Cheap Watches

[kross]

Hi, Im new here and my love of rep watches brought me here... I have had many watches over the years mainly from Turkey & Spanish markets... I pay around £30 GBP for all of my watches and thought this was the going price for all rep watches to be re-sold. That was until I came across these forums and realised that there are different grades of watch.... so now I feel pretty new to the game.

I currently have 2 reps, a Breitling (Bentley) and a Tag Carerra Calibre 17.... to me, they both look good for £30 and they both have Automatic movements... so can someone tell me how they are so cheap???

 

[SSTEEL]

21J movements.

[PeteM]

I think the Ling iis awful.... but regardless... as S says they are running on $10 movements...

 

Crown position is opposite to the faux chrono pushers, incorrect subdials, incorrect dial, incorrect rehaut, mineral glass, no date, no secs register sub dial...basically its a fantasy model....

 

TAG is mineral, wrong colour PVD on SS, incorect dial, wrong position logo, sunken DW, incorrect sized bezel markings... etc etc

 

Sometimes the details of a rep can give it away.... even a good quality rep but you need to know these if it is a good quality rep...

 

but as you say a cheap watch is a cheap watch whether rep or any other type...and those watches look cheap in quality so the details sort of fall to background ...if I saw that on the wrist of someone I wouldnt need to see the details...just the crystal would give it away... let alone everything else about them...

 

[kross]

OK, so if I am used to these grade of watches, (I did own a real Tag Formula 1 watch) then I should notice a massive difference when I buy my first rep from the trusted sellers??? Also, do the trusted sellers sell the grade of watch above? I can't see anything less than $100.

The Breitling has a crown on the same side as the chrono pushers also, the one on the opposite side turns the outer white surround, but I know what you mean by a fantasy model, it isn't based exactly on a certain model??

 

I have a lot to learn, thanks

 

I have seen some Tags on Trusty Time with really bad spelling "SAPPHIR CRYTAL" and these are $158????

[PeteM]

That is a pretty hard question to answer mate...as there are so many variables to what makes a rep a certain price and what doesnt...

 

Things like popularity, quality of the movement, materials used, if its being sold off to get rid of it from makers stock etc etc

 

For example some models can be cheaper but be of great quality and good movements... like maybe a Hublot BBK BMII 48mm..... it was $300 but now can be bought for $215 because maker is getting rid if its stock..... dealers will still sell it for $300 but smaller dealers are selling it for the lower price...because they buy them up at and sell them on quick... other dealers just dont care and wont update and will take the additional profit...

 

That BBK has full ceramic, colourless sapphire AR, Real CF dial A7750 movement etc etc.... it is a quality rep and for $215 great value.... I loved it and had up against a gen and my mate the owner was gutted !!

 

Then you can get a rep like say a Sinn regulator for around $140 it has sapphire superb AR it is as good or as close to gen as you could possibly hope...and I am sure if it was a popular brand the maker would mark it up...

 

Then you can buy models that are in the $100-150 bracket that are exactly the same as the high end versions but with a cheap 22J/25J Chinese movement...this is especially so with say Rolex....has sapphire, Correct mag and AR to cyclops, great pearl, bezel etc etc

 

You can get other reps that are expensive because of certain details...like say a Flying B.... that has a fantastic dial..very very gen like and was more expnsive to produce than say an average rep dial....

 

Then you say go for PAMs some of these are great reps OTB for around $200-250 and almost indistinguishable from gen unless you know the models and brand etc... and they look quality on the wrist...

 

I have bought some great reps for $100 and some great ones for $500.... but the quality was in all of them though maybe not the details... and it was absolutely dependant on the brand and then the movement....

 

Say like a HB KP is around $300 and IMHO looks cheap and nasty on the wrist for a HB etc...

 

Then you can go for something like a Noob maker Breitling SO II Chrono.... they are about $300 and they look and feel like gen.... and have a reliable movement...you can alos get the Abyss with a swiss movement for similar money and agian it is a easily passable in a Breitling store on the wrist (not that you would) but you get what i mean..

 

So the best answer I can say is....

 

It depends what model, what maker, what dealer, what movement, not so much whether price is high or low..... guys rave about those $130 22J Rolex's ...

 

Dont worry about misspelling on dealers sites.... it is common and some descriptions can be misleading .... it can be to overstate how good teh watch is or it can easily be the opposite...many times you see a watch in your hand that you would never think is any good from the dealers sites or descriptions or pics....

 

That is why this and other forums are so good because we can share thsoe experiences and decode if you like what the dealers are actually offering...

 

Show us the TAG you mean either here or in the TAG sub forum and ask about..... guys will help.... also use search tool and go through the pages of the sub forums...

 

Also remember you can save about $30-60 on dealer sites prices if you use smaller dealers in TD section..... guys like Sead at Supermirrors or mary at Kingshow etc...send them a link to the one you mean...they will confirm if available and price generally save your self $20-30 and same again on shipping ...like most dealers charge $45 for EMS but sead charges $25.. and there is bigger saving between them for for registered, DHL etc

[zero_deficit]

^ what Pete said

 

You should also throw out the idea of 'grades' of watches because if you don't, you'll too often get sucked into the [censored] that is "AAA+ Swiss 1:1". All reps have their flaws, some more than others. Buying reps is essentially thorough research and coming to an educated conclusion on what's right for you.

 

In regards to your original question. Those watches are cheap because they likely have flimsy 21J movements (chronographs don't work), mineral crystal and just general horrible build quality and poor replication.

 

I too started out buying those types of <$100 reps, but have thrown them all out once you get a feel for some of the more quality reps

 

Good luck bud!

[martijnp]

Great comments PeteM, I totally agree with you  

[chronoluvvv]

for all the reasons stated above, i think you should get your money back

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

... or at least a £30 discount per watch

[TeeJay]

For the most part, I've never really had cause to complain about the budget watches. Sure, there have been inaccuracies, but equally, I feel they were nice watches given the cost. Some have had issues such as a slightly missaligned marker, but never anything I couldn't ignore or live with, and I do genuinely believe that budget watches don't get the love they deserve. My wife ordered me a more expensive watch for my birthday last week. The bezel insert was peeling when I unwrapped it, and I had to immediately re-glue it, so I can't deny that that was disappointing... The crown guards are as thick as on budget reps, so will eventually need re-shaping, but I must admit, I can tell the difference in the movement quality when it is wound/set etc. I've not seen the watch offered in a comparable 'budget option', so can't really compare, but I would still say that budget reps are an acceptable way of building a nice collection