Replica-To-Genuine Price Ratio

[Emperor Penguin]

There are new replicas released that cost a lot of money. Hublot Big Bang replicas sell for over a grand, while the genuine models sell for about $9000. The new Concord C1 replicas sell for over $500, while the genuine watches cost from $10,000 up. Audemars Piguet replicas aren't cheap, either, but their respective genuines sell anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000 and up.

The replica-to-genuine price ratio can easily be determined by researching the cost of the genuine. If you don't have this already, bookmark the link below as a good reference.

Gemnation Watch Index

Here you can find many genuine watches for sale and you can get a good idea of how much the genuine costs. On average, the most expensive brands are A. Lange & Sohne, Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin. Audemars Piguet is up there, too, along with Hublot. Common brands like Rolex, Omega, Breitling and Tag Heuer are the cheaper and more popular luxury watches, but more people recognize them because they are more prevalent and affordable.

The question is this: what is your replica-to-genuine price ratio limit? At some point the cost of a replica is too high to justify buying it. There's certainly no point to shell out $1000 for even the best Breitling replica that costs $3800 new. If a Hublot Big Bang Black Magic replica costs $1200, yet the genuine sells for $12,000, that is a replica-to-genuine price ratio of 10%, which is questionable. Take into account all necessary modifications (e.g., Chieftang's AR coating, rotor engraving, etc.), and the ratio will get even higher. Aha, but Ruby's Big Bang with ceramic bezel costs $419, and compared to the genuine at $9900, that would be a replica-to-genuine price ratio of 4.2%, which is far more justifiable.

A poll is necessary. What rep-to-gen price ratio would you consider your limit to buy a replica? Hopefully, if we can agree on a fair percentage, the dealers can look into this thread so they can more sensibly price a replica. More or less would be based on the quality and accuracy of the replica.

[jkerouac]

Hopefully, if we can agree on a fair percentage, the dealers can look into this thread so they can more sensibly price a replica. More or less would be based on the quality and accuracy of the replica.

An interesting concept, though I doubt the dealers, let alone factories, think their prices are anything but sensible. "Sensible" is what a sufficient number of people are willing to pay. If you give a product away, it's not sensible; similarly, if you overprice and sell too few, the price is not sensible.

Some people take gen pricing into account, but I think it varies from rep to rep. Some reps of $10K gens you probably couldn't give away. Other reps of gens in the $2K-3K range sell for decent prices because the design is extremely attractive and the rep is of good quality.

Also, many people fail to take service into account. If I buy a $250 or $300 rep with an Asian 7750 and I really, truly want that watch to stick around a long time, I will invest $200 or $300 for proper service, above and beyond the purchase price. It doesn't matter what the gen-rep ratio is if the watch dies.