predfan2001 Posted March 16, 2008 Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 (edited) I don't know what made me this way but I am totally burned out on Rolex reps. Maybe is all of the fitment issues that come up when you start moding the vintage Subs. You find a case you like and none of the dials you have fit. Lugholes being drilled too far in. Bad dial fonts. Odd sized crystals and the list goes on. The sad part is there really are no good vintage Sub reps out there other than a few of the MBWs and they have issues. I'm selling off all of my Rolex and Tudor stuff but 1 5513 nodate. I don't know whats next...but I'll probably just go with nicer reps (super reps) that doesn't require a bunch of mods. Edited March 16, 2008 by predfan2001 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victoria Posted March 16, 2008 Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 The Magic Eight Balls says! "I see a lot of Breitlings and IWCs in Predfan's future" :velho: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
predfan2001 Posted March 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 The Magic Eight Balls says! "I see a lot of Breitlings and IWCs in Predfan's future" :velho: Breitlings for sure! Superocean is on the list....black dial of course! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicale Posted March 16, 2008 Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 The black SFSO on a leather strap is the way forward. I think other people generally appreciate nice non-Rolexes more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mezzanine Posted March 16, 2008 Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 It goes to show you how different the hobby is for each person. I've pretty much done the exact opposite- started with any other rep than Rolex, and ended up at Rolex after a long journey through every other major brand. In terms of advantages, there are advantages to each direction. I think there is much less realistic ability for someone to identify one of the super reps as 'fake', rather than a Rolex (especially modern). In fact, the modern rolex's don't appeal to me very much simply because I'd have a hard time identifying one as fake, and that's considering that we obsess about this stuff constantly. The other side of it is that most people could care less about your SFSO or IWC or whatever. They're aware of Rolex when it comes to luxury watches. This requires the ridiculous over-attention to detail that often goes along with a rolex rep. That's why I could see someone easily becoming frustrated with the idea of dealing with the number of details and $$ needed to get it right. I don't think that the MBW vintages are really 'replicas' as such, depending of course on their level of modification. I see those as being somewhat separate from the typical reps...they're still reps, but they're also something else entirely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golfman Posted March 16, 2008 Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 I don't think that the MBW vintages are really 'replicas' as such, depending of course on their level of modification. I see those as being somewhat separate from the typical reps...they're still reps, but they're also something else entirely. Completly agree with you mezzanine. My story is on the same way than yours At the begining, no interest in Rolex, and i always go for rep whithout any modds needed. 2 yeard later, i just received my SSD modded, and starting my 1680 project with a MBW from PASO and a long modds list !!!! With this last one i am not buying a Rolex, i am working on a PROJECT to have a unique and special watch The next step could be to began modding myself ..... but not for the moment BTW, i always considering the "No Modds Rep" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mezzanine Posted March 16, 2008 Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 One of the nice things about the MBW's that accept genuine parts is that the level of research, time, and resources that go into their creation makes it a true project. I don't know about you all, but I spend sickening amounts of time researching and learning about the watches that I want. What's nice about the 'project' watches, or the ones that require you to build them in steps, over a longer period of time, is that they allow one to feel engaged in the RWG community without the potential expense of going from rep-to-rep. Unless you're studying or researching the potential purchase of a new watch, once you've gone and purchased a few nice reps, your engagement in the community kinda dies off. What else are you really going to do to your SFSO to make it more gen? There are mods that can be done, but they're well beyond the point of diminishing returns. A hugely under-appreciated problem with continuing to just buy reps and add to the collection is the depreciation of replica watches in value. For example, let's say that you've got a rep collection valued at $5000. I know it sounds crazy, but I'd guess there are more than a few out there. By my rough calculations, reps depreciate at around 20% a year in value. If you hold onto your reps for a few years and then decided to sell them, you could find yourself lucky to get 50% of what you paid. Contrast that with a couple of highly modded MBW's, like what I've done with my collection. Let's say that each of these watches has around $1500 invested in them individually. For sake of easy math, let's play out the scenario as described above: three years later and we want to liquidate our watch collection. Instead of trying to get 50% of our initial investmnet, chances are that parting out the genuine parts on the MBW's will actually net you more money than your initial investment, due to the more stable and favourable characteristics of the genuine vintage parts/watch market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted March 16, 2008 Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 Having worn PAMs for about six months, I can't even wear my Sub now. It just looks so small in comparison. An SMP still looks small in comparison, but, is just big enough to remain 'tolerable'. PAM's all the way for me now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
im2 Posted March 16, 2008 Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 The other side of it is that most people could care less about your SFSO or IWC or whatever. They're aware of Rolex when it comes to luxury watches. This requires the ridiculous over-attention to detail that often goes along with a rolex rep. That's why I could see someone easily becoming frustrated with the idea of dealing with the number of details and $$ needed to get it right. Interesting remark!!!! So let's think.. Are some rolex (called as super,perfect, 1:1) so bad because they have numerous flaws or maybe it s also out over attention to them that names them inaccurete comparing to other reps. Well, ok..rlx reps are not like the hbb...(why they arent?? that another question...irrelevant to the topic i guess....- but whyyyy?? ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
its_urabus Posted March 16, 2008 Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 predfan good luck with your transition. I would consider the IWC ingy and the UPO of course. the upo is my daily beater, and the IWC is my next conquest after trying a gen on this past week. good luck, and dont forget to post pics when you make your decisions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capice Posted March 16, 2008 Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 Never have and never will like Rolexes........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chad Posted March 16, 2008 Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 """The other side of it is that most people could care less about your SFSO or IWC or whatever. They're aware of Rolex when it comes to luxury watches.""" That is exactly why I never got into rolexs.......... More of a cheezy status symbol than a watch lovers watch. (the gen's are made well though) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
predfan2001 Posted March 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 (edited) predfan good luck with your transition. I would consider the IWC ingy and the UPO of course. the upo is my daily beater, and the IWC is my next conquest after trying a gen on this past week. good luck, and dont forget to post pics when you make your decisions I already did the UPO thing. I hit that brick on everything when I had it on. It's a cool watch just too big and heavy for daily wear to me. I sold it over at Repgeek and just listed all of my left over Rolex and Tudor stuff there. It will all be gone soon except for my vintage nodate Sub and an Omega GMT. Then I'll have to pick which road to go down next. Edited March 16, 2008 by predfan2001 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peepshow Posted March 16, 2008 Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 Having worn PAMs for about six months, I can't even wear my Sub now. It just looks so small in comparison. An SMP still looks small in comparison, but, is just big enough to remain 'tolerable'. PAM's all the way for me now Yep, pretty much, TeeJay. My HBB is big enough and it's actually quite nice, I'm just not convinced it's "me". Other than that, it's all PAMs.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mezzanine Posted March 16, 2008 Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 """The other side of it is that most people could care less about your SFSO or IWC or whatever. They're aware of Rolex when it comes to luxury watches.""" That is exactly why I never got into rolexs.......... More of a cheezy status symbol than a watch lovers watch. (the gen's are made well though) This was the same way I felt for the first year or so that I was collecting reps. I wouldn't even consider a rolex. My initial thought when I'd got into reps was that the stupidest thing one could do would be to wear a Rolex, as not only does everyone think Rolex's are fake, but with the incredible quality of some of the newer non-rolex reps, it was an even dumber idea. There were a number of factors that caused me to go in the direction I'd sworn I never would. As I learned about how the "rep world" works more generally, in terms of gaining knowledge about the different paths available to be able to personalize one's own taste, I wanted to get a 'taste' for as many of the brands and niche's that exist. With the vintage rolex's, you can use the more detailed knowledge of the community's members to find deals on genuine parts. Most owners of genuine vintage rolex's probably don't know what each part of their watch costs in proportion to the whole. When those owners list those parts in the market place, they may not price them within the usual range that they're commonly sold for- perhaps aiming too high, more often pricing themselves below the market. This integrated knowledge of both the replica and genuine watch 'economies', as well as the unique 'bridge' that the vintage rollies represent in being able to benefit the most from those two worlds, make that particular 'rep niche' especially intriguing once you've made the rounds of owning the latest rep. Right now I've got two vintage rollies that are pretty much genuine with the excepiton of their cases and movements. The thing is, I don't really care about the cases and movements- I don't want to pay the premium for the serial number, and the cost of servicing the movement. So in that sense, if someone were to observe that I was wearing a 'fake' rolex, as is the topic that got us to this point, they'd be in an interesting position to try to point out the basis of their observation. You better have quite an eye for crown guards, that's all I can say. Buying and selling replica watches can get quite expensive, by the way. I always like to observe that the average rep probably declines at least 25% a year, whereas the price of the vintage rolex parts have probably increased at a similar rate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted March 16, 2008 Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 Yep, pretty much, TeeJay. My HBB is big enough and it's actually quite nice, I'm just not convinced it's "me". Other than that, it's all PAMs.... Indeed, HBB's are certainly a nice size for a watch. Personally, I'm not too keen on them, but, size-wise, they're pretty good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmythree Posted March 16, 2008 Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 quote = So in that sense, if someone were to observe that I was wearing a 'fake' rolex, as is the topic that got us to this point, they'd be in an interesting position to try to point out the basis of their observation. You better have quite an eye for crown guards, that's all I can say. Buying and selling replica watches can get quite expensive, by the way. I always like to observe that the average rep probably declines at least 25% a year, whereas the price of the vintage rolex parts have probably increased at a similar rate. /quote I doubt the average person will think your particular rolex is a replica...they think they all are, especially submariners. You are right, they can not point out what makes it a replica though. I have not had anybody think my genuine watches were genuine for a long time either. Twenty five years ago maybe, but not now. So...what's the point in wearing a genuine watch? Buying and selling replicas is expensive but it is probably quite a bit cheaper than buying and selling genuine watches. If you buy replicas cheap enough to begin with, they are probably worth about as much after a year's wear if you take care of them...and do not sell them to replica forum members. Sell them to outsiders who do not know where to get the better replicas. No doubt vintage rolex parts are going up in price but if you sell something at today's price and it goes up 100% in a few years...you still lost money by not waiting. As for rolex...the best bang for the buck is probably a genuine case and dial DJ/explorer I/OPD/AK etc with an eta in it. Genuine on the outside...replica on the inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
predfan2001 Posted March 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 There is something about the Rolex name and fakes. When ever I see someone with a modern Submariner I instantly assume "rep". I'm sure Omega Planet Oceans will soon fall into that same catagory. Now a vintage Rolex is another story. A decently vintaged plexi Sub might make me think "hmmmm??" That is as long as it doesn't have bright yellow markers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
By-Tor Posted March 16, 2008 Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 The other side of it is that most people could care less about your SFSO or IWC or whatever. They're aware of Rolex when it comes to luxury watches. Weird. I've noticed this being exactly the opposite. My franken Explorer II (with gen dial and all), or those 10+ Submariners (that I've owned) have impressed NOBODY... while SFSO and Aquaracer collect lots of compliments from people. SFSO is very impressive watch, although people might not be aware of the Breitling brand. I like Rolex as well, but they're definitely NOT impressive watches to the general public (imho). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
predfan2001 Posted March 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 I like Rolex as well, but they're definitely NOT impressive watches to the general public (imho). Now that you mention it, I think the only watch I ever owned that people complimented on a regular basis was a Chase Durer Abyss. A real bling-bling diver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellomen Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 First of all i'm sorry to hear this... but completely understandable. When you want perfection... there's always something that can be just a bit better... But maybe you would like to trade some of the Rollies for my Vacheron Constantin Overseas with box Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DemonSlayer Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 People will only 'care' about a Rolex once they know that its a Rolex on your wrist. I can understand what By-Tor means. Those watches, the SFSO and Aquaracer are eye-catching, and in my opinion, look more impressive than lets say an Explorer I which is a very simple looking and dare I say 'cheap' looking Rolex. I have a $20 Sekonda which is modelled after it and its by no means an eye-catcher. Now if you saw 2 people from a distance, and one person had a Explorer I on their wrist, and another had a SFSO, which watch do you think is going to get more attention. I would say that 9/10 it will be the SFSO. Lets swap that SFSO with a PAM, again the PAM will get more attention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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