Quality of Replicas and Durability after a few years

[gran]

Funny if I think about it. All the watches I had problems with at one point in time were GENS. All reps I own have worked without a glitch for years. Plus if you really have a problem instead of wracking your brain about what could be wrong, with the movements being so cheap you simply order a new movement and swap it. Try that with a gen.

 

What gens have you owned? and how old?

 

Gens have serious problems as well no doubt. Some are not all that reliable.

 

SEIKO owners swap their movments too when they have dropped their watch hard and found it will not run properly.

[jpz5142]

For the most part reps are going to last a good while, the better quality of rep the longer it will last. The trick is to find the better quality reps, which is what this forum is for. The rep business model (other than being illegal) is no different than any other business, they exist to make money. Obviously this is a simplified version, most rep "factories" don't care about earning you as a life long customer the way say Ford does and as such don't care about consequences of cutting corners on quality. If you're wanting to know if a typical rep will be around to pass on to your kids as part of your estate you probably have the wrong expectations. If you want it to last several years say 3-5 years then you might be close, if you've done your research and buy one of the better reps. One of the biggest problems with reps is the supply of parts, one advantage of finding a rep that can take gen parts. If the rep tube fails then you can replace with either a gen part or an aftermarket par. That's one advantage of Rolex being tight on parts for as long as they have is there is a slew of aftermarket replacements for some simpler things like tubes, gaskets, bezel inserts etc. It will be these parts that determine the lifespan of a rep. As said, most of the rep movements are serviceable and or can be replaced with another clone movement for less than the cost of a service in most cases.

All that said, Rolex tubes will strip, gaskets will need replacing etc and Rolex will gladly service and replace these things for $$$$. The cost of a new rep is cheaper IMHO.

If you are the type of guy that will buy one watch and wear it every day for many years then maybe a Gen is for you. If you prefer to have a different watch every few years then reps will probably fit you just fine. If you prefer a collection of watches and wear them on a rotation then either reps or gens will work too.

[indywatchguy]

Good topic! I've been in the rep game over 20yrs and I'd say yes reps are very reliable if taken care of. I still have my first Rolex Yachtmaster rep made of painted brass! I bought it in NYC on Canal street. It's got a very cheap 21j movement. The paint has worn off inside the bracelet but...IT STILL RUNS! I've taken it in the shower and swimming as well, sooooo with that being said I own over 20 reps and have yet to have one fail. I rotate them weekly so one doesn't get all the wear. I've never serviced any of my reps or gens and they still run flawlessly. I never measured the time accuracy however they don't appear to be off more than a minute or two. Like other members have said...go for the high quality reps if you're looking for longevity and I would disagree with some who say you couldn't pass on a rep to your kid. TC builds are great and I think could be passed on for decades!

Edited May 13, 2015 by indywatchguy

[chronoluvvv]

my rule with watches is if it runs don't mess with it 

so far it has kept me in good stead

 

heck last week i picked up this brushed Hamilton my dad used to wear back almost fifty years ago and it started running as if it were new

[w0lf]

This is a broad question and there are valid points in everyone's responses. In my experience, replicas will last longer for enthusiast than for common folk.  People with more exposure will generally do much better on average in the long run, because they will buy, take care of, and distill their collection down to better made, more dependable pieces.   People that are approaching replicas strictly from a consumer perspective will generally do worse for many reasons. First, this demographic will purchase the least expensive version of the watch they are lusting after, and almost none will consider lack of complications as a plus.

 

Even if you establish a baseline by assuming that both types of buyer acquire the same, generally considered good quality replica, there's a big difference in the way an enthusiast type and a consumer type deal with such a purchase.  It's not that a consumer is someone who was raised by the wolves and never owned a watch before, it's just nobody but an enthusiast knows that when you get a watch from China, you may have to check for any of these and sometimes all of them:

 

- Loose lug screws or spring bars, can slip off your wrist as soon as you put it on or a week later (Any rep)

- Loose case screws (AP)

- Loose crownguard screws (Pam)

- Loose caseback or a caseback with a crushed gasket

- Stripped threads on anything that functions as a screw (Any rep)

- Missing crown or crown tube gasket (Pam, Rolex, Hublot)

- Crushed crystal gasket (Rolex, Pam)

- Junk, unlubricated or overlubricated movement (Any rep)

- Etc., etc., etc.

 

Add to this the fact that even if you get a good looking, perfectly running piece, the tolerances and materials of all the ancillary parts that make up a watch are not that high, and shortcuts were made where possible to save on costs. If you bought a rep and it worked like a charm for many years and you didn't buy several of the same watch, picked the best parts from all, looked under every nook and cranny, jiggled everything that can come undone, lubricated every seal and put it all lovingly together, maybe gambling could be a thing

[gran]

This is a broad question ............................. maybe gambling could be a thing

 

+100000000000000000000000000000000000000000

 

You make me smile

[ogladio]

I'm a happy man every time w0lf writes a post

[Frosty5]

So, how about quality reps well taken care of, serviced and stored correctly? How many years should one expect, once again a broad stroke of the brush but I am curious about others experiences. Thanks

[w0lf]

Some people on this forum will show you reps that lasted 20 years, but my bet is - you will find more for whom they lasted 20 days.

 

The only reps that lasted for me were frankens I built with as few rep parts as was possible so my personal experince is non-indicative.  I did, however, give out or help purchase my friends and family 50-60 reps, maybe more, I've lost count. They range from the cheap DG2813/3809 based ones to the 775x Corums, Superavengers, all sorts of GMTs and Daylight chronos. 

 

The timeframe is up to 8-9 years on the oldest examples and as recent as a year ago. Many, maybe most of these watches, had been back to me for something and some of them multiple times.  Cheaper ones I just tell the owner to toss in the trash, as they are not worth spending time on. 

 

The watches that end up on my bench are usuall a sight to behold, whether gen or rep.  I keep my watches in mechanically solid condition,  clean and presentable but I'm not blowing every dust flake off of them either. It's interesting to see how much the average person doesn't sweat the condition of the watch though, from the cleanliness of the piece and its strap/bracelet, to the cracks, scratches and gouges, to sometimes missing parts.  As long as it runs anything goes.

[ubiquitous]

The watches that end up on my bench are usuall a sight to behold, whether gen or rep.  I keep my watches in mechanically solid condition,  clean and presentable but I'm not blowing every dust flake off of them either. It's interesting to see how much the average person doesn't sweat the condition of the watch though, from the cleanliness of the piece and its strap/bracelet, to the cracks, scratches and gouges, to sometimes missing parts.  As long as it runs anything goes.

So true! I've become the go-to person for a lot of friends and family that want me to look at their watch, to fix this or that, etc. I am always surprised at how beat to shit some of these watches are, and most are gens!

[Frosty5]

I def take a lot of pride in my vehicles and watches maintenance and structures. So, along w the gens and few reps owned I have had really good results, however w looking in to some new arenas here and learning more theres always those in the Valjoux, eta, seagull or asian clone camp only...in the end it is what I have surmised the less the complications of movements the better...so go base, and youre far more likely to have a longer term piece. My rep Daytona I just recently posted thread on after 4-5yrs gaining mins a day, is a Pain in the @$$ but i never cared if the chronos worked, it just kept darn good time and thats what mattered yet it was clean.

When I worked undergrad in watch and custom jewelry store ppl have no idea what they do to their watches, soap scum being often the case...20-100k $ watches that just looked like they were left in a sink then the trash can for weeks, go figure...yet our reps, well some of ours are pristine...value what u love, others value what ppl think or are told what is "valued"

Edited July 8, 2015 by Frosty5

[PAMman]

I have a few Panerai replicas / frankens that have been in my collection for close to 10 years. These were from the Eddie Lee period, when the reps were still using undecorated Swiss 6497 movements, exactly the same as the (decorated) movements used by Panerai prior to the 'E' series. While mine have been upgraded with genuine / FGD dials & hands, genuine crowns, Jimmy Fu crown guards etc. these upgrades are basically cosmetic and none will have altered the fundamental viability of the original watches. All are still going strong. I also have one of the original Breitling Steelfish reps and an IWC Ingenieur, both of which were originally fitted with Swiss ETA movements and have not been touched, other than to swap datewheels and these have been faultless too. In my experience the reps have been very durable but admittedly none of mine are recent.