You think people will spot fake IWCs?

[Reptme]

I never had an IWC rep before and just was interested in Rolex or APs. Invested quite a lot time to build my opinion about "How spottable is that fake". Now I am interested in some leather strap reps and IWC is just awesome.

I am quite sure that in the rep game a lot of people are focused on Rolex and how to spot them. What do you think about IWC here? Would you spot a fake IWC? Do you think that there are quite some people around who are schooled to spot a fake one?

Would love to see your feedback on this!

 

[tkingjr]

Most people don't know what an IWC watch looks like. The biggest tell would be your position on the income ladder. Would your job enable you to buy an IWC? If you buy a high-end Rep from a good factory nobody but our members or an AD could tell. You never walk into an AD wearing a Rep of any quality.

 

[Copterguy]

If you love the look, Get one. I put 2XAR on mine had several ow down to two... One on the way.

 

[mech500]

No one is gonna spot shit unless:

1. your goal is to flex on Instagram - in which case some kid will probably be able to spot that the lug is 0.25mm out of specie whatever.

2. You start handing your rep to people who know jewellery. The real tell of a watch is not the BS “tells” that people moan about here (eg SEL shape or something else that nobody but members know) but it’s the finish of the dial/hands.

Even in the above pics you can see white specs on the sides of the hands. That’s how you tell it’s a rep. Not from silly issues we know. People who know jewellery can spot this lack of finishing in real life - with the naked eye in good lighting.

But yeh, if you just want to enjoy a rep for what it is, then just buy one you like and enjoy it.


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[dashindark]

No one is gonna spot shit unless:

1. your goal is to flex on Instagram - in which case some kid will probably be able to spot that the lug is 0.25mm out of specie whatever.

2. You start handing your rep to people who know jewellery. The real tell of a watch is not the BS “tells” that people moan about here (eg SEL shape or something else that nobody but members know) but it’s the finish of the dial/hands.

Even in the above pics you can see white specs on the sides of the hands. That’s how you tell it’s a rep. Not from silly issues we know. People who know jewellery can spot this lack of finishing in real life - with the naked eye in good lighting.

But yeh, if you just want to enjoy a rep for what it is, then just buy one you like and enjoy it.


Sent from my iPhone using RWI

Very true.

 

[RonP]

No one is gonna spot shit unless:

1. your goal is to flex on Instagram - in which case some kid will probably be able to spot that the lug is 0.25mm out of specie whatever.

2. You start handing your rep to people who know jewellery. The real tell of a watch is not the BS “tells” that people moan about here (eg SEL shape or something else that nobody but members know) but it’s the finish of the dial/hands.

Even in the above pics you can see white specs on the sides of the hands. That’s how you tell it’s a rep. Not from silly issues we know. People who know jewellery can spot this lack of finishing in real life - with the naked eye in good lighting.

But yeh, if you just want to enjoy a rep for what it is, then just buy one you like and enjoy it.


Sent from my iPhone using RWI

Well said. The hands on my Noob Daytona have this problem too. In bright light you can see the scratches on them. Is it possible to polish them out or are they too delicate?

 

[Reptme]

Well said. The hands on my Noob Daytona have this problem too. In bright light you can see the scratches on them. Is it possible to polish them out or are they too delicate?

My opinion is quite aligned to yours. What interested me the most is that I am quite confident, that there will be more people who are able to spot fake Rolex than IWC since Rolex watches are more popular and also more reps are available for that brand.

Anyway - interesting topic!

 

[OverAfton]

there will be more people who are able to spot fake Rolex

Had a young man walk in to the office wearing a Gen 16610LN Father owns a large car dealership locally.
He said most people don't even notice his watch (after all, it doesn't receive texts or count footsteps) and on the rare occasion those who do just say "That's cool!"
I asked him if his model has an engraved rehaut. He answered: "What's a rehaut?"

Yeah, my guess is the likelihood of someone calling you out is somewhere in the 0.000001 range.

 

[M_Hall]

My advice would be to add an OEM leather strap or at least a good quality aftermarket.

once you’ve done this 99.99% of people would never know.

 

[Hesekiel]

We are at a point of development now where the best replicas, let alone Frankens, are impossible to identify unless compared side-by-side by an expert. That leaves the wearer as the biggest tell. If a 20-something kid driving an old Honda and working at the grocery store wears a Rolex Daytona or a Patek Phillippe, chances are close to 100% that it's a fake.
If a 60-something guy driving a Tesla or high end Mercedes l wears a Rolex Datejust, Submariner, or $10K Panerai, chances are slim that it's a fake.

The more likely it seems that you can afford the GEN, the less likely it is that anybody would suspect you are wearing a replica. General rule of thumb: only wear replicas of watches you could afford to buy if you really wanted to.

Less than a week ago I went to a small tool store as I needed a specialty drill bit for the glass tiles in my kitchen, wearing my one and only Rolex replica. The owner was wearing a Rolex 41 Datejust with metallic blue dial. None of us said anything, and my guess is that it was a GEN, simply because he surely could afford one. Had he worn a diamond crusted Rolex Day-Date or Patek Phillipe, I would have felt differently.

 

[Patsanchik]

My advice would be to add an OEM leather strap or at least a good quality aftermarket.

once you’ve done this 99.99% of people would never know.

Is that watch from YLF? Looks nice.

 

[M_Hall]

Yeah I don’t own it anymore but it was YLF, absolutely stunning rep, dial was beautiful. The rep strap was crap but I found a OEM, used strap for a good price. Movement was excellent too. One of the best reps I ever owned. Highly recommend them.


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[Patsanchik]

Yeah, based on pics I’ve seen, I think the YLF dial looks superb. Tough to distinguish from gen in my opinion, except for the small flat spot missing from the top of the 6 marker. The sub-dials have much less sheen than those of the ZF dial.

 

[shyreplover]

No one is gonna spot shit unless:

1. your goal is to flex on Instagram - in which case some kid will probably be able to spot that the lug is 0.25mm out of specie whatever.

This is so true. There was this guy in my country the grandson of one of the richest woman. He likes to post his luxurious lifestyle on social media and then somebody actually spent time analyzing his watches. I guess if you are famous and want to show off don't wear reps?

 

[YellowFin]

As long as you don't wear it when visiting an AD or the Richemont Christmas party, you're safe.

 

[Om3ga_guy]

My advice would be to add an OEM leather strap or at least a good quality aftermarket.

once you’ve done this 99.99% of people would never know.

What the gentleman said ^^^

I mounted an OEM strap on my Petronas AMG Pilot (one will likely never see one of these in real life). The OEM strap on its own was impossible to source.

Very difficult to identify as a rep unless you handle and inspect in detail - and even then you need to know what to look for.

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[Marbe78]

Good ZF replicas with a gen strap or from a professional you should not worry, the ZF IWC rep watches are incredible.

 

[Tobel]

I bought a ZF 500705 for my dad and with a gen strap honestly it's very impressive. Without a loop there's just no way to tell it's a rep. I'm (and he is ) very happy

 

[EuroTime25]

My 5009 love it. And when I do see a watch I have a hard time seeing if its a fake or real as its really hard with the extremly to me good reps. Also which one of these AP are fake, can you tell?

 

[locvs]

On ZFs Models: nearly impossible to tell Bar a dozen IWC affictionados, but the chance of running into one is smaller than being hit by a lightning. You need a good quality strap. All rep leather straps are trash and feel and look cheap. It doesn’t necessarily have to be OEM, just a good one. Plenty to choose from.