I'm sure there is some fake car threads on here that you would absolutely love...why don't you go look at them instead of badmouthing everyone on this thread.
Funny you mention that. Somone posted here in this thread that you can buy a really nice Seiko for the same money as a replica. I told him I would rather wear a replica than wear a Seiko that EVERYONE has. My brother and many friends here have Seiko's, Casio's and Pulsar watches. All cost around $300-$800 for my brothers Seiko. My friend had a 30th b'day the other day. His Mum bought him a 'real' Pulsar watch. She paid $345 for this watch and it was crap! He didnt like it either, but it was the most expensive watch in the shop and his Mum bought it as a suprise for him. I looked at it and told him I was glad I spent the same money to pick up a replica Richard Mille and Panerai. And I blew the same $345 to get my Tag replica which my friends loves A LOT!!!!! He actually wants one too. As does another friend who has since seen it. I always like to be different. I would rather own replica watches than buy 'real' generic Seiko's etc..etc, that everyone has. As mentioned, I never pass them off as being real. Most people dont know what a RM or Panerai is. They tell me is its an awesome watch. I thank them for their compliments and explain to them what brand it is, how its a replica and how much the real thing is worth.
So just because you tell people you're wearing a fake, that makes it okay? That's a pathetic way of justifying it. Try explaining that to the watchmakers that devote their lives to making REAL versions of the watches you wear. And FWIW, I'm not badmouthing anyone. The fact that you choose to wear a fake watch (or fake anything for that matter) speaks volumes on the kind of person you are...
Not trying to start something here... but suffice it to say Rolex and other fine watch makers devote great pains to sell watches to people who will buy them for tens of thousands of dollars and the watchmakers will keep busy doing so... other companies also devote their watchmakers making thousands of watches that are fakes or replicas and they too have people who will buy them albeit for a lot less money and justified for those buying them if they aren't in the market for a watch costing thousands of dollars... are you therefore indicating those watch makers aren't performing some sort of service also??? Like I said Citizen, Pulsar, Timex all have their place in the watch markets as do the replicas... they are just as good a watch and maybe even better if you get the 'Swiss versions' with the Swiss Valjoux movements... they are almost identical in quality to a real Rolex or whatever... it would take a qualified jeweler to tell the difference!
This one arrived today. Oyster shell, all knobs must be unscrewed before they become functional, and the extra links in band have the slotted screwdriver type linkage...quite impressive even before knowing the low low price. Forgive the poor picture quality. It has too many reflections going on..but is a classic bi metal. beev Image Unavailable, Please Login
Your arrogance is astounding. I own a real Movado because they're affordable and I love the look, I also own a $200 Seiko because I liked the look of it and figured it'd be a nice day-to-day beater watch to own and not have to worry about, I own a "replica" (read: fake) Breitling, because I loved the look of it and it fit my price range. I'd say it's not the smartest investment to blow $5k+ on a real Breitling before going off to Medical School just to say "Hey, look at this; I own a Breitling!" Are you telling all of us that you'd never buy an ACR Cobra Replica merely because it's a replica? What if you see one on the street and compliment a guy and he promptly lets you know "It's a replica, but I love it!" Due to your narrow mind will you merely reply, "Oh, well... it's a fake and thus you sir, are a bloody fake!"
Can I go to the dealership and buy a Cobra? No. Can I go to the store and buy a real version of your fake Breitling? Yes. There is no justification for wearing fake ANYTHING. If you can't afford it, don't wear it. END OF STORY.
To me its all about performance... a $5 digital watch keeps better time than a $300k mechanical watch a replica Ferrari does not have the performance of a real Ferrari the idea of a watch is to tell time... anything beyond that is fashion or patronage of the watch makers art, but its not about function. to some fashion is worth the cost, to others is isnt.
Everything you're saying is merely your opinion on something. You're like the religious Nazi's that try and force their religion on others as though it's supreme. You've said what you have to say in regards to fake/replica watches - we understand you dislike them, though do you think it's going to sway anyone from not purchasing one? Not in the least. When the day comes I can afford the real watches I want, by all means I will be at the store picking one up. For now, I enjoy the cheap knock off I have knowing full-in-well that it's no where near the quality of a real one.
I might do... eventually. I'll have to have my very own 348 before I have my very own Rolex though. A guy has to have priorities, you know. All the best, Andrew.
Just so we're on the same page... you OWN a homage of a Paneri because you love the case and claim as a homage it's not a replica... but Sir I say it is a replica and YOU OWN ONE and yet you come here insulting anyone that either owns one or may get one for the novelty of having one? Here is a good read on the 'homage Paneri' experience: http://blog.breitlingsource.com/2010/03/28/joa-panerai-fiddy-homage-review/
I spent most of 80's and 90's wearing replicas- Cheap crap I picked up on Canal Street. It was kind of a fun thing- not a deadly-serious 'let's see how many people I can fool" kind of thing. The kid getting out of the chocolate brown VW Rabbit was not wearing a $6k Rolex. As I made some dough I forgot about replicas and had a series of moderately expensive Seikos and Citizens- $300-$400 watches that seemed pretty fancy to me. As my business grew I got into Panerais- picked up half a dozen Breitlings- four Rolexes, an AP ROO, Three Chopards, a Mille, two B+R's... you get the picture. one day I looked at my FOUR stuffed watch boxes and realized that ridiculously expensive swimming pool project my wife was looking at was sitting right there... Off to ebay and Timezone... Raised a ton of cash, left me with two Panerais, two Breitlings, Three tags, Two Rolexes- still a kickass watch collection but nothing north of $5K individually. One day my buddy Dave showed up at a barbecue in his M3 wearing a Panerai 005 on a rubber strap- I complimented him on it- he knew I was a "Panerai Guy"... and that was that. I thought it odd that he took it off to swim in my pool (The watch collection-for-swimming-pool trade was a pretty good deal) but whatever. next time I saw him he had on another Panerai- some sort of PVD Power Reserve model- I was not sure which it was but I knew this was a super expensive watch and I knew they had been having some financial difficulties so i grilled him on it- he took it off and handed it to me and kept up the charade for awhile- I started to notice stuff- the blue A/R coating on the crystal, the weak lume, the thin and rounded crown- "Is this fake"? I asked him... "Um- what do you mean by fake?"... Well turns out he had been buying replicas and passing them off as real watches- guy lives in a BIG house, drives pretty nice cars etc... Dave showed me the entire internet-underworld of replica sites, forums, modders, etc. I since have bought a few replicas, first out of curiosity and then because the whole "Dirtyness" of it appeals to me- You send money to a secret guy in China and then a secret package arrives, you don't make eye contact with the mailman- it's kind of cool... I expected junk but actually quality is amazing considering the Canal Street junk that i used to buy- BUT- They need a really good adjustment- they run slow or fast usually when you get them- There's always something about a replica that is not right- and if you look over the "Replica Forums" people spend REAL money trying to make them right- There are "Replica Watchsmiths" who go by top-secret screen names who ask you to ship watches to a secret PO box and they will do all sorts of magic to make them more "gen". Some guys spend well over $1,000 to fake a Panerai 111 (The favorite of the replica world)- the basic starter Panerai that is available used for $3500 all over. many no box-no papers 111's go for under $3k. Makes no sense to me. For me it boils down to this- 1) Nothing wrong with wearing a replica watch- Style is Style- My Yoshi shields don't make my 355 "fake" any more than wearing a $400 replica Breitling makes me a "fake"- the fact that I own enough real watches and can afford them notwithstanding- "Fake' is fun, so get off your high horse. 2) Anyone who owns more than one "rep" and says "I have never passed my watch off as genuine" is a liar- Fess up now... You bought it to impress people- admit it... we all do it from time to time. 3) Buying replicas supports a form of organized crime- It's a fact- I've done it- I try to ignore it, but it's a fact. 4) You will get more compliments wearing a large gold and SS Citizen or Seiko or ANY "watch of the day" at Chronoshark.com than you will wearing a Panerai- I guarantee that. 5) Nobody cares about your watch- really. I've spend tens of thousands of dollars on genuine watches and nobody cares. I like expensive watches-don't know why but it pleases me- that's all that matters. 6) I pretty much never wear my replicas anymore-i feel guilty wearing them. Most importantly I NEVER EVER would consider wearing a replica watch while driving the 355- it's just ******y and wrong on so many levels. (Again- just my opinion) 7) Ultimately I find the replica watch thing horribly unsatisfying... You are aware at every moment that the watch is fake- it's on your mind. When the watch is two minutes slow you slink into the men's room to adjust lest you give off a "Tell" that the watch is fake. 8) The only thing I find weirder than the "replica forum" brotherhood is the Paneristi.com "Brotherhood". One guy on there has coined the phrase "So much more than a watch"...um no... it's a watch... a simple, mechanical watch overpriced to rip off knuckleheads like ME who want to show off for their friends, neighbors and business associates. The forum standard post- Holding your wrist and Panerai up to the camera in front of a famous place, painting or even a plate of food- the "Flat Stanley" thing they all do is the most blatant "How big is your dick" thing I've ever seen. Forming a community around ANY cause is a good thing I guess... but at least a Ferrari DOES something. A Panerai keeps time LESS accurately then a Timex, less accurately then my PHONE... I guess it's a little hard to figure out why they appeal to me so much. And of course- I'm wearing a 088 on a Delaurian strap as I type this. OK- there you go.
The watch in the blog is not an homage, it is a fake. Subtle difference being the logos. A replica tries to reproduce something as a copy. An homage simply pays respect. It is not trying to be something it is not. Just because the blogger uses replica and homage interchangeably (until the end of his piece), doesn't mean they are, in fact, the same thing. A 240Z is not a replica of the Ferrari 275, but it sure pays homage to the style. I have a panerai style watch that I just got and like a lot. I would not have bought it or ever worn it if it had panerai logos on it. My watch was made by a company called Blue Radish. So if someone asks me what I am wearing, that is what I tell them.
Own? Owned. Felt really guilty wearing it so it's sitting in a box somewhere in my closet. And a homage /= replica, but that's a different debate for a different day.
Man, I own 3 of them now and I have NEVER tried to pass them off as being real. I live in a small little mining town. No one knows what a Panerai or Richard Mille is. I always have to tell people what brand of watch they are. Everyone knows Tag Heuer, of course. And no one knows what any of them are really worth until I tell them what the real ones are worth and how much I paid for the replica. Everytime I wear them, I get compliments from my friends that havent seen them already. They always ask what watch it is, especially the RM because they have never seen anything like it. I tell them its a Richard Mille, that its a replica and what the real one is worth. Which is why I wear a replica. We all have a laugh and they dont put me down because I wear a "fake" watch. We may live in a small little mining town, but we arent that small minded. I wear these watches because I like them. I never buy them to impress anyone. (Even though I am sure many people buy them and lie about them to impress people) When I bought my Ferrari 348, EVERYONE was telling me to buy something 'newer' like a 360 or a brand new 430. Not an older Ferrari like my 348. I could have bought a 360 to impress my friends (couldnt afford a new 430), but I didnt because I love my 348 more and I still do. I bought it for me, not for them. Same goes for my replica watches. I dont buy them to impress people, I buy them because I love the look of them. If I had $500K laying around to buy 8 real watches I wanted I probably still wouldnt do it. That is A LOT of money sitting around that you only wear as a fashion accessory, once a week in my situation. So wearing a different replica once a week suits me to a tee. I still need 5 more rep's to fill my watch box. I paid more for the watch box than any of my watches. But each to their own. There are some Fchatters here with a watch collection that leaves me salivating everytime I read about them and everytime I see pics. Also, the 3 replica's I own that I got from Watcheden keep perfect time and I havent had any issues as of yet.
Pap- OK fair enough. But then WHY BOTHER?? If you're not trying to get the "status" of the "name brand" why not just purchase a "lookalike" without the name brand- that you can buy from a legitimate source rather than send your money to a secret guy in China and then PRAY that Aussie customs does not confiscate the watch?? Unless you are wearing a wristband on the other wrist with the word FAKE on it- you're trying to fool people into thinking it is an expensive watch- I know this because I have done it and every single person who owns a fake anything (Ferrari, Oakley sunglasses, Louis Vuitton bag) has done it too. Otherwise why bother? I trust you when you say that you've never lied directly about your watch- but the mere fact of possessing it and wearing it is a conscious move to deceive the casual viewer- I mean let's just own up to it. Having an Ego is not a crime. The ONLY reason to buy an illegal wristwatch directly from China is to create the illusion that is is the expensive name brand- The exact same Chinese watch is available legitimately with a different brand name on it- Just look at the entire Invicta line or the various Panerai Homage lines- all legal- all have the same guts- but a different brand on them. Owning a 348 instead of a 360 is NOT the same as owning a fake Rolex versus a real Rolex- The 348 was the State of the Art sportscar when new- and many, many people prefer it's size, style and ease of repairs over newer, wider, heavier, more complicated cars. The fact that your 348 is NOT a 438 Italia does not mean it is not a legitimate Ferrari- It is, handmade in Maranello. You have every right to drive that car and feel extremely proud to do so. The ONLY reason to buy a rep from China is to create the illusion of an expensive wristwatch, when in fact it's a $250 Chinese knock off... I'll plead guilty...But I'm gonna have to seriously question your plea of innocence.
I buy prints or artist proofs rather than originals (well maybe a few nice originals)....I can enjoy many more works of art and not worry about cost, theft or damage etc. I think of watches as wrist art....it is how they look and satisfy the eye of the owner more than what other people think...i honestly dont even care if they operate...i often wear watches with the incorrect time and date (too lazy to set) because for me its not the mechanical or guts that interests me..it is the art of the styling. I currently have 29 watches only two which are known fakes and a few Alphas and Invictas which emulate popular designs by others.....the rest are authentic. Who really cares what anyone else's opinion on this topic is...you do what ever feels right for you...no one is right or wrong on this subject IMO. Beev
I guess I bother with them because I LOVE watches. Cant afford the real thing, so buy a replica of it. I also didnt know of 'homages' until someone started a thread and posted pics on here not too long ago. I would have probably gone with those models if I saw them before I bought my replica Panerai. I didnt realise Watcheden was a secret Chinese operator. I have bought 3 over the last 3 months. I dont think Aussie customs cares about the replica watches coming into the Country???? Perhaps I do deceive people when I wear them as I get them thinking its an expensive watch. I love them because they look cool and are different to the run of the mill Seiko/Casio/Pulsar/Guess brands everyone wears here. And to be honest, not one stranger has approached me to ask what watch I am wearing. Only friends ask about them when I wear a different one that they havent seen yet. There are MANY things I have done here in my town to be different to everyone else. I wont elaborate on them, but lets say I like being an individual. If that means buying and wearing fake watches, then so be it.
Whatever helps you justify your hypocrisy. "Homage" or not it is still merely a copy of the original, correct? Making it... That's right, a fake.
Pap- don't get me wrong- I'm with you on the cool factor of these things- what's why i bought a few. I just think it's important here on the FERRARI forum- perhaps the grandest of all the "luxury" brands- that we do not forget that the manufacture of these replicas IS infringing upon the copyrights of their legal owners- and no matter how much of the Pirate spirit you have- it is illegal EVERYWHERE (Yes, even Australia) to import them. And yes- Watcheden is a secret online site- they ship you a watch wrapped in tons of paper and plastic and call it a "Birthday Present"- I mean...come on... Just cause I stole every song I could when Napster was happening does not make it legal or ethical- i justified it by thinking the record companies were too rich anyway- but it was a justification. And there really is NO difference between a Fiero 355 replica and a $250 Breitling chronograph replica- Both are dressed up to deceive- both use far inferior materials when compared to the real deal, both use "Fake" motors dressed up to look like the real deal, and both are worth a fraction of the price of the real deal. That said- there's nothing wrong in my eyes with being a rep "Collector"..as the rep forums like to say. Just don't be surprised the next time you sit down in Business Class with that big Fugazzi panerai on your wrist if half of the guys onboard spot it as a fake.
Especially when 75% of them are also wearing fakes/replicas... you probably would not believe the amount of replicas I've seen on wrists of executives/managers I've come across and bit my lip as it's not for me to inquire about the 'fashion accessory' they have on their wrists... it's beyond basic etiquette to ask if it's a replica or not. You ignore it and continue on as I know they own million dollar homes and expensive cars... so if they're wearing a replica who cares... Regarding the 'homage' pieces... they too are replicas no matter what logo you put on it... example... if a manufacturer replicated a Ferrari California down to the last precise detail exactly identical to the car but the logo has 'Cerrari, or Carrari' instead is it still not a replica of the Cailifornia? But to the manufacturer it is a 'homage'... you think Ferrari would not have a problem?
