Modifying Replicas

[Bjjbeast]

Question about modifying replicas. I’m seeing some watches that are replica Panerai by a company called “Marina Militare” which has a decent look but the watch face is either unbranded or branded with this name. I see some Rolex replicas by “Bliger” that are also unbranded.

My assumption is that they would be very cheap replicas but my question is: Are there Some better replica Panerai or Rolex replica watch faces that can be swapped out with the these??? If so where can I find them and how much of a pain would it be to swap out?

 

[Nanook65]

Question about modifying replicas. I’m seeing some watches that are replica Panerai by a company called “Marina Militare” which has a decent look but the watch face is either unbranded or branded with this name. .............Are there Some better replica Panerai or Rolex replica watch faces that can be swapped out with the these??? If so where can I find them and how much of a pain would it be to swap out?

I think you are a bit confused....
Marine Militare is not a brand per se. It is a homage to Panerai. The other one you found is probably an homage to Rolex, ? There are homage watches and there are reps or Replicas. The two are very different. An homage is a watch that looks similar to a well known watch like a Rolex sub, but it isn't branded as rolex. Let's say someone decided they were going to copy most everything about a Rolex Sub 16610, but instead of putting Rolex on the dial they decide to call it Polex and instead of a Crown they put a "P" in its place. They could call it something less obvious as well and it would still be considered an homage. Homage watches are perfectly legal, but there is plenty of disagreement over whether or not we should support those that make this sort of watch. Some cheaper homage watch brands are Parnis, Alpha, Phoebus & some of the better ones are names like Steinhart, Squale, Yema etc

Reps - Replicas
These are blatant fakes & that is pretty much what this website is all about. They are labeled Rolex and Panerai etc even though obviously they are not made by Rolex or Panerai or any of the other premium brands.

We all buy Reps here and some of us will buy Genuine parts and add them to make the watch more closely resemble the real deal. That is a Franken.

There is an entire section dedicated to Rolex and another dedicated to Panerai Reps. Most questions that you can think of have already been asked. You can often find the answer to your questions by using the search button as there is an enormous amount of info available here at RWI.

Have fun in your quest

 

[Bjjbeast]

Okay I understand. So my question would be rephrased more like can one take an Homage watch and replace the dial with a replica one? Or is there zero merit to doing so since the homage watches are utter garbage?

 

[Rx4Time]

Okay I understand. So my question would be rephrased more like can one take an Homage watch and replace the dial with a replica one? Or is there zero merit to doing so since the homage watches are utter garbage?

If I must be 100% honest, my experience is that the homage watches that you refer to are oftentimes comparable to a low-end to mid level replica. You would do better just to buy a good high-quality replica to begin with versus trying to swap parts around. A high-end replica will have a build quality, fit and finish that well exceeds the homage watches you are looking at.

 

[RepPossessed]

Okay I understand. So my question would be rephrased more like can one take an Homage watch and replace the dial with a replica one? Or is there zero merit to doing so since the homage watches are utter garbage?

No point, buy a rep if you want a rep. Homages are nowhere near the level of high end reps. Some homages are very acceptable for what they are at that price point
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[YellowFin]

If I must be 100% honest, my experience is that the homage watches that you refer to are oftentimes comparable to a low-end to mid level replica. You would do better just to buy a good high-quality replica to begin with versus trying to swap parts around. A high-end replica will have a build quality, fit and finish that well exceeds the homage watches you are looking at.

This. The Marina Militare watches just look and feel cheap. Scrap that plan and go for a PAM from the NWBIG list.

 

[Nanook65]

Okay I understand. So my question would be rephrased more like can one take an Homage watch and replace the dial with a replica one? Or is there zero merit to doing so since the homage watches are utter garbage?

You could do that, but as others have said it would make more sense to start with a Rep. Depending on the model watch you are after, there are plenty of good to Great reps. You mentioned 2 brand names Rolex and Panerai. Both have many if not most of their most popular models repped very well. In addition to the above mentioned reasons to start with a rep, if you start with an homage in addition to swapping out the dial you will likely have to deal with both the Crown and Case back being incorrect.

Since you are just starting out, I would suggest that you do these things in this order: 1st - figure out what watch you want. I would do this by going to what ever brand you are interested in and looking through some of the pictures in the threads that are like "What Rolex are you wearing today" type of threads. There are lots of nice pics here and if you honestly don't know what you want this is a really good way for you to figure out what you want. 2nd - Many of the more popular models from the more popular brands have been repped by multiple makers or manufacturers & might have multiple versions over time. In the rep watch world they call the manufacturers factories so when you hear jf or vsf what they are really referring to is J Factory or VS Factory. These names or initials are really meaningless. They might refer to the makers first or last name or maybe his favorite english letter or what ever. In order to determine what factory & version you are going spend your money on you should go to the relevant forum. ie, if you are into Rolex go to the Rolex area here within RWI and spend a lot of time getting yourself acquainted with the "Search" button. Different makers use different sources for various parts and some will have different movements etc. All Reps have flaws, but some are way more or less noticeable. Not everyone cares about the same things so for some a chronograph with an unusable chrono function is terrible and for others they are ok with it. Until you are more familiar with what is out there and what the different flaws are you are going to have a VERY DIFFICULT time determining what watch is best for you. Again spend a lot of time reading and using the SEARCH fn. #3) Once you know what watch and maker you want you are going to have to decide who to buy it from. There is an entire section here at RWI devoted to the different TD's (This stands for Trusted Dealers) and you should order from one of the ones listed here on this site. Just trust me on this one, it is a lot safer than wandering off on your own. #4) Wait until you have the watch in hand to decide if you are going to do anything more with it. You might be really surprised with the watch you get as many of the better reps are actually really GREAT!. A lot of these flaws that many of the members here go on and on about are actually really hard to see and you might not think it is worth the extra time and money to add gen dials etc.

Another thing to keep in mind about modding watches: It can get VERY EXENSIVE!...
One of the beautiful things about reps is that you can buy a brand new watch and if you don't care for it for some reason you can recoup most of the money you spent. I would say it is safe to say that most of the time, assuming you didn't damage your watch, if you go to sell a rep that you bought new you will be able to sell it for close to 90% of what you paid. For most reps that is going to mean you lose less than $50 (not including shipping) With a Genuine watch you are going to lose much more... usually around 30% or more, so on a 5k Breitling you will probably lose $1500 or so. As far a Frankens go: Once again the losses can pile up quickly. Often you will find that with Frankens you lose quite a lot when you go to sell. The reason is that there are far fewer people looking to buy this sort of watch. If you spend a total of $1500 on a Franken, don't be surprised if you can't sell it without taking a loss of $500 or more.

Have fun on your quest for the perfect watch!

 

[Bjjbeast]

Okay thank you everyone for your input. I actually just pulled the trigger on a PM329 on RWI. I was just thinking out loud. I figured the homage watches would be much poorer quality. Thanks again all.