Admitting Watch Is Rep. Ok Or Not?

[crystalcranium]

I'm in a weird place now with replicas and genuines. I love reps and think they still represent an unusual bargain but I'm thinning out my collection and I seem to be gravitating toward reasonably priced genuines. Next to go will probably be my beloved GT on a genuine Breitling leather strap. That will leave me the obligatory SS sub and my gold FA Jones, which is the only watch I own that my wife actually thinks is beautiful, as my only remaining replicas. The genuines include the Omega SMP Chrono, Hamilton Jazzmaster Chrono, Hamilton Dodson, Raymond Weil Don Giovanni and the next addition.....an Oris Artilier Chronograph in Stainless Steel. Maybe 6 months from now I'll be selling all of those off for 1 $8000 Zenith Grande Open Class El Primero......or maybe I'll buy 25 new reps!!!.....

[tonyp1]

I Guess Im a minority here. I actually think It would be humorous to be called out on a fake. What is worse the guy who wears a reasonable fake or the guy who has no life and spends his whole day looking at watch magazines in order to spot people with fakes to expose them. As for pulling off a fake I think when im driving the 512 or 930 I could be wearing a $20 fake Daytona and nobody would question its authenticity. This Is going to seem snooty of me but some people couldn't pull off a GEN. The way they dress, the cars they drive it just screams cant quite afford it. Theres a gentleman on the Finest Rolex forum with a Beautiful TT blue sub that drives a $1500 dollar ford and dresses like a garbage man now hes the nicest guy and has taught me much about the Rolex hobby. I am sure that everyone he meets thinks his TT sub is a $50 fake.

Edited February 13, 2007 by tonyp1

[archibald]

This Is going to seem snooty of me but some people couldn't pull off a GEN.

Snooty or not, it's a fact of life and I've come to believe its the #1 factor in plausibility several dozen times more important in the real world than date wheel fonts. We fix those thing for ourselves. It may be a sad commentary on our culture, but probably the single best mod you can make to make your gold daytona more believable is heading down to the outlet mall and picking up a Zegna suit and a pair of high end shoes.

[supermanx]

Snooty or not, it's a fact of life and I've come to believe its the #1 factor in plausibility several dozen times more important in the real world than date wheel fonts. We fix those thing for ourselves. It may be a sad commentary on our culture, but probably the single best mod you can make to make your gold daytona more believable is heading down to the outlet mall and picking up a Zegna suit and a pair of high end shoes.

or baggy pants, some boots and and iced out grill. But dont forget the necklace with the charm bigger then most texans belt buckles.

[b16a2]

Half the gens I see are warn by people who don't dress in an expensive looking way.

[Goochenbrau]

Half the gens I see are warn by people who don't dress in an expensive looking way.

Interesting...... for me, its just the opposite. At least for the people I know personally who wear gens.

[Corgi]

A Sub's movement is smoother than an ETA 2836. He's no idiot.

You couldn't tell it with the naked eye especially if you weren't holding both side by side. Unless you had that disease of noticing things very specifically and precisely like the main character on the hit FOX program "Prison Break".

[Pugwash]

You couldn't tell it with the naked eye especially if you weren't holding both side by side. Unless you had that disease of noticing things very specifically and precisely like the main character on the hit FOX program "Prison Break".

I beg to differ. Remember the guy is an AD. He deals with watches every minute of his working life.

I reckon I could tell the difference, as I can tell the difference between 6 and 8 beats a second if I look closely. Also, looking at a gen Planet Ocean (7 beats a second, co-axial escapement), I could see it was smother than an ETA rep. Any well-lubed watch will be smoother than a 'surplus' ETA movement if you know what to look for.

Anyone doubting me should have a close look at a gen Sub while wearing an ETA-based rep.

[stang]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. I'm glad I don't have to worry about mentioning that my watch is a replica. Just suffering a case of noobie paranoia after reading several of the posts concerning customs, dealers, servicing availability, unreturned watches, etc. I really didn't think anyone would care if I had a rep or not as I certianly wouldn't if someone else had one. I didn't want to have to pretend my watch was the real Mc-Coy knowing that it wasn't. Lies tend to spin a big web which I eventually get caught up in sooner or later.

As others mentioned, I'm kind of proud my watch is a rep and will enjoy "bragging" about it being one. While I would certianly rather have the real deal (assuming, of course, I didn't have to pay for it!), I get a kick out of getting something which looks identical, has the same features and has similar performance (or can be adjusted/maintained to), for far less money. The same sort of pride people get w/ finding a really good bargain on something.

I'm very, very, very glad I found this site. Just being able to locate honest dealers and find quality replicas is enough to make coming here more than worth the time. The knowledge, experience and contributions of the members makes it an even better find. The tech, upgrade, maintenance and how-to articles are caramel & fudge ... on the icing ... on the cake!! Awesome!!

Thanks again everyone.

Jeff

[crystalcranium]

I beg to differ. Remember the guy is an AD. He deals with watches every minute of his working life.

I reckon I could tell the difference, as I can tell the difference between 6 and 8 beats a second if I look closely. Also, looking at a gen Planet Ocean (7 beats a second, co-axial escapement), I could see it was smother than an ETA rep. Any well-lubed watch will be smoother than a 'surplus' ETA movement if you know what to look for.

Anyone doubting me should have a close look at a gen Sub while wearing an ETA-based rep.

I put my new 28,000 eta sub side by side with a 15 year old Sea Dweller and there is no comparison. The genuine is smoother without a doubt.

Unless you work in a snotty "I don't give a damn who we sell to" store, there is nothing to be gained by calling out rep wearers. I used to thump my chest when I walked out of an AD with my unsuspected replica but I suspect now they were just being prudent salespeople.

[ubiquitous]

I typically offer up the fact that the watches I have in my collection are self built. That usually perks people up and initiates a whole series of questions and intrigue.

[OrangeSpoon]

you wont get in trouble for having a rep

isnt it simple? if you buy a rep its because you like the look of the gen but don't want to spend the money, fine admit it and stand up for your point of view

if you take pride in trying to make your replica as close to the gen as possible, thats fine (similar to model aircraft etc..) and you should champion the craft if thats your thing

if you try to pass it off as a gen then you are kidding yourself and will probably one day get very embarrased, its just sad to do so, trying desperatelyto keep up with the jones as we say in the UK etc...

[Pugwash]

I put my new 28,000 eta sub side by side with a 15 year old Sea Dweller and there is no comparison. The genuine is smoother without a doubt.

Thanks for the confirmation.

I reckon a decent watch salesman who actually enjoys his work will be able to tell a rep from the smoothness (not the beat rate), but he needs to be looking for it. If you ask "Is this a gen or a rep" then he will find out. If he's not looking for it, it's not the sort of thing you'd spot on the wrist.

[Katerchen]

Half the gens I see are warn by people who don't dress in an expensive looking way.

...i think this "phemomenon" strongly depends on where you live on the planet.

This country-saying might work maybe in some places in US... nevertheless it also depends on

the occupation somebody is involved in on what he/she wears or not.

Cultural background also plays a major role.

In Europe for ex. somethin like "casual-friday" phenomenon like in west coast US or other

places would be somethin you couldnt hardly adopt cause people would laugh at that.

There are too many people that would say "we wanna be dressed pretty all the week"...

Just take a look were fashion, dresses, suits, shoes etc. and the latest styles come from.

I saw things on vacation in US, that are absolutely ok by common taste over there

but you just couldnt wear most of some clothes/combinations over here cause everybody

would be staring at you...

Just my thoughts... George

[OrangeSpoon]

...i think this "phemomenon" strongly depends on where you live on the planet.

This country-saying might work maybe in some places in US... nevertheless it also depends on

the occupation somebody is involved in on what he/she wears or not.

Cultural background also plays a major role.

In Europe for ex. somethin like "casual-friday" phenomenon like in west coast US or other

places would be somethin you couldnt hardly adopt cause people would laugh at that.

There are too many people that would say "we wanna be dressed pretty all the week"...

Just take a look were fashion, dresses, suits, shoes etc. and the latest styles come from.

I saw things on vacation in US, that are absolutely ok by common taste over there

but you just couldnt wear most of some clothes/combinations over here cause everybody

would be staring at you...

Just my thoughts... George

have to disagree, not all gen wearers in europe are merchant w/bankers or in fashion you know

loads of offices dont have a smart dress code anymore

its getting to the point that making too much effort looks silly and might make you out to be an estate agent or something

Edited February 15, 2007 by tester

[stang]

As for the "believability" vrs "appearance" comments, I think I agree w/ this analysis. As for people who look rich more often wearing genuine watches, I've actually heard that the opposite is true.

I heard a lot of rich people wear replicas because no one would believe it's a fake. They either get a kick out of saving money when they don't have to or enjoy fooling others (would anyone think that the Rolex on Trump's wrist was a fake).

Conversely, people who aren't rich may be more inclined to buy the real deal simply because they know others will probably question it's authenticity and they want to be able to prove it's real. (often by somehow steering a conversation toward the watch so they can talk about it).

Unfortunately, I don't have any epidemiological data to confirm or dismiss this hypothesis so it will have to remain conjecture for now.