Has anyone intentionally purchased a fake watch?

[audidoody]

I'm not sure that wearing a fake one in a bad area is going to help you if your friendly local assailant thinks it's genuine. The hospital bill is going to be the same.

[r1ch]

I purchased a fake tag a year ago from Zante whilst on a lads holiday.

It looked pretty good but horribly uncomfortable to wear. Last i checked it was still working, i may have binned it cant remember.

[PugwasHDJ80]

audidoody said:

I'm not sure that wearing a fake one in a bad area is going to help you if your friendly local assailant thinks it's genuine. The hospital bill is going to be the same.

not if you just give it to them along with your fake wallet with a couple of old cards and £40 in it.

[mr wiki]

A chap at work ordered a fake Rolex milgauss. I laughed my ass off when I held it, It was light as tin foil.

[Dixie68]

A Rolex Daytona that I've had for about 6 years and works perfectly and sat next to the real thing is identical, and a Gucci watch that I've had since 1996 and also still works perfectly. Both bought in Arab souks in the Middle East for pennies.

[Balmoral Green]

I bought a McQueen Monaco, it came on a bracelet, but I put it on a blue croc that cost more than the watch did. It was actually very good, in terms of appearance and feel, a so called triple A. After a few weeks I realised that although good, it was pretty naff nonetheless, so I sold it to a PH'er when he was pissed and his guard was down

[P7ULG]

I recently bought a Parnis Power Reserve and while this is not an out and out fake it is obviously heavily based on an IWC.With a different face it could be a very passable fake and all for under £50. Gone are the days when a fake mean't something cheap and nasty with the chrome peeling off.

What we need to start asking ourselves are how good are the real things. I won't even to attempt to say my Parnis is as good as an IWC, but it is not 100 times worse as the price differential would suggest.Are we being sucked in by the big names ?

[h0b0]

I had my "Faux-lex" for around a year. Kept better time than a real one and looked spot on. I bought it as a joke and was worn as a true beater watch. Eventually it was ripped off my wrist during a house move and was promptly thrown away. It was very liberating having a watch that I really didn't care about instead of panicking everytime I knocked into something.

[broncoupe]

Bought some reps and worried like you after a lot of looking found a great forum RWI their advise is great
On advise purchased 2 watches now like to say service was bad and watches crap
No service great tracking online from china etc watch quality first rate did have an issue after a month, sent and email they asked me to provide an estimate from a local watch maker
The local guy charged a tenner the offer to pay was good enough for me, the watch maker commented on how good the quality of the movement was
So there you have it just do some research
I have gen watches also my reason for reps, i just beat the crap out of my watches unintentionally. I bought a Bentley Breitling 6.75 new nothing beats the experiance but 24 hours later i beat it on a door frame. enough to bring tears to your eyes i was gutted.
regards

[anonymous-user]

I have

I get the reasonable good timekeeping mechanical self winders for EUR30 from Spain. I have 3 just now, all keeping great time and, as 30 euro watches go, quite good

Never make any attempt to pass them off as the real thing though!

[sparkyhx]

P7ULG said:

I recently bought a Parnis Power Reserve and while this is not an out and out fake it is obviously heavily based on an IWC.With a different face it could be a very passable fake and all for under £50. Gone are the days when a fake mean't something cheap and nasty with the chrome peeling off.

What we need to start asking ourselves are how good are the real things. I won't even to attempt to say my Parnis is as good as an IWC, but it is not 100 times worse as the price differential would suggest.Are we being sucked in by the big names ?

Lets face it none of the high end brands are 'worth it' in all cases you are paying a premium for marketing and exclusivity. Yes swiss movements (well euro actually) will cost more to make both labour rates for the design, makers/builders, but the big difference will be the quality control side of things, which will be much more labour intensive and wasteful in respect of rejects. But as you correctly point out the difference is not 100's of times, a large bulk would be the marketing costs.

I have a mix of expensive, medium branded expensive, lower end quality small manufacturer but 'unbranded', and chinese 'homages' like the Parnis and a couple of Pan homages, I even have a chinese tourbillon.

I really have an itch for a Kermit Sub, but at the moment I really want sapphire, ETA versions from people like Marchello C and Debaufre, but can't find a 2nd hand one on the boards. This thread has made me look at some of the higher end fakes which use sapphire and eta movements coming in at 2nd hand Marchello/Debaufre price range. do I hang on or go for the replica/fake?????

[ChiChoAndy]

There is a website I know of, that seems quite trusty, and they deal with time pieces. All sorts on there, and range from 100-300 bucks, or there a bouts. Always had an urge to see what they are like, but never gotten around to it.

[200Plus Club]

i cant see the reasons tho to buy the $300+ watches they all offer, mine was about 70 quid or so and that was enough to risk at the time, at the end of the day they are still fake, and at 300 dollars or more it wont be any more real!

[Ilikebeaver]

i did when i was in Spain at the age of about 13. Needless to say, I do not still own it, nor did it last even a year if I recall correctly

I wouldn't buy a fake now for sure.

I would rather have a cheaper watch that isn't trying to be anything that it is not. (or save up for a more expensive watch, or hint enough that I get one for a present )

[ChiChoAndy]

200Plus Club said:

i cant see the reasons tho to buy the $300+ watches they all offer, mine was about 70 quid or so and that was enough to risk at the time, at the end of the day they are still fake, and at 300 dollars or more it wont be any more real!

Well, it depends on whether the actual movements are halfway decent quality, and if they have put attention into the actual watches themselves, I suppose.

[SteveS Cup]

I've never had a fake but a guy I used to work with used a website where the sold replicas all for circa £150. He got a Tag, Breitling and a Hublot.

They all looked very good and felt like the real deal. The Tag stopped working but the other 2 are fine!

[sparkyhx]

following on from my Sub Kermit itch I have done some more research - there is a hell of a lot out there from jap quartz based watches coming in at £70ish, jap auto $120, chinese auto £120, eta auto £300, and even some that are replica Rolex movements with the laser etched sapphire, and 904L steel, almost indistinguisahable coming in at circa $1200.

astonishing

[Rollin]

I bought a fake Rolex sub date a couple of months before I got the real thing. I bought it for about £45 to check the size and feel on my wrist. I gave it my dad in 2003 and he wears it everyday with no problems and its accuracy is fine. He has scratched the black bezel but apart from that, it looks as it did the day I bought it.

[Tyre Smoke]

I have a Breitling Navitimer on a croc strap that cost me £80 in Egypt a few years ago. Still works, is an automatic with a Chinky movement, keeps good time and passes muster for weight, feel and looks.

Wouldn't pass close inspection though.

I wear it infrequently.

[chris333]

My Dad gave me a fake Rolex when I was a teenager. God knows where he got it from, but we had a good laugh at the time, and laughed even more when the Rolex crown on the face fell off! A bit of dismantling and some superglue later, and it was looking just as bad as new!