Asian or Swiss??

[shamas]

Hi,

Im new to the whole replica scene, and have seen that many watches seem to have either asian or swiss movements. I have never had any experience with swiss movements, but the general concensus is that they are better.

However, I am on a tight budget and the swiss seem to cost about $100 more, for essentially the same watch.

So my question is:

Why is it worth paying about $100 more for a swiss movement, and what are the overall benefits of doing so?



Thank you

 

[takashi]

It really depends on which type of movement. I am assuming that you are referring to ETA2824/2836 vs Asian movement. Well... it really depends to your liking and budget. Usually parts are more available for ETA movements and swapping genuine parts may be easier if you are working on ETA movement (due to hand sizes, date wheel alignment, dial alignment).

However, there is currently Asian clone of ETA, powering a few reps such as River's 99USD Sub and VIP Mariner (newer one). This beats at the same rate as real ETA and most parts are swappable. Major drawbacks of most Asian movement is it has slower beat rate than the genuine ETA movement thus creating the appearance of jerky second hand movement (if any).

 

[shamas]

Thanks for the info when it comes to numbers im just like

In short, if looking as a rep as a seroious investment, to last a long time, untill the original is purchased, I take it a swiss movement is the best to go for despite the extra cost involved?

Sorry for sounding ignorant, but is it legal for jewellers to work on high quality replicas??

 

[Klink]

as investment.. no

as happy camper with nice watch in years to come.. maybe eta...

at this point in time, there are asian movements that are doing qquite well after a number of years..

peace of mind.. well, ok.. eta.. but with a caution that they also need periodic servicing..

reps cost so little compared to gens, imo, that to go for eta is not a bad idea.. and if on a budget?

well, then asian also not a bad idea.. lol

apples/oranges..

Life is Good!

Klink

 

[evilgenius88]

Sorry for sounding ignorant, but is it legal for jewellers to work on high quality replicas??

If you live anywhere near the free world (as in North America, EU and so forth), it's NOT ILLEGAL to own a replica. What's illegal is selling them and importing them into a country. And as far as I know, there is no law that specifies what a jeweller might work on or not. So it is legal for jewellers to work on high (and low) quality reps.

But, and here's the bad part, most places that repair / maintain automatic watches are also those who sell them. And you can guess that someone selling Rolex, Omega or IWC is an Authorised Dealer for that brand and wouldn't touch a replica, because the replicas hurt their own business and of course because of the risk of losing their dealership authorisation.

Can they confiscate your watch if they find out it's fake? Nope, they don't have any legal right to. Can they call the cops on you? No, as it's not illegal to own a replica. Will they work on it? 99,9% authorised dealers won't.

What you need is to find someone who has the skills and tools to repair and maintain automatic watches, but isn't an AD and doesn't have any problems with working on a replica. Usually a low-profile, old school watchshmith guy. The good part is that these are usually (a lot) cheaper than AD's for the same quality work.

 

[Klink]

watchsmith was until some time back considered a dying art...

watchmaker schools are now booming...

funny thing, that.. mechanical movements and buggy whips..

watches as luxury 'snob' items beat horse drawn carriages to the bone!

lol

it only gets better!

K

 

[amptor]

I like how there's a grey area between reps and gens and then a grey area between swiss reps and asian reps 8)
anyway I prefer the ETA now but the price makes me wonder a lot lately, since there's so many watches I want and I try to limit my budget on each hobby that I have. personally, I'd say that you should get an ETA if you don't buy lots of watches but if you want to buy a lot of watches and have a limited budget, you might want to look into asian but be careful because in the past a lot of times reps with asian movements didn't have as good of quality of case parts and even dials as swiss. these days there's more asian watches with the same exact case/dial/bracelet as the ETA model of the same watch. it just really depends on what watch you are buying. and yes I'd agree that some asian don't sweep well, but some on rwg will tell you that you can service your new asian auto and get it to work as well as an ETA.

 

[Klink]

hard call...

because of? quality control and the actual movement, combined..

for me, not a problem ever with asian movement.. including old 7750 movements..

run of luck? dunno

for sure is that lately i have not trusted what is called ETA... is really eta, is copy eta, is junk or is good?

ZaggyZamba once says no eta copy could ever be made... now he is reviewing them..

tells me even expert dude has title of eggspurt, maybe, but what is behind 'dunno' 'can't be' 'ok, do view'

hmmmmmmmm

good lucky to all what gets any watchy.. my best watchy is ttk railmaser.. asian to bone, eggspurt time keeping...

of course, he did have service... lol

Life is Good!

Klink

 

[Cameron]

Has anybody ever got the same watch with different movements and ever compare them ? , was there any difference ?, i think somebody should try this... or maybe a dealer could just step into this topic :wink:

anyway, Asian movment has always been fine for me , with the 100$ you save you can get another watch :wink:

 

[andreww]

Cameron, check the other thread for some good info. The biggest problem is that the asian versions are usually inferior in other aspects (crystal, AR, dimensions, bracelet etc.)

 

[Roeod4]

Has anybody ever got the same watch with different movements and ever compare them ? , was there any difference ?, i think somebody should try this... or maybe a dealer could just step into this topic

I have Rolex subs with both Asian and Swiss movements. The Swiss is much more accurate than the Asian in many ways. However, the Asian actually keeps better time than the Swiss (go figure). As for the accuracy, I purchased the Asian before the noobmariner and the like were available.

If you live anywhere near the free world (as in North America, EU and so forth), it's NOT ILLEGAL to own a replica.

There are in fact some countries in the EU (France and Italy come to mind) where it is against the law to own a replica at all. People have been fined and jailed for doing so.

 

[The Chap In The Boot]

If you live anywhere near the free world (as in North America, EU and so forth), it's NOT ILLEGAL to own a replica.
There are in fact some countries in the EU (France and Italy come to mind) where it is against the law to own a replica at all. People have been fined and jailed for doing so.

Yes, though in Italy you've to be caught in the act of buying a replica when circumstances make clear the item is not genuine.
It usually happens to (foreign) tourists buying cheap replicas by street dealers. It's shameful because in almost all major italian cities there are squares and streets full of dealers of stolen or counterfeit items and nobody does anything about this. It's a rarely applied legislation.

 

[marcel]

I've found that my Swiss movements are more accurate than my Asian movements (and better finished too) but others seem to have the opposite experience. For me, right now, it is worth it to buy Swiss...

 

[fakemaster]

Asian

 

[Visioneer]

Should I buy from BlueFake? They have a Hamilton Maestro Swiss that I would love to have. I ordered it than found this site and found out they are on the scam list. Should I pay the $725 or pass?

 

[crick]

Should I buy from BlueFake? They have a Hamilton Maestro Swiss that I would love to have. I ordered it than found this site and found out they are on the scam list. Should I pay the $725 or pass?

DOOOD

PASSSSSS

725 IS A LOT. STOP THE PAYMENT!!!

reps range between 100 bux to 200 bux on avrg.

let alone bluefakes = scam site

 

[cybee]

Should I buy from BlueFake? They have a Hamilton Maestro Swiss that I would love to have. I ordered it than found this site and found out they are on the scam list. Should I pay the $725 or pass?

May want to steer clear of BlueFake...GoatDweller who is a member here has a really nice gen Hamilton Jazzmaster for $600.00, you should check it out or send him a PM since it's in the VIP section.


Klink said Zaggy Zamba :lol: Klink make cybee laugh.

 

[crick]

OOP didnt notice it was hammie.

why buy a rep hammie from bluefakes for 700?

 

[Visioneer]

Thanks guys I really appreciate you saving me the $725. I didn't exchange money with them as they wouldn't take my credit card. I will now look for a site approved way to purchase my Hammie as someone called it. Should I attempt to cancel the order or just let it go. Forums like this take ignorant shoppers like me and save us from overselves. Thanks!!!

 

[cybee]

Visioneer just to be on the safe side you may want to cancel the order...take your time and have much patience before buying to make sure you get just what you want, and welcome the Dark Side.