Precious metals in reps

[cyberface]

OK I'm new here, being a keen watch enthusiast since the last 20 years or so, I've just discovered the world of 'decent' replicas... I've always been a steel sports chrono fan and my 'most-wanted' as a twentysomething was predictably a steel Daytona - which I eventually achieved, having gone through a few Omega speedmasters, seamasters, an Explorer II and finally the Daytona (all genuine). Bad luck befell my business last year and I had to sell off the watches, keeping some of the more inexpensive but still interesting pieces like my Sinn 356 II with the copper face.

As things picked back up I thought about buying watches again, but part of the problem behind my profitability interruption was due to closed-shop 'rip the customer' practices... and as my watch knowledge increased, I saw more and more top brands selling very expensive watches with ETA movements in them. The finishing would be of a higher level, but there were very few people outside the haute horlogerie heavens making their own movements in-house (save Rolex, who sell a LOT of watches). This seemed a bit like a rip off to me... so I did some more investigation about replica watches with ETA movements (or, as it turns out, exact copies of ETA movements).

My initial thoughts were that the quality of the replicas must be appalling, because the replica is simply an ETA movement in a stainless steel case and bracelet, just like many of the genuine watches from the mid-high end brands, and there's a 10-fold difference in price.

So, having decided that any money spent on genuines must now be spent on special movements or base movements with special complications, I got a steel Breguet Type XX flyback and 'invested' a couple of hundred quid in a couple of replica Submariners from a dealer recommended on these forums. One bottom-end one ($110, which is about

[freddy333]

Welcome to the fold.

I have to assemble a mail server, so I have to keep this relatively brief.......

Regarding decorating movements..... I had a relative who was a master watchmaker & he practiced for many years before he was comfortable doing that type of work on a watch movement. While basic watchmaking skills can be learned by anyone with the requisite inate mechanical skills (with practice), I think decoration requires a completely different set of skills that come with a significantly longer learning curve. I wish you luck with that.

As for buying 'expensive' or 'solid gold' reps, personally, I would not do that. The reasons are many. For 1 thing, that is alot of money to spend on a watch that has no actual (legal) resale value. For another thing, unless you have the watch properly appraised by a trained jeweler, you never know whether your 'solid' gold watch is solid or plated. And trusting the marketing hype that has always surrounded reps usually leads to disappointment. In addition, considering the cost of gold these days, I am always suspicious of reps that claim gold on a watch that is being sold for significantly less than the scrap value of the gold itself.

We each have our own set of qualifications, but my general rule of thumb for reps is that I will not spend more than 1/20th the cost of the gen watch for a rep. That is, while I will consider spending $2,000 buying the components to construct a franken copy of a $50,000+ rare vintage gen (like a Paul Newman Daytona), I would not spend $2,000 on a rep or franken copy of a $10,000 gen watch. To me, that just does not make economic sense. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule & each of us comes to the table with a different set of emotions that often get the best of our rules, but I would seriously re-consider spending 2,000+ pounds on a non-gen watch (unless you REALLY have to have it & no off-the-shelf rep makes your grade).

Edited June 12, 2008 by freddy333

[Nightstroker]

Geeze bro....thats one hell of a long first post....whew....felt like I was opening the first page of a novel....

ONCE UPON A TIME THERE WAS A POST....

Tell us how ya really feel!....lol....kidding.... just messin with ya pal....

You should start a new thread addressing your questions....more likely to get an answer that way....many of us wont take the time to read the entire post....your questions might be over looked....

Hello and welcome! The search button is your friend! Tons of good info here....Enjoy!

[cyberface]

Heh.

Point taken. I do tend to ramble at times.

Anyway question answered, so to speak. Regarding the 'solid' YG Rolex my mate rather fancies... simply work out the volume of the case and bracelet on a genuine (if it's identical in size, as it claims to be) or simply get the weight of a genuine full YG Rolex Day-Date, that info must be available somewhere. Assuming that's all gold, the monetary value of the gold for 9 carat and 18 carat can be worked out, and if both figures are higher than the cost of the replica watch, then it's a scam. Nobody is going to sell gold for less than its scrap value, especially with the current state of the financial markets.

Short version of the first part of my question - how good (i.e. how long does it last looking good with regular wear, no abuse, desk job rather than a brickie or mechanic) is the quality of gold plating used by the main 'accurate' chinese replica makers sold by many of the dealers here. Watches in the $250 -> $380 price range, ETA movements, no 'jewels' or other flash. Example - the rose gold Franck Muller Cintr

[Chronus]

Once upon a time, some will know the story of the solid 18k gold FM Casablanca that archibald kindly organized. That one WAS solid gold, and it may be the case those and the other solid gold FMs were made a few years back when ETA 2892s were readily available and gold was cheaper.

The other considerations are: will it clear customs? What happens if it gets nabbed by customs? Will there be duties to pay?

Also, one way to get a rough approximation as to whether it's solid gold. Weigh the case. You can work out the weight of the case by the dimensions and compare it to the genuine. Or (if they are watertight), you can have a Eureka moment

[Guest CGJ]

Hey guys. Ive read alot of this and having looked at literally hundreds of rep sites in the past few weeks... im starting to wonder...

Are there ANY two-tone daytona replicas with solid, 18k gold links/bezel/crown available? Its all quite questionable... I found oen site that has no negative press on the internet about them and they have 2-tone daytonas with what they claim to be all "18K solid gold on 2-tone, triple-wrapped 18k gold on all-gold models" The 2-tone is $1450.

In any case, 18K gold has a value of about 600 dollars per ounce, Im not sure how much the crown, bezel and links weigh, but it seems that it might be realistic.

Are there ANY two-tone daytona replicas with solid, 18k gold links/bezel/crown available?

[lanikai]

Let's see if the midnight sunday Shift can take over educating you .. since it took most of us some time here to gather all this information..

Welcome.. before I forget

You may want to consider .. researching the boards a little... it would help you and the Forum to subscibe to "supporter status" .. i am not being rude btw .. but to answer all your Q&A it would take countless hours .. it will take you hours and you will get unlimited support here..

But may I suggest that you kick back... check out the threads ... whatever Brand you are drawn too.. there are members here who have more knowledge than any Genuine forum around..

You will find rep owners more knowledgeable when it comes to dials .. movements ... repair issues.. it is born out of necessity to learn the detailed accuracy of the genuine compared to the rep timepiece..

I doubt you will find all the info you need in even a week or two.. this IMO is a ongoing learn by experience Hobby ... it is not like reading consumer reports..

somethings you should know off the bat..... this is an underground hobby .. no info should be given to genuine sites.. ... never wear your replica into an AD.. NEVER.. read and familarize yourself with the forum rules...

and if you do have issues with customs.. don't not call them to ask "why" .. it's all part of the game

check out the collectors section ... you will find in time and $$$ a collector that you feel comfortable with.... all our Forum collectors are reputable.. but check out members who have bought reps you are interested in ...

Check out the Reviews.. Bytor.. Andrew... Toadtorrent.... chrgod .... and others have taken the time to do this .. they have spent hours ..(up to 40 hrs.) so you can be informed..

so in lew of answering your questions .. why don't you visit the Introduction area.. introduce yourself... "think" about a donation or supporter status.. because we are "self supporting" through "our" own contributions.. the same members are alway's throwing so this forum can be here for you...5-10 usd or suppoter... we would appreciate it..

We are here for you and our "madness" can be yours too..

Hope to see you around campus... this area may be of some help... http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showforum=163

Aloha~Cheers

Lani

[Guest CGJ]

Let's see if the midnight sunday Shift can take over educating you .. since it took most of us some time here to gather all this information..

Welcome.. before I forget

You may want to consider .. researching the boards a little... it would help you and the Forum to subscibe to "supporter status" .. i am not being rude btw .. but to answer all your Q&A it would take countless hours .. it will take you hours and you will get unlimited support here..

But may I suggest that you kick back... check out the threads ... whatever Brand you are drawn too.. there are members here who have more knowledge than any Genuine forum around..

You will find rep owners more knowledgeable when it comes to dials .. movements ... repair issues.. it is born out of necessity to learn the detailed accuracy of the genuine compared to the rep timepiece..

I doubt you will find all the info you need in even a week or two.. this IMO is a ongoing learn by experience Hobby ... it is not like reading consumer reports..

somethings you should know off the bat..... this is an underground hobby .. no info should be given to genuine sites.. ... never wear your replica into an AD.. NEVER.. read and familarize yourself with the forum rules...

and if you do have issues with customs.. don't not call them to ask "why" .. it's all part of the game

check out the collectors section ... you will find in time and $$$ a collector that you feel comfortable with.... all our Forum collectors are reputable.. but check out members who have bought reps you are interested in ...

Check out the Reviews.. Bytor.. Andrew... Toadtorrent.... chrgod .... and others have taken the time to do this .. they have spent hours ..(up to 40 hrs.) so you can be informed..

so in lew of answering your questions .. why don't you visit the Introduction area.. introduce yourself... "think" about a donation or supporter status.. because we are "self supporting" through "our" own contributions.. the same members are alway's throwing so this forum can be here for you...5-10 usd or suppoter... we would appreciate it..

We are here for you and our "madness" can be yours too..

Hope to see you around campus...

Aloha~Cheers

Lani

With the amount of time that took to type Im certain he could have just said "No, that isn't possible", or "No, it's possible for that price it can be done."

[lanikai]

With the amount of time that took to type Im certain he could have just said "No, that isn't possible", or "No, it's possible for that price it can be done."

Sorry not taking the time now to read your wants.. just trying to give you some insight into our hobby

Cheers

[P4GTR]

With the amount of time that took to type Im certain he could have just said "No, that isn't possible", or "No, it's possible for that price it can be done."

Theres more to it than that though. Believe it or not, he answered your question. Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime. Lanikai is one of the most generous people on this forum, he taught you to fish.. I'm not as generous, but i'll feed you today, just this once!

Theres no solid gold links. Theres no everlasting gold plate. Search for eurotimez and his two tone sub. Look for by-tors review on the two tone sub in his section if your having a hard time, and start from there. Eurotimez did some recent in-depth testing of supposed solid mid link Rolex bracelets, only to find questionable results.

As a rule, gold reps are not something anyone is going to recommend to you for a long haul. There have been one or two exceptions to the rule, but with gold reps, generally the clock is ticking.

[Guest CGJ]

Theres more to it than that though. Believe it or not, he answered your question. Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime. Lanikai is one of the most generous people on this forum, he tought you to fish.. I'm not as generous, but i'll feed you today, just this once!

Theres no solid gold links. Theres no everlasting gold plate. Search for eurotimez and his two tone sub. Look for by-tors review on the two tone sub in his section if your having a hard time, and start from there. Eurotimez did some recent in-depth testing of supposed solid mid link Rolex bracelets, only to find questionable results.

As a rule, gold reps are not something anyone is going to recommend to you for a long haul. There have been one or two exceptions to the rule, but with gold reps, generally the clock is ticking.

Thanks for the reply! yes, Ive been using the search button alot on forums throughout the years.

I think I'll stick with the high-end stainless steel replicas.... those are actually pretty hot too. I read that gold wrapping is much better than plating and the wraps can last for 10+ years, cuz gold wrap is gold compressed into the stainless steel.