Little do I know, but part of how convincing a super rep is must be the entire package: the watch, the wearer, his outfit, his car, the occasion. If Brad Pit shows up at a party wearing a $100K watch, nobody would assume he's wearing a rep, even if he did, just to win a bet. If at a special event a person shows up in a Ferrari or Rolls, wearing a Patek at a charity dinner where a plate costs $2K, nobody would assume he's wearing a rep, even if he did.
I was once at Starbucks in Studio City, California, 20-some years ago if memory serves me, and a relatively young chap wearing bright red, suede Piloti driving shoes, but otherwise just worn blue jeans and a white T-shirt, had a diamond-crusted President on his wrist. I started wondering, but when he left and jumped into his F-50, I had no doubt that the watch was a gen.
I wonder who buys a Patek Philippe. Don't get me wrong, I think a Calatrava is the perfect watch at a black tie event, but my net worth would have to be at least in the mid 7-figures to buy one. Differently stated, I could not pull this off, and anyone who knows me and knows who I am would know for certain that if I wear a Patek, it ain't real. That's why I don't buy one as a rep either.
That also means that someone who can afford a Patek, could wear a super rep and nobody would assume it's not the real thing. That gives those folks a lot of freedom, peace of mind (that something might happen to the watch), and more money to invest.
If I may take it even a step further, assume the reppers had twice or three times the budget, and could really build the perfect clone to the gen, meaning, you look at two identical watches, but one costs $1,500 and the other one $100,000, where is the justification to buy a gen?