Hello, I am taking this moment (or, considering my typing speed, about 30min) to introduce myself. As you can see, my screen name is Hasaf. For those who really have to know, my real mane is Robert.
I chose Hasaf several years ago and have used it as a screen name in several places. First, it is easy to type. Second, I saw it is being pretty neutral; in that it conveys little in the form of preformed opinions. Third, it is uncommon. While there are a few Hasafs’ wandering around the internet, there are not many. As far as real world Hasaf’s, thee is an airport in Yemen called Al Hasaf, and there was a famous teacher in c.1100CE.
As you can also see, I am in P.R. China. To answer the first, and reasonable, question; no, I am in no way related to the watch industry. I came here in 2006 (after being laid off) and taught until 2009. At that point I returned to The States in order to complete my MBA. After ding that I still was unable to secure employment; So, I returned to my college here to continue teaching.
I am in Xinyang, Henan. For some it might help to say that I am between Zhengzhou and Wuhan. For others, it may help to say that if you were to draw a Southward line form Beijing and a Westward line from Shanghai, I am at the intersect point. Still for others, it works best to say that I am in the middle of Eastern China.
I see there is an admonishment to talk about hobbies; for that, I will mention two. I enjoy bicycling and photography. Fortunately, they are two hobbies that can be easily combined by riding to places and taking pictures while there; or, in route.
Now for the issue that is the focus of this forum, being near and dear to all of us, replica watches. I recall that I purchased my first replica in Xian (the city famous for the Terra Cotta Army).
Due to my need for a watch I had recently purchased a GEN Citizen automatic. However, that had gotten me thinking about watches. So, on a trip to Xian that followed the purchase of my GEN, I went to the “fake shop†district just to browse, satisfy my curiosity, and, as I recall, get a new, “North Face,†jacket for my daughter.
I have to tell you, I was quite put off. I saw things with poor casting in the bodies and buttons that didn’t even function. Yes, they were probably capable of keeping time, considering that they appeared to have simple, quartz watch, guts; however, they missed on every point of style.
It was then that I learned that nearly all dealing of “good†fakes is done in backrooms. I was taken to look at the good inventory. In fact, some of it was not horrid. I will tell that I was quite put off by the size of many of the watches. I have a smaller wrist and I have no desire to wear a Frisbee sized disk on my arm unless I am using it as a buckler in some sort of medieval reenactment.
However, I did see a watch that I later came to realize was a replica of a Rolex Explorer that was of the size and relative lack of ornamenting that appealed to me. It was an automatic with a relatively smooth sweep. As I am sure you can guess, I purchased it (about 200 CNY, as I recall).
As an aside, on a trip to the states I gave it away. The son of a friend was leaving on a date while I was at his house visiting his father that summer, while in The States. He, the son in the story, made a crack, as he was on the way out, about how it would be great if he had a “cool Rolex†on this date. So, I took it off and tossed it to him saying, “Keep it.â€
For those who are wondering about the durability of a cheap clone, this kid worked in construction (his fathers HVAC company) every summer and has been wearing this cheap clone since the summer of 2009. According to his father, he wears it daily and it is still running fine (yes, he knows it is a fake; but, it still looks good).
This really has surprised me considering that I went through a series of Swiss Army watches, three of them. Not a one of them lasted a single year with my use. The fake I had given away was less expensive than any of those GENs’ and is proving significantly more durable.
Now at this point one might say, “Wait, full stop, you now no longer have a replica watch!†That is true, but, I did still have my GEN Citizen so I was fine for a while. At this point I actually had two Gen Citizens. I had discovered a need for a stopwatch in my class and purchased a chronograph Eco-Drive. It was a reasonably small watch, about 38mm with a relatively plain face. This watch has since been my daily wear watch for about three or four years.
During this time I had also done some generalized reading about replica watches and watches in general. I still found myself drawn to Rolex due to that being one of the few brands that has not jumped on the “oversized watch†fad along with having a selection of rather plain looking watches while still having a small splash of style.
I found myself back in Xian and found myself looking at a Rolex GMT clone. Quite simply, I liked it and purchased it for about 200-250 RMB. However, I never really liked it after I began wearing it. It was a little too big. I made this comment to a friend of mine and, soon after, the watch became his (I think you are seeing a trend here). At that point I discovered that, even though I considered the GMT family to be to big for me, they made good gifts.
As a result, the search for increasingly better looking GMT clones became a game of mine while visiting Xian and Shanghai. It reached the point that I was asked to come along when another American was going to look at watches.
While we were at the Beijing Pearl market, another big “fake†market, he started looking at “Chronograph style†watches and I stopped him. I showed him how the chronograph was supposed to function, using my Citizen as an example. The dealers saw that and immediately pulled out some watches that worked properly, interestingly to me, all of the samples that had working chronographs’ were fake Tags (and all far too big to interest me).
It was at this point that I started hitting the replica watch forums. I have learned quite a bit about the 7750 movement; which is what I expect is what I was looking at. I have done a bit of research and have found a watch, and replica, that meets my requirements. This is good because I am leaving on another trip that will have me visiting several cities with thriving markets soon.
I am going to be looking for a replica of the IWC Flieger Chronograph. If I don’t find one I like it is no big catastrophe. I may also get another Rolex Explorer clone, the early on; because I liked the size and style.
I posted this once, in another forum:
The general answer was, “it can not be done. Trust the trusted dealers and be done with it.â€
As I said, in that post, that is missing the point. There is a pleasure in the wandering, the looking, and the learning. So, what am I looking for in these forums?
I am looking for people interested in replica watched; both in the art of them and in tinkering on them. As far as the art, being a bit of a steampunker, I particularly enjoy the “vintagizing†postings. I spent many years as a copier and fax technician; so tinkering on gears, cogs, and the like does not scare me off; however, I do not have as many tools, here in China, as I normally do in, in The States.
I do want to place emphasis on the issue that I am largely interested in improving my skill in separating the wheat from the chaff while visiting the watch markets here in China.
I chose Hasaf several years ago and have used it as a screen name in several places. First, it is easy to type. Second, I saw it is being pretty neutral; in that it conveys little in the form of preformed opinions. Third, it is uncommon. While there are a few Hasafs’ wandering around the internet, there are not many. As far as real world Hasaf’s, thee is an airport in Yemen called Al Hasaf, and there was a famous teacher in c.1100CE.
As you can also see, I am in P.R. China. To answer the first, and reasonable, question; no, I am in no way related to the watch industry. I came here in 2006 (after being laid off) and taught until 2009. At that point I returned to The States in order to complete my MBA. After ding that I still was unable to secure employment; So, I returned to my college here to continue teaching.
I am in Xinyang, Henan. For some it might help to say that I am between Zhengzhou and Wuhan. For others, it may help to say that if you were to draw a Southward line form Beijing and a Westward line from Shanghai, I am at the intersect point. Still for others, it works best to say that I am in the middle of Eastern China.
I see there is an admonishment to talk about hobbies; for that, I will mention two. I enjoy bicycling and photography. Fortunately, they are two hobbies that can be easily combined by riding to places and taking pictures while there; or, in route.
Now for the issue that is the focus of this forum, being near and dear to all of us, replica watches. I recall that I purchased my first replica in Xian (the city famous for the Terra Cotta Army).
Due to my need for a watch I had recently purchased a GEN Citizen automatic. However, that had gotten me thinking about watches. So, on a trip to Xian that followed the purchase of my GEN, I went to the “fake shop†district just to browse, satisfy my curiosity, and, as I recall, get a new, “North Face,†jacket for my daughter.
I have to tell you, I was quite put off. I saw things with poor casting in the bodies and buttons that didn’t even function. Yes, they were probably capable of keeping time, considering that they appeared to have simple, quartz watch, guts; however, they missed on every point of style.
It was then that I learned that nearly all dealing of “good†fakes is done in backrooms. I was taken to look at the good inventory. In fact, some of it was not horrid. I will tell that I was quite put off by the size of many of the watches. I have a smaller wrist and I have no desire to wear a Frisbee sized disk on my arm unless I am using it as a buckler in some sort of medieval reenactment.
However, I did see a watch that I later came to realize was a replica of a Rolex Explorer that was of the size and relative lack of ornamenting that appealed to me. It was an automatic with a relatively smooth sweep. As I am sure you can guess, I purchased it (about 200 CNY, as I recall).
As an aside, on a trip to the states I gave it away. The son of a friend was leaving on a date while I was at his house visiting his father that summer, while in The States. He, the son in the story, made a crack, as he was on the way out, about how it would be great if he had a “cool Rolex†on this date. So, I took it off and tossed it to him saying, “Keep it.â€
For those who are wondering about the durability of a cheap clone, this kid worked in construction (his fathers HVAC company) every summer and has been wearing this cheap clone since the summer of 2009. According to his father, he wears it daily and it is still running fine (yes, he knows it is a fake; but, it still looks good).
This really has surprised me considering that I went through a series of Swiss Army watches, three of them. Not a one of them lasted a single year with my use. The fake I had given away was less expensive than any of those GENs’ and is proving significantly more durable.
Now at this point one might say, “Wait, full stop, you now no longer have a replica watch!†That is true, but, I did still have my GEN Citizen so I was fine for a while. At this point I actually had two Gen Citizens. I had discovered a need for a stopwatch in my class and purchased a chronograph Eco-Drive. It was a reasonably small watch, about 38mm with a relatively plain face. This watch has since been my daily wear watch for about three or four years.
During this time I had also done some generalized reading about replica watches and watches in general. I still found myself drawn to Rolex due to that being one of the few brands that has not jumped on the “oversized watch†fad along with having a selection of rather plain looking watches while still having a small splash of style.
I found myself back in Xian and found myself looking at a Rolex GMT clone. Quite simply, I liked it and purchased it for about 200-250 RMB. However, I never really liked it after I began wearing it. It was a little too big. I made this comment to a friend of mine and, soon after, the watch became his (I think you are seeing a trend here). At that point I discovered that, even though I considered the GMT family to be to big for me, they made good gifts.
As a result, the search for increasingly better looking GMT clones became a game of mine while visiting Xian and Shanghai. It reached the point that I was asked to come along when another American was going to look at watches.
While we were at the Beijing Pearl market, another big “fake†market, he started looking at “Chronograph style†watches and I stopped him. I showed him how the chronograph was supposed to function, using my Citizen as an example. The dealers saw that and immediately pulled out some watches that worked properly, interestingly to me, all of the samples that had working chronographs’ were fake Tags (and all far too big to interest me).
It was at this point that I started hitting the replica watch forums. I have learned quite a bit about the 7750 movement; which is what I expect is what I was looking at. I have done a bit of research and have found a watch, and replica, that meets my requirements. This is good because I am leaving on another trip that will have me visiting several cities with thriving markets soon.
I am going to be looking for a replica of the IWC Flieger Chronograph. If I don’t find one I like it is no big catastrophe. I may also get another Rolex Explorer clone, the early on; because I liked the size and style.
I posted this once, in another forum:
The general answer was, “it can not be done. Trust the trusted dealers and be done with it.â€
As I said, in that post, that is missing the point. There is a pleasure in the wandering, the looking, and the learning. So, what am I looking for in these forums?
I am looking for people interested in replica watched; both in the art of them and in tinkering on them. As far as the art, being a bit of a steampunker, I particularly enjoy the “vintagizing†postings. I spent many years as a copier and fax technician; so tinkering on gears, cogs, and the like does not scare me off; however, I do not have as many tools, here in China, as I normally do in, in The States.
I do want to place emphasis on the issue that I am largely interested in improving my skill in separating the wheat from the chaff while visiting the watch markets here in China.
