Went to a watch retailer, disappointed and impressed.

[Del 4,459]

A Speedy Pro gen over the rep (even modified) is a no-brainer IMO. The rep is not brilliant. If you can afford it, get the gen.

 

My gen Black Bay is amazing but then so is the latest rep. I've compared the v1 and gen side by side (see my comparison thread). At the time I bought it, I wanted the gen with the leather strap and deployant, which you simply couldn't get on the rep but now you can! Having said that, I still think the gen dial "pops" more than the rep.

 

[RichardMiami 4]

So much of how we view reps vs. gen is perception.

 

Our minds take us to where we want to go.... rep owners see their reps as comparable to the gens ------- gen owners see the exact same comparisons the opposite way.

 

Some reps have obvious flaws, others do not. Even what some of us consider obvious flaws are invisible to 99.999% of everyone else.

 

The comments about movements being the ultimate tell are correct - but how many people are qualified to judge a movement? Very few.

 

There is really only one true tell - and that is in your own mind, knowing what you are wearing.

 

At the end of the day, it is strictly up to YOU which way you want to go - rep, gen or mixed. Make yourself happy and to hell with everyone else.

[Ped 13]

I've had 10's of luxury gens pass through my hands and I sell them for the same reason every time - after a week or so of wearing the Gen the novelty wears off and I think to myself "This now feels no different to the rep".

 

Perhaps it's because I like the aesthetics of watches and am not finicky about minor differences. I also don't mind what movement is in it, as long as it works.

 

Off they go and I stick with wearing my high end reps - apart from a DJ TT diamond from my birth year that'll pass on to my kids

[andy34 0]

I think what this all boils down to is how good the reps actually have become, and are evolving further, not how bad the gens are. If all you could still get your hands on was something off the "lucky lucky" man with a quartz movement then opinions on gens would be different. The gens are great but the reps are closing in.

[Jonj480 0]

I think what this all boils down to is how good the reps actually have become, and are evolving further, not how bad the gens are. If all you could still get your hands on was something off the "lucky lucky" man with a quartz movement then opinions on gens would be different. The gens are great but the reps are closing in.

 

I agree with this. I had a gen PAM 243, and on a whim I bought a Noob v3 to compare the two. Once I got that rep, and put the two side by side, yes there were a couple of minor differences (polished area on bezel edge thickness, etc...) but not $6700 worth of difference. I actually sold the gen and kept the rep (I needed a new 4-wheeler). I just couldn't justify keeping the gen in favor of the rep, with how good the rep was. Once I had the movement serviced on the rep, there were very few differences.

[JSJ 0]

Here's my philosophy on reps which I have developed since I've been a member here.

 

I've worn my Bronzo all day today with my new Nero strap. Would I pay €20,000 for a gen? Please be serious. Why would I? What does it for me more than 'knowing it's a gen' is that it was DOA and I personally fixed it. That counts for far more to me than some mythical 'Swiss engineering'.

 

One of my 3714s has a sunburst dial which 'pops' more than the gen because of its sunnydale AR. Yes, it actually looks better than a genuine IWC-produced Swiss watch to me. It practically leaps out of the box. It has the gold case (fake but pretty damned similar to the gen). It's one of 6 3714s I can choose from. Probably £60,000 gen equivalent including the two gold ones. Would I have 6 different gen 3714s? Of course not.

 

Would I buy a gold Daytona rep? Nope. I know people with gens and they are veeery heavy. I don't like that much loadsamoney bling anyway but the rep just wouldn't do it for me.

 

I'm lucky that I can carry off wearing the reps and never get 'called out'. I'm sure a few people think I have more money than sense when it comes to watches. Most never notice. I don't discuss rep or gen with them because most people have no idea how much the gens are except they think Rolexes are 000s. I rarely wear Rolexes because I don't like them.

 

I wear my watches because I like them. I don't care what people think. That, by the way, I already worked out before I joined RWG.

[Member X 91]

I agree with most of what you say. Cosmetically, not much difference, but the elephant in the AD Boutique is what's under the bonnet. The movement. It won't be pube ridden and put together in a dusty room by Chinese kids paid in fags.

 

Yes good point about the movement, still I find the markup ridiculous that you pay for it. And the pass it onto the next generation (assuming they don't pawn it). I think for those reasons I will probably end up with a gen at some point.

I can't remember where I saw it now, but I swear I saw pictures of a repped Rolex movement, one that was out of copyright? but still appropriate for many of the reps?

 

It was so shiiiiiny it looked seriously nice.

 

There was a couple of posts about it then it just sort of disappeared forever - I presume that someone had a word, which is a shame.

[Genius 281]

I agree with most of what you say. Cosmetically, not much difference, but the elephant in the AD Boutique is what's under the bonnet. The movement. It won't be pube ridden and put together in a dusty room by Chinese kids paid in fags.

 

Yes good point about the movement, still I find the markup ridiculous that you pay for it. And the pass it onto the next generation (assuming they don't pawn it). I think for those reasons I will probably end up with a gen at some point.

I can't remember where I saw it now, but I swear I saw pictures of a repped Rolex movement, one that was out of copyright? but still appropriate for many of the reps?

 

It was so shiiiiiny it looked seriously nice.

 

There was a couple of posts about it then it just sort of disappeared forever - I presume that someone had a word, which is a shame.

Yuki does one that is supposed to be seriously good, the new noob sub also comes with a proper rolex clone movement but it's supposedly not as good as the yuki version and quite fragile

[JSJ 0]

I agree with most of what you say. Cosmetically, not much difference, but the elephant in the AD Boutique is what's under the bonnet. The movement. It won't be pube ridden and put together in a dusty room by Chinese kids paid in fags.

 

Yes good point about the movement, still I find the markup ridiculous that you pay for it. And the pass it onto the next generation (assuming they don't pawn it). I think for those reasons I will probably end up with a gen at some point.

I can't remember where I saw it now, but I swear I saw pictures of a repped Rolex movement, one that was out of copyright? but still appropriate for many of the reps?

 

It was so shiiiiiny it looked seriously nice.

 

There was a couple of posts about it then it just sort of disappeared forever - I presume that someone had a word, which is a shame.

Yuki does one that is supposed to be seriously good, the new noob sub also comes with a proper rolex clone movement but it's supposedly not as good as the yuki version and quite fragile

The 3135 clone in normal reps is shit.

[narikaa 129]

As the OP has discovered there's not much 'swoon' factor at those level of gens.

 

Yadda yadda a different movement perchance - though still only executing the same hum drum functions

 

Ratchet the spend factor upwards a good few gears and you move on up into the drool strata'

but sadly right outside the level of stock inventory held by most AD's

 

 

 

 

.

[JSJ 0]

As the OP has discovered there's not much 'swoon' factor at those level of gens.

 

Yadda yadda a different movement perchance - though still only executing the same hum drum functions

 

Ratchet the spend factor upwards a good few gears and you move on up into the drool strata'

but sadly right outside the level of stock inventory held by most AD's

 

 

 

 

.

Yes a £50,000 Patek is an entirely different kettle of gibbons.

[porschespeedster 19]

^^^ agreed with this guy.

It's why I don't have a rep Patek or rep Lange. The level of refinement there is far far above what a rep can do.

Platinum doesn't look like stainless. A Patek or AP movement looks nothing like a Miyota even with fake bridge stickers on top of it.

 

But most of these 3 hand divers watches, Panerais etc...just scream to be repped.

no precious metals, pedestrian movements...heck half of the reps have the same movement inside.

These types of watches are expensive because of the name on the dial. Nothing more.

[Left Coast Guy 24]

Too many folks have been more eloquent than I could be (Richard, Phantom), so I'll just say that the mystique of gens has worn off for me.

 

I've got both reps and gens, and my behaviors aren't affected by the origin.....I wear both with no deference. So I've given up on caring...

[Lagger 160]

^^^ agreed with this guy.

It's why I don't have a rep Patek or rep Lange. The level of refinement there is far far above what a rep can do.

Platinum doesn't look like stainless. A Patek or AP movement looks nothing like a Miyota even with fake bridge stickers on top of it.

 

But most of these 3 hand divers watches, Panerais etc...just scream to be repped.

no precious metals, pedestrian movements...heck half of the reps have the same movement inside.

These types of watches are expensive because of the name on the dial. Nothing more.

 

 

Not wanting to be arsey but how does Platinum look different to you to stainless? I have a Platinum wedding ring and comparing it to stainless I cant see ant striking difference. I have also compared my JF YM to a the real deal and the only difference I noted was the date font, the bezels looked as near as dam it............am I missing something obvious?

[Theduke.williams 1,036]

It's the placebo effect, you know... If you feel better you'll get better (depending on the seriousness of the illness of course)

Knowing the watch on your wrist is genuine, and all the claims for 1000 ft waterproof have to be acheivable, even though the most your watch can hope to dive to is maybe 50 ft when scuba diving, makes all the difference to how you feel about the watch.

For that reason I'm gravitating towards good quality mid range genuine watches such as Seiko. I could never justify spending thousands on a watch while driving around in a 10+ year old car.

I still like my reps, but no matter how hard I try to convince myself otherwise, they are always going to be copies, no matter how accurate they are!

[narikaa 129]

No way on god's green earth could Seikos be seen as 'mid range' gens

[Genius 281]

No way on god's green earth could Seikos be seen as 'mid range' gens

Its a matter of opinion but also more importantly which seiko model. A lot of people will class a Breitling or Tudor as a mid range gen but there are seikos which are not only more expensive but with better movements and finishing than majority of what either of those 2 brands put out. I do agree with you that the majority of seikos are low end gen territory but there are some very nice high end options from them too

[cufflink 0]

Seiko are playing In the low to high range market.

Seiko 5 -> seiko Marinemaster -> Grand Seiko which can price from 3 to 10+ thousands. On top of them there is Credor.

Edited February 3, 2016 by cufflink

[tomtom1988 63]

I agree kind of with what you sat, I had a gen cartier and one of the reasons I got rid was my friend had a rep of the same model and it was practically identical! The only gen I crave now is a daytona, Itl be reps until I can afford one

[Theduke.williams 1,036]

Slightly off topic I know, but to a mere pleb like me, any watch costing more than £1000 will be high end, £250 - £999 mid range, and below £250 low end.

If I were a millionaire these limits would be considerably higher!

[GenTLe 1,501]

Slightly off topic I know, but to a mere pleb like me, any watch costing more than £1000 will be high end, £250 - £999 mid range, and below £250 low end.

If I were a millionaire these limits would be considerably higher!

 

Ahahah, we share the same pleb class

[Member X 91]

Seiko are playing In the low to high range market.

Seiko 5 -> seiko Marinemaster -> Grand Seiko which can price from 3 to 10+ thousands. On top of them there is Credor.

I never knew that, thanks

[narikaa 129]

If ALL their watches were 3-10+K they could shoehorn themselves into 'mid range'

 

But being as it is that the Seiko deluge is in the bottom rung range - that is where they hang their hat

[MrAZ 0]

I know what you mean in some aspects. Seeing the gen pieces under their studio lighting they do seem all a bit small. Whether high end or not, some brands do disappoint when it comes to the simple feel and weight of the piece.