Have you bought one of those great looking Rolex/Omega fakes
Discussion
jeremyh1 said:
I dont think it is mostly young men Some are but many of us on here are very much older with grown up children and houses that are paid allowing us to be able to buy and do the tings that we would have liked when we were younger
When your a 55 yo bloke you might have a nice watch /car /house but the days of impressing people have long gone due to aging body!
Some truth in that last comment. I went to a University re-union maybe 5/10 years after graduation and found one of my group in tears on the hall steps because he saw the success that some had had and compared it to his own career. He was far from the only miserable one. I went to another re-union just a few hears ago and it was all different. The race had been run. Those who were schoolteachers ( nothing wrong with that but hardly financial success) were happily chatting with the couple who had knighthoods and several multili millionaires. No edge at all.When your a 55 yo bloke you might have a nice watch /car /house but the days of impressing people have long gone due to aging body!
CrippsCorner said:
I like that because it’s fun and taking the piss. A bit like a neighbour who has Ferrari style badges on the wings of his Volvo V70R that feature a moose rather than a prancing horse.
NomduJour said:
That’s a hazier distinction. Would you buy an Eames chair made by Mobilier, Vitra, ICF or Hille? Only a Bamberg Barcelona, or is Thonet and Knoll okay?
The 'designer' furniture industry has some marketing similiarities with the watch industry. An iconic chair may retail at £15,000. And again, probably costs no more than £1000 to make.
https://store.moma.org/en-gb/products/vitra-eames-...
Who can uncover their real needs here - having a 75 year old design?
Having beauty in their lives? Bragging rights? Quality manufacture? Demonstrating discernment to your mates? 'Collecting' ? Celebrating their ability to buy the OG instead of a £2000 copy?
I'd be slow to second-guess the motivations of anyone else in what they buy - and why.
I have no strong thoughts.
Because I'm not quite sure why I find myself drawn towards the 'real' product, be it Rolex watches or 'official' furniture designs.
kevinon said:
NomduJour said:
That’s a hazier distinction. Would you buy an Eames chair made by Mobilier, Vitra, ICF or Hille? Only a Bamberg Barcelona, or is Thonet and Knoll okay?
The 'designer' furniture industry has some marketing similiarities with the watch industry. An iconic chair may retail at £15,000. And again, probably costs no more than £1000 to make.
https://store.moma.org/en-gb/products/vitra-eames-...
Who can uncover their real needs here - having a 75 year old design?
Having beauty in their lives? Bragging rights? Quality manufacture? Demonstrating discernment to your mates? 'Collecting' ? Celebrating their ability to buy the OG instead of a £2000 copy?
I'd be slow to second-guess the motivations of anyone else in what they buy - and why.
I have no strong thoughts.
Because I'm not quite sure why I find myself drawn towards the 'real' product, be it Rolex watches or 'official' furniture designs.
A few years ago I was spending time in Istanbul and decided to go to the Grand Bazaar. While there I decided to look at the fake watches. I had no real intention of buying one but my dad has a couple of Rolexes and I thought I may buy one as a bit of fun to wind him up. For the record, I have a few expensive Swiss watches of my own but no Rolex’s.
The buying experience was worth the money in itself. There are various places in the bazaar where they are for sale and one particular place I found had maybe a couple of dozen watches on display. The vender asked if I was looking for something in particular and for no other reason other than to get him to leave me alone I said I was looking for a Pepsi GMT on the jubilee bracelet. That watch had only just been released and I picked that one as I was confident he wouldn’t have a fake one to sell me. He then got on the phone to a colleague and told me I would be taken to the showroom. His buddy then arrived and in broken English encouraged me to follow him.
I was looking for an adventure to take my mind of other things so went along with it. We went out a side door of the bazaar and into a textile store with yards and yards of material hanging on display. He pulled one sheet of material to the side to reveal a full size mirror. This mirror then opened like a door to reveal a very narrow staircase going down to a basement.
In the basement was a watch shop that would rival any boutique I have ever been in. It was huge with glass cabinets absolutely full of every watch brand and model you could think of.
They did have the Pepsi GMT available but it was expensive. I can’t remember exactly how much but it was more than I was prepared to spend on a fake watch.
I turned my attention to a no date ceramic submariner. My thinking being that without a date, it was one less thing to look legitimate so the no date would perhaps be closer to the real deal.
Anyway the price started off at about £300 and following some haggling I paid about £95. As I started my story with, I had such a good adventure getting to this point I was happy to buy something.
The watch in isolation would easily pass as real to the untrained eye. Yes there are plenty of giveaways to those in the know but 99.99% of the population wouldn’t question it if that was your goal. I have compared it my dads real submariner and it is very close in weight and feel. In fact, blindfolded I don’t think you could tell the difference. The bezel also feels just as tight and smooth as the real deal.
How do I feel about it now? Well I wore it for the rest of the day that I bought it and it has never been out my house since. I simply wouldn’t wear it as I just don’t feel comfortable wearing a fake Rolex. Do I feel like I have wasted money? Nope, I had an experience that I will never forget.
If anyone’s interested I would be happy to post photos for you to point out the flaws.
The buying experience was worth the money in itself. There are various places in the bazaar where they are for sale and one particular place I found had maybe a couple of dozen watches on display. The vender asked if I was looking for something in particular and for no other reason other than to get him to leave me alone I said I was looking for a Pepsi GMT on the jubilee bracelet. That watch had only just been released and I picked that one as I was confident he wouldn’t have a fake one to sell me. He then got on the phone to a colleague and told me I would be taken to the showroom. His buddy then arrived and in broken English encouraged me to follow him.
I was looking for an adventure to take my mind of other things so went along with it. We went out a side door of the bazaar and into a textile store with yards and yards of material hanging on display. He pulled one sheet of material to the side to reveal a full size mirror. This mirror then opened like a door to reveal a very narrow staircase going down to a basement.
In the basement was a watch shop that would rival any boutique I have ever been in. It was huge with glass cabinets absolutely full of every watch brand and model you could think of.
They did have the Pepsi GMT available but it was expensive. I can’t remember exactly how much but it was more than I was prepared to spend on a fake watch.
I turned my attention to a no date ceramic submariner. My thinking being that without a date, it was one less thing to look legitimate so the no date would perhaps be closer to the real deal.
Anyway the price started off at about £300 and following some haggling I paid about £95. As I started my story with, I had such a good adventure getting to this point I was happy to buy something.
The watch in isolation would easily pass as real to the untrained eye. Yes there are plenty of giveaways to those in the know but 99.99% of the population wouldn’t question it if that was your goal. I have compared it my dads real submariner and it is very close in weight and feel. In fact, blindfolded I don’t think you could tell the difference. The bezel also feels just as tight and smooth as the real deal.
How do I feel about it now? Well I wore it for the rest of the day that I bought it and it has never been out my house since. I simply wouldn’t wear it as I just don’t feel comfortable wearing a fake Rolex. Do I feel like I have wasted money? Nope, I had an experience that I will never forget.
If anyone’s interested I would be happy to post photos for you to point out the flaws.
popeyewhite said:
You don't know why people would want to buy the real item rather than a copy?
It's a difficult question. I would feel embarrassed to wear a fake or homage watch, however, unless money was really no object to me, I would also be embarrassed to admit that advertising had convinced me that I should spend £13k more on an identical product because of branding.The watch industry literally invents selling points and somehow convinces people they're worth spending more money on. In-house movements are one of the latest tricks, despite any dirt cheap Citizen, Seiko, Sea-Gull, Vostok, Casio etc. can make the same claim. In terms of Swiss watches, all in-house movement means is that you can't get off the shelf parts for any watchmaker to fit. You have to send it back to the manufacturer for service and repair so you spend the money with them.
AlexC1981 said:
It's a difficult question. I would feel embarrassed to wear a fake or homage watch, however, unless money was really no object to me, I would also be embarrassed to admit that advertising had convinced me that I should spend £13k more on an identical product because of branding.
The watch industry literally invents selling points and somehow convinces people they're worth spending more money on. In-house movements are one of the latest tricks, despite any dirt cheap Citizen, Seiko, Sea-Gull, Vostok, Casio etc. can make the same claim. In terms of Swiss watches, all in-house movement means is that you can't get off the shelf parts for any watchmaker to fit. You have to send it back to the manufacturer for service and repair so you spend the money with them.
The car industry is more or less the same. No one would drive around in a fake 911. People who stick M badges on lower tier BMWs are derided. Watches are no different. Regardless of cost or the quality of the fake you're not buying the real thing.The watch industry literally invents selling points and somehow convinces people they're worth spending more money on. In-house movements are one of the latest tricks, despite any dirt cheap Citizen, Seiko, Sea-Gull, Vostok, Casio etc. can make the same claim. In terms of Swiss watches, all in-house movement means is that you can't get off the shelf parts for any watchmaker to fit. You have to send it back to the manufacturer for service and repair so you spend the money with them.
popeyewhite said:
The car industry is more or less the same. No one would drive around in a fake 911. People who stick M badges on lower tier BMWs are derided. Watches are no different. Regardless of cost or the quality of the fake you're not buying the real thing.
This exactly.Last week on the King's Road I saw a London Taxi that some chancer had fitted with Rolls Royce badges. It looked bloody ridiculous.
sandman77 said:
A few years ago I was spending time in Istanbul and decided to go to the Grand Bazaar. While there I decided to look at the fake watches. I had no real intention of buying one but my dad has a couple of Rolexes and I thought I may buy one as a bit of fun to wind him up. For the record, I have a few expensive Swiss watches of my own but no Rolex’s.
The buying experience was worth the money in itself. There are various places in the bazaar where they are for sale and one particular place I found had maybe a couple of dozen watches on display. The vender asked if I was looking for something in particular and for no other reason other than to get him to leave me alone I said I was looking for a Pepsi GMT on the jubilee bracelet. That watch had only just been released and I picked that one as I was confident he wouldn’t have a fake one to sell me. He then got on the phone to a colleague and told me I would be taken to the showroom. His buddy then arrived and in broken English encouraged me to follow him.
I was looking for an adventure to take my mind of other things so went along with it. We went out a side door of the bazaar and into a textile store with yards and yards of material hanging on display. He pulled one sheet of material to the side to reveal a full size mirror. This mirror then opened like a door to reveal a very narrow staircase going down to a basement.
In the basement was a watch shop that would rival any boutique I have ever been in. It was huge with glass cabinets absolutely full of every watch brand and model you could think of.
They did have the Pepsi GMT available but it was expensive. I can’t remember exactly how much but it was more than I was prepared to spend on a fake watch.
I turned my attention to a no date ceramic submariner. My thinking being that without a date, it was one less thing to look legitimate so the no date would perhaps be closer to the real deal.
Anyway the price started off at about £300 and following some haggling I paid about £95. As I started my story with, I had such a good adventure getting to this point I was happy to buy something.
The watch in isolation would easily pass as real to the untrained eye. Yes there are plenty of giveaways to those in the know but 99.99% of the population wouldn’t question it if that was your goal. I have compared it my dads real submariner and it is very close in weight and feel. In fact, blindfolded I don’t think you could tell the difference. The bezel also feels just as tight and smooth as the real deal.
How do I feel about it now? Well I wore it for the rest of the day that I bought it and it has never been out my house since. I simply wouldn’t wear it as I just don’t feel comfortable wearing a fake Rolex. Do I feel like I have wasted money? Nope, I had an experience that I will never forget.
If anyone’s interested I would be happy to post photos for you to point out the flaws.
Post some pics The buying experience was worth the money in itself. There are various places in the bazaar where they are for sale and one particular place I found had maybe a couple of dozen watches on display. The vender asked if I was looking for something in particular and for no other reason other than to get him to leave me alone I said I was looking for a Pepsi GMT on the jubilee bracelet. That watch had only just been released and I picked that one as I was confident he wouldn’t have a fake one to sell me. He then got on the phone to a colleague and told me I would be taken to the showroom. His buddy then arrived and in broken English encouraged me to follow him.
I was looking for an adventure to take my mind of other things so went along with it. We went out a side door of the bazaar and into a textile store with yards and yards of material hanging on display. He pulled one sheet of material to the side to reveal a full size mirror. This mirror then opened like a door to reveal a very narrow staircase going down to a basement.
In the basement was a watch shop that would rival any boutique I have ever been in. It was huge with glass cabinets absolutely full of every watch brand and model you could think of.
They did have the Pepsi GMT available but it was expensive. I can’t remember exactly how much but it was more than I was prepared to spend on a fake watch.
I turned my attention to a no date ceramic submariner. My thinking being that without a date, it was one less thing to look legitimate so the no date would perhaps be closer to the real deal.
Anyway the price started off at about £300 and following some haggling I paid about £95. As I started my story with, I had such a good adventure getting to this point I was happy to buy something.
The watch in isolation would easily pass as real to the untrained eye. Yes there are plenty of giveaways to those in the know but 99.99% of the population wouldn’t question it if that was your goal. I have compared it my dads real submariner and it is very close in weight and feel. In fact, blindfolded I don’t think you could tell the difference. The bezel also feels just as tight and smooth as the real deal.
How do I feel about it now? Well I wore it for the rest of the day that I bought it and it has never been out my house since. I simply wouldn’t wear it as I just don’t feel comfortable wearing a fake Rolex. Do I feel like I have wasted money? Nope, I had an experience that I will never forget.
If anyone’s interested I would be happy to post photos for you to point out the flaws.
Wallace12R said:
AlexC1981 said:
I would feel embarrassed to wear homage watch
Why?popeyewhite said:
AlexC1981 said:
It's a difficult question. I would feel embarrassed to wear a fake or homage watch, however, unless money was really no object to me, I would also be embarrassed to admit that advertising had convinced me that I should spend £13k more on an identical product because of branding.
The watch industry literally invents selling points and somehow convinces people they're worth spending more money on. In-house movements are one of the latest tricks, despite any dirt cheap Citizen, Seiko, Sea-Gull, Vostok, Casio etc. can make the same claim. In terms of Swiss watches, all in-house movement means is that you can't get off the shelf parts for any watchmaker to fit. You have to send it back to the manufacturer for service and repair so you spend the money with them.
The car industry is more or less the same. No one would drive around in a fake 911. People who stick M badges on lower tier BMWs are derided. Watches are no different. Regardless of cost or the quality of the fake you're not buying the real thing.The watch industry literally invents selling points and somehow convinces people they're worth spending more money on. In-house movements are one of the latest tricks, despite any dirt cheap Citizen, Seiko, Sea-Gull, Vostok, Casio etc. can make the same claim. In terms of Swiss watches, all in-house movement means is that you can't get off the shelf parts for any watchmaker to fit. You have to send it back to the manufacturer for service and repair so you spend the money with them.
Ultimately it's about the individual. There's no right or wrong answer. I'd be happy to drive this fake/homage, but I wouldn't feel happy putting incorrect badges on a car or wearing a fake Rolex.
popeyewhite said:
The car industry is more or less the same. No one would drive around in a fake 911. People who stick M badges on lower tier BMWs are derided. Watches are no different. Regardless of cost or the quality of the fake you're not buying the real thing.
I thinks its to impress people that dont understand Your example of the M badge is a good one I am not into BMWs and I might not recognise the fake BMW Motorsport whip and would assume that I am dealing with Billy Big Balls
popeyewhite said:
The car industry is more or less the same. No one would drive around in a fake 911. People who stick M badges on lower tier BMWs are derided. Watches are no different. Regardless of cost or the quality of the fake you're not buying the real thing.
Are you sure?https://www.thedrive.com/news/40216/i-bet-you-cant...
I've seen quite a few of these for sale over the last few years. Fake 911 GT3 built from a Boxster plus a body kit.
AlexC1981 said:
But haven't you fallen for the advertising? Were talking about a mass produced watch made in a factory (Rolex), not an irreplaceable antique or work of art produced by someone with real talent. It's only special and valuable because we have decided it is.
Ultimately it's about the individual. There's no right or wrong answer. I'd be happy to drive this fake/homage, but I wouldn't feel happy putting incorrect badges on a car or wearing a fake Rolex.
You are hoping others will think you own the real thing. It's misrepresentation and you know it. Incidentally Rolex are very good watches, not quite up there with Patek Philippe/VC/JLC, but very good nonetheless. Ultimately it's about the individual. There's no right or wrong answer. I'd be happy to drive this fake/homage, but I wouldn't feel happy putting incorrect badges on a car or wearing a fake Rolex.
If you don't want to fall for the advertising don't wear a fake anything, buy something else and demonstrate you individuality lol.
jeremyh1 said:
I thinks its to impress people that dont understand
Your example of the M badge is a good one I am not into BMWs and I might not recognise the fake BMW Motorsport whip and would assume that I am dealing with Billy Big Balls
Of course. People try to bask in the light of a premium brand and all the (perceived) social approval it will bring (if any). Your example of the M badge is a good one I am not into BMWs and I might not recognise the fake BMW Motorsport whip and would assume that I am dealing with Billy Big Balls
Yes, I own genuine Omega's and Rolex's and I also have a few replicas. I have a genuine bluesy sub and a black sub date, and an Omega speedy FOIS.
I understand it can be divisive, but why do I own replicas? One reason is so I can wear them without worrying too much about them getting scratches, stolen, lost, etc.
I keep my genuines for occasions and I'm very particular about their condition, whereas the reps I rotate daily.
I already have the satisfaction of owning genuines, and the replicas satisfy the urge of being able to wear the designs which I love more stress free.
Don't get me wrong, the best replicas are not cheap, reaching £1000, and it's ignorant just to class them as 'dirty fakes'. They are almost as good as the originals, and in some cases are better, as the genuines can and do have QC issues also. High end replicas are perfectly serviceable also and will last decades.
Another key thing is, I don't wear them to fool people. I mention straight away to any comments on my watches that my replicas are in fact replicas. I have no shame in it.
A very specific reason I have a Rolex Hulk rep as an example, is because I refused to play Rolex and their AD's stupid games. I will get no satisfaction bending over backwards for AD's just to get onto some sucker 'list', and I refuse to pay over RRP on the grey market. This way I own a Hulk which is in everyway as good as the genuine item, and in this case I don't care about not having a genuine one. My gens I mentioned above were bought at RRP from AD's, and ones that I absolutely wanted to own, not to get onto some 'ladder'.
Appreciate many will not agree as these are status items for many people, but they are not for me. They are for my own satisfaction as a watch enthusiast, and I love wearing them.
I understand it can be divisive, but why do I own replicas? One reason is so I can wear them without worrying too much about them getting scratches, stolen, lost, etc.
I keep my genuines for occasions and I'm very particular about their condition, whereas the reps I rotate daily.
I already have the satisfaction of owning genuines, and the replicas satisfy the urge of being able to wear the designs which I love more stress free.
Don't get me wrong, the best replicas are not cheap, reaching £1000, and it's ignorant just to class them as 'dirty fakes'. They are almost as good as the originals, and in some cases are better, as the genuines can and do have QC issues also. High end replicas are perfectly serviceable also and will last decades.
Another key thing is, I don't wear them to fool people. I mention straight away to any comments on my watches that my replicas are in fact replicas. I have no shame in it.
A very specific reason I have a Rolex Hulk rep as an example, is because I refused to play Rolex and their AD's stupid games. I will get no satisfaction bending over backwards for AD's just to get onto some sucker 'list', and I refuse to pay over RRP on the grey market. This way I own a Hulk which is in everyway as good as the genuine item, and in this case I don't care about not having a genuine one. My gens I mentioned above were bought at RRP from AD's, and ones that I absolutely wanted to own, not to get onto some 'ladder'.
Appreciate many will not agree as these are status items for many people, but they are not for me. They are for my own satisfaction as a watch enthusiast, and I love wearing them.
Edited by B_Tank88 on Friday 19th April 11:22
Edited by B_Tank88 on Friday 19th April 11:24
Edited by B_Tank88 on Friday 19th April 11:25
Edited by B_Tank88 on Friday 19th April 11:26
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