After browsing around for a few weeks, I would like to take the time to do the mandatory introductions before delving any deeper into the wealth of knowledge this place offers.
I first came to appreciate watches about a few years back, starting off with a gen limited edition 50th anniversary Seiko SRP455 Diver. It was the first proper automatic watch that I ever purchased with my own money and I wanted it to have some form of symbolic meaning to it, thus the limited edition version. It was beautiful(to me at least), and I couldn't stop staring at the lume, playing around with the bezels(first diver as well), learning how to set the day, date and time on it. Contrary to many others, even winding and setting the time brought about a certain type of joy in me.(this has now turned into a chore for me expectedly haha!)
It went without saying that I knew my next watch was going to be an automatic one. I was looking at gen swiss made brands towards the likes of Tissot which were within my budget at that time. I didn't have a dress watch then and was preferably looking for one. I wanted something minimalistic, never fancied complicated dials. That's when I stumbled upon the beautiful Tissot Le Locle in RG and a black dial. From the front it was nothing impressive, but what really got me sucked in was the semi open case back(?). It was beautiful. The stylish engravings and design of the case back was absolutely stunning. It was something that can only be appreciated by the wearer, which was what I look for in watches. Needless to say, I purchased it as my first dress watch.
These two watches rotated between each other as my daily beaters for a few years while I saved up the money and looked into something more pricey like a Rolex or Panerai. I don't take extreme care of my watches and wear them everywhere, I believe that watches are meant to be enjoyed and not babysitted. They have thankfully survived the years with only a small amount of hairline scratches. The biggest "injury" that I've obtained so far is a big scuff of the case on my Tissot(painful reminder of a drunk night).
As you have probably noticed, these watches have a sentimental value to me.
Now, how did I come about finding this forum? I have been randomly lurking around in other gen forums, just looking at what people had on their wrists, considering what my next purchase would be once I had saved up enough. To be completely honest, I never thought about buying a rep before, I even detested the thought of it. I felt that it was an insult to horology.
The time came when I had enough money to spend on a watch costing around 7-10k. I was eyeing the Rolex Sub-C. A classic watch that would never go out of style and it was daily beater material suited to match every outfit. That's when I came across someone on a gen forum who posted something along the lines of, "Seeing all these wrist shots of you guys wearing different expensive watches everyday makes me question the authenticity, especially after finding out of how close to gen some reps can be" then he subsequently suggested to google a certain TD. Somehow, that sparked my curiosity.
I googled, and what I saw shocked me. I couldn't believe the rep market was so sophisticated. I've been to Thailand, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and held all kinds of rep watches before. And the reps on the website looked nothing like those sold on the streets. This intrigued me and I started to dig a little deeper for reviews and whatnot and that's how I came across RWI.
The rest is history, and I felt like my soul was sold to the devil of horology. I began to see reps in a whole new light. The amount of effort being people put into making the perfect rep(TC) and the appreciation of the finer details of a watch through comparisons between reps and gens. I was intrigued by the abundance of information on the various watches which kept me searching and reading for weeks.
A week ago, I dropped my cash on a Rolex 166110 Noob V5(mainly due to the price drop), and already I have a list of other watches I'm planning to get. The TC LV, PAM 111N v4, IWC Portugese 7 Days and the list will go on for sure.
I rarely ever muster up the energy to pen my thoughts down in a public space, and this place has compelled me to do so.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this forum and providing me with weeks worth of reading material!
I first came to appreciate watches about a few years back, starting off with a gen limited edition 50th anniversary Seiko SRP455 Diver. It was the first proper automatic watch that I ever purchased with my own money and I wanted it to have some form of symbolic meaning to it, thus the limited edition version. It was beautiful(to me at least), and I couldn't stop staring at the lume, playing around with the bezels(first diver as well), learning how to set the day, date and time on it. Contrary to many others, even winding and setting the time brought about a certain type of joy in me.(this has now turned into a chore for me expectedly haha!)
It went without saying that I knew my next watch was going to be an automatic one. I was looking at gen swiss made brands towards the likes of Tissot which were within my budget at that time. I didn't have a dress watch then and was preferably looking for one. I wanted something minimalistic, never fancied complicated dials. That's when I stumbled upon the beautiful Tissot Le Locle in RG and a black dial. From the front it was nothing impressive, but what really got me sucked in was the semi open case back(?). It was beautiful. The stylish engravings and design of the case back was absolutely stunning. It was something that can only be appreciated by the wearer, which was what I look for in watches. Needless to say, I purchased it as my first dress watch.
These two watches rotated between each other as my daily beaters for a few years while I saved up the money and looked into something more pricey like a Rolex or Panerai. I don't take extreme care of my watches and wear them everywhere, I believe that watches are meant to be enjoyed and not babysitted. They have thankfully survived the years with only a small amount of hairline scratches. The biggest "injury" that I've obtained so far is a big scuff of the case on my Tissot(painful reminder of a drunk night).
As you have probably noticed, these watches have a sentimental value to me.
Now, how did I come about finding this forum? I have been randomly lurking around in other gen forums, just looking at what people had on their wrists, considering what my next purchase would be once I had saved up enough. To be completely honest, I never thought about buying a rep before, I even detested the thought of it. I felt that it was an insult to horology.
The time came when I had enough money to spend on a watch costing around 7-10k. I was eyeing the Rolex Sub-C. A classic watch that would never go out of style and it was daily beater material suited to match every outfit. That's when I came across someone on a gen forum who posted something along the lines of, "Seeing all these wrist shots of you guys wearing different expensive watches everyday makes me question the authenticity, especially after finding out of how close to gen some reps can be" then he subsequently suggested to google a certain TD. Somehow, that sparked my curiosity.
I googled, and what I saw shocked me. I couldn't believe the rep market was so sophisticated. I've been to Thailand, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and held all kinds of rep watches before. And the reps on the website looked nothing like those sold on the streets. This intrigued me and I started to dig a little deeper for reviews and whatnot and that's how I came across RWI.
The rest is history, and I felt like my soul was sold to the devil of horology. I began to see reps in a whole new light. The amount of effort being people put into making the perfect rep(TC) and the appreciation of the finer details of a watch through comparisons between reps and gens. I was intrigued by the abundance of information on the various watches which kept me searching and reading for weeks.
A week ago, I dropped my cash on a Rolex 166110 Noob V5(mainly due to the price drop), and already I have a list of other watches I'm planning to get. The TC LV, PAM 111N v4, IWC Portugese 7 Days and the list will go on for sure.
I rarely ever muster up the energy to pen my thoughts down in a public space, and this place has compelled me to do so.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this forum and providing me with weeks worth of reading material!
