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How good are the fakes getting?

sekoorbwerdna

You're Saying I Can Sell?
10/8/18
32
8
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England
Hi everybody,

I wanted to know everybody's thoughts on just how good these replica watches are getting? Are they getting so good now that it takes a real professional to be able to spot the difference? My friend has a replica submariner and it is so good and it really make me wonder about this.
 
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mari115

Put Some Respect On My Name
9/6/18
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Nearer than you think
NUFGh.jpg


my new daytona, it's your call ;)
 

theREALgoat

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14/8/14
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Pretty fucking good. Especially the Rolex models.
 

philwongnz

I'm Pretty Popular
27/1/14
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This is a very vague question in my opinion as it really depends which models you are talking about. Modern Rolex reps IMHO are not the best reps compared to say some APs and IWCs currently on offer. Take for example a Noob V9 Submariner (unmodded) if you look at the bezel font it is wrong, the bezel colour is wrong, the SEL is hit and missed. The ARF V2 Daytona, the pushers are too long, the lugs needs to be reshaped.

Also the term professional is a bit vague, do you meant a sales person? or a watch maker? Some sales person have no idea what to look for as they could be new and the pieces they looked at could be a franken.
 

The Rod

I'm Pretty Popular
15/10/17
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In terms of hard to distinguish from gen PAMs are still the best reps out there, followed closely by Omegas (thanks to the recent creation of the VSF clone movements) IWCs (also here thanks to the clones created by ZF and by the fact that several gen odels still use ETA/Sellita), and only then APs, Rolexes and some selected models of other brands.
 

Maron

Mythical Poster
16/2/15
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Canada
agreed ;) , but i modded it with ARF pieces, so it's still a rep, doesn't have any gen pieces, but has a 4130 movement and amazing externals

It counts as rep in my books


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Thatwatchguy

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You can't go past GF Breitlings (and HF) and V6F omegas with the clone movement.
 
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BarbossaBBN

Horology Curious
14/7/18
17
2
0
I think practice makes perfect... Was wisiting my watchsmith lately and he had some fantastic looking Rolex models for service. After all, for me these don't have to be perfect as 99% of people won't even notice the watch on your wrist.
 

60Steps

You're Saying I Can Sell?
7/11/18
30
1
8
Agree with the last comment No one is going to say take it off let's open it and have a look. I have 2 rolex subs and dssd. Slightly moded by TD here. Out of the box maybe there will be some imperfections but if you buy from a TD they specialize in correcting the imperfections to make it close to a gen for a 10th of the price
 

Time_Keeper

Horology Curious
4/1/19
21
13
0
To someone who doesn’t know every flaw of different versions of reps and isn’t holding a gen next to your rep I would say there’s almost no chance they would know it’s a rep.

I walked past my local Tudor AD yesterday, been itching for a titanium watch lately so was looking at the Pelagos. I don’t think I could justify buying the gen when the rep (to my eyes) looks identical.


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rj999

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20/10/13
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"How good are the fakes getting?"
So good that we call them replicas now and not fakes.
 
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Rx4Time

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To someone who doesn’t know every flaw of different versions of reps and isn’t holding a gen next to your rep I would say there’s almost no chance they would know it’s a rep.

I walked past my local Tudor AD yesterday, been itching for a titanium watch lately so was looking at the Pelagos. I don’t think I could justify buying the gen when the rep (to my eyes) looks identical.


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Some are scary close. Below are pictures of my genuine and replica pelagos. The tells are there but you really need to know the specific model to even know to look for them.

IMG_20180902_0954133effa34ebd7c4d01.jpg

IMG_20180902_09540803db5c071451c60b.jpg
 
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