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hanski

ello, new to the replica marketplace but have been reading as much as possible. I’ve noticed no one seems to be talking about two things I’d like to know more about: reliability and construction of all the parts of a replica. (Please post links of discussion that exist that I haven’t found yet) 

First, reliability. What should ones expectation be for these replicas? For instance, a Regmariner from Narikaa is in the same price range as an Invicta 9937 ProDiver. Can one assume they will perform similarly over time? At this price range, what is expected to fail after 1 yr, 5 yrs, or even 10 years (if anything)? 

Comparing the next price level up, how will a Noobmariner V7 perform in comparison to, say, a Steinhart Ocean One? 

Asked a different way, when buying a replica, are you buying a lesser watch with better aesthetics/branding than a name brand at that price point? Or are you buying a similar quality? 

Second, can anyone speak to the construction of replicas as a whole? Everyone points out the bezel, band, crystal, and movement but what about: 

- Dial material

- Hand material

- Pearl material

- Marker material

- Luminescent paint type

- Rubber gasket material

- Type of screws holding the band together

- Type of spring bar

- And how are these things attached (Elmer’s glue, solder, etc)

I get it, it’s a replica marketplace - there is no QC. But there is plenty of opportunity for QC by those buying the watches. Add that extra layer of construction information and follow up on how your watch is holding up after some number of years. 

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and insights. 

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EBB

I may be wrong from what I've heard the most important factor to longevity is the movement, and a lot of times with the movements in replicas you don't have the best quality control and you could get a dud, or you could get a great watch that will run for years! Even though Invicta or some other genuine china brand may use the same movement, there's more quality control. 

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hanski

Thanks, that makes a lot of sense. I’m also looking to hear if these things fall apart or fade after days, weeks, or years of use. It’d be annoying to have the pearl fall off cause it’s lightly glued or dial fade cause of poor print quality, etc. 

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Glaude

On reliability :

The main problems are the lack of proper QC , the cleanliness of the movement assembly and the oiling. The work environment is not very clean, so you can have debris of the machining process, dust, etc., getting into the movement, then the lack of proper lubrication is a factor of premature wear on the movement and to top that off, the lack of QC tend to make this problem appear more often to the end consumer.

On construction : 

Swiss manufacturer uses China factories for parts so they can be good at it, I've never read or heard someone complaining about the quality of the part, the main problem is the assembly or QC issues.

You'll probably have more input on that from other members. :) 

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McGilli
17 minutes ago, mzinski said:

First, reliability. What should ones expectation be for these replicas? For instance, a Regmariner from Narikaa is in the same price range as an Invicta 9937 ProDiver. Can one assume they will perform similarly over time? At this price range, what is expected to fail after 1 yr, 5 yrs, or even 10 years (if anything)? 

Asked a different way, when buying a replica, are you buying a lesser watch with better aesthetics/branding than a name brand at that price point? Or are you buying a similar quality? 

I only got into this rep stuff about 6 months ago.

At first, being naive - I thought all the reps are just awesome - and perfect and they are made to last.

Then, I realized about the different tiers of pricing and quality. I've bought a bunch of reps now ranging from $50 - $400.

Some have died. Most still work great.

I love my reps. I really do.

But - I've also recently bought a $400 Seiko and a $100 Invicta. And after spending much time on this forum - I can say I trust genuine watches much, much more than replicas. What I mean is I don't worry about them getting soaked. I truly believe the movements in Seiko and Invicta are of higher quality. I'm not scared to bang them around. And, you get a local warranty with genuine.

So - if someone wants to disagree - that's cool cuz I still consider myself a newbie - but I believe a $100 Invicta Pro Diver has a better built, and more reliable movement than a $400 rep Rolex. Again - this is how i 'feel' about watches these days.

I still have a few expensive reps on order - and I'm happy to gamble that they will last me a lifetime, but , I'm not confident of it. Hope for the best and expect less I say with Reps.

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hanski

Good, thorough answer, thanks! 

I’m considering one from Narikaa. They seem to have gotten very good reviews, some have performed really well with water tests, and they’re at a price point that I feel I can risk it without going full in for a V7. If Reg gets back to me I’ll go for it  

I’m asking all of this because I’d really like this watch to replace my knockaround watch. It’ll take some abuse as I wear it playing with the kids, doing chores, and generally for everything outside the office. It’ll most definitely get wet - whether it be from the 8 months of rain here or popping a kid out of bath. I’ll likely do the water resistance recommendations I’ve read about and definitely get it tested at a local shop even if it’s for 30m. 

As for the watch kicking the bucket, which ones died on you all ready before 6 months of use? 

I’ll have to read up on how people service watches like this. 

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Rx4Time

I've been at this hobby for a couple of years now.  They only failure I've had we're the following... one I dropped the watch, one the reversing gear failed and a hand wind Panerai I snapped the mainspring.  A quick movement swap and the dropped one is good as new, the other a watchsmith serviced the movement and it's good or better then new.  This rep was a few years old.  The Panerai just needed a new spring and runs flawless.   I use the following general rules, I avoid and "superclone movements" and stick with tried and true movements like the 2836/24 6947 and 7750 non modified (non chronograph and chronograph in traditional 6-9-12 layout).   This ensures parts availability, and preferably direct swap to ETA if a failure occurs. 

 

As far as the case quality, with one exception which I just received, all of my diver watches have passed pressure tests of 3-5 ATM and my TC was tested to 40 ATM (120% of gen).  Of course QA is pretty low so each watch should be tested to ensure there isn't a misplaced seal or case defect, but I've never had a failure occur and I swim with mine several times weekly. 

 

Here's a few examples of water resistant watches I've got..

IMG_20180308_130152b9c6e542021f357a.jpg

IMG_20180221_124656fe55609163e94ded.jpg

IMG_20170526_230734.jpg
IMG_20170526_230529.jpg

IMG_6528_zpsthyq5esud44cc7fd87ae6a03.jpg

 

 

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hanski

What is a superclone movement? 

I’ve been eyeing one with a DG2813. Is that not good enough? 

Thanks! 

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duddlyboy
30 minutes ago, mzinski said:

What is a superclone movement? 

 

An attempted copy of an actual Rolex movement .As on the ARF 904 Daytona , with an A4130 'Superclone Movement '.

Edited by duddlyboy

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Rx4Time

Superclone movements would include the SA3135, SH3135, p9000, etc.  Basically they are specialized reproductions of gen movements.  The issues include the following...u like the "common" Asian movements like the DG2813, A2836, A2824 and A7750, the superclone movements are typically not produced in large factories, so the machining is hit  or miss, they are not assembled in the best of conditions so they can cone dirty and under oiled and the metals used are not always the best.  With a proper service they can be good, but there are limited parts availability.  The best option for parts interchangeably is the SH3135 as majority of the parts are interchangeable with a Rolex 3135.  The superclone movements are more expensive to buy and repair overall. 

 

To answer your question, the DG2813 is a decent movement and cheap to replace.  Keep your expectations accordingly.  It is a low beat movement so the seconds hand Will be a bit choppy, time keeping is considered acceptable at +/-30 seconds per day although I've had a couple that were running less then 20 seconds per day fast, the big thing is the rotor is unidirectional wind so it can begin to feeespin and sometimes be quite loud. 

As far as the regmariner, they are overall well built and probably the best available at that price point, and I've read people have successfully tested them to 10 ATM.  Read up and familiarize yourself with the flaws to be sure they are acceptable to you.  Overall it's a great first purchase. 

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McGilli
2 hours ago, mzinski said:

As for the watch kicking the bucket, which ones died on you all ready before 6 months of use? 

I’ll have to read up on how people service watches like this. 

It was a Rolex Sub from DHGate. IMO a decent replica - but the movement was cheap and stopped running on occasion. Finally it just stopped. I was able to buy a cheaper Rolex sub for 1/2 the cost (much worse quality and detailing) - however then just swap the movement of the cheap one to the dial/hands of my good one and it is back running again.

As for asking about more details on the construction, and how they hold up etc I would just spend some time in the reviews section of this site. Some of the users have some pretty good reviews. There's a guy McGilli, I really like his reviews. Glaude is good, especially if you want to compare to genuines. Crap - I know some other people have decent reviews but just troll through the reviews sections and you'll find some good answers to your questions there. Good luck!

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Rx4Time

Yes, I've heard of this mcgilli individual before.  Not sure where though...

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MB62
19 hours ago, McGilli said:

I only got into this rep stuff about 6 months ago.

At first, being naive - I thought all the reps are just awesome - and perfect and they are made to last.

Then, I realized about the different tiers of pricing and quality. I've bought a bunch of reps now ranging from $50 - $400.

Some have died. Most still work great.

I love my reps. I really do.

But - I've also recently bought a $400 Seiko and a $100 Invicta. And after spending much time on this forum - I can say I trust genuine watches much, much more than replicas. What I mean is I don't worry about them getting soaked. I truly believe the movements in Seiko and Invicta are of higher quality. I'm not scared to bang them around. And, you get a local warranty with genuine.

So - if someone wants to disagree - that's cool cuz I still consider myself a newbie - but I believe a $100 Invicta Pro Diver has a better built, and more reliable movement than a $400 rep Rolex. Again - this is how i 'feel' about watches these days.

I still have a few expensive reps on order - and I'm happy to gamble that they will last me a lifetime, but , I'm not confident of it. Hope for the best and expect less I say with Reps.

Seiko are in general good watches man.

But I have had a bunch of Armani and Diesel watches that in the time cost around 200 - 300 $ and to be honest these were all really not good. Clasp problems, waterproof problems etc etc..

I think it depends if you buy a watch from a watch company or from a brand that also produces watches. These 400$ Rolex reps, in my opinion, will function better than these Armani, Diesel, ... watches, but maybe not so from as you say Seiko.

Although you are right on the warranty part. 

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Stewart

I have had dozens of reps. Never had one fail.

Best example for the OP...

Noob Sub V5 purchased October 2015. Worn regularly. Been swimming, hot tubs, tennis, golf, gym, extreme heat (left in a hot car on > 100 degree f day) still runs like new. Crystal is still perfect. Case and bracelet some minor scratches. 

For the money it has been a very good watch and keeps very accurate time. 

Reps continue to get better and better. I would expect a Noob sub V8 to last a lifetime if properly cared for.

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Luxuracer
13 hours ago, teddy875 said:

Yes, I've heard of this mcgilli individual before.  Not sure where though...

I also heard rumors of this @McGilli guy in RWG somewhere.

Great explanation Teddy ... I could not do it better myself. Keep up the good work ... my Man! 

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VMSG

My one, not representing experience, is great. I don't know if the price is an indicator, but I'm wearing a rose gold Breguet rep (750$) every day in the last 5 years – and I'm doing everything with it and it works great. The rose gold plating is very good (some minor scratches that you can only see from 2 cm) and the movement reliability is good and working really great (Seagull movement).

As I said, this is one experience and it may not represent other watches and it may be related to the fact that this is a high-end watch – but I'm happy.

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lrnz
16 hours ago, teddy875 said:

I've been at this hobby for a couple of years now.  They only failure I've had we're the following... one I dropped the watch, one the reversing gear failed and a hand wind Panerai I snapped the mainspring.  A quick movement swap and the dropped one is good as new, the other a watchsmith serviced the movement and it's good or better then new.  This rep was a few years old.  The Panerai just needed a new spring and runs flawless.   I use the following general rules, I avoid and "superclone movements" and stick with tried and true movements like the 2836/24 6947 and 7750 non modified (non chronograph and chronograph in traditional 6-9-12 layout).   This ensures parts availability, and preferably direct swap to ETA if a failure occurs. 

 

As far as the case quality, with one exception which I just received, all of my diver watches have passed pressure tests of 3-5 ATM and my TC was tested to 40 ATM (120% of gen).  Of course QA is pretty low so each watch should be tested to ensure there isn't a misplaced seal or case defect, but I've never had a failure occur and I swim with mine several times weekly. 

 

Here's a few examples of water resistant watches I've got..

IMG_20180308_130152b9c6e542021f357a.jpg

IMG_20180221_124656fe55609163e94ded.jpg

IMG_20170526_230734.jpg
IMG_20170526_230529.jpg

IMG_6528_zpsthyq5esud44cc7fd87ae6a03.jpg

 

 

how much atm do you test them to?

 

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McGilli
2 hours ago, lrnz said:

how much atm do you test them to?

 

Haha he says right in his post :)

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Luxuracer
7 minutes ago, McGilli said:

Haha he says right in his post :)

What .... !!!

You expect people start to read now ?!?

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RussP

Always request the Chinese pube option when ordering a rep.

Satisfaction and possibly, longevity, guaranteed. 

Not sure if Narikaa can provide this option as his stock comes from Thailand. 

Welcome to the forum.

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lrnz
11 minutes ago, Luxuracer said:

What .... !!!

You expect people start to read now ?!?

 

19 minutes ago, McGilli said:

Haha he says right in his post :)

damn.. guess I'm becoming blind.. I was on my mobile phone, thanks for waking me up though:D

Edited by lrnz

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Rx4Time
2 hours ago, lrnz said:

how much atm do you test them to?

 

Depends on my mood and my overall feeling of how well built I feel it is.  Nothing scientific, but just my gut and if I've tested it before how comfortable I feel pushing it. 

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Luxuracer
53 minutes ago, teddy875 said:

Depends on my mood and my overall feeling of how well built I feel it is.  Nothing scientific, but just my gut and if I've tested it before how comfortable I feel pushing it. 

Which test do you use, Teddy?

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Rx4Time

 

42 minutes ago, Luxuracer said:

Which test do you use, Teddy?

Bergeon style wet tester, picked up one on eBay....

IMG_20170206_0921245763311a7c146c62.jpg
IMG_20170206_092128a44690c91ed36ad0.jpg
IMG_20170206_092031e197d16f65e38d89.jpg
IMG_20170206_092016932fa1c1e261e211.jpg
IMG_20170206_0920104d674b01998078e9.jpg

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lrnz
7 hours ago, teddy875 said:

Depends on my mood and my overall feeling of how well built I feel it is.  Nothing scientific, but just my gut and if I've tested it before how comfortable I feel pushing it. 

Thanks, and from how much atm do you feel 100% safe putting them in the pool?

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