lukenorris2011 Posted February 17, 2014 Report Share Posted February 17, 2014 (edited) Hello all, recently I have been under taking a very demanding franken project. I have had many problems, especially that 98% of my parts had to be sourced worldwide from unknown individuals. Language barriers/customs problems and the "take it or leave it, where else you going to go?" attitude I received from one well known parts supplier in Vietnam. (No names ) have been a major issue. I have thought many times,"why is there not somebody more local,where I could have got all this from" Being a very young entrepreneur, & running my own business successfully for the last 3 years, I'm not scared to take a gamble. What I want too know from mainly you UK/EU guys, is, in your opinion there a space in the market for a one stop shop/good parts supplier in the EU for your finer parts eg, gen spec vintage parts, gen spec custom cases and dials. ( basically a European offering something sinailar to what MQ and phong have monopolised the market with) what would you like to see readily available to you in the EU? Obviously it's a long shot, but I have great personal relationships with a few individuals in the manufacturing industry EU-Far East & and two family members who actually manufacture using metal/plastics here in the UK. You got to start somewhere right? Why not here. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Edited February 18, 2014 by lukenorris2011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
automatico Posted February 18, 2014 Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 I am not in the EU (USA) but I would guess there is not a very big demand for 'oem spec' replica rolex cases, bezels etc now mainly because they are available from Yuki and others at more or less 'reasonable' prices. Otoh suppliers of 'high grade' vintage 'oem spec' replica cases (their names and complaints are not hard to find on RWG) sell basically the same cases as Yuki etc with better letters/numbers at two or three times the price with about the same quality...and many times far worse quality. So...in order to be successful selling vintage rolex 'oem spec' replica cases you would have to be able to sell them at a lower price than Yuki ($500US plus/minus) and have consistent quality. As for making headway into the 'higher grade oem spec' replica case market (J&W etc) all you would have to do is offer the same cases with dead-on letters/numbers. In other words, your cases would already be good enough and your major goal would be to supply consistent accuracy and quality. This is relatively easy to do because it's not rocket science...it's CNC science and CNC is a mature technology. After HiHo tried to get high grade 5514 cases made we learned two things: 1...The cases can be made economically and in very high quality. 2...You can not trust the manufacturers. So again...in order to make the cases from scratch, you will need: 1...High quality 304 stainless steel sheet metal. 2...A punch press to punch out the case/case back/bezel blanks. 3...A high quality CNC machine and accessories. 4...A first class engraving machine (Gavograph IS200/IS200TX etc). 5...Someone qualified to program and operate the equipment. 6...A Gomer to polish parts, run errands etc. You could run the whole show out of your garage and guys 5 and 6 would be part time. Guy 5 might need to be someone in manufacturing who knows the ins and outs of CNC. In our small town I know three guys who are CNC wizards and they learned it making parts for drag race car engines. Like I said...it's not rocket science. Shortcuts: 1...Have a stamping company make the case/case back/bezel blanks...a flat washer/hardware stamping company etc. 2...Buy 304 seamless stainless pipe with the correct wall thickness and saw the case/bezel blanks out. Case back blanks should not be much of a challenge. 3...Buy cases in GZ etc that are close to 'oem spec' and finish them with your CNC machinery. This is probably where many of the 'high grade' cases start out anyway. Your first case may cost $40,000 but case number 200 may cost $100 or less (200 X $400 = $80,000). You would stay sold out for quite a while at $400 each if you maintain top quality. You would soon corner the market because the 'hit or miss' case guys are not going to get much better. Oh yeah...you also have to stay out of jail. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyb Posted February 18, 2014 Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 (edited) "Oh yeah...you also have to stay out of jail" A lot of people probably forget that little detail. Edited February 18, 2014 by Garyb 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panerai153 Posted February 18, 2014 Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 Automatico sums thus up very eloquently. I believe it would be doable, however the biggest problem with doing this outside of China, which is for the most part outside the long reach of the luxury brands, is the legal issues. If you are stamping cases with any Rolex copyrighted symbols, signage, and names, they are going to come down on you like a ton of bricks. No place to hide in the UK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionsandtigers Posted February 18, 2014 Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 While Automatico sums it up very well, the quality of the aftermarket cases do vary beyond the engravings, very much so. There's a valid reason why the higher end suppliers charges what they charge and mid range suppliers charge what they do. There are details on the higher end cases that are for the most part, spot on and they require very little modding, if any at all. While the "lower" end, and by lower I mean $400-500 range, lacks in some of those details and like their predecessors, the infamous "MBW", require a good amount of modding in order to achieve a "gen" look. Even the hh 5514 case, as great as it is, and as unfortunate as it was to be halted, requires some modding in order to get the right look and feel. I have owned a good amount of these variations as have many members on this board and they will all attest to the above. If its something you want to do, and can avoid the law, go for it. But also, like Automatico said, that initial production is gonna be costly to produce. Personally, I think you would do better to set up a relationship with a supplier from China or Vietnam, order wholesale, and collect a premium for supplying cases in the EU. It's a better bet for you in a lot of ways. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbane883 Posted February 18, 2014 Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 I say skip the cases. With the $1500 sales for fat font inserts I've seen on VRM over the past year, the value trade here is to make gen quality faded inserts....with perfect printing. Seriously, how hard could it be? Plus you won't go to jail for making dull black metal rings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionsandtigers Posted February 18, 2014 Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 @dbane883, just buy a damn insert already!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbane883 Posted February 18, 2014 Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 @dbane883, just buy a damn insert already!!!! Nope.. Too many fakes out there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
automatico Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 L&T is right, it's the details that make the higher grade cases. I will always wonder why the case makers make thousands of identical cases, all with the same set of flaws, and not just make flawless cases to begin with. They could if they wanted to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionsandtigers Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 L&T is right, it's the details that make the higher grade cases. I will always wonder why the case makers make thousands of identical cases, all with the same set of flaws, and not just make flawless cases to begin with. They could if they wanted to. it's definitely a head scratcher Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lukenorris2011 Posted February 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2014 I agree, Hmm seems like I will do a lot more think in before making any decisions. Thanks guys Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.