The silent call out

[gasebah]

The other day I had a meeting with two business partners. In my line of work people are traveling a lot also to China. So everyone has plenty of occasions where they can buy a rep. Both guys were sporting a Portuguese Chrono. At one point during a casual conversation I said to one of the guys: "It's a nice Portuguese you have there." He looked at me in confusion. He did not know what a Portuguese is. No way someone buys a watch of this caliber and don't know its name. The other guy sporting the same watch quickly chimed in and said: "Yes, yes, IWC." :-)

I looked closer and both watches to my disbelief had a quartz movement with a jumping seconds hand. 

Of course I never said a word and left in at that. Now I wonder: How many times have I been silently called out with the other guy knowing and never saying anything about a watch being a rep.

[ninjagaiden]

Never - I would imagine! Most people I know who have fancy watches know very little about them and what makes them special.

[Raxford]

How many reps do you have which are falsely Quartz? Possibly that many times

[ninjagaiden]

Yes but I have an Omega dark side of the moon rep with a quartz movement that sweeps, rather than ticks.

[freddy333]

5 hours ago, gasebah said:

Now I wonder: How many times have I been silently called out with the other guy knowing and never saying anything about a watch being a rep.

This has been discussed many times over the years & the consensus has generally been that for every person who calls you out there are probably 20 times as many who identify your rep as a rep & remain silent. The next question being - 'How many people know the difference?' is a bit more tricky, because, these days, I think you would be surprised at how many people, especially young kids, are seriously into watches & know the difference. This was made clear to me several years ago when 2 teenagers (16 or 17-ish) walked up to me as I was getting into my Z & asked if it was for sale? During the conversation, 1 of them spotted my 6536-1 & stunned me by reciting the correct model number & caliber. They both said they were big Sub fans. I have also had experiences sitting in a restaurant wearing either a gen or franken & overheard people around me whispering (among themselves) about the 'rare Rolex' I was wearing. Pretty incredible.

[imajedi]

This has been discussed many times over the years & the consensus has generally been that for every person who calls you out there are probably 20 times as many who identify your rep as a rep & remain silent. The next question being - 'How many people know the difference?' is a bit more tricky, because, these days, I think you would be surprised at how many people, especially young kids, are seriously into watches & know the difference. This was made clear to me several years ago when 2 teenagers (16 or 17-ish) walked up to me as I was getting into my Z & asked if it was for sale? During the conversation, 1 of them spotted my 6536-1 & stunned me by reciting the correct model number & caliber. They both said they were big Sub fans. I have also had experiences sitting in a restaurant wearing either a gen or franken & overheard people around me whispering (among themselves) about the 'rare Rolex' I was wearing. Pretty incredible.

Cool story. I love the whispers. I also love when people keep staring at your wrist obsessively trying to get a good look.

[freddy333]

8 minutes ago, imajedi said:

I also love when people keep staring at your wrist obsessively trying to get a good look.

That happens quite often. Last weekend, I was eating at a crowded bar in a local restaurant wearing 1 of my Newmans & the place was packed with people waiting for tables. I became aware that there were several people peering over my shoulders & whispering things like 'Look, that guy has 1 of those Rolex Daytonas!' & 'Yeah, that's a rare watch, I've never seen a real 1 before.'

[imajedi]

I was in HI recently with a buddy of mine and a couple girls. After a couple days together his girl looks at me and says, "Damn your watch game is on point." I loved that compliment because it wasn't about a particular watch but about my watch collection and how I chose to wear them.

[Nanuq]

And sometimes the situation will change from silent to not-so-silent.

I was in a local shop and they had a Rolex traveling display where all the new models were laid out.  Several greying men in expensive suits were holding quiet conversations as people oooo-ed and ahhhhhh-ed.  I was wearing jeans and mountain boots and polar fleece and my DRSD, and wandered through to see if any new Rolex was remotely interesting. 

One of the gents glanced and grabbed a watch from the display and addressed me: "You might be interested in the new Explorer model" and handed it over.  I reached for it, and a little stainless steel and red lettering peeked out from under my jacket.  I didn't mean for him to see it, and I could see him staring at it, then looking at my jeans and boots and then back at the watch.  I knew he knew it was a rep.  He didn't say anything, but his demeanor went very icy.

I admired the Explorer a couple minutes and then another older guy walked past behind the counter.  He glanced, then stopped and did the world's biggest double take.  Like something from a Jim Carrey movie.  He literally grabbed my wrist and pulled it toward him to expose the watch, and breathed the words "My God, that's a Red..." 

The other salesman looked at him, then the watch, then my jeans and boots, then the watch, then back at him as it slowly dawned on him that it wasn't a rep after all.  And it made perfect sense, because I looked like I should be wearing a G-shock or a Casio.
 

 

[gasebah]

I still don' t get it how sales guys judge people by the clothes they are wearing. I know a couple of guys that have really made it, and they all dress very casual in their private lives. They have that self confidence that comes with a lot of money and don't need brands or expensive clothes to solidify their status. It is usually the guys in the middle of the food chain that are wearing the expensive brands to show off. 

[freddy333]

 

On 9/7/2016 at 3:50 PM, Nanuq said:

I admired the Explorer a couple minutes and then another older guy walked past behind the counter.  He glanced, then stopped and did the world's biggest double take.  Like something from a Jim Carrey movie.  He literally grabbed my wrist and pulled it toward him to expose the watch, and breathed the words "My God, that's a Red..." 

The other salesman looked at him, then the watch, then my jeans and boots, then the watch, then back at him as it slowly dawned on him that it wasn't a rep after all.  And it made perfect sense, because I looked like I should be wearing a G-shock or a Casio.

I had a similar experience with my DRSD that actually escalated to a store manager asking if his watchmaker could verify my watch. He did & the watchmaker's reaction was similar to your Jim Carrey description above - double-take followed by red-faced submission. It pays to remember that God lies in the details.

 

On 9/7/2016 at 4:47 PM, gasebah said:

I know a couple of guys that have really made it, and they all dress very casual in their private lives. They have that self confidence that comes with a lot of money and don't need brands or expensive clothes to solidify their status. It is usually the guys in the middle of the food chain that are wearing the expensive brands to show off. 

Ditto. Alot of wealthy tech guys are often mistaken for homeless people, unless you happen to catch a glimpse of their watch (or car, which you would not see when they are not in it). Many years ago, when I was in sales, I made 1 of the largest sales to a guy who looked (& smelled) like he was homeless, but who turned out to be 1 of the principals of the world's largest ad agency. He later apologized for his messy appearance saying it was due to his having been working on (1 of) his Ferraris earlier in the day. Sometimes, as the saying goes, you really cannot judge a book by its cover.

[indywatchguy]

Funny stories!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[HaydenM]

On 9/8/2016 at 5:50 AM, Nanuq said:

And sometimes the situation will change from silent to not-so-silent.

I was in a local shop and they had a Rolex traveling display where all the new models were laid out.  Several greying men in expensive suits were holding quiet conversations as people oooo-ed and ahhhhhh-ed.  I was wearing jeans and mountain boots and polar fleece and my DRSD, and wandered through to see if any new Rolex was remotely interesting. 

One of the gents glanced and grabbed a watch from the display and addressed me: "You might be interested in the new Explorer model" and handed it over.  I reached for it, and a little stainless steel and red lettering peeked out from under my jacket.  I didn't mean for him to see it, and I could see him staring at it, then looking at my jeans and boots and then back at the watch.  I knew he knew it was a rep.  He didn't say anything, but his demeanor went very icy.

I admired the Explorer a couple minutes and then another older guy walked past behind the counter.  He glanced, then stopped and did the world's biggest double take.  Like something from a Jim Carrey movie.  He literally grabbed my wrist and pulled it toward him to expose the watch, and breathed the words "My God, that's a Red..." 

The other salesman looked at him, then the watch, then my jeans and boots, then the watch, then back at him as it slowly dawned on him that it wasn't a rep after all.  And it made perfect sense, because I looked like I should be wearing a G-shock or a Casio.

I know a few people who are quite similar, men who are definitely not short on cash but would rarely be seen on the weekend looking like they're worth a percent of what they are. Sales staff certainly have to be careful with judging too quickly, nowadays more than ever.