Genuine parts vs. DW parts

[Nanuq]

A post yesterday described how many genuine Rolex parts come from China, but receive the "Swiss" designation when they are assembled in Switzerland.

Soooooo. Just exactly HOW genuine / fake are the Rolex signed bridges for sale on Ebay, ostensibly from DW or another dealer???

[archibald]

A post yesterday described how many genuine Rolex parts come from China, but receive the "Swiss" designation when they are assembled in Switzerland.

Soooooo. Just exactly HOW genuine / fake are the Rolex signed bridges for sale on Ebay, ostensibly from DW or another dealer???

I guess we're assuming that these bridges were made in the 21st century, not the late-mid 20th. If they are genuine genuine, I doubt Rolex would have made anything in asia during the time all those vintage rollies were made.

If your question is more metaphysical, I believe that technology has made the SWISS MADE designation irrelevent on all but the highest end ultra-complicated watches. Let's face it--your standard mass-produced watches, even the expensive ones, are no-brainers to make thanks to current milling and printing technology, .005mm resoultion on CNC machines, CAD, etc.

SWISS MADE used to mean something back in the days when human skill and the quality of "analog" machines played a much larger role in watch quality. SWISS MADE meant "we've been making watches for a long time, have lots of outstanding craftspeople as well as excellent tools and machines." CNC is CNC. Dye Sub printing is Dye Sub printiing same-same all over the world. And it no longer takes a old guy with a loupe to make a top-quality watch.

Even the swiss have seen the handwriting on the wall--they know if they required that everything on a watch to be made in switerland their watch industry would crumble in a month. Thus the "50% of cost law." Muller, for example, buys stock (probably asian made) ETA's and replaces the rotor with a rep ETA rotor made of platinum. Bam. Swiss Made, baby.

So, rep or real? Asian or Swiss? This question has become a legal and ethical one. IMO, it's no longer a practical or technical one.

F.P. Journe, Mille and the like are Swiss made in the old school tradition (although Journe doesn't even bother putting swiss made on his watches, since he knows it's all BS) and are in no danger from china for the time being. But Rolex, Panerai, Muller, etc? IMO, "swiss made" iss all about trademark law, not quality.

[eunomians]

Bob, I am with you when it comes to liking vintage pieces more. There is indeed a sense of wholeness (integrity) to vintage. In this day & age, nothing seems real anymore

[ubiquitous]

You guys know my stance on vintage vs. modern

[docblackrock]

You guys know my stance on vintage vs. modern

No not sure that we do actually......do tell us Randy

Had this same conversation with an older colleague (over a pint, naturally), I'd argue for all things vintage so much more craftsmanship and timeless designs (plus that 'authenticity' Nanuq and Euno mentioned), compared to modern 'built to minimum specs for maximum profit' goods. Talked about how that "British-made" label used to stand for something good but no more since our manufacturing industry died (and how ironic that many Japanese and German-owned luxury goods companies these days use 'Made in England' as a byword for old-world style and handmade craftsmanship). We talked watches of course (my 1665 being a case in point - his one concession, he just sighs with admiration and says he's going to sell his gen Sub ), cars (my favourite, the Gullwing compared to the modern SL), clothes (old vs. 'new' Savile Row), engineering (19thC Brunel-built bridges versus corporate Arup ones that wobble , and Concorde versus the beluga-like 'cattle truck' aka Airbus A380), furniture (old English cabinet-makers vs. Ikea) and art (JMW Turner vs. Damien Hirst).

In every case, it was vintage compared with modern

In fact the only area where argument doesn't hold up obviously is with consumer electronics, computers, gadgets etc. without which I wouldn't be writing this and you strange people from all over the globe wouldn't be reading it...

*edit for massive amounts of typos, bit of a late night last night sorry! *

Edited April 14, 2006 by docblackrock