your view on replica watches
Discussion
your thoughts are interesting.i have a tudor (non tiger) chronograph and have always liked the rolex gmt master (black dial with red,blue bezel).anyway a guy at work has just bought a swiss eta replica gmt master 2 as described on a auction site and i must say it looks as good as the real thing 
That's the point though isn't it, it might walk like a duck and look like a duck but it actually barks..
If someone can't afford a <brand x> watch there is no shame in that, there are very good watches from reputable companies available at almost any price point, so why do people feel the need to pretend to have something they can't afford to own?
Likewise, if you can afford one but don't feel a real one is worth the money for whatever reasons then fine, buy a reputable watch that you do feel is worth the money.
If someone can't afford a <brand x> watch there is no shame in that, there are very good watches from reputable companies available at almost any price point, so why do people feel the need to pretend to have something they can't afford to own?
Likewise, if you can afford one but don't feel a real one is worth the money for whatever reasons then fine, buy a reputable watch that you do feel is worth the money.
A replica is great for someone who would buy a watch because of what other people think rather than for their own pleasure.
I buy watches because I like the look and feel of them - not becasue of what other people will think when they see the watch poking out from under my shirt cuff.
I buy watches because I like the look and feel of them - not becasue of what other people will think when they see the watch poking out from under my shirt cuff.
justayellowbadge said:
Only replica I have had was a 1016 Airking fitted with a NOS Explorer dial (NOT a redial). All genuine, but still didn't feel right.
Nice thing though.
A 1016 is a proper Explorer(and never sold as an Air-king), do you mean the 5500 Air-King which was sometimes sold with as an Explorer? They are different models, the 1016 is 36mm diameter and the 5500 is 34mm diameter.Nice thing though.
Edited by Dominic H on Saturday 4th August 22:46
Forgive me PH for I have sinned!!
I recently bought a new watch on ebay that looks suspiciously like a Panerai 111
Now I'd be interested in your opinions on this, but please take the following points into consideration!!
- It has NO Panerai logos or branding on it AT ALL (I would NEVER pretend this is a genuine Panerai!)
- It has an ETA 6497 movement (not dissimilar to the one in the genuine Pam). So the mechanical 'integrity' is not that inferior to the real thing. As you'll all know, ETA and Valjoux movements are used in many 'premium' swiss made watch brands.
- It feels extremely good quality, beautifully finished stainless case, non reflective sapphire crystal, nice quality leather strap, nicely decorated movement, 2 layer sandwich dial, etc.
- It cost 5% of the price of the real thing.
Now I have a genuine Omega/Rolex/Breitling, as well as a couple of cheap Citizens for hacking around, so I'm not a serial fraud, and will never try and fool anyone with this watch
However I'm now feeling a little bit in two minds about this purchase. I've got 95% of a Panerai for 5% of the price. I know you pay a premium for brand names, but I didn't expect the quality to be so close. I've seen genuine Pams up close and can honestly say they don't feel any nicer!
So what are your thoughts?
Puts on tin hat and runs away!!!
I recently bought a new watch on ebay that looks suspiciously like a Panerai 111
Now I'd be interested in your opinions on this, but please take the following points into consideration!!
- It has NO Panerai logos or branding on it AT ALL (I would NEVER pretend this is a genuine Panerai!)
- It has an ETA 6497 movement (not dissimilar to the one in the genuine Pam). So the mechanical 'integrity' is not that inferior to the real thing. As you'll all know, ETA and Valjoux movements are used in many 'premium' swiss made watch brands.
- It feels extremely good quality, beautifully finished stainless case, non reflective sapphire crystal, nice quality leather strap, nicely decorated movement, 2 layer sandwich dial, etc.
- It cost 5% of the price of the real thing.
Now I have a genuine Omega/Rolex/Breitling, as well as a couple of cheap Citizens for hacking around, so I'm not a serial fraud, and will never try and fool anyone with this watch
However I'm now feeling a little bit in two minds about this purchase. I've got 95% of a Panerai for 5% of the price. I know you pay a premium for brand names, but I didn't expect the quality to be so close. I've seen genuine Pams up close and can honestly say they don't feel any nicer!
So what are your thoughts?
Puts on tin hat and runs away!!!
Andy_CTR said:
Forgive me PH for I have sinned!!
I recently bought a new watch on ebay that looks suspiciously like a Panerai 111
Now I'd be interested in your opinions on this, but please take the following points into consideration!!
- It has NO Panerai logos or branding on it AT ALL (I would NEVER pretend this is a genuine Panerai!)
- It has an ETA 6497 movement (not dissimilar to the one in the genuine Pam). So the mechanical 'integrity' is not that inferior to the real thing. As you'll all know, ETA and Valjoux movements are used in many 'premium' swiss made watch brands.
- It feels extremely good quality, beautifully finished stainless case, non reflective sapphire crystal, nice quality leather strap, nicely decorated movement, 2 layer sandwich dial, etc.
- It cost 5% of the price of the real thing.
Now I have a genuine Omega/Rolex/Breitling, as well as a couple of cheap Citizens for hacking around, so I'm not a serial fraud, and will never try and fool anyone with this watch
However I'm now feeling a little bit in two minds about this purchase. I've got 95% of a Panerai for 5% of the price. I know you pay a premium for brand names, but I didn't expect the quality to be so close. I've seen genuine Pams up close and can honestly say they don't feel any nicer!
So what are your thoughts?
Puts on tin hat and runs away!!!
andy does it look something like this?I recently bought a new watch on ebay that looks suspiciously like a Panerai 111
Now I'd be interested in your opinions on this, but please take the following points into consideration!!
- It has NO Panerai logos or branding on it AT ALL (I would NEVER pretend this is a genuine Panerai!)
- It has an ETA 6497 movement (not dissimilar to the one in the genuine Pam). So the mechanical 'integrity' is not that inferior to the real thing. As you'll all know, ETA and Valjoux movements are used in many 'premium' swiss made watch brands.
- It feels extremely good quality, beautifully finished stainless case, non reflective sapphire crystal, nice quality leather strap, nicely decorated movement, 2 layer sandwich dial, etc.
- It cost 5% of the price of the real thing.
Now I have a genuine Omega/Rolex/Breitling, as well as a couple of cheap Citizens for hacking around, so I'm not a serial fraud, and will never try and fool anyone with this watch
However I'm now feeling a little bit in two minds about this purchase. I've got 95% of a Panerai for 5% of the price. I know you pay a premium for brand names, but I didn't expect the quality to be so close. I've seen genuine Pams up close and can honestly say they don't feel any nicer!
So what are your thoughts?
Puts on tin hat and runs away!!!
well that is obviously almost a direct copy of the real thing.
Like I say not my cup of tea but all that matters is that you like it and are happy with it.
It has a proper automatic movement in it. Funny how it has no markings at all on it. I dont understand why you would make a copy and use a relitively expensive movement in it? wouldnt they just use a cheap quartz normaly?
in fact it does not even use spring pins for holding the strap on its got drilled lugs and a threaded bar by the look of the picture.
Like I say not my cup of tea but all that matters is that you like it and are happy with it.
It has a proper automatic movement in it. Funny how it has no markings at all on it. I dont understand why you would make a copy and use a relitively expensive movement in it? wouldnt they just use a cheap quartz normaly?
in fact it does not even use spring pins for holding the strap on its got drilled lugs and a threaded bar by the look of the picture.
Edited by Pesty on Saturday 4th August 23:42
Pesty said:
well that is obviously almost a direct copy of the real thing.
Like I say not my cup of tea but all that matters is that you like it and are happy with it.
It has a proper automatic movement in it. Funny how it has no markings at all on it. I dont understand why you would make a copy and use a relitively expensive movement in it? wouldnt they just use a cheap quartz normaly?
in fact it does not even use spring pins for holding the strap on its got drilled lugs and a threaded bar by the look of the picture.
I know, its exactly the same! I was actually looking at getting the PAM 111 last year, but ended up getting the Planet Ocean instead as I was a little unsure of how I'd feel about the PAM long-term, as it is a very 'different' looking watch. I saw this one so thought I'd try it out with a view to getting the real thing if I liked wearing it day-to-day.Like I say not my cup of tea but all that matters is that you like it and are happy with it.
It has a proper automatic movement in it. Funny how it has no markings at all on it. I dont understand why you would make a copy and use a relitively expensive movement in it? wouldnt they just use a cheap quartz normaly?
in fact it does not even use spring pins for holding the strap on its got drilled lugs and a threaded bar by the look of the picture.
Edited by Pesty on Saturday 4th August 23:42
However after wearing it, I'm finding it hard to justify paying for the 'real thing', as it's such good quality. TBH I buy watches for the engineering and the marvel, (to me), of the movement, but I have a suspicion that the PAM has the same movement inside, as it has the exact same specs as the ETA 6497 - hand-wound, 16½ lignes, 17 jewels, Glucydur balance with Nivarox I spring, 21,600 alternations/hour, Incabloc anti-shock device.
So I'm getting the mechanicals, which is what really gets me excited about watches, the looks, but obviously not the branding, (which isn't that important to me). So I'm seriously troubled about this, as I don't want to be a fraud!
Edited by Andy_CTR on Sunday 5th August 02:20
Edited by Andy_CTR on Sunday 5th August 02:21
retrorider said:
someones making a killing out of the real thing if that only costs 5% with the same movement.jewellers are like bookmakers in that i've never met a poor one...
List price for a Panerai 111 is about £2300, I paid just over £100 for my e-bay special, which tbh was a lot cheaper than it's worth when you look at the quality of it. A watch of this quality from say Seiko or Sinn would be worth £400-500 no problems. As it's an e-bay sourced, 'copy', it's worth considerably less. Edited by retrorider on Sunday 5th August 17:12
You can buy a single ETA 6497 movement from a distributor on the web for about £45. I'm quite sure a watch maker buying thousands at a time direct from ETA will get a significant discount on that.
I love premium branded watches and will continue buying them, but they are a rip-off for what they are. We pay a HUGE premium for a logo. A jeweller will make approx 40-45% on the list price, depending on brand, and don't forget all those hard-backed catalogues, sponsorships of F1 teams/olympics/wimbledon, etc, and all the celebs that are paid to wear said watches.....
I'ts a bit self-perpetuating though, isn't it. When we're buying a premium watch we expect a fancy shop, the fancy brochures, the, 'prestige', which is supported by the marketing and promotion of the brand. This all has to be paid for somehow. It doesn't mean the watch is any better quality though.
What this little experiment has inspired me to do is look at other non-branded watches from the hundreds of independent watchmakers out there. Not copies, but original designs where you get the same quality, but not the premium pricing.
I've got my eye on a lovely tourbillon from the same seller that I got this Pam look-a-like from, which I'm pretty sure is an original design, and not a direct copy of anything.
It's certainly not a well known watch anyway, but I'm still checking to make sure, one look-a-like is enough for me!
In my opinion there is a difference between a replica, which is basically a fake trying to pass itself off as the real thing with the original makers name on the dial and so on; and a homage which is a watch made to resemble a particular watch but without trying to pass itself off as the real thing - the two posted above are homages in my opinion. That's why they have decent movements in - they are meant to emulate the orignal as closely as possible without pretending to be it.
Of course the Panerais are a bit of a classic in this case, with a few exceptions they have a completely unexceptional $50 movement in a nicely made case and are imo absurdly over-priced. Moreover the watches themselves are basically homages/re-issues/whatever of the watches the original Officine Panerai company made for the Italian navy.
Of course the Panerais are a bit of a classic in this case, with a few exceptions they have a completely unexceptional $50 movement in a nicely made case and are imo absurdly over-priced. Moreover the watches themselves are basically homages/re-issues/whatever of the watches the original Officine Panerai company made for the Italian navy.
Andy_CTR said:
Pesty said:
well that is obviously almost a direct copy of the real thing.
Like I say not my cup of tea but all that matters is that you like it and are happy with it.
It has a proper automatic movement in it. Funny how it has no markings at all on it. I dont understand why you would make a copy and use a relitively expensive movement in it? wouldnt they just use a cheap quartz normaly?
in fact it does not even use spring pins for holding the strap on its got drilled lugs and a threaded bar by the look of the picture.
I know, its exactly the same! I was actually looking at getting the PAM 111 last year, but ended up getting the Planet Ocean instead as I was a little unsure of how I'd feel about the PAM long-term, as it is a very 'different' looking watch. I saw this one so thought I'd try it out with a view to getting the real thing if I liked wearing it day-to-day.Like I say not my cup of tea but all that matters is that you like it and are happy with it.
It has a proper automatic movement in it. Funny how it has no markings at all on it. I dont understand why you would make a copy and use a relitively expensive movement in it? wouldnt they just use a cheap quartz normaly?
in fact it does not even use spring pins for holding the strap on its got drilled lugs and a threaded bar by the look of the picture.
Edited by Pesty on Saturday 4th August 23:42
However after wearing it, I'm finding it hard to justify paying for the 'real thing', as it's such good quality. TBH I buy watches for the engineering and the marvel, (to me), of the movement, but I have a suspicion that the PAM has the same movement inside, as it has the exact same specs as the ETA 6497 - hand-wound, 16½ lignes, 17 jewels, Glucydur balance with Nivarox I spring, 21,600 alternations/hour, Incabloc anti-shock device.
So I'm getting the mechanicals, which is what really gets me excited about watches, the looks, but obviously not the branding, (which isn't that important to me). So I'm seriously troubled about this, as I don't want to be a fraud!
Edited by Andy_CTR on Sunday 5th August 02:20
Edited by Andy_CTR on Sunday 5th August 02:21
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