State of affairs in REP Hobby

[Mike on a bike]

IMHO you pretty much nailed it there Rick once again. There is one other that is prelevant although not to flattering to the hobby, our one watch wonders who stop in asking what's the best REP of this or that expecting guys w/ years of time put in to hold their hand to get a watch to show off as gen and then disappear.

[Yllekp]

I agree with all of the above. However the one hit wonders @Mike on a bike refers to are the ones who want to spend as little as possible in terms of time and money to attain a rep that they can pass off as gen. That would not constitute the majority of people who post regularly on the rep fora. But there are a myriad of reasons why people collect or are interested in the fora. I have met a few people who do not collect reps at all but like the fora and the information therein. Some have just gone gen altogether. Some buy a rep have gen expectations and learn to hate the hobby.  The secret is it is the people that make this hobby great not the watches at all lol. 

 

I have a little bit of everything. Windy watches all cost in terms of time and maintenance. It is a hobby for life. Life was simpler when I only had quartz and a few old gens lol. 

 

 

[QueTip]

33 minutes ago, Yllekp said:

It is a hobby for life

This is very true. Either you live for it or you don't. There's no in-between.

[alt.watch.obsessive]

Part of the problem is there just haven't been that many new reps to get excited about recently, especially at the current price points. For a long time, the most sought after reps, Rolex, largely sucked. So it took a lot of time and help and conversation to make a good one. Now most of that information is a search away here on the forum so there is not that much to talk about. The "new frontier" is $2,000 dials from the UK (that may be an underestimate) and $1,500 cases from Vietnam, which prices a lot of folks out of the market and the conversation. You will however still see great threads pop up around the vintage models.

 

Another problem is gen watches. There's also not that much to get excited about in the gen world at a reasonable price point, unless you've been dying for a 37mm PAM. There are tons of high-end releases, but not too much that could be replicated convincingly.

 

I would like to see this forum talk a bit more about the latest factory releases. We seem to be mostly into very high end modified stuff and the new release conversation has gone elsewhere.

[Nanuq]

Great observations, all. 

 

Might I introduce another category to the initial question?  My watches are almost all gen, and worth truly stupid amounts of money.  So much so, that they live in a safe and never see the light of day.  But I want to dive with them, and climb rocks, and wear them in a laissez-faire manner, as would anyone in the 60s when they were made.  Remember, these were "tool" watches, to be used roughly as tools.  Scratches and dings and leaks were expected.  Because they were tools.

 

I can't justify taking a $50,000 watch swimming.  That's insanity.  But damn if it wouldn't look cool to do that... to look at that beast on the wrist in its natural setting, under a butt load of water, doing what it was meant to do.  If it was truly a $200 watch, you'd do that and not think twice.  Use it, and if it leaks try to dry it out.  If it rusts, screw it and go get another $200 watch at the Rolex dealer.  Who can't risk $200 for a tool?

 

So we have the desire to use them haphazardly, like James Bond jumping in the ocean in Thunderball and not thinking twice about his genuine 6538.  I mean c'mon, it's a fricken dive watch.  Of course it's not going to leak.  Don't even think twice about that, just wear it.

 

But.... can any sane person take a 6538 in the ocean now?  Hell no.  The parts are unavailable.  If it rusts, you're done.  So what do we do to scratch that itch?

 

Voila' the Genenstein.  Build something that looks and acts and feels and works EXACTLY like a real period piece.  But make it with parts that are relatively easily available.  Who can spare $200 for another ETA movement if it floods?  Me.  So I get to use it haphazardly, jump in the ocean if I feel like it, and NOT FRICKEN CARE  if it floods.  I'm not risking a vintage movement, and the genenstein dial will only look better than it does now if it floods.  It's a win-win.

 

So there it is... a watch that can be used as if it was gen, and looks like a gen piece, but it's relatively inexpensive enough to justify the risk.  It lets us experience, almost, the carefree feeling of the early days of Rolex tool watches.

 

 

[Yllekp]

9 hours ago, alt.watch.obsessive said:

there just haven't been that many new reps to get excited about recently

Totally agree. 

 

My needs are simple, I just want a Daytona that looks like a Daytona with full working chronos, I never use them but that is not the point. Also a 16613, that looks like a 16613, that does not cost an arm and a leg to build would be nice. But there is nothing new out recently that has grabbed my attention. 

[archierocks]

78% gold content wrapping sounds like a fairy tale tbh i might get on and XRF it so see just what its actually made up of never heard of gold wrapping at that level and I've been a jeweller for 20 years 

[shadow-dwell]

Definitely agree with the comment about this hobby being about the people. I have been following the community for years. Originally via RWI and now via this forum. I had been a member of RWI for at least 3 years and have never purchased a high end rep. Only Canal Street ones many years ago that I couldn't bear to wear once I learned about the better quality reps available. i hardly post and mainly lurk.

I took plunge and purchased a gen Tudor after being inspired by these forums (irony!?). I still lurk, especially on the sales threads and get so much enjoyment just from getting knowledge and fantasising about one day taking the plunge and buying something quality at a reasonable price to wear alongside my gen Tudor. I also want to buy more gens as well when the fund permit.

Ok, so my contribution at the moment isn't much. I am currently not returning all the good the community has done for me in terms of giving me knowledge. However one day when my funds permit and I start to build a decent collection (gens and reps) I hope to give back to the 'newbies' of the future, all the knowledge I am learning now.

To summarise, I have been on the forums (RWI and now here) for a few years now, obsessively lurk on the threads fantasising about buying but never buy, I don't contribute but I hope too one day, however the enjoyment I have gained is immeasurable and I really appreciate the community for that... For what it is worth.

Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk

[alt.watch.obsessive]

On 1/26/2018 at 1:21 AM, Nanuq said:

Voila' the Genenstein.  Build something that looks and acts and feels and works EXACTLY like a real period piece.  But make it with parts that are relatively easily available.  Who can spare $200 for another ETA movement if it floods?  Me.  So I get to use it haphazardly, jump in the ocean if I feel like it, and NOT FRICKEN CARE  if it floods.  I'm not risking a vintage movement, and the genenstein dial will only look better than it does now if it floods.  It's a win-win.

 

So there it is... a watch that can be used as if it was gen, and looks like a gen piece, but it's relatively inexpensive enough to justify the risk.  It lets us experience, almost, the carefree feeling of the early days of Rolex tool watches.

 

+1

 

My 5514 and I just went skiing yesterday! Not quite the correct activity 

 

On 1/26/2018 at 1:21 AM, Nanuq said: