Its the man that maketh the watch

[Legend]

Having dabbled in this rep watches hobby for some years now, I learnt a few things. I have owned and traded high end gens, mid end gens, frankens, factory reps, cheapies bought for a lark  :

 

a. A rep will always be a rep, even super frankens.

 

b. Nobody would scrutinize your watch as much as you yourself do

 

c. At the end of the day, very few folks, if any, give a damn

 

I would agree with the more pedantic collectors here, details are important. Wear an AP ROO with seconds at 9, a badly made Rollie sub, or a quartz Hublot Big Bang for men, and chances are, you can get called out easily by those in the know. However, to me, it is a more a matter of good taste, that if you want to wear a replica, wear a good replica, or at least a reasonably believable one. We have many threads here that discuss detail accuracies and details, and they are good to read up on for any rep collector worth his noobmariner, or someone seeking to improve the authenticity factor of his rep. However, in real life, I would have to say that its us rep collectors that have most knowledge of the differences between a gen at a rep. The gen collectors, AD staff, and general folk all lose out in terms of the intimacy of this knowledge.

 

Over these years, my experience in this hobby may be different from you guys, but what I learnt is this: Its the man that maketh the watch. If you come across as a man who could carry off an Hublot, for instance, then the assumption of someone seeing you with a rep Hublot on your wrist would be that: It is the real McCoy. Confession: I have inevitably and unintentionally passed off my reps as the gen, mostly when someone comes up to me and says "Nice watch, I saw one down at the XX store going for $XXXXX" or "I am saving up for that now" or "I can see you're into watches.. I own the AAA and BBB models" I am sure you come across stuff like that often. Unsolicited compliments or opinions that you do not bother to correct all the time, when you wear your rep.

 

I want to say this: I want my reps to look believable, I want my reps to look like the gen. I would not pretend otherwise. But having limited monetary resources to invest in gens, I opt to go for reps to fulfill what my wallet depth would not allow me to do so. In fact, there is a brand which I have stopped buying the gen of, having seen how close the rep has come. To me, a watch is about the design, a statement, a matter of personal preference. I did not ever once need to justify why I am wearing a particular brand or model to  anyone. Yes I get the occasional look (of envy, doubt or admiration I can hardly tell), but hey, its my business is it not?

 

What I want to share is this: Yes, if you choose to wear a rep, wear a believable one for your own sake. Also, learn to carry yourself well to make the rep believable! That is a mod we must not forget. You would find it hard to believe that the ROO on the wrist of the mall cleaner is a gen, even if it is,  wouldn't you? But give me a Noob factory standard ROO, no mods, and I think I would make it believable for at least 90% of the people I meet. Likewise for a tourbillon on the wrist of a 16 yr old, or a Panerai Flyback on the wrist of a destitute. 

 

I love my reps, and I love the mods you can do to them, but to me, the number one thing that makes a rep believable is the man wearing it. For information, when I was 22 years old, I bought my first Rolex Daytona, and my mates all would proclaim it was a fake, or it was stolen. At 32 years old, I wore a rep ROO and someone believed it to be gen, wanting to swap his watch (a gen black theme I remember), with mine (a rep navy, one of my first rep ROOs). 

 

Carry yourself well my friends. I may not be a watch modder like Zigmeister or MD2020, but I can tell you this advice would go a long way in how others perceive you, be it a gen or rep you're strapping.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[eduardor]

Well put! Its all about the person wearing the watch!

[Mike on a bike]

Well said sage advice , heed well especially you young collectors. No offense wish I had your problem but at certain age   a Rolex ,Breitling or other high end watch is quite believable, not so much without the grey!  

[SCM]

I mentioned this the other day as well. I've been wearing my watch going on a month now and have not had a single comment. Mostly, people just don't care.

[martijnp]

Well said Legend!

I can say i'm with the young collectors,i'm 23, so that's young right?

[mjmj]

Perfect and correct.

[devilseam]

Well said, im pushing 30 now and for the first time feel comfortable wearing a Rolex. At 21,22 etc I felt a bit awkward, even though at that time in my life it was a gen I was wearing and not a rep!

[danielv2000]

Excellent post! I was boarding a flight 2 weeks ago. I'm sporting a high-end Franken Vintage Daytona. The attendant scanning the tickets says, "that's an awesome watch!" I thank him and glance at his watch. I respond, "yours is nice as well." He was wearing a modern Daytona. I did not stare long enough to determine if it was gen or not. However, I walked away thinking it had to be a rep. I can only assume he imagined mine was gen because I can "pull it off"

[sgtguk]

I'm just getting bloody old now I reckon so everyone thinks the piece on my wrist must be real  

[Nanuq]

Well said, LK.  I have a story that exactly illustrates this.

 

I found myself in a high-end watch shop on a business trip to NJ a couple years ago. They had sparkly Rolexes, Omegas, Corums (Corii?), you name it.  I was admiring a certain gold Bucherer chrono on a delectable leather strap.  It was reasonably priced (cough cough) at $22,000.  The salesman asked if I had a stylistic preference, while easing me over toward the cheap end of the counter.  Perhaps due to my jeans, sneakers, and polar fleece windbreaker?

I described my affection for dive watches, specifically round faced watches with black dials and, ideally, stainless steel construction.  His nose wrinkled slightly, as if I'd released a foul stench into the room.

He told me with evident disdain that his shop did not service that segment of the watch industry.  I glanced over at the Rolex counter, but sadly, saw only a sea of jewel-encrusted dressy watches.  He did, to his credit, offer me a Bucherer brochure to take with me as I left (hint, hint).

So I reached for it, and my sleeve slipped up a few inches.  A certain chocolate dialed watch peeked out and the man was on it like flies on a dead salmon.  He grabbed my wrist and turned the watch toward him, and his mouth fell open.  Oh I love it when that happens.  Another Mk-II Sea Dweller fan made!

[panerai153]

Very well said legend. I have said the same thing although rather less eloquently that you did. It's the man who people look at first, and then the accessories. If you are old enough and look the part, you can  pull it off without a missed beat. It's all about perception. our little mini computer between our ears, looks over the situation and from past experience, education, etc.  spits out and answer. The fellow wearing the gold Daytona is too young, and not high enough up the employment ladder to afford a 20K+ Daytona, answer It's a fake!! While the passenger who is admittedly wearing a nice franken, obviously fulfills the age, dress, success equation, answer it's a gen!! Unfortunately, in most cases, we have very limited resources  to make really valid decisions. The Cabin crew member may very well be single, and frugal, but he saved every penny for a few years to buy the cherished Gold Daytona. Possibly he inherited a nice chunk of money from his late grandmother, we just don't know. What we have to work with is mostly conjecture factored in with our experiences. The truest thing however is that folks could give a damn what you are wearing  driving, etc. Most people are too bound up in their own little world, and are trying desperately to keep all their respective "balls in the air" to worry about whether or not your watch is real or fake, even if they could tell the difference in the first place!! 

[Legend]

Well said Legend!

I can say i'm with the young collectors,i'm 23, so that's young right?

mate, 23 is an age I am too old to remember.

[SCM]

One of our flight attendants (male) is in his early 20s. He comes from money and rotates through one of (5?) gen rolex's every time I see him. Being a watch geek I always enjoy talking to him. He took me to his store in Fort Lauderdale one night we stayed in town...needless to say, they remembered his name

Long story short, there are 21 year old flight attendants wearing 20k dollar watches.

[Legend]

One of our flight attendants (male) is in his early 20s. He comes from money and rotates through one of (5?) gen rolex's every time I see him. Being a watch geek I always enjoy talking to him. He took me to his store in Fort Lauderdale one night we stayed in town...needless to say, they remembered his name

Long story short, there are 21 year old flight attendants wearing 20k dollar watches.

yes like what panerai153 mentioned, there ARE people wearing gens, that do not belong in the typical categories..

You must be a pilot.

[Legend]

I'm just getting bloody old now I reckon so everyone thinks the piece on my wrist must be real  

age is a factor, the way we carry ourselves must be equally important.

From what I know of you S, you are class A all the way.  

You are one of those that make your watch look expensive. 

[Legend]

Well said, LK.  I have a story that exactly illustrates this.

 

I found myself in a high-end watch shop on a business trip to NJ a couple years ago. They had sparkly Rolexes, Omegas, Corums (Corii?), you name it.  I was admiring a certain gold Bucherer chrono on a delectable leather strap.  It was reasonably priced (cough cough) at $22,000.  The salesman asked if I had a stylistic preference, while easing me over toward the cheap end of the counter.  Perhaps due to my jeans, sneakers, and polar fleece windbreaker?

I described my affection for dive watches, specifically round faced watches with black dials and, ideally, stainless steel construction.  His nose wrinkled slightly, as if I'd released a foul stench into the room.

He told me with evident disdain that his shop did not service that segment of the watch industry.  I glanced over at the Rolex counter, but sadly, saw only a sea of jewel-encrusted dressy watches.  He did, to his credit, offer me a Bucherer brochure to take with me as I left (hint, hint).

So I reached for it, and my sleeve slipped up a few inches.  A certain chocolate dialed watch peeked out and the man was on it like flies on a dead salmon.  He grabbed my wrist and turned the watch toward him, and his mouth fell open.  Oh I love it when that happens.  Another Mk-II Sea Dweller fan made!

 

B, thank you for sharing.. what does a polar fleece breaker look like?

[Nanuq]

Whadda maroon!

Wait till I tell you about throwing a Sea Dweller far, far out into the ocean!

I believe that's called "conspicuous consumption"

[Kal Vilmer]

In my 10 years of WISDOM i have never met anyone that cared about watches. Most people are into smart phones, tablets, etc. I was once wearing a Casio Edifice gold label and a friend asked me if it was an Omega.

[SCM]

One of our flight attendants (male) is in his early 20s. He comes from money and rotates through one of (5?) gen rolex's every time I see him. Being a watch geek I always enjoy talking to him. He took me to his store in Fort Lauderdale one night we stayed in town...needless to say, they remembered his name

Long story short, there are 21 year old flight attendants wearing 20k dollar watches.

yes like what panerai153 mentioned, there ARE people wearing gens, that do not belong in the typical categories..

You must be a pilot.

..or a flight attendant!

[icoopernicus]

In my 10 years of WISDOM i have never met anyone that cared about watches. Most people are into smart phones, tablets, etc. I was once wearing a Casio Edifice gold label and a friend asked me if it was an Omega.

Most? I guess that could mean almost entirely every person on the face of the planet. I know almost no one that cares at all about watches nor does anyone ever notice what I'm wearing. I'm currently at work, in coveralls as a controls maintainer, wearing a Panerai, the other day, same get up, DeepSea Sea Dweller strapped to my wrist! No one knows what these watches are, or cares These are not watches that I can't pull off outside of work, but in coveralls as a maintenance worker, they still don't raise an eyebrow.

[rrari1]

A female friend of mine told me that the best way to tell if a handbag is fake is to look at the womans shoes.  No one with a $2k handbag will be wearing shoes made of cheap leather.  I think the same goes for watches. An A Lange & Sohne looks suspicious on a kid who works at KFC who drives a 15 year old hyundai, less suspicious on a 45 yr old hedge fund manager.  Either may be fake, but the HF managers watch will cause fewer raised eyebrows.

[icoopernicus]

I have to rescind my earlier post... to some extent. My 111 just got spotted by the Shift Manager wearing a No Date Sub. handed it over to him and after he inspected it (no callout) I admitted that it was a rep. a little chat about where I get a rep like that. This guy was a true watch guy, genuinely interested in the watch and not what it was worth (or not worth for that matter) I find you run into both. Just thought I would share as it was litterally the first interaction I had after my last post

[Legend]

I have to rescind my earlier post... to some extent. My 111 just got spotted by the Shift Manager wearing a No Date Sub. handed it over to him and after he inspected it (no callout) I admitted that it was a rep. a little chat about where I get a rep like that. This guy was a true watch guy, genuinely interested in the watch and not what it was worth (or not worth for that matter) I find you run into both. Just thought I would share as it was litterally the first interaction I had after my last post

I bet before you shared, he would not have known it was a rep..

[icoopernicus]

Correct Legend, not a clue, to be fair, the 111 V3 is a pretty good rep out of the box.

[Legend]

Correct Legend, not a clue, to be fair, the 111 V3 is a pretty good rep out of the box.

+1. One of the very best. My friend owns a V3 111 and on the wrist, good luck trying to tell it from the gen. 

I remember vaguely that there is a small tell on the crownguard or something.. is that true? Could be my mistake..