Expectation on lifetime

[seanzorio]

I have been a watch collector for years. I have only had one gen that had issues shortly after buying. It was a BR03-92 which I've since sold off. All the others, even used pieces, have been rock solid reliable.

I have found the world of reps, and have purchased a bunch that were outside of the scope of what I was trying to spend on gens, including a fancy modded 5712. I wore it for just about a week and it stopped running. All the other (cheaper) ones I've purchased have been more reliable so far. I assume there is 0 implied warranty, and I am not sending this back to China. Just curious what everyone's experience has been with reliability. This was a PPF that broke, and the Clean/VSFs I've bought so far have been great.

 

[Hesekiel]

Generally speaking, replicas of luxury watches with Chinese copies of in-house movements are expensive to repair should something happen. For that very reason I prefer all of my watches, GEN and replicas, to be powered by an ETA, Sellita, Seiko, or Miyota movement, all of which are bread-and-butter for a watch maker.

BR03-92 replicas are powered by a Miyota. Old (GEN and replica) Panerais are powered by an ETA, and so are vintage Tudors. My GEN Squale has an ETA under the hood. I have a GEN Seiko Day-Date and a homage watch powered by a Seiko. I have an AP replica with a Miyota and another one with an Asian ETA. All of these watches are relatively easy to live with. If a movement acts up, servicing or replacing it won't break the bank.

I also own 3 rather exclusive G-Shocks, and all of them are solar powered so no service needed as long as I have time left on this planet. That's a big plus in my book.

 

[eBoy]

That's pretty much the one main difference between gen world and rep world which is the most important one to understand: One comes with legally backed retail warranties and other consumer protections and the other has no such thing, except for voluntary protections by TDs or limited backing from communities like RWI.

Counterfeit products will be more prone to malfunction and other failures, although when speaking about high-end reps, quality is generally on relatively high levels.

But even $100k gens break down sometimes. Mechanical movements are delicate... So it's just natural that once in a while a rep will crap on out on you. We've all been there...

 

[trustytime]

I have been a watch collector for years. I have only had one gen that had issues shortly after buying. It was a BR03-92 which I've since sold off. All the others, even used pieces, have been rock solid reliable.

I have found the world of reps, and have purchased a bunch that were outside of the scope of what I was trying to spend on gens, including a fancy modded 5712. I wore it for just about a week and it stopped running. All the other (cheaper) ones I've purchased have been more reliable so far. I assume there is 0 implied warranty, and I am not sending this back to China. Just curious what everyone's experience has been with reliability. This was a PPF that broke, and the Clean/VSFs I've bought so far have been great.

I had gotten many genuine watches and also faced issues with them breaking down within a year.

An AP 15202 I got had its crown stem broken and it took 9 months for AP to service and repair that.

Rolex also starts to charge servicing at quite exorbitant prices like almost 10% of the watch value.

Now, I still with less genuine watches and some nice replicas. lol

 

[wildrage]

I think the issue is - it's much more palatable to service a $10,000 gen for $500 compared to a $450 rep for $500. I suppose it would be easier to just buy a compatible Rep movement and just pop it in.

 

[Hesekiel]

I think the issue is - it's much more palatable to service a $10,000 gen for $500 compared to a $450 rep for $500. I suppose it would be easier to just buy a compatible Rep movement and just pop it in.

Sure.
But (1) you'll have a hard time getting another movement for some of the more unique reps, and (2) service of a GEN will cost easy $1,000+ these days, more if it's an AP.

 

[Karbon74]

also own 3 rather exclusive G-Shocks

This statement needs specs and pics

 

[wildrage]

Sure.
But (1) you'll have a hard time getting another movement for some of the more unique reps, and (2) service of a GEN will cost easy $1,000+ these days, more if it's an AP.

Even $1000 service on a $25,000 watch sounds like a deal to me every 5-10 years considering how much money one puts out. I plan on servicing my reps myself. Lots of videos online. If I screw them up I can either try and get another clone movement, or another watch all together. I wear my gens when I'm going out and I wear my reps when I'm out and about knocking around.