Are counterfeit watches getting better?
 

Looks like it to me, but $400 for a very nice replica of a Seamaster seems like a lot of money. Who do you call when it craps out? Why not just get a pretty nice Casio or Seiko that you know will work when you need it?

(This video was in my feed about 10 minutes after I clicked on the 928 watch thread that Glen posted.)

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"Looks like it to me, but $400 for a very nice replica of a Seamaster seems like a lot of money. Who do you call when it craps out? Why not just get a pretty nice Casio or Seiko that you know will work when you need it?"

What? You don't know why some buy fakes? Because they themselves are fake...

So many parts being made in China. The fakes probably come from the same factory.

Yeah, I'm not a fancy watch guy, so I was intrigued at the quality of the knockoff in that video.

Varmint's post captured my imagination; it turns out only 50% of the parts in a "Swiss Made" watch are required to be made in Switzerland. If the actual watches didn't come from the same factory, I'm betting the Seiko drawings turned up in more than one watch factory.

I think many/most watches use movements made by one of a couple of companies. I think a bunch of the higher end watch companies then modify the appearance and/or tune the movements then put them into their case. I think a lot of the good fakes buy the generic movements and then don't do the mods, but stick them in cases that are good copies (that may have come out of the same factory, because China just doesn't give a damn about IP).

Says the Bullitt Mustang owner

Yup. The high end fakes are so good now, it's scary.

IMO buying a fake luxury item in general is for a starving college student or someone who is aspiring to buy the genuine article. Or perhaps you want a mockup of Cartier or Louie sunglasses, luggage, or whatever before you pull the trigger, I don't know.

There are some nice chinese automatic movements out there, but I would probably buy a reasonably fancy Seiko instead of a $400 knock off rolex.

However, I've pretty much given up on nice sunglasses. I lose or drop them too often, and the price of authentic ones (Wayfarers for instance) is not justified by their quality. I'm sure Luxotica has a lot to do with this.

I can't find the video, but I did see a video about $1000 Rolex knockoffs. They took one aparts, and concluded that that the quality level of the fake was so good, that it justified the $1k price tag.

Insurance. Get some pics of you wearing said fake, then lose it somewhere. You end up with an original.

Wouldn't you need proof of such a watch for your insurance policy? Usually the paper that comes with the watch from the manufacturer with the serial #, or an independent appraisal.

I have a fake Paneri I bought years ago. I think I paid $250-300. It’s good, real ETA movement, solid, says “Marine” but not Paneri.

They hit them with a Cease And Desist and now they are kind of a sought after watch.

Marina Militare?

I’ll post a pic. It was probably Marina.

Panerai made those for the Italian Navy. I have a Pam024 and bought a Marina Militare off eBay from a seller that said it had a Miyota movement vs the Chinese Seagull. It looked exactly like my Panerai, but the bezel had a lot of play and wasn't as precise, and the crown and crown guard were definitely up to par. I opened up the watch and surprise! There was no Miyota movement. I got back to the seller and he said he had no idea as he "bought" it thinking it had the Miyota. Anyway, I sent it to my nephew who likes to collect watches.

Here it is. It's a great watch, solid crystal and a movement that keeps great time...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1617405181.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1617405199.jpg

Ouch!

The homage watch is the first on the left. Real is in the middle. The homage kept good time, too. Lume was a little weak.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1617405157.jpg

Insecure people don't buy the real thing because they tell better time do they?
Some have turned out to be a good investment though.

I think I got mine from "International Watchman". If you Google there were some lawsuits and also people liked the watches, the bands not so much.

Still a good watch though.