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The original thread was posted in Nov.23, 2018.
There are many pics and I am gonna post six (6) of them in two (2) posts in this thread and provide translation by myself. Be patient guys as I am providing service for free and I usually get paid for part-time translation lol
Translation: This is my first time posting thread in this forum. I will fix what is improper and the admins hopefully don't ban me from this forum (this is a Chinese sports forum mainly discussing basketball and soccer.)
In the last a fews days I saw some posts about watches, gens and reps, on our forum. For it has been the 7th year from the day I entered this industry, I am motivated to inform you of something, primarily about replicas. I proposed objections in someone else's thread and was criticized harshly with a bunch of ignorant people sending me private messages saying that I was dead wrong about replicas, so I am writing to say that I have been in this industry for very long and I know this industry in details. People nowadays are admired merely for copying contents from other sources, while they are quite uneducated about the industry per se.
Originally, I was trained as a watchsmith and I amassed some capital working as a watchsmith. I fixed and serviced a variety of different brands, including the high-end ones such as Patek and AP. My father and I both worked as watchsmiths for decades in DongGuan city (a city in Guangdong province, near Guangzhou). I used the capital that I amassed to start a business in watch parts. The watches that we wear are like cars in that we can swap in new parts in case some parts are broken. If the original parts are acceptable, we fix them. If the original parts are not working anymore, we swap in new ones. Selling watch parts is a fun and stimulating business, far more interesting and lucrative than working as a watchsmith. However, I soon found out that many watch parts sellers are indeed smugglers, and the reason for them being smugglers is obvious. After that I shifted direction to watch making, or watch assembly. You know, Guangdong province, unlike many other provinces in mainland China, which have more strict laws and regulations governing copyright products, is the heaven for fake stuff for a reason. Guangdong as a whole for all kinds of replicas as long as there is a specific request. The sellers can obtain and sell anything at a relatively cheap price. The garages near Huangjiang (a place in Guangzhou city famous for car smugglers in the 2000s, raided hard afterwards) can easily convince car-owners with their aftermarket (fake indeed) parts. The Meibo plaza near Guangzhou railway station is the center for Chinese and Vietnamese cosmetics. Brands like SK-ii and Lancome and products like masks and essence can all be easily replicated. Baiyun market, as many of you may know, is the hub for fake bags and cloths, Mr. Hou (a famous stand-up comedian in China) visited Baiyun market lately, bought some apparently fake products, and was exposed online, but you can still find products of high quality there.
Back to topic, I, as a replica maker, can tell you directly that mostly all the replicas now are from the market located at the west railway station of Guangzhou and that about 70% of the needs in the global watch replica market are met here. You can find here low-quality stuff, high-end replicas, and those so-called swiss manufactured products that fooled many people. I am not only a seller here at the west station, but also a manufacturer, which means that I have my own factory. As many of you said, I should be called a maker.
Translation: There is no need for you to consult the history of Chinese replica-making. There is a repeated urban legend that in 1958 the Chinese government imported 100,000 machines to make watches and many of which ended up in rep industry. This statement is baseless and nonsensical. The best watchmakers in China are Seagull, Beijing, and Shanghai as they are protected by copyrights and supported by the government to some extent. The best high-end Chinese brand now is Fiyta as you can find this brand in Basel exhibition every year. The replica makers spread these type of urban legends simply in order to mystify their business and ask for more money from the buyer's wallet. I guess the government's actions can impact the whole watchmaking industy in China, but not much on the rep industry as it is but a small branch of the whole thing.
The major factories that you can find online are not really there as they don't have their own factories. Some may buy some pre-owned genuine watches and replicate them with the help of many manufacturers, and the hands, cases, and straps are made by diverse manufacturers. They wanted to have one-step manufacturing but they actually can't. Many manufacturers don't do business with them. (he provided an example which I will not translate verbatim.) A friend of mine refused a large purchase order of Panerai straps placed by a maker. He refused because there is a risk of being caught and he as the owner of factory would forfeit much of his possession. The makers can only find some small workshops to work with instead of investing in manufacturing by themselves, why? because they don't want to get caught and sent to jail as well.
This industry is a mess as the insiders are all in a pool of muddy water. Many sellers are selling low-end reps at the price of high-end ones. Local Chinese are especially price-sensitive. If someone sells a Rolex sub at 3000 yuan and the other is claiming to sell the same product at 1500 yuan. The buyer would choose the one at 1500 yuan without hesitation, without knowing that he has been fooled and have lost 1400 yuan as the one sold to him was a very low-end one.
To be continued.
There are many pics and I am gonna post six (6) of them in two (2) posts in this thread and provide translation by myself. Be patient guys as I am providing service for free and I usually get paid for part-time translation lol
Translation: This is my first time posting thread in this forum. I will fix what is improper and the admins hopefully don't ban me from this forum (this is a Chinese sports forum mainly discussing basketball and soccer.)
In the last a fews days I saw some posts about watches, gens and reps, on our forum. For it has been the 7th year from the day I entered this industry, I am motivated to inform you of something, primarily about replicas. I proposed objections in someone else's thread and was criticized harshly with a bunch of ignorant people sending me private messages saying that I was dead wrong about replicas, so I am writing to say that I have been in this industry for very long and I know this industry in details. People nowadays are admired merely for copying contents from other sources, while they are quite uneducated about the industry per se.
Originally, I was trained as a watchsmith and I amassed some capital working as a watchsmith. I fixed and serviced a variety of different brands, including the high-end ones such as Patek and AP. My father and I both worked as watchsmiths for decades in DongGuan city (a city in Guangdong province, near Guangzhou). I used the capital that I amassed to start a business in watch parts. The watches that we wear are like cars in that we can swap in new parts in case some parts are broken. If the original parts are acceptable, we fix them. If the original parts are not working anymore, we swap in new ones. Selling watch parts is a fun and stimulating business, far more interesting and lucrative than working as a watchsmith. However, I soon found out that many watch parts sellers are indeed smugglers, and the reason for them being smugglers is obvious. After that I shifted direction to watch making, or watch assembly. You know, Guangdong province, unlike many other provinces in mainland China, which have more strict laws and regulations governing copyright products, is the heaven for fake stuff for a reason. Guangdong as a whole for all kinds of replicas as long as there is a specific request. The sellers can obtain and sell anything at a relatively cheap price. The garages near Huangjiang (a place in Guangzhou city famous for car smugglers in the 2000s, raided hard afterwards) can easily convince car-owners with their aftermarket (fake indeed) parts. The Meibo plaza near Guangzhou railway station is the center for Chinese and Vietnamese cosmetics. Brands like SK-ii and Lancome and products like masks and essence can all be easily replicated. Baiyun market, as many of you may know, is the hub for fake bags and cloths, Mr. Hou (a famous stand-up comedian in China) visited Baiyun market lately, bought some apparently fake products, and was exposed online, but you can still find products of high quality there.
Back to topic, I, as a replica maker, can tell you directly that mostly all the replicas now are from the market located at the west railway station of Guangzhou and that about 70% of the needs in the global watch replica market are met here. You can find here low-quality stuff, high-end replicas, and those so-called swiss manufactured products that fooled many people. I am not only a seller here at the west station, but also a manufacturer, which means that I have my own factory. As many of you said, I should be called a maker.
Translation: There is no need for you to consult the history of Chinese replica-making. There is a repeated urban legend that in 1958 the Chinese government imported 100,000 machines to make watches and many of which ended up in rep industry. This statement is baseless and nonsensical. The best watchmakers in China are Seagull, Beijing, and Shanghai as they are protected by copyrights and supported by the government to some extent. The best high-end Chinese brand now is Fiyta as you can find this brand in Basel exhibition every year. The replica makers spread these type of urban legends simply in order to mystify their business and ask for more money from the buyer's wallet. I guess the government's actions can impact the whole watchmaking industy in China, but not much on the rep industry as it is but a small branch of the whole thing.
The major factories that you can find online are not really there as they don't have their own factories. Some may buy some pre-owned genuine watches and replicate them with the help of many manufacturers, and the hands, cases, and straps are made by diverse manufacturers. They wanted to have one-step manufacturing but they actually can't. Many manufacturers don't do business with them. (he provided an example which I will not translate verbatim.) A friend of mine refused a large purchase order of Panerai straps placed by a maker. He refused because there is a risk of being caught and he as the owner of factory would forfeit much of his possession. The makers can only find some small workshops to work with instead of investing in manufacturing by themselves, why? because they don't want to get caught and sent to jail as well.
This industry is a mess as the insiders are all in a pool of muddy water. Many sellers are selling low-end reps at the price of high-end ones. Local Chinese are especially price-sensitive. If someone sells a Rolex sub at 3000 yuan and the other is claiming to sell the same product at 1500 yuan. The buyer would choose the one at 1500 yuan without hesitation, without knowing that he has been fooled and have lost 1400 yuan as the one sold to him was a very low-end one.
To be continued.
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