This isn't the typical do you pass your reps off as gen thread we've had a million of those so let's not get into that rant. I'm curios to hear from those of you who do pass reps off as gen for whatever reason do you ever feel bad about it? I was pondering this the other day when I had a guy probably my age mid 20s who commented on my safari. He was wearing a sub and told me how he saved for a few years to get his dream watch a classic sub. I kinda felt bad cause he was amazed with my safari and it kinda felt like cheating I guess.
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Do you feel bad
- Thread starter Fiveostang
- Start date
I feel there is so much negativity directed towards our hobby that I always claim gen not to deceive but just cause I don't want that stigma people attach to it and I felt like an A hole to this guy roughly the same age as me who's idolized my watch and he has no idea that he's got a nicer piece than I do lol.
So I am not sure about other members here but I think most of us have a few gens in our collection as well. I wear my reps with the same enthusiasm as I do my gens. To me they are watches, cheaper than the gens but timepieces that took hours of work to replicate and look great. No one has asked me if they were gen or not they just assume that they are but had they I would tell them it's a very good replica of the real thing 
there is no joy in deceiving someone and credibility is something that is hard to get back when lost. I am also a lot older than you are so my friends and colleagues are probably less apt to ask/assume or even think about the possibility of them being rep's. Wearing a rep is nothing different from wearing a steinheart submariner or some of the other lower cost brands that make watches that remarkably resemble expensive gens. At least our gens have more detail and unfortunately they are usually more expensive than the invicta, steinheart's and all those entry level watches if that makes sense.
there is no joy in deceiving someone and credibility is something that is hard to get back when lost. I am also a lot older than you are so my friends and colleagues are probably less apt to ask/assume or even think about the possibility of them being rep's. Wearing a rep is nothing different from wearing a steinheart submariner or some of the other lower cost brands that make watches that remarkably resemble expensive gens. At least our gens have more detail and unfortunately they are usually more expensive than the invicta, steinheart's and all those entry level watches if that makes sense.Just an FYI there is nothing wrong with those brands they make a great, reliable product for the price. I myself have 2 JACQUES Le Mans watches (which I consider part of that category) So please if anyone has those do not take offense. I only used them as an example.
i have no problem passing my reps off as a gen to people. My lifestyle reflects that of a person that can afford these watches, that and the fact I dont wear my reps around people i know can spot them.
And unless you are really into horology and replicas itself, spotting a rep on someone's wrist is almost impossible (canal specials excluded) unless you are staring them down in a creepy way.
I purchased my first rep because I wanted to keep my gens in pristine and flawless condition. Yes, I’m that guy who parks my cars far back end of the parking lot to avoid scratches and dings. LOL… At first, these were considered as disposable but after few rep purchases, I started to want more in various offerings as the price was cheap and I couldn’t afford vast collection in gens. Then it turned into a hobby. I do wear my reps with enthusiasm as I do with my gens. I assume everyone I meet or knows me believes they are gens and never questioned it, only compliments. I usually keep it short with “thanks, I like it tooâ€. And no, I don’t feel bad.
I agree it's nearly impossible to tell on the wrist and I don't feel as though I'm deceiving people it's not to make them think I'm some big baller ass dude it's just the whole stigma that comes along with it. I'm not ashamed of owning my reps because I love them and I'm proud of them.
bobandshawn
Respected Member
I felt a little ashamed in the beginning. But based on my background in aircraft and machining I decided I could jump into this modding hobby with both feet. After all the study and tooling behind me, If anyone ever questions (and they never have) I simply tell them I buy parts from around the world and assemble them myself...saving thousands...mostly on the movement. I just try to be realistic and stay way from Richard Mille, Pateks, or Ap's.
B
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The majority of my watches are subtle/understated (Panerai excluded), so it's rare that anyone even mentions my watch. Even my sub draws very little attention, as it's an 114060. When someone does notice my watch, I will claim gen though (not that anyone has even asked if it's fake). I only buy watches that I would actually be able to afford. So as much as I love some pieces, like the ceramic Panerai, APs, and some Rolex models, I don't buy them. Some might think it's silly, but I couldn't walk out the door with a clear conscious knowing I have something that looks to be a 20 grand watch on. That's just me though
I don't tell people my watches are reps, just because of the bad PR that "fake" watches have with the general public. Some will find it very interesting that such high quality, accurate pieces can be made. There are many who find it repugnant though. Mostly thanks to them thinking that they are made with child labor, have criminal ties, and are made just for scammers. I don't have to energy to try to explain the rep culture. Luckily, hardly anyone even cares/notices what watch you're wearing.
It's interesting to see how everyone here feels about this.
I don't tell people my watches are reps, just because of the bad PR that "fake" watches have with the general public. Some will find it very interesting that such high quality, accurate pieces can be made. There are many who find it repugnant though. Mostly thanks to them thinking that they are made with child labor, have criminal ties, and are made just for scammers. I don't have to energy to try to explain the rep culture. Luckily, hardly anyone even cares/notices what watch you're wearing.
It's interesting to see how everyone here feels about this.
It's definitely an interesting topic.
I agree with the sentiment that there seems to be a lot of negativity surrounding "fake" watches, which makes me not really want to reveal all the details about the watch I'm wearing. My closest female friend has commented on a couple of my watches ("is that a new watch?" "nice watch" etc) and I felt no need to explain it wasn't genuine since she doesn't know much about watches, so I figure why bother. She's openly admitted she wears fake jewelry though ("fake" in her own words, but I think she just means cheap stuff like imitation jewels and w/e). If she asked if it were real I would've had no problem telling her, but I don't see the point otherwise.
One of my guy friends asked me if my Omega CrPO was real within a few seconds of noticing it. I took it off and gave it to him to look at and asked him what he thought. He knows I had a gen Omega Seamaster 300m, but he did know enough that the CrPO i was now wearing was a much more expensive model. He thought everything about it looked perfectly fine and couldn't tell, but he thought it was probably fake because he knew it was north of $5 grand and I don't really flash around my money like that. Of course I told him it was a replica and he was pretty impressed with it, but he's not really into reps. He does have a gen Bell & Ross and another high end Swiss that I forget.
I find it kind of funny it's a "fake" watch. Like it is in the sense that it's not a genuine model from the specific brand, but it's still a generally high quality watch made with quite the precision and detail and it operates very well to tell the time. But like people have been saying, there seems to be this negative image attached to them. I remember someone here posted a video of their beautiful TiPO from Youtube and I read in the comments people saying things like "fake! so fake, get a real one! fake always suck!" etc. etc. and it bothered me. The watch itself looks beautiful but since it's a replica, these armchair watch fanatics go crazy about disclaiming the watch.
I'd always prefer to have a gen if I could afford it, but being able to get so many reps for cheap prices makes it so fun to collect them. In the end I get my watches for myself to enjoy and wear, not to show off to other people or pass them off as gen. They're my watches and if no one ever asked me about them I'd be fine with that.
I agree with the sentiment that there seems to be a lot of negativity surrounding "fake" watches, which makes me not really want to reveal all the details about the watch I'm wearing. My closest female friend has commented on a couple of my watches ("is that a new watch?" "nice watch" etc) and I felt no need to explain it wasn't genuine since she doesn't know much about watches, so I figure why bother. She's openly admitted she wears fake jewelry though ("fake" in her own words, but I think she just means cheap stuff like imitation jewels and w/e). If she asked if it were real I would've had no problem telling her, but I don't see the point otherwise.
One of my guy friends asked me if my Omega CrPO was real within a few seconds of noticing it. I took it off and gave it to him to look at and asked him what he thought. He knows I had a gen Omega Seamaster 300m, but he did know enough that the CrPO i was now wearing was a much more expensive model. He thought everything about it looked perfectly fine and couldn't tell, but he thought it was probably fake because he knew it was north of $5 grand and I don't really flash around my money like that. Of course I told him it was a replica and he was pretty impressed with it, but he's not really into reps. He does have a gen Bell & Ross and another high end Swiss that I forget.
I find it kind of funny it's a "fake" watch. Like it is in the sense that it's not a genuine model from the specific brand, but it's still a generally high quality watch made with quite the precision and detail and it operates very well to tell the time. But like people have been saying, there seems to be this negative image attached to them. I remember someone here posted a video of their beautiful TiPO from Youtube and I read in the comments people saying things like "fake! so fake, get a real one! fake always suck!" etc. etc. and it bothered me. The watch itself looks beautiful but since it's a replica, these armchair watch fanatics go crazy about disclaiming the watch.
I'd always prefer to have a gen if I could afford it, but being able to get so many reps for cheap prices makes it so fun to collect them. In the end I get my watches for myself to enjoy and wear, not to show off to other people or pass them off as gen. They're my watches and if no one ever asked me about them I'd be fine with that.
New guy here. I figuer this is a cool topic so i thought id share. I first got into watches in 2013 while in afganistan with the us army. There were small shops called bazarrs that locals ran on our remote out posts to sell us stuff, mostly china junk,burned dvds,small electronics ect. One day i walked into one and seen the guy had a bunch of wrist watches and i looked threw a few and seen a fake rolex submariner. And when i mean fake in mean laughable bottom of the barrle junk.... So i bought it lol purly as a joke and wore it and flashed it around in good fun. A few of the guys picked up a couple other fakes and we luaghed and joked about them. I started to look into watches after that looking for something real. I settled on a few mid level watches and I bought them on amazon and i was so obsessed with makeing sure they were real it was rediculus i had to pull the backs check the movements look them up online ect. Ive always loved the submariner but i really can not justify spending thousands on a watch like that. I feel like the companies take advantage of there name and reputation to selfishly inflate there products. So one day i went to go buy some tools off a guy on craigslist and the guy had on a rolex explorer 2 in white. As im going to leave i said hey man nice watch he smiled he said thanks and he took it off and handed it to me and said here check it out. At the time i just knew the basics like the magnifyer is supposed to be 2.5 times mag. The makers are supposed to line up, the markings on the clasp the sweep ect i check it out for a few moments and hand it back to him and tell him yea man thats a nice rolex. He smiled and said oh its a fake i bought it for 350 off the internet. I was completly shocked! If he hadnt come clean i would have been sold. So i came to the realization afterthe fact that i had thought the guy had alot of money and just my whole attitude twords the guy after i had spotted it on his wrist before he had told me about it was different. So will i wear a replica watch and feel good about it? You bet! will i tell someone its a fake if they inquire? Maybe ill just hand it over and have them take a look at it like the craigslist guy did to me lol
- 19/4/12
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I can't speak for everybody...but people don't agonize over macro QC pics, covet TC and BK subs, spend $$$ above the cost of a watch to mod and franken because they are NOT trying to have people believe they are wearing a Gen.
Just my .02
Myself included by the way :innocent:
Just my .02
Myself included by the way :innocent:
BINGO....
I felt "bad" until I bought a GEN.....I don't feel bad about wearing reps at all now. I paid my entry fee.
And BTW REPS LED me to the GEN....If it were not for REPs I would not have purchased a GEN. I was not going to ask "who makes the best Sub?" I went out and bought the best Sub...The most replicated watch in the world....I f and when asked I want to and can say "Its the real thing" without the sheepish grin.
I wore only ever gens until I discovered this forum and I've never been asked about authenticity of anything I've worn. Unless it's a really bad rep I figure I'll never be called out because of my age and where I work. Let's face it, if you are young and work in mcdonalds and are rocking a Rolex everybody will suspect it's fake whether it is gen or not.
I think this is where the vintage world really shines. With vintage builds, you can proudly say that you sourced all of the parts and assembled it yourself, or with the help of trusted friends and modders around the world. What a great community this is, and I think a lot of people can relate to that. People build and restore cars, boats, guitars and other instruments, model trains or airplanes, you name it.
When you get into the actual building and tinkering, then it really becomes a hobby and you can honestly say to people that you built this. It is a such and such, built with some aftermarket and OEM spec parts. Just like building or restoring vintage cars or kit cars. Everyone thinks those are cool and are great conversation pieces, regardless of whether there are aftermarket parts on it or not. The fact that you sourced the parts and put it together is just plain cool! [emoji2] [emoji106]
When you get into the actual building and tinkering, then it really becomes a hobby and you can honestly say to people that you built this. It is a such and such, built with some aftermarket and OEM spec parts. Just like building or restoring vintage cars or kit cars. Everyone thinks those are cool and are great conversation pieces, regardless of whether there are aftermarket parts on it or not. The fact that you sourced the parts and put it together is just plain cool! [emoji2] [emoji106]