Wiss Posted October 8, 2007 Report Share Posted October 8, 2007 There is a jeweler in the Dallas Texas area who will service Replica watches. That in itself is no big deal, (nice to have). I brought my Submariner in for a cleaning and oiling. He was very impressed with the Submariner from Andrew and wanted to show me his own line of watches. Here is the shocking part. The watches were Rolex replicas with his name on the face. I mean they had no Rolex markings, but the Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted October 8, 2007 Report Share Posted October 8, 2007 There have been for many years independent watch companies who have been producing Rolex copies but without the Rolex branding. Some of them occasionally advertise their watches just pages away from Rolex ads in major magazines and trade journals. I have always wondered why Rolex allows them to copy their designs down to every detail (except for the Rolex branding), but I have never heard of Rolex going after any of them for trademark or patent infringement. This tells me that Rolex is much more concerned with protecting their name than their designs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yt74 Posted October 9, 2007 Report Share Posted October 9, 2007 What an interesting story! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted October 9, 2007 Report Share Posted October 9, 2007 These watches are coming from China, just like our replicas. They are knock-offs and are basically legal since they have no actual Rolex markings on them. Basic Rolex designs have been around for the last 25 years or so and don't patent rights expire after 7 years? At least in the drug world they do. Invicta copies all of the Rolex designs and sells their watches at cheap prices. Look at Invicta's model 8926- the black submariner with the Miyota movement- the great beater watch for around $100- WR to 200m. They sell the same watch w/ the swiss movement for around $300. A few years ago they had to stop using the "coin edge bezel" since Rolex sued them. So they switched bezel designs and kept on trucking. And the coin edge bezel subs sell at a premium now days. With Rolex, I'm sure that they have their hands full these days. And when you're being attacked from every side, you have to choose your battles. Like every other company, they only have so much money to spend each year. It would be interesting to know just how much they do spend each year w/ their NY attorneys- GAF counsel, but they can't stop everyone- it would take too much time and too much money. Also, maybe your Dallas jeweler is flying under the radar, so to speak. Selling by word of mouth and not displaying his knock-offs. And the internet has been a big boon for the replica/knock-off dealers- allowing a level on anonymity which storefront operations don't enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wiss Posted October 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2007 All great replies and I have to agree. So I totally agree with the Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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