Conflicted. Please advise

[breitlingGT]

When i graduated college 4 years ago as I gift to my self for finishing with engineering degree i wanted to go out and buy a nice watch. My bro in law around the time recieved a chrono superocean from my sister as a wedding gift. I grew to like the breitling brand and was very close to buying a superocean steelfish for about 1700 new. Alas, i decided the money coud be better used and decided to buy something slightly cheaper, so I bought a Tag F1 Indy 500 for about half the price ($700). I figured I was 21 and had plenty of time to spend 2k on a watch.

Well that time was a few weeks ago. A buddy of mine has a gen super avenger and i was hanging out wth a bunch of friends and his brother showed up with a bently GT. I was in awe, such a beautiful watch. When i looked at it he flat out told me it was a rep. I couldnt believe it. He bought it for like 250 from a guy on the street. I became intertested and stumbled upon this website after some google searching.

Im no Breitling afficianado, and Im sure there are irregularities in the dial but the watch looked great, felt heavy, etc for 250. So I saw the steelfish, and UPO etc on this site with swiss eta's for 330 + shipping roughly. Im ready to pull the trigger. But then i stumbled across the best reps under 150 and got the thinking. I know my Tag is not a big deal but besides friends, only 3 people, strangers, have ever said hey thats a nice watch and asked to see on my wrist etc. Now that could be becuase my watch is no big deal, but now Im thinkin if no one ever comes close to seeing these things up close etc, and most arent aficiandos, i should save my money and just buy the lite versions with the asian movements. I could buy 2 instead of my 1 swiss eta steelfish etc. If the thing breaks i wont feel so bad as 150 is not a big deal.

So i guess im kind of conflicted RWG. DO i go for the lite versions at half the price or swiss versions of these watches.

[jfreeman420]

I say buy one of the lite versions to start. If you are not getting a chrono the asian movements are fine. Heck even some of the asian chrono movements are fine. If you feel hard pressed to get a better quality watch and movement after the first spend more money.

Always remember though, a replica will never compete with a genuine watch.

[alanytical]

I think it depends on what you want out of reps.

If you only want one watch to pass off as a genuine, then you should get the absolute best rep there is with double AR coating (if on the original), accurate dial and date font with a swiss movement.

If on the other hand, you like several models of watches and would like to have a variety to change with your wardrobe changes or for different occasions, then maybe go for a few different "lite" versions.

I recently started collecting and only thought of buying one Breitling Chronomat Evolution (The so called Ultimate 1:1 version) to pass off as a gen, but then I started taking notice of other brands of watches and started thinking of where and when I could wear these other watches. Well now I'm hooked. I now have a Panerai Arktos new version, another vintage model Panerai, a Breitling SOSF, the BCE, and will be picking up a uPO, Bell & Ross, and Hublot in the near future.

Edited September 18, 2007 by alanytical