eunomians Posted June 4, 2007 Report Share Posted June 4, 2007 I was wondering if there are any serious watch collectors here who primarily fancy OEM watches. I am very curious. I'm about 10% rep 90% OEM. I've been a serious OEM collector for 15+ years. How about you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baltic Posted June 4, 2007 Report Share Posted June 4, 2007 Loved my rep Moon Watch so much I bought the gen, I aim to get a gen PAM at some point too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docblackrock Posted June 4, 2007 Report Share Posted June 4, 2007 In terms of interest and enthusiasm, definitely, and very little modern stuff - vintage style all the way Currently have a small gen collection, supplemented by some vintage franken projects - can't beat the thrill (and frustration ) of putting together frankens. No more gens right now though as unfortunately, my yearnings exceed my earnings to some extent, and that market has gone a little crazy recently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakland Posted June 4, 2007 Report Share Posted June 4, 2007 I wasn't much of a collector until I got onto this site actually. Funny that it took replica's to get me into watches in general. I started with 3 gens (Omega, Rolex, Movado) and 1 Rep (UPO). Now it's more like 14 Reps and 3 Gens. I'd say I've leaned towards reps over the last two years, but now I have too many and am looking at gens again. I'm saving up for a Ulysee Nardin or Ebel. So to answer the question, I was at 25% rep when started here, and now I'm at roughly 82% Rep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azgjav Posted June 4, 2007 Report Share Posted June 4, 2007 4 gen breitlings, 1 gen pam and 2 gen seikos. over 20reps tho.. :'( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dadog13 Posted June 4, 2007 Report Share Posted June 4, 2007 I have something like 15 reps and one gen (patek philippe)...i would buy more gens if i had he $$$...but never would stop collecting reps...for the price we pay most of the reps....they are great watches! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watchmeister Posted June 4, 2007 Report Share Posted June 4, 2007 I don't do gens anymore for myself. I had reasonable discretionary income at an early age (read as when I was single) and bought a number of more expensive gens but I had a lot of trouble with them. And when I had an issue I always walked away another $750-1,000 poorer and having lost the watch for 2-3 months. For gen owners how many times have you walked into the AD and heard "we will send it back to Switzerland for proper repair. We will call you when we get it back". But I am rethinking it now as I have well over $??,000 into reps. My wife wears the pants and gens in my house. Her daily wearers are Breguet and Cartier. I always say I am going to get into vintages but haven't so far. In the end though I would have to say that what started out as a passing interest has turned into an obsession because of the fun of spending time with some of the better people around here and always trying to improve our reps. The projects are always a lot of fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Febus Posted June 4, 2007 Report Share Posted June 4, 2007 Replicas really ignited my passion for watches. Before that all I'd ever though of was to buy a Rolex of some sort for the pose value as much as anything else. I wouldn't have cared whether is was a 'real' watch or quartz, neither did I care about the history behind them. Since becoming interested in replicas I've bought 4 or 5 genuines ranging from vintage Omega, Rolex, IWC and Sinn none of which I'd have ever bought if it wasn't for those 'cheap ass fakes' I've come to know and love. So one in the eye for people who say replicas are stealing from the trademarked brands. In my case replicas have led to me purchasing a whole bunch of (over) high priced watches I'd never have bought before. A bilt like all those MP3's I downloaded- next thing I know I'm down at the record shop spending a fortune on vinyl copies of those self same tunes.............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vlaletom Posted June 4, 2007 Report Share Posted June 4, 2007 I am certainly not a gen "collector". But since 3 years that i discovered RWG1 my interest in watch has grown so much. First with a few reps, then in TZ watch course & plaing around with reps/no values gens. That i started to really whant to get a nice gen (a part from my old rolex 1500 i have since long). When my grand mother died i recived an unexpected (and unwanted for shure) extra money. So instead of burning the cash in a LCD TV or usual mass consumation goods i whanted to get somthing that i would keep all my life and that would be a memory. I finally made it a month ago with a JLC Compressor chrono. And i plan to try to save enough to get a gen each year from now .. prolly not in the JLC kind, because i would certainly not have enough cash, but thing like previously owned omega speddy/smp maybe even an affordable PAM, but olso low priced antique watch. (some very nice omega from 1930 can be get for as low as 200$) In the meantime i will still collect nice reps, because i really got caught by the bug .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vlaletom Posted June 4, 2007 Report Share Posted June 4, 2007 Replicas really ignited my passion for watches. Before that all I'd ever though of was to buy a Rolex of some sort for the pose value as much as anything else. I wouldn't have cared whether is was a 'real' watch or quartz, neither did I care about the history behind them. Since becoming interested in replicas I've bought 4 or 5 genuines ranging from vintage Omega, Rolex, IWC and Sinn none of which I'd have ever bought if it wasn't for those 'cheap ass fakes' I've come to know and love. So one in the eye for people who say replicas are stealing from the trademarked brands. In my case replicas have led to me purchasing a whole bunch of (over) high priced watches I'd never have bought before. A bilt like all those MP3's I downloaded- next thing I know I'm down at the record shop spending a fortune on vinyl copies of those self same tunes.............. Kinda the same here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubiquitous Posted June 4, 2007 Report Share Posted June 4, 2007 Started with gens and dabbled a bit in reps. When I started getting into frankens, I stopped buying gens altogether (with the only exception being my vintage Omega SM300). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piratedzeus Posted June 4, 2007 Report Share Posted June 4, 2007 With all the horror stories about gen repairs... the only gen I will ever buy is a Omega SMP 300m Professional Co-Axial.. -Cheap -no good rep - not much servicing due to co axial thingy - I love the watch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAMman Posted June 4, 2007 Report Share Posted June 4, 2007 I have both with 5 gen Omegas, including a vintage Seamaster 300 date, an IWC, a Panerai and a few other military related watches. I have a couple of frankens and about 10 - 12 reps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetsons Posted June 4, 2007 Report Share Posted June 4, 2007 What can I say, I'm a watch addict and enjoy collecting them both. The gens that I have managed to collect over time have a vintage flavor... T-dials and only one has sapphire. They range from Heuer, Longines, Tudor, Rlx and JLC. I'm a sucker for vintage watches and wouldn't mind adding a 60's Heuer Autavia to the mix. With reps, my interest lies with vintages that can be improved by installing OEM parts. I have little interest collecting most of the modern models (gen or otherwise) but do enjoy reading about them. I have 7, most of which are MBWs & 2893-2 Pams. Reps have taught me far more about this hobby than I could have ever imagined. The folks here are also terrific and have made good friends along the way....priceless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmg Posted June 4, 2007 Report Share Posted June 4, 2007 I've been a genuine collector for ~20 years, mostly vintage Deco styles watches early on with collecting and a few Rolex, sadly smaller models from the 40's-50's. This was before I discovered that I liked the sport models. I could kick myself for not starting back then with the prices of the sport pieces compared to today . I took a break for many years from collecting and discovered reps maybe a year and a half ago and have to say it has rekindled my interested in watches in general and I probably know more about watches now in collecting reps then I did buying gens -funny how that works! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archibald Posted June 4, 2007 Report Share Posted June 4, 2007 Absolutely. I have 3 gens and am down to about 6 reps that get wrist time, 6 reps in various stages of modding. A few $80 asian movement classics just for old times sake. These days, I don't think to0 much about the Gens v. Rep discussions I used to get into. Are gens superior to reps? Yes, of course. No, are you nuts? Seriously, who can say? If you buy a gen Muller Conquistador, did you just throw 6 grand out the car window? If you just bought a rep Lange Chrono, did you just throw $200 out the car window? Depends of lots of personal beliefs and circumstances, no? Every time each of us pushes the "send money" button on Pay Pal, we answer these questioons for ourselves. I only have 3 hard and fast rep/gen rules for myself: 1) Only buy gens that are highly unlikely to be repped, and which represent as much as a value as luxury watches can possibly represent. 2) Never post pics of reps on gen forums or vice versa--both strike me as unseemly. 3) If you're going somehere you'd like a zero % chance of getting called out--AD, important business meeting, etc.-- wear a gen. Other than that, relax, don't worry, gaze fondly at your watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krustybrand Posted June 4, 2007 Report Share Posted June 4, 2007 I have 4 Omegas, a Breitling and a Tissot, but I still wear my DW Daytonas more than anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted June 4, 2007 Report Share Posted June 4, 2007 I have about 20 reps and a few cheap gens. I tend to get gen tools, like a brace of Monsters, a Seiko Sub, a Fortis, a Sug Nautilus, a Casio digital compass/altimeter, an unbranded Panerai Homage, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rag9fx Posted June 4, 2007 Report Share Posted June 4, 2007 reps got me into collecting ... when i was about 13 or so... reps (cheap reps) was all i could afford ... nothing too flashy ... S.S. datejusts mainly that had shelf life of about 6 months ( these were $35 jobbies) and i would always get upset when they would die on me ... then i found a dealer when i was 16 that had decent quality stuff ($80+ ) proper stainless steel and better asian movm't ... and all of them save for a day-date that bought are still running... i got my first 'prestige' mark or swiss gen when i was 18 it was a quartz Cartier Santos ... when i was 20 i grabbed a Gen GMT II (black insert) and a c. 50's DJ when i was 21 i was given a white gold Gen MOP DJ from my mum... but i have always been into the vintage stuff in particular 20-40's wrist watches... of which i have a bucket full... but they come and go i am starting to learn that i don't necessarly have to own a watch to really appricate them ... i also have a thing for 70's dive watches but don't have too many gen versions of those... i think that reps ( the ones that are available to use via here) is that they are pretty affordable in comparison to their Gen counterparts... and are pretty convincing ... so the art of reproduction of particular watches is what really intrests me with reps... gen: rep ratio ? i woud have to say 60/40 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephane Posted June 4, 2007 Report Share Posted June 4, 2007 Dear All, Well, what can I say. I'm looking at Monsieur Euno's thread for a while and didn't want to post before I got a little tipsy (not sure at all about the spelling). I had a couple (might be more) of drinks now, so let's go. I wish all of my watches were gens probably...but I'm not even sure about that statement. I do not have the cash for that anyway and I'm not sure it would be the same fun to pop into an AD, throw a Gold Visa on the counter and walk away with a watch. I really enjoy being here and tracking watches like, i.e., the IWC 3717 that took me quite a time to get from PT or Edge's Red 1680 that I was fortunate to be the first to jump on. Being part of this board and wearing a Ubi DateWheel on a Edge Red 1680 is far more fun than wearing a second hand 16610 I would have bought for 3.000$ from a second hand ass****Dealer that got it for a 1.000$ from a poor guy that needed money right away and had to knee down (as John Lennon said), isn't it. Getting an Asian Fiddy from member Kelster and having it moded by Flav is great too, isn't it. Sending a 1680 White that came from TTK who is in the far east to Edge (who's not in the far east) to create a 1680 couple is very cool too. Putting a gen solid "limited edition" case back on AJoeSmith's Speedy is a slice of history, don't you think. Not even mentionning a huge Trilogy project with some other great member...or a single red coming from Phoband, thru Flav, back to EU... Other thoughts: - when I first came here, I said to myself "these guys are nuts with there mods". How can they spend 700+$ in such watches. - now ? Well I think it's such an exiting hobby to try to get as close as possible to gen and still for a fraction of the cost that I wouldn't even consider buying gens. - getting in touch with nice guys all around the globe, sharing wrist time with the same watch, modifying theirs by sending to others,... it's as exiting as a first date ! I have 49 watches to date (including my wife, daughter and son's) and only 9 are gen: Baume & Mercier, Tissot, Seiko. That is it. I might say something completely different in a couple of years from now, and probably will, but the only gen I'm looking at right now for 2007 is a Great White. Ap RO, Patek Nautilus, VC Overseas, ...are out of my range of budget anyway. So I'll pick a Rolex for sure to start with (unless a kind member is making me such a nice moded rep one that I change my mind for a Luxury vacation with my family). My conclusion is Only you guys can understand what this is all about. And, only you guys, and some TZ or similar forums members, can "eventualy" spot flaws on most of the high end reps that we have access to. The wide majority of people I meet and notice one of my watches are only saying "hey cool watch"...without knowing a clue about what it is. You know what ? The most common "Oh really" reply I'm getting is when I simply explain about Automatic VS Quartz. "It does not keep perfect time for more than 24 hours! That is a bad watch " So, I'm more than happy with my current collection and, for sure, more than happy to be here, sharing all this with you guys Cheers Stephane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moscar45 Posted June 5, 2007 Report Share Posted June 5, 2007 Both, although I actually have not purchased my first rep yet. I collect zodiac, hamilton, and any unique swiis piece I have. I don't own an asian movement watch--but maybe....... As for reps, I'm the kind of guy interested in building gen clones using rep cases and ebauches. So I'm collecting dials, parts, and straps now---before I even buy my first rep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viper Posted June 5, 2007 Report Share Posted June 5, 2007 (edited) The watch that started my watch hobby was the Crazy Hours in electric blue dial and blue croc leather from FM. I saw the gen version at an AD and that was it. I could not afford it of course. That was 3 years ago. I found a good rep of that FM, and now I have about 15 reps, 2 swiss gens (Omega SMP, Tag Aquaracer), and quite a number of Seiko and Citizen tool watches. Edited June 5, 2007 by viper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drop Posted June 5, 2007 Report Share Posted June 5, 2007 I started 'collecting' OEMs with a few Rolexes, but at some point during my shopping came to appreciate watches less for their jewelry value and more for their mechanical and artisitc value. An experience I'm sure other members have gone through... So, spent some time on PMWF and also pondering higher-end pieces - and am glad I found this community before I invested much more in my OEM collection. I've been able to fine-tune my tastes, learn from real experts, and play with mechanics without making big financial errors! As a result my collection is rep heavy now, but my OEM collection will someday be far "better" from the experience. In fact it's funny, in part I got here out of my disdain for the Rolex 'brand' but now find myself extremely excited about picking-up a 1665 rep... maybe a gen someday if I am so blessed! An interesting journey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Micky Posted June 5, 2007 Report Share Posted June 5, 2007 (edited) I started collecting watches 16 years ago and focused on vintage Omega Seamasters, built up a nice collection with some rare ones from 1948/49, some military pieces, and also the cheaper watches, built in the 1970's plus stuff like boxes, papers and so on, wich is hard to find. The collection was almost complete (around 80 pieces), when I traded it at a fair in Munich for the watch of my dreams - a Patek Philippe Annual Calender in WG. I'm still happy with this decision Since then I started collecting other stuff, like baby clothing, toys and Bobby Cars - not for me, but for my little girl After she was born, I got another view for the worth of money, if you know wht I mean... But from time to time the old Virus caught me and I felt like "I have to buy a watch" - so I started to gather informations about replicas. Nowadays, if I get nervous and my wrist is itching, I get myself a nice rep - just for the fun in it. So, I don't think that I'm still a collector, but maybe... Regards, Micky Edited June 5, 2007 by Micky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V Posted June 5, 2007 Report Share Posted June 5, 2007 (edited) I personally started collecting reps.. many reps... I had at some time almost 15 Panerai reps.. But then Ubi's moto 'Quality over quantity' hit me and decided to let go all the watches I didn't wore at the time. I ended up with few reps (4-5) well modded and then at the same point (last year) I got my first genuine Panerai and found a source for genuine EXPENSIVE panerai parts... I sold all my reps and started to build franken contemporary Pams (one of the 2-3 people who attempted it in this forum). At the moment I am owning a gen 112 which I wear the hell out of it, and a franken destro 22 in process of being perfect. I also bought my first rep last month after a year.. A Ferrari 008.. identical as the genuine so I consider it having the same value as my frankens in visual aspects. When I will finish the 22 to a perfectly satisfactory point I will make an extra case and everything else in PVD in order to have a 26 when I will get bored of the polished case. And when I will get a new job in the near future (I hope).. I may consider a nice gen Radiomir or a brown dialed titanium 55, 56 or 116 Edited June 5, 2007 by V Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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