reps still bug me....not sure why?

[sgtguk]

 

 

I feel ya pain mate did it to me twice today already 

[TeeJay]

Ok,,,know this sounds strange,,,,sure people will just say..ok..don't buy them but I just don't get it. just had a 005 and a 390 pam...now these were pretty high end things..only an expert could tell they were reps....sure they would have lasted a while....sure there were small issues...but even my two gen pams have issues..Every watch is like a person...it will have issues. So here is a list..

 

first rgw is a great place reps or not...so that isn't an issue.

 

1. perhaps it is just that every piece of art must be signed? Perhaps it is the connection with the watchmaker that is lost with a rep?

 

2. Perhaps it is something trying to be what it isn't? I don't seem to mind the homage vintage pam that is on my wrist right now. On the other hand...everything in the universe plays a game of not being what it is...so...in that sense a rep is the most nature thing in the cosmos.

 

3. It could be an over all..quality issue. that is,,,,a focus on appearance rather than mechanical quality. I mean. things like wr, the functional aspects of the crown guard, the movement are all cut back to keep the prices down

 

4. perhaps its just that I know...I mean...I would never run into someone who would care or know the difference.

 

5...something else? don't take this the wrong way..I'm just trying to figure out why? I know some people on the gen forums and black and white...but I really like it here...I want to own and wear a few reps...but just can't.. .

 

 

 

So reps aren't for you  No worries...  IMHO, without getting into the nittygritty of things like parachrome hairsprings, gens simply don't provide anything which reps can't, after all, they don't tell the time any better... The only issues I had with my Omega reps were caused by me trying to learn how to work on watches, rather than any inherent flaws in the watches themselves...  Sure, if someone asks "Is that real?" someone could say "Yes..." But, another member recently posted an anecdote about how some pretentious jackass tried to say that the gen AP they were wearing was "a really good copy..." So all that means, is that if someone doesn't believe that I could afford to be wearing whatever gen watch I was wearing, it would still be looked at as 'just another fake', so I figure why spend the extra $$s just to have that kind of experience, when 99.9% of the rest of the time, they both [the rep and the gen] tell the time, they both glow in the dark, and neither  flood if they get wet

With regards your first point and art being signed...  I guess that depends if you consider a watch as 'art', or an item...  It's a bit like some car manufacturers will put 'autograph plates' on the engines with the signatures of the people who built it, but at the end of the day, the guys in the factories are just that:  Guys in factories, doing jobs, collecting a cheque.  They aren't celebrities, they aren't household names, they aren't even known in the industry, they're just guys doing a job, so it's hardly as if the name on the engine makes any difference...  Sure, some of the hotshot watchsmiths who come up with some fantastic pieces of work, they deserve to have their names on the piece and the accompanying paperwork, but for the most part, watches are just mass produced consumables.  The Submariner that Lukas puts together in the Rolex factory, is not going to be any different to the Submariner that Niklas put together sitting right next to him...  And equally, there's not going to be any real difference from the Submariner which Zhen puts together in China, other than the (allegedly) different manufacturers of the component parts 

[mitchbaria]

There's another aspect to this also that is greatly overlooked. I love watches and spend hours at a time hovering over tiny moving parts that can barely be seen with the naked eye. My love for watches stem from my dad giving me a gold Hamilton that my grandfather was given for 50 years of service to the company that he worked for until the day he died. I was eleven. I've taken most every kind of watch imaginable apart in the last 30 years and it really boils down to this: A watches value cannot be measured in money alone because in the end they're just pieces of metal that measure the time one spends. So I submit this. Is a watch really a replica watch because of the name that it bears? Is the name on the dial what makes it special or is it the quality of the time that it measures or measured what makes it important to the owner of the wrist that it rides? If my grandfathers watch wasn't a Hamilton, would it have played any less of a role in my life or would it be less important to me? I like watches, I admire some, I love some, I want some, I own some and all for different reasons and I guess it has really never occurred to me to pay that much attention to the name on the dial to help me decide to value of a watch. I'm assembling a "replica" presently and honestly because of all the effort that it is required to get it the way that I want it I think it's going to be one of my favorites. I've also stumbled across TC since I found the rep forums so I ordered one and really like it very much but then again I'd like it just as much if TC would have put TC on the dial in the place of Rolex. Just something to think about.........

[TeeJay]

There's another aspect to this also that is greatly overlooked. I love watches and spend hours at a time hovering over tiny moving parts that can barely be seen with the naked eye. My love for watches stem from my dad giving me a gold Hamilton that my grandfather was given for 50 years of service to the company that he worked for until the day he died. I was eleven. I've taken most every kind of watch imaginable apart in the last 30 years and it really boils down to this: A watches value cannot be measured in money alone because in the end they're just pieces of metal that measure the time one spends. So I submit this. Is a watch really a replica watch because of the name that it bears? Is the name on the dial what makes it special or is it the quality of the time that it measures or measured what makes it important to the owner of the wrist that it rides? If my grandfathers watch wasn't a Hamilton, would it have played any less of a role in my life or would it be less important to me? I like watches, I admire some, I love some, I want some, I own some and all for different reasons and I guess it has really never occurred to me to pay that much attention to the name on the dial to help me decide to value of a watch. I'm assembling a "replica" presently and honestly because of all the effort that it is required to get it the way that I want it I think it's going to be one of my favorites. I've also stumbled across TC since I found the rep forums so I ordered one and really like it very much but then again I'd like it just as much if TC would have put TC on the dial in the place of Rolex. Just something to think about.........

 

Much like OJ Simpson's Rolex..  The attourney's couldn't sell it because it was a rep, yet people were still prepared to buy it for gen retail price, not because it was a Rolex, but because it was OJ Simpson's watch

 

PS  Welcome to the party

[mitchbaria]

Well yes! Even the OJ watch, however, that's a little weird. A very interesting site that I love to frequent may be something that you guys may like also: http://famouswatches.blogspot.com/ This thread is very interesting because it shows that everybody loves watches for their own reasons, I do think that less value should be put on the brand but rather other factors that ultimately make the watch(es) valuable to the owner. Rep, gen? Whatever, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

[TeeJay]

Well yes! Even the OJ watch, however, that's a little weird. A very interesting site that I love to frequent may be something that you guys may like also: http://famouswatches.blogspot.com/ This thread is very interesting because it shows that everybody loves watches for their own reasons, I do think that less value should be put on the brand but rather other factors that ultimately make the watch(es) valuable to the owner. Rep, gen? Whatever, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

 

Nothing weird about it at all, by being OJ's watch, it stopped being a watch, it stopped being a Rolex (real or fake) it became memorobelia and that always commands a high price  Awesome link, thanks for sharing

[mitchbaria]

It is and forever will be a watch with a story, like my Hamilton. That's very much part of what makes a watch special and valuable. Maybe this will help the op in his understanding of why there's really no difference in rep and gen except gen has a certain dependability that is biult in with the name. In the same line of thought I think TC is answering the quality call for reps in big way as is the noob factory on a different level.

[Morris Minor]

In some ways the rep has a much more direct link with the maker than the gen since it was built in more difficult circumstances than the gen, ie not in a huge modern factory with expensive up to date machinery, and required more personal input.

 

The rep is more 'hand-built' because of that. I think the main thing is not to make the comparison, and just enjoy the watch, whatever it is.

[Craig88]

In some ways the rep has a much more direct link with the maker than the gen since it was built in more difficult circumstances than the gen, ie not in a huge modern factory with expensive up to date machinery, and required more personal input.

 

The rep is more 'hand-built' because of that. I think the main thing is not to make the comparison, and just enjoy the watch, whatever it is.

True, some adorable 5 year old child spend many hours luming the rep and I feel a connection with them when it glows in the dark

 

Haha kidding but yes agree with you on it being more hand-built.

[iceberg1459]

2. Perhaps it is something trying to be what it isn't? I don't seem to mind the homage vintage pam that is on my wrist right now.

this. in my opinion, you buy a watch for yourself. you buy it and be satisfied, with yourself wearing the watch, not for anybody else. if it does satisfy you, dont complicate(which you dont need with gen) and enjoy it. if it doesnt satisfy you, dont buy. extremely simple.

 

[Ronin]

First, let me speak to quality.

 

I own GEN; Omega, Rolex, Ebel, Brietling*, Tag (quartz), Doxa*, Ball*, Frederique Constant* in the <$$$$ price range.  * = ETA Based.

 

Everyone of the GEN's from the Omega Co-Axial, Rolex 3135, Ebel house built - have needed warranty work.  They ALL had problems.  I also had problems with "elabore" ETA house modified movements in Breitling and Ball.  The brands using lesser ETA's, no issue.

 

SO the perception that GEN watches are superior time keeping/quality objects is false.  If you want quality by a G-Shock or Seiko.  Modern REPS from our TD's are generally rock solid, quality timepieces.

 

---

 

To your point, and a similar issue I have and can relate to is--  REPS have trends too.  Trends = popular, and more likely to see "in the wild". If REP enthusiasts buy the latest super reps, and start wearing them in public, other REP enthusiasts will probably take notice of YOU.  (General public is oblivious). 

 

So this is back to getting called out / reputation perception.  Deep down, does it bother you that another REP enthusiast (the only person capable of knowing about your deception) will notice you wearing a REP?

 

I do think REP enthusiasts suffer from Medical Student Syndrome.  We think we see reps everywhere, and we always think someone is around the corner who "knows".  

 

For me, trends in REPS is starting to bother me.  When SINN started getting repped, and I started seeing them in the wild, I asked myself "Hmmmm, those just got popular in the REP world ~ I wonder if this guy is on the forum."    Same can be said about PAM 390's today.  This is even true in the Vintage Rolex REP world.  We had our round of 1665, 551x, 1675.