episaacs Posted May 20, 2006 Report Share Posted May 20, 2006 I was sold a rep as genuine by someone on ebay. That started me on a quest to learn about reps. Search engines turned up lots of the $1000 rep sites then eventually I stumbled onto RWG1. I lurked for a while and saw that your are generally an honest and helpful bunch, then started posting occasionally and buying reps. I hope this is not a stale topic; I thought it would be interesting to read your stories and compare my own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
premiumdesigners Posted May 20, 2006 Report Share Posted May 20, 2006 Bought a Breitling Avenger about 2 months back. Found this forum, joined, looked at Pams, bought 1, have been hooked since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dadog13 Posted May 20, 2006 Report Share Posted May 20, 2006 well my story goes like this... about 1 and 1/2 year ago i started googleing looking for reps...found 20-30-n sites offering reps at 200-1000 $....and then, just before buying my first rep i came across RWG1...then found TRC...started reading...got some info about sites that are selling cheap reps...and got the occasion to know a lot of great guys that gave me directions from who to buy...and now...after 1 1/2 year I am owner of 5 reps (all pams)....and i will always be grateful to all of the members and to admins that keep running this great business and been saving a lot of our money! Tnx again guys... regards, Vladimir Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankt Posted May 20, 2006 Report Share Posted May 20, 2006 Got my first Rolex Pres @ 25 yrs ago....I loved the style of the watch but was unable to afford a genuine one!! That watch had a decent russian 30j movement and functioned flawlessly...It cost $275.00 back then, when $500.00/week was "big money"...It was quite a good "rep", to the extent that somebody actually broke into my desk at work and stole it!!......I hope the "hock" shop gut laughed really loud at the pr1ck!! I later got into collecting Gen vintage stuff, mostly US made stuff... Recently, I rediscovered how great the newer generations of reps had become, so I started to dump my vintage stuff and get a decent rep collection going...So far, I've got 3 rolex, 2 pannies, and 2 omegas in the stable....MORE to come!! ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkerouac Posted May 20, 2006 Report Share Posted May 20, 2006 Seven or eight years ago my brother gave me a Rolex Explorer rep, and a d a year or so later a Patek Phillippe rep that he picked up during travels to Hong Kong with his Chinese girlfriend. My mother is Swiss, so I would get what I refer to as the "Swiss disease" whenever I visited and studied the many watch shop windows there. But even though I came close many times, I could never bring myself to justify the cost of the watches that attracted me the most. So the last time I came back from Europe I started searching online for more information about different brands and the best values on genuines. Having been reasonably satisfied with the reps that my brother had shared with me, I followed some links to rep Web sites, and as my research escalated I came upon RWG and subsequently TRC -- the undisputed best sources for information about quality and value in watches today. Thanks to everyone who has shared their experiences and knowledge, I have spent quite a bit more than I would have spent if I had sprung for one of those genuines in Zurich -- but I have a very nice variety of beautiful and quality timepieces that give me great satisfaction. I know much more about their pedigrees and histories than if I had not taken this turn in the road. And I've enjoyed getting to know the many diverse and great people on the board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
that_watch_guy Posted May 20, 2006 Report Share Posted May 20, 2006 When I was like 21 years old, I bought a crappy Seanaster replica from one of my co-workers who was in the jewelry business. I then bought a crappy fantasy white panerai, because I didn't know any better. Next came a semi-decent 1950 replica. A few years later I have 46 watches and every authentic/replica book on the market. I recently found a couple pictures from like 4 years back of my first replica watches. Yes, they all suck, I know. But everyone starts somewhere! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shimside11 Posted May 20, 2006 Report Share Posted May 20, 2006 I was looking for an anniversary band for my wife at my local Rolex AD, when the watches caught my eye. After a very convincing pitch, the guy told me that the knockoffs were getting so good that it was hard for jewlers to tell anymore. He said that a guy brought one in for servicing and they sent it to Geneva. They got a letter back from Rolex's legal dept. which said that they were keeping the watch as it had their trademark on it and suggested that the customer consider a genuine Rolex. I had purchased a really bad day/date in Mexico about 15 years ago. It actually had a sweep second hand when everything else at that time had a quartz movement. But the imitation was so poor that I didn't consider reps beyond that point. The AD said that if I wanted more info, just google "replica watch". That pretty well created a monster. I bought a sad Omega AT rep from one of the rip-off sites for 130usd. Even with all of the problems (wrong caseback, bracelet, date wheel) it was the coolest watch I had till that point. The quality was very good and it was a heavy solid piece. I found so much rubbish on the web and almost gave up on it until I found this place(actually, that place). Saved me alot of money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chronus Posted May 21, 2006 Report Share Posted May 21, 2006 I was looking for r*l*x reps and was searching on the net. replicacenter kept popping up on google searches but so did RWG1 and for whatever reason i trusted RWG1 more than the others. I read replicacenter and looked around their affiliated sites and was almost sold. At that point I would have bought just one rep and gotten out of getting reps. Especially at those prices. I looked around eBay and bought a few of their r*l*x reps, which were slightly more expensive than they should have been if I'd been registered on here at the time. Eventually, on a slow christmas day, I registered on here, read all day and order a yachtmaster from Precious Time which arrived the day after! That was my first "proper" rep. Since then it's gone downhill... 1 more r*l*x, a Breitling, IWC GST, Franck Muller and lots of PAMs.... I don't do things by halves Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swdivad Posted May 21, 2006 Report Share Posted May 21, 2006 About twenty years ago I bought a Rolex Submariner for about $125... waterproof, automatic, and in my opinion a great watch. Lasted a long time and I beat the crap out of it, don't know exactly what happened to it,, probably got lost in some move somewhere or other. I wish I still had it now to compare the currents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watchluvr Posted May 21, 2006 Report Share Posted May 21, 2006 My first rep was via a "backalley" deal in downtown Los Angeles almost 15 years ago. I was a lowly college student and heard that a store was selling fake Rollies for $20. Went to the store, had to get thru the "No, we don't sell those here's" and negotiated $15 for a full gold, Presidential. Needless to say, it was a piece of s**t. Someone advised me to even paint the gold on the watch with clear nail polish to keep the gold from flaking off! I still have that watch to this day. It stopped working within 3 months of my purchase, but I still have it, by God! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azgjav Posted May 21, 2006 Report Share Posted May 21, 2006 (edited) started looooooong time ago when i was 10(11 yrs ago) when my bro bought a rep(can't remember what brand..) and i discovered i'm into watches, at that time was g-shocks were the craze(hey, don't expect a 10 yr old to know abt rolexes..)..made myself a rep by sticking erasers to a normal casio watch..decided that it looked crap, started saving up and bought 4 genuine 'shocks, still have 3 of em back at home... then i got into martial arts, so didn't wear a watch from 13yrs old till 18(3 yrs ago), when my girl forced me to wear one cause it's manly..i couldn't settle for a cheap brand and i'm not gonna wear my old 'shocks. so i decided to get myself a rep...a quartz tag heuer link..and it went on to: then i started getting interested in rolexes..so got myself a few asian crap: and ~then into panerai..these were pre RWG and i was using my pocket money to buy em..they are utter crap! and all those within a year! then at 19(2 yrs ago) i was getting paid for doing what singaporeans gotta do..somehow got to know of a taiwanese supplier with expensive eta rolexes..and bought some good stuff from him, all eta: the 2tone is actually a second hand one i bought from him, he had it for 4 years(6 years now..)i suspect that the 2tone is a mbw cause of the deep rehaut, water resistance tested to 8atm, excellent 2.5x date mag, 14k gold wrap(i've sent it for polishing and my watchmaker told me that it's gold wrap..), thick crystal, bezel(constructed like a gen) and hollow midlink bracelet..all these epecs 6 years ago?! will have to take more photos of it when i go back home.. by that time i had over 25 reps and getting sick of em all..i switched to collecting vintage seikos for awhile..learnt a lil about watch making and refinishing. started frankening the asian reps for kicks..the practice allowed me to do my own mods later on.. then i got myself into the pam virus, that was before knowing RWG but wasn't scammed cause i was buying from river(not the supplier i knew before) unknowingly. :) then early last yr i got to know of RWG1...and pandora's box was opened.... now i'm 21 and down with the PAM virus!!! Edited May 21, 2006 by azgjav Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubFrog Posted May 21, 2006 Report Share Posted May 21, 2006 My father has been collecting watches as far back as I can remember. He always wore an Omega DeVille vintage gen. that I loved. He would never take it off...it's quite a classic. I'm not sure where he got it, but it is a beauty. He then began purchasing watches as gifts for mom and others. I got the bug or just followed in his footsteps...EXCEPT, I couldn't afford the nice gifts that he could. So, if I wanted one like he had...I had to look for reps. Then one day, my father decided to bring me along on a purchase for mom's birthday. We ended up at an old used car lot with a bunch of rims and tires hanging on the outside wall. I guessed we were gettin a used car (or 4 new tires for mom's car). When the salesman came from the back room...he was holding a box full of watches with little white tags attached. They were all Rolex reps...or hot topics, if you know what I mean? ha ha. We got my mother a TT Date Just for about $200. ...And I took it from there. The internet was my first stop. Lot's of research and almost a big mistake...until I found RWG1. End of story...and my bank account. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Usil Posted May 21, 2006 Report Share Posted May 21, 2006 I always liked watches but never seriously considered a Gen because simply out of my price range. Then I had a friend bring back a Breitling from Thailand last Fall and though it was a quartz - 30 USD watch, I liked it a lot. That got me thinking that there must be a way to get reps without relying on someone visiting Thailand. A quick google brought up too much and I had already known that the reps were one of the hottest scams on the internest so, while tempted I resisted. But, I thought there has to be some reputable sites that sell good reps. Lot's of googling and reading brought me to RWG and TRC and all of your comments on trusted dealers eased my mind about making an internet purchase. 7 months later, I have 14 reps: 4 Pams 1 Rx 1 IWC 4 Breitlings 1 FM 2 P. Philip 1 A. Lang&Sohn and 5 more on order: IWC Port., 45mm PO, IWC Big Pilot, Graham and a VC. Mostly uses Trusty but tried a few others too. My current favorite is the PAM 63 GMT from Eddie with the 2893 movement. I got the SS bracelet and the combination is sensational. I also like the Breitling Avenger, Navitimer and my PAM 111h with swan neck. I got to stop myself one of these days because I sometimes stair at them and can not decide which one to ware. This has been one of my best hobbies I have ever had and get a lot of pleasure from it - and I ahve a very understanding wife. Usil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finepics Posted May 21, 2006 Report Share Posted May 21, 2006 I bought my first rep about 2 years ago in Greenwich market. A Patek and an FM for £40 each (not too bad!!0, then last year on holiday in Beijing I visited the Xiu Xiu market - bought a PAM 111 with ETA for £100 (shows you the markup we have to pay) from a dealer (the whole end of the top floor in a dept store sized building were watch dealers all with a box under the counter with the swiss movts!!) and that was it, hooked. Found old RWG first by accident one day last september so have gone from 1 - 14 PAM's in less than a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oswald Posted May 21, 2006 Report Share Posted May 21, 2006 I got a Timex auto diver when I was about 14 and it lasted until I was around 30 It went through a bunch of straps and a couple of Twist-O-Flex's but I lost it on a backpacking trip. (I swear I'm gonna look for it one day...) When I went to get a new watch there just weren't any autos so I went quartz for a while before discovering on-line commerce. Commenced to Seiko, Vostok, Poljot and to reps. First rep was a hideous Yachtmaster from Mexico. I gave it away... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chronus Posted May 21, 2006 Report Share Posted May 21, 2006 started looooooong time ago when i was 10(11 yrs ago) when my bro bought a rep(can't remember what brand..) and i discovered i'm into watches, at that time was g-shocks were the craze(hey, don't expect a 10 yr old to know abt rolexes..)..made myself a rep by sticking erasers to a normal casio watch..decided that it looked crap, started saving up and bought 4 genuine 'shocks, still have 3 of em back at home... I wasn't given any money at 10 years old... how did you manage to swing that? I couldn't afford my own watch til i was going to university and had student loans, overdrafts and credit cards! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azgjav Posted May 21, 2006 Report Share Posted May 21, 2006 heh..pocket money and sandwiches everyday..and i get money if i do well in my exams. I wasn't given any money at 10 years old... how did you manage to swing that? I couldn't afford my own watch til i was going to university and had student loans, overdrafts and credit cards! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erd04056 Posted May 21, 2006 Report Share Posted May 21, 2006 In Mexico on vacation, street vendor rollie sub and seeing how I always wanted one, bought it and still have it. Nice watch actually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watchmeister Posted May 22, 2006 Report Share Posted May 22, 2006 Confluence of events caused me to get into reps. Initially, I was googling for a gen of a watch and what came up was just as many reps as gens. On the third or fourth page I found TRC. TRC led to RWG and the rest was history. I got lucky though as my first rep was a 183G from Eddie. Shortly before finding the forums another of my gens had crapped out and the service charges were close to $1,000. The good news about original movement gens is that they are cool. THe bead news is that when they break the AD's take complete advantage of you. That left a bitter taste in my mouth. In a year I have spent the equivalent of a top of the line gen and have 20 or so ETA or original movement watches with all available mods. No looking back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyvern Posted May 22, 2006 Report Share Posted May 22, 2006 Sticker shock of a Gen Sub did it for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Estaban Posted May 22, 2006 Report Share Posted May 22, 2006 I owned a gen SMP for years and have always been a watch hound. I had my eye on Panerai watches for the past 6 years but couldn't justify the $. Stumbled on this website by chance and the rest is history. I can't fathom wearing any watch less than 42mm after wearing a Panerai. I'm a big guy and need a big watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goog Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 I was aimlessly surfing the web one day and stumbled onto this site: http://www.watchodyssey.com/ It got me into the whole mechanical watch thing. I nearly bought a Spaceman Audacieuse but then decided it was just a bit too steep for a 30 year old watch. And then a bit more searching around got me to the goold old RWG1. And that was over a year ago..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omd Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 I was looking for a TAG HEUER Senna, and found the origina RWG by pure luck, Bought a fantasy TAG from TTK and now I own more tha 50 reps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sye46 Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 I like some of the stories on this post.... so I'll contribute my story about how I got into watches and my first rep. It all started about 10 years ago when my brother sold me his gen Tag Heuer. At that time, I was 18 years old and I didn't know what brand name watches were (except Rolex of course). So, I did some research and found out that Tag Heuer was a premium brand. So, one day I threw a house party full of strangers and I passed out drunk. I woke up the next morning with my Tag missing from my wrist. Since then, I wouldn't wear a watch unless it was a brand name watch. My friend went to NY for a trip and came back with a horrible rep Tag Heuer Link watch for me. I wore it for a while until I bought another gen Tag and then bought a gen Omega. Then I started to really into gen watches. Now I have 4 gen IWCs, Zenith, Girard Perregaux, Fortis...... etc. I collected about 20 gen watches and it costed me a fortune. So one day I was cleaning my drawer and I found the rep Tag my friend gave me and thought about all the money I spent on gens. I got onto the internet and searched for reps (by this time, I've heard of all kinds of watch brands including Panerai). I found the iOffer website where tons of reps were being sold and my first rep was a Swiss Pam 111 from Eddie Lee about 2 or 3 years ago (paid about $450 for it). I loved that rep and wanted more, but right after that I lost my job and couldn't afford anything new for a while. It wasn't until this year I searched for Eddie Lee and replica watches that I stumbled onto RWG1 and now to this forum. Now I have 5 reps and 20 gens. I've been slowing selling my gens so I can get more reps.... hahah.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dani Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 a friend had a breitling replica and i said it was a bad replica so then i begin to search for a replica webshop. after 3-4months i found Rwg1 then i bought a much better breit rep from TTK AND showed it of to my friend. after that i was hooked. Cheers, Dani Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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