We are Legend

[sardonix 1]

Proudly collected 3 Legends of Rolex replica history.

Old school Maria's Best Watch (MBW) 1680

BK WatchMaker9 (WM9) 16613

David Wong (DW) Gold 6263

 

 

 

Once upon a time, there was a German bloke called Maria. He lived in Thailand and bought replica Rolexes (and other watches) from a stall in the MBK centre, Bangkok.

Mah Boon Krong Shopping Centre (MBK) Some of these Rolex replicas (mostly the vintage 1665 and 1680 models) attained legendary status when people realised they were made the same way as the genuines.

Meaning the bezel construction was a 1:1 copy of the genuine version. What this meant was that people could fit genuine Rolex acrylic crystals and bezel inserts.

 

When Maria sold these watches, he did so under the name of Maria's Best Watch, which itself took on a mythical quality as he was a bit of a belligerent fellow.

Not wanting to deal with some people, adding a rarity to the whole proceedings.

When he stopped selling the watches on the forums, he had a friend called Luckyyy who sold them in his place under the MBW banner.

Luckyyy later ran off with a few members' money and disappeared.

Modern MBW/MBK nowadays can only be sourced by Narikaa and offcourse he is trusted!

 

MBW

 

WatchMaker9 (WM9) used to sell extremely accurate copies of Rolex watches.

He was a toolist/machinest/case maker for a chinese rep factory and made higher quality ones on the side.

A member of this site, BK (who still does custom work) took these very good reps and made them better.

Unfortunately WM9 dissapeared with a lot of people's money and has never been heard from since.

 

BK WM9

 

David Wong (DW) provided the watch as best specializes in the older style Daytonas and a few Panerai models.

All parts are good quality aftermarket and he uses 7750 asian movements on the Daytonas which can be modified to act as hand wound movement.

They are reasonably priced for what you get and he carries a good variety of choices which you can order with the dial and bezel you want.

DW's 6263 is one of the most accurate Rolex rep cases available, and is on par with the pricier ones being sold by Yukiwatch and Jewelryandwatch.

The same old story here, DW took money and no delivery, not disappeard yet but i would not take the risk.

 

DW 6263

 

So, you can't get these 3 watches direct any more they only come from member to member sales.

That is why i am glad to own this historic bunch.

[DR3M3L 4]

Great post, thanks for sharing those stories and amazing watches!

[TheSav 2]

Love the dial on that daytona

[baxter 6]

Great post, pics and info, fantastic trio G

[Amit 72]

I sooooooooooooooo want a 1680

[ad6904 0]

They're all fantastic!

[sgtguk 0]

Great piece of history for all of us noobs mate :suck: Bloody awesome pieces there too, that 1680 looks sexy

[Tekkes 0]

You could litteraly make a turd shine me thinks.

Awesome watches, and even better photo's!

[SSTEEL 0]

Wow, rare finds indeed. Lovely examples mate.

[trailboss99 996]

George (WM9) didn't disappear, he was killed in his Lambo in a traffic accident.

[Del 4,518]

Nice post mate!

[sardonix 1]

George (WM9) didn't disappear, he was killed in his Lambo in a traffic accident.

 

Thanks for the feedback, digged this up on this matter:

 

BK's version quoted:

 

 

I just came back from a 2 week trip to China and Hong Kong. Thanks to TC, I met a representative from the company that bought out wm9. According to the rep, wm9 was owned by the Ku's family and another partner. The Ku's family is mainly the father and the son. Some other family members also worked there. Roger Ku was the father who's also the designer and master watchmaker. Wm9 George told me on Jan 1, 2010 Roger Ku passed away on Dec 20th. The last email I got from George was June 9, 2010. The rep I met told me the young Ku, the son, died in a car crash around June 2010. The rep remembered the young Ku was a stylish man, loved to drive fast, crashed his Lamborghini and died around June 2010. Was George the son? I have no way to confirm it because I never asked George's last name and the rep doesn't know the young Ku's English name. I can't help but feel a sense of loss. It's one thing George stopped emailing me since June 2010. It's another thing to think of him dead. I seriously hope George is not the son. He's just somewhere on a beach, sipping a Mai Tai. I anyhow feel bad the Ku's were gone.

 

When the Ku's were alive, they split the market with their partner like this: the partner took Asia and the Ku's took the rest of the world. So wm9 was a brand that belonged to the Ku's. All in all, it's one company that made all the watches. When I was reselling for wm9, George told me not to sell to Asia. I now understand why.

 

With the Ku's gone, the remaining partner bought out the whole company. I tried to call the current company the new wm9. That's not quite appropriate because the owner was never part of wm9 even it's the same company/factory that made the wm9 watches and makes the current TC subs

 

Added 5/17/2012: I forgot about this. On April 25, 2010, on explaining why so much delay in shipping my components, George wrote "My cousin Allan was poisoned by carbon monoxide on Mar 27. He hasn't wake up since the accident and is like a vegetable since. We're the only two family members in this business. So, I have to take care of his part as well". Allan was the one who took care of shipping things. When I talked to the rep of the current company, I asked if the young Ku had a cousin that was poisoned by carbon monoxide, he said yes immediately. Said he's still in a vegetative state. I hate so much to accept George was the young Ku. But all the data seems to point to one conclusion.

 

Bk

[HeavyKrush 16]

Fantastic watches S. Very interesting story as well.

[BigSteve 0]

What a terrific trio..Great photos too.

[scorpion 0]

Very interesting and nice watches. Death by Lambo...its never good to die but he was probably smiling.

 

[sardonix 1]

Thanks for compliments

 

[Sakurai 1]

Those are some awesome photos of really stunning watches, my favorite is the Daytona - OMG what a looker!

Very interesting to hear about the stories from way back when in the rep world as well. How long ago were these made btw?

[Martinjogs 0]

Really interesting and informative post. I have a sub WM9 V1 but had no idea where the designation came from. Do you happen know when the very first Rolexes were repped?

[sardonix 1]

Really interesting and informative post. I have a sub WM9 V1 but had no idea where the designation came from. Do you happen know when the very first Rolexes were repped?

 

The better reps came in the mid 80 ties i mean with automatic movements. There was no internet and you had to find somebody who knew somebody to get to the dealers, they made catalogue/order forms see this one from 1987

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Martinjogs 0]

Wow, no Internet! How did they survive? I bought a Rolex rep in Bangkok way back in 87 and it was a great watch but almost certainly was a quartz fantasy model. I didn't know much back in the day as I was young and foolish. Now, I am old and still foolish but I know a thing or two about watches. Swiss Enterprises...they were using that sales tag back then and I love the...exact styles may vary disclaimer.

[norrie 1]

Love these to bits but I don't know how you can take a 372 off and put one of these on.

[sconehead 5]

...nice collection...but no TWB?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DSC_0361a by sconehead12, on Flickr

 

 

DSC_0354a by sconehead12, on Flickr

 

 

 

[Chairman7w 0]

Stunning.

[sardonix 1]

Love these to bits but I don't know how you can take a 372 off and put one of these on.

 

Like Baxter always says, "changing to a Rolex is like coming home"

 

...nice collection...but no TWB?

 

That one looks

But i had a gen 16610 for a year or so. We never became friends, i sold it and bought a gen 16600.

So i never looked around in reps for a 16610 model again. But that TWB looks awesome must agree.

[Black Diamond 0]

Wow what an amazing story and fantastic insight into the world of reps!