Watch lovers?

[jj]

I am not sure what point you are trying to argue Dave, but put it this way -

A real ferrari sounds the way it does, feels the way it does, and goes and stops the way it does, because it is a genuine Ferrari.

Watches are the same; I have NEVER seen a fake watch (or as those who think they are OK call them, a replica ) that weighs the same, has the same finish, same attention to detail- there are always things that are not quite right.

All fake stuff is the same, be it sunglasses, handbags to more expensive stuff like watches and cars.

Fake watches/cars/handbags are for fooling people who dont know any better into thinking you have something you dont.

[graeme]

It's true that buyers of fake items are often trying to convince the world they have money. Buyers of the genuine articles can be just as vulgar by trying to convince the world that the have taste*. I'm not sure which type makes me want to vomit more to be honest...


*Genuine enthusiasts and collectors of classics and future classics excluded, naturally.

[ABZ-Elise]

Each to there own really. I wouldn't buy a fake myself.

Another thing that has to be considered when buying an expensive watch is most times they hold there value and sometime they go up in value, making them a good investment. Fakes have no value to start with.

[Neil72]

Lets face it, it's not like real Breitlings etc. keep perfect time and are they really 10 times better than the replica!??!

Yip, possibly even 20 times better

The main reason people buy an expensive watch is for quality not for the name. The main reason poeple buy fakes are for the name and not quality.

Kev.

It's funny though that the first thing the saleswoman said to me when I was looking at the Breitlings was "now please be aware that these watches aren't the best at keeping time and will lose/gain time every day, oh and they do also need to be sent away for regular servicing".....

I'm not convinced that a 'replica' with a proper swiss movement, decent glass and strap etc. is going to be 20 times worse than a 'real' one.

IMHO if you removed the Rolex or Breitling etc. name from a 'real' watch, there's no way it would command the same premium even if the quality was the same.



btw I currently have a 'real' seiko on my wrist.

A £9.99 Casio will keep better time than any watch with a mechanical movement. The accuracy on my Rolex is shocking, it generally gains 3-5 mins per month.

The main reason people buy an expensive watch is for quality not for the name. The main reason poeple buy fakes are for the name and not quality.

Kev.

Point well made.

People however buy an expensive watch to have a shiny thing it is essentially jewelry i can see no reason beyond that as i don't think there is a measurable difference in accuracy or performance between my cheapo casio and a hugely expensive watch. I certainly know where i would be putting my money on the reliability front. Essentially it is exactly the same thought processes as women and shoes

If accuracy was so important then a pocket GPS is the way to go due to it being tied to an atomic clock which keeps the whole system running.

I've had numerous conversations over the years with people questioning why anyone would want to spend so much money on a watch when their Timex tells the time just the same blah blah blah, and it's a conversation I don't even enter into now. I think you either get it, or you don't.

For me personally, the Submariner appeared on the wrist of James Bond (Connery & Moore) in numerous Bond movies and that's what made me long to own one since I was a kid....what better justification than that ? I'm also happy paying a premium for the bits that I can't see, knowing that someone has painstakingly assemblem the oily bits to make the watch on my wrist tick rather than a chip, a battery and a LCD display. The same reason you would lust after a Bentley in a way you would never lust after a S Class.

And a good watch is generally a good investment as well.....mine is now 6 years old and probably worth slightly more than I paid for it

I do agree with the point that they can sometimes be bought as vulgar displays of wealth - unfortunate but again, the same applies to cars and it wouldn't stop me buying a Lambourghini if I could afford one

[H8OAG]

It wouldn't take a genius to work out the thread was going to end up in two camps "for" and "against"

As previously stated it is a combination of supporting an age old industry , pride of ownership and if you are judicious...you won't lose a shed load of money

Bit like owning an S1 really!!

There is a healthy trade in watches where you can buy speculatively and make a reasonable return if you like that sort of thing....I do


Daytonas can still net you an easy £2k profit and a friend. Of mine has just turned around a limited edition Royal Oak and cleared £6k on his £18k investment

Disagree with the women and shoes sentiment as well

You should get the best you can possibly afford.... because if you are not in one....you are in the other!!

Yahoo

Ps

Scotty and Dave

I can only surmise that you went out with the same burd

[steve_weegie]

I guess i may be in a slightly different camp than most others on here. I first saw the B&R watch in an inflight mag and had never heard of them before that... Didnt know if it would be £200 or £2000 but i knew i liked the design of it.

Now I have 2 reasonably expensive watches in a nice formal Oris and a wild'n'crazy Technomarine, but I'd quite happily buy a replica Bell and Ross, if it didnt have Bell and Ross labled on it!

[pete]

Hmm.

Once watches, accurate wrist watches, were the preserve of the wealthy. They were and still are the only piece of jewellery a gentleman should wear (OK maybe a wedding ring and cufflinks too). They aren't about accuracy anymore, the fakes are good and can fool the professionals, at least until they are opened. Some of the brands have crap mechs inside them, worse than the fakes.

So why do folk buy them, well they are jewellrery, status symbols, lovely things. Diamonds are essentially worthless as well but folk buy them!

Sorry to disappoint, and no insult to those who disagree but of course a good replica can be made for less money. Tag Heur spend millions on advertising, and sell their watches in an expensive boutique. There is no tech in them which cannot be copied so how can the same watch not be made in China for a fraction of the cost and sold through an internet site or a Shangai market?

if I had the money I'd collect watches. I'd have a vintage ('40s) Omega I think for day to day.


Pete


Stolen. Rolex (1930s) x 2.
Stolen. Rolex pocket watch (1920s)
Stolen. Omega Seamaster (1930s).
Stolen Omega Sea master (1980s).
(And a few others)
Lost Tag Heur (1990s).

Still have a Raymond Weil, and a Casio.

[DDtB]

I am not sure what point you are trying to argue Dave, but put it this way -

A real ferrari sounds the way it does, feels the way it does, and goes and stops the way it does, because it is a genuine Ferrari.

Watches are the same; I have NEVER seen a fake watch (or as those who think they are OK call them, a replica ) that weighs the same, has the same finish, same attention to detail- there are always things that are not quite right.

All fake stuff is the same, be it sunglasses, handbags to more expensive stuff like watches and cars.

Fake watches/cars/handbags are for fooling people who dont know any better into thinking you have something you dont.

I'm not really trying to make any significant point tbh and shockingly I agree with most of what you just said! ....

personally if I had the money, I'd have a large collection of nice watches in one of those cabinets that rock them backwards and forwards gently to keep the auto mechanism ticking over... I'm definitely not going out to buy a collection of fakes that's for sure!

Just makes me laugh a bit when folk suggest that a breitling etc. is 20 times better than one of these replicas that are kicking around and that folk mainly buy them for the quality and the name isn't that important..

These replica things seem to basically be £100 watches, some of which have decent swiss mechanisms in them, and for that kind of money, they are probably decent value, they just happen to be copying the look of a more expensive one - and pretty well by all accounts. I'm not suggesting that the £20 thailand fakes are worth bothering about, but these replica thingies do seem to get quite a decent write up.. btw , I've only just found out about this whole replica thing - and jeez, there's a lot of forums just talking about them!!

Oh and it's my b'day soon so if anyone is looking for any ideas... a nice IWC would be fine..

[pete]

I am not sure what point you are trying to argue Dave, but put it this way -

A real ferrari sounds the way it does, feels the way it does, and goes and stops the way it does, because it is a genuine Ferrari.

Watches are the same; I have NEVER seen a fake watch (or as those who think they are OK call them, a replica ) that weighs the same, has the same finish, same attention to detail- there are always things that are not quite right.

All fake stuff is the same, be it sunglasses, handbags to more expensive stuff like watches and cars.

Fake watches/cars/handbags are for fooling people who dont know any better into thinking you have something you dont.

I'm not really trying to make any significant point tbh and shockingly I agree with most of what you just said! ....

personally if I had the money, I'd have a large collection of nice watches in one of those cabinets that rock them backwards and forwards gently to keep the auto mechanism ticking over... I'm definitely not going out to buy a collection of fakes that's for sure!

Just makes me laugh a bit when folk suggest that a breitling etc. is 20 times better than one of these replicas that are kicking around and that folk mainly buy them for the quality and the name isn't that important..

These replica things seem to basically be £100 watches, some of which have decent swiss mechanisms in them, and for that kind of money, they are probably decent value, they just happen to be copying the look of a more expensive one - and pretty well by all accounts. I'm not suggesting that the £20 thailand fakes are worth bothering about, but these replica thingies do seem to get quite a decent write up.. btw , I've only just found out about this whole replica thing - and jeez, there's a lot of forums just talking about them!!

Oh and it's my b'day soon so if anyone is looking for any ideas... a nice IWC would be fine..

If you buy watches because they are lovely things then fakes are a waste.

If you buy watches as a status symbol to wear, which a lot do, then save yourself the money and buy a fake. No-one will be able to tell, but you will know and not get the indefinable pleasure of owning a lovely thing.

[BiggestNizzy]

A girl I knew was a jeweller to trade, and the place she worked sold Tag watches, if there was any problems with them they just replaced the mechanism as they where dirt cheap.

I do like nice watches, but being an anal techy bloke thats why I have a Seiko Kinetic in titanium and it's pretty damn accurate (it is a quartz watch afterall).

Are Rolex's etc worth the money ? from a manufacturing/design/accuracy point of view probably not, but things are really only worth what people are willing to pay for them, and people are willing to pay more than they are selling them for so from that point of view they are worth it.

As pete say's diamonds are just carbon and there are literally thousands of tonnes of them lying around (and you can make them) but give a girl a big one ;) or a diamond

So in summing up nice expensive watches have nothing to do with telling the time and everything to do with expressing yourself like a woman with jewellery, also a nice watch (and hand made shoes) will increase your chances of test driving the ferrari.

and fake watches do the same job, although alot have quality issues and if you get called on it you will look more of pikey than a bloke with a swatch watch on his wrist

I really should make redraft all my posts and make them more coherant

[Lazydonkey]

my omega has never gone wrong, looks barely used and keeps brilliant time. its was also a gesture of amazing generosity from my old man when i turned 21 and he'd just got his new job.

my tag is 4 years old, and is now back at tag for the second time, but is one of 999 in the world and looks cool as fook.

both make me happy for completely different reasons

[mckeann]

Its all a bit gay though isn't it?? Men shouldn't wear jewellery

[jj]

Its all a bit gay though isn't it?? Men shouldn't wear jewellery

Men also shouldnt wear big sombreros on the telly

[Modena Scotland]

I don't know what percentage of people who really like watches buy them to show off??? I for one buy them because I like them. Same with cars really.

[ABZ-Elise]

Just makes me laugh a bit when folk suggest that a breitling etc. is 20 times better than one of these replicas that are kicking around and that folk mainly buy them for the quality and the name isn't that important..

What makes me laugh is when people buy a fake watch and believe what they are told..."Yeah honest, its got a swiss movement in it so its as good as the real thing" when infact its completely built in china most likely in a sweat shop and using child labour. At least 2 of my mates have had fake watches that they were told had swiss movements inside, they looked like the real thing but they never lasted a month. I'd say my watch was more than 20 times better in this case.

I don't really care if anyone buys a fake or "replica" watch, I'm not going to stop them either. I personally wouldn't.

Anyway this topic has gone a bit off topic! I believe the original topic was...

Are there any watch lovers among us?

Beside cars, I like collecting watches.



Mass

Kev