they can never get their money out of it. Sometimes it requires parting out the watch to recoup most of your expenses.Read, listen, and you will get a much better idea as to what you can do and what will end up costing you a pile of cash. Personally, I have never had any problem selling reps for 500-750 USD if they were well modded and in good condition. I do see that once you get over the 1k price, the buyer pool gets much smaller, and when you get up there in the 2,5-3.5k range, it will take a special person who is passionately looking for just what you are selling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
automatico Posted May 13, 2012 Report Share Posted May 13, 2012 If you want a particular watch for a 'keeper' to wear daily for years, sometimes a modified replica or 'Frankenstein' can be a bargain when comparing them to today's high prices for genuines. Take the popular rolex 5513 for example... A nice 5513 will cost you $3k to $6k on average and after you wear it for a few months you may discover that it needs movement service or it fogs up and you find the case is badly corroded and needs replacing for an additional $1200 or $1800. Basically you are $crewed. You end up with $6k or $8k in a watch that sold new for $275. Or take the RWG route and buy a rolex 1520, get it serviced (hopefully all for $1000 or $1200) and all you need is a case, dial and bracelet. Top line case = around $600 (a new 'MBK' watch is a little less and has a bracelet) Dial = around $150 Bracelet = around $100 Labor if you can not do it all might run $300+/-. So you end up with a 'new' '5513' with a fresh movement for around $2500 ($1000/$1200 +/- if you use an eta movement). The good... You know what you have...no rotted out case, no ratty movement etc. It will not not leak water if all parts were checked and assembled correctly. It should run for 5 or 7 years with no trouble. It will sell complete or part out for most of your $$ back. Hard to beat. The bad... It is not all genuine and the price will not rise with genuine examples. The ugly... This 'hobby' is addictive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin18 Posted May 13, 2012 Report Share Posted May 13, 2012 Personally I don't see the point of modding a replica to look like the gen. You'd rather just buy a gen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fixen Posted May 13, 2012 Report Share Posted May 13, 2012 Personally I don't see the point of modding a replica to look like the gen. You'd rather just buy a gen. Then you miss all the fun with the rep game Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jkay Posted May 13, 2012 Report Share Posted May 13, 2012 Personally I don't see the point of modding a replica to look like the gen. You'd rather just buy a gen. It does not have to cost over a thousand dollars. You could simply improve the lume or place a genuine dial and hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
automatico Posted May 13, 2012 Report Share Posted May 13, 2012 "Personally I don't see the point of modding a replica to look like the gen. You'd rather just buy a gen." A genuine rolex watch is not much fun to some of us compared to a 'Frankenstein' or 'mod-watch' brought to life using parts searched out from here and there plus a few made or modified by ourself. Anyone with a few bucks and/or a little credit can buy a genuine rolex...even a low rent dum-dum like me. "Then you miss all the fun with the rep game." +1! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronin Posted May 13, 2012 Report Share Posted May 13, 2012 Personally I don't see the point of modding a replica to look like the gen. You'd rather just buy a gen. Doing the math, that is not always feasible. I have built Frankens and Genensteins for major financial savings. When getting into some of the vintage items, you can build a $35,000 watch for a quarter of the cost. It also allows you to self-finance and spread the cost out over time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankt Posted May 15, 2012 Report Share Posted May 15, 2012 P.T. Barnum had a quote............ B) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarface Posted May 15, 2012 Report Share Posted May 15, 2012 IMHO the rep hobby is all about modding , its the little mods that make your watch different than the regular ones and make your piece as close as possible to the real thing, those who go furthur they take the franken route because it can make your watch as much as 95% like the gen and gives the proper feel of gen at a lower price point. Sent from my Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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