I have owned many gens, at some point I owned more gens then the value of my house. From vintage 18038 to 15202 to 15300 to 116520, to BLRO. I can tell that my watch collection felt like a throphy house. However, they were mostly locked up in a safe and I just wore 1 favorite and switched with another one at times.
I have also owned reps, mostly franken or superclones. I must say that obviously if you have a large colleciton of gens, you never really look back at the reps, but I still did own a REP patek 5167 ZF, because I never felt comfortable paying 50K for 'rubber'. I don't know why. But it just didnt feel right. I wore this REP quiet alot even though I had so many gens to pick from. The reason was that I just liked the watch a lot more then some of my gens. Was I proud wearing it? Not really. But knowing I had quiet some gens and enough money in the bank to buy the real thing solved that issue for me. Also, I think now that I am older I tend to give a shit what other people think of me and I just wear whatever I want. REP or GEN. All good.
I think wether people feel difference between GEN and REP really depends on ones personality. Some people dont give a darn about what other people think of them and wear because they like it. Others wear because they want to get liked for wearing a nice watch, and then there is also a group which is somewhere in the middle, the people who like to be seen with a nice watch, but also appreciate the design of a watch.
Honestly, when I bought all those gens I was very fortunate, now I am less fortunate and I tend to lean more towards reps again. For me personally, the feeling when wearing it is the same with REP and GEN. I dont feel better wearing one or the other. The only time I really love my gens more then reps is when im sitting at the table, looking at my collection. Being proud about my collection. You can't say that with reps. But thats really the only moment.
Matter fact, when you are very fortunate, even the gen at some point get boring and you start to care less about its condition, you start swimming with it, being less careful, because you can always afford a repair or buy a new one. I guess the reason why i had so many gens is because i wanted something 'new', dopamine.. it gets boring fast believe me.
I think if you really want to enjoy a gen is when you worked for it very hard, but are not fortunate enough to buy 3-4 gens. You are proud of that 1 gen, any scratch matters.. your true trophy that you worked your ass off for.. That middle class group.. is usually the group that is most happy with their gen.
Now investment wise. Yes I bought most watches because I thought it was a good investment. Well let me tell you. Its not really. If you need to liquidate those assets you lose atleast 20% at a dealer. And you wont be able to sell a 30-50K watch as a private person easily. Trust me. And even if you can.. look at the market.. Most of my watches dropped in value after I purchased them, and then another 20% loss when liquidating them to a dealer. The only real good investments, as far as I know, are the more vintage daydates. Such as gold 18038/18238, those keep going up in value even tho the entire watch market (and entire economy) is going down. My 18038 went from 15k to 19k just this year alone. Can't say that about any other rolex sport model or AP.
Even my 15202, extra thin, I sold it to my dealer for 50K, and right now im following it in his website to see if he can sell it.. Hes been trying to sell it for 6 months now for 65K, which is REALLY cheap if you look at the market.. And still no buyers. No.. Watches in general are not a good investment at all. Only vintage pieces, that you buy for a very very sharp price, in good condition. But even then, if you wnt to liquidate it, your going to lose 20%. So if you would buy this as an investment, your first 2-3 years will not be profitable.
Hope this helps you guys
I have also owned reps, mostly franken or superclones. I must say that obviously if you have a large colleciton of gens, you never really look back at the reps, but I still did own a REP patek 5167 ZF, because I never felt comfortable paying 50K for 'rubber'. I don't know why. But it just didnt feel right. I wore this REP quiet alot even though I had so many gens to pick from. The reason was that I just liked the watch a lot more then some of my gens. Was I proud wearing it? Not really. But knowing I had quiet some gens and enough money in the bank to buy the real thing solved that issue for me. Also, I think now that I am older I tend to give a shit what other people think of me and I just wear whatever I want. REP or GEN. All good.
I think wether people feel difference between GEN and REP really depends on ones personality. Some people dont give a darn about what other people think of them and wear because they like it. Others wear because they want to get liked for wearing a nice watch, and then there is also a group which is somewhere in the middle, the people who like to be seen with a nice watch, but also appreciate the design of a watch.
Honestly, when I bought all those gens I was very fortunate, now I am less fortunate and I tend to lean more towards reps again. For me personally, the feeling when wearing it is the same with REP and GEN. I dont feel better wearing one or the other. The only time I really love my gens more then reps is when im sitting at the table, looking at my collection. Being proud about my collection. You can't say that with reps. But thats really the only moment.
Matter fact, when you are very fortunate, even the gen at some point get boring and you start to care less about its condition, you start swimming with it, being less careful, because you can always afford a repair or buy a new one. I guess the reason why i had so many gens is because i wanted something 'new', dopamine.. it gets boring fast believe me.
I think if you really want to enjoy a gen is when you worked for it very hard, but are not fortunate enough to buy 3-4 gens. You are proud of that 1 gen, any scratch matters.. your true trophy that you worked your ass off for.. That middle class group.. is usually the group that is most happy with their gen.
Now investment wise. Yes I bought most watches because I thought it was a good investment. Well let me tell you. Its not really. If you need to liquidate those assets you lose atleast 20% at a dealer. And you wont be able to sell a 30-50K watch as a private person easily. Trust me. And even if you can.. look at the market.. Most of my watches dropped in value after I purchased them, and then another 20% loss when liquidating them to a dealer. The only real good investments, as far as I know, are the more vintage daydates. Such as gold 18038/18238, those keep going up in value even tho the entire watch market (and entire economy) is going down. My 18038 went from 15k to 19k just this year alone. Can't say that about any other rolex sport model or AP.
Even my 15202, extra thin, I sold it to my dealer for 50K, and right now im following it in his website to see if he can sell it.. Hes been trying to sell it for 6 months now for 65K, which is REALLY cheap if you look at the market.. And still no buyers. No.. Watches in general are not a good investment at all. Only vintage pieces, that you buy for a very very sharp price, in good condition. But even then, if you wnt to liquidate it, your going to lose 20%. So if you would buy this as an investment, your first 2-3 years will not be profitable.
Hope this helps you guys
