This Review/Post is aimed at people like me who are new to the rep world and are looking for confirmation of exactly how the transaction went. I am sure for a fair few of you who have bought many replicas over the years will know the score by now but please remember there are many lurkers like I was who want reassurance that when they buy for the first time they can do so happily knowing how it should go all being well.
I have always had an interest in watches and have owned a few nice Seiko and Citizen watches over the years with the higher end options being well out of my price range. I also have been intrigued with the rep world and was never really interested in these £50 rep watches that that you see on market stalls etc. I started looking into higher end reps a few years back when I joined the forum and have read few a fair few threads over the years with the do’s and don’ts of the rep world.
My favourite high end watch brands are Tag Heuer and Omega. Both of these are in the sort of price range where a higher end rep could easily pass as genuine to the normal person due to them ranging in price from £600 upwards. Let me just say that I have not bought a watch to go around telling everyone its real, it is more a case of more people will let it pass than if I rocked up wearing a Richard Mille wondering where I got £50,000 for a watch!
The order process:
I decided to purchase my first replica just before Christmas. I did my research and went with Andrew from Trusty Time. I purchased a Tag Heuer 45mm Caliber 01 Stainless Stell Skeleton which is also supplied with a black diver’s strap. I ordered on the 18[SUP]th[/SUP] Dec and the payment was confirmed by Andrew the same day. On the 20[SUP]th[/SUP] Dec the QC photos were supplied to me. The photos were very clear and the photos also showed my order number with the watch showing that this was going to be my watch if I gave Andrew the green light to proceed. I had done my research on what to look out for with the watch in the QC pics and to be fair the watch looked perfect, I could not see any issues so I gave Andrew the green light the same day. On the 22[SUP]nd[/SUP] Dec I received the tracking number from Andrew and later that day the tracking went live although he said it may take a few days before the tracking goes live. Within no time the watch arrived in the UK which is pretty impressive due to all of the delays with Covid and also that it was over the festive period. The watch arrived at my house delivered by Royal Mail on the 4[SUP]th[/SUP] of January.
Packaging:
I have to say that Andrew went above and beyond to get the watch to me in the condition that he packed it in. The watch came packed in an outer sturdy brown box and inside was an exact sized sealed polystyrene box. On opening this inner box, the watch was wrapped inside bubble wrap which had a pocket which the watch was located in to help further protect it from movement whilst it was in transit. The watch was then inside another clear bag and the second strap was also in its own bag. Taking the watch out of the clear bag i notcied that the watch strap was also wrapped in a clear wrap to protect it from scratching and there was also a protector on the watch face and the back plate along with a strip of foam on the inner bracelet to stop it coming into contact with the back of the watch. I can safely say that this watch could not have been packed any better for transit as I think you will agree from looking at my photos.
The Watch:
Onto the watch itself, Once I removed all the protective packing, I truly was blown away by the quality of the watch overall. I know this model has a couple of tells to the trained eye with the two small gold wheels which you can see through the watch face and also the slightly different centre wheel around the back compared to the original, I was fully aware of these before I purchased and they are that hard to see that I knew it would not bother me. I know for sure that none of my mates would think that this is not the real deal if any of them saw it. I have a few other nice genuine watches like my Citizen Aqualand Titanium Diver which I bought back in 2004 for £350 new back then and it is still pristine to this day. I have to say that the Quality of this watch is easily up there with it. The stainless-steel strap is faultless and the watch body also looks perfect to me. The double ar coated crystal is truly stunning and I am amazed that a bit of crystal/glass that is so think is not noticeable when viewing the watch in normal lighting. When the lights hit the watch face I was surprised at how much sparkle and reflection that you get coming back from the watch face hour markers along with the centre links on the watch bracelet. It really does stand out when it is on the wrist. The chronograph function works perfectly. The start and reset button make a bit of clunk when you activate them but I have seen many others that do this so I am presuming that this is normal with these type of reps. The movement seems to be accurate with time keeping. After taking it off at night and checking the following morning it was still to the exact minute when checking against my clock which I set it with. The crown is very smooth and setting time and or date feels really smooth with no issues. The automatic movement of the watch is fairly quiet. Yes if you have it off and you are shaking it then you will hear the wheel going round if you listen for it in a quiet environment but once it is on your wrist I cant say that I can hear any noise from it at when I wore it for a day. The watch itself is fairly weighty coming in at around 228grams but this was to be expected with a large stainless steel watch like this and I prefer a weighty watch on my wrist although it may bother some people. My wrist is 7 inches but I feel this 45mm watch fits me fine and the lugs do not overhang my wrist so I am glad that I went with the 45mm version over the smaller 43mm version. I only had to remove two links, One from each side so bear that in mind if you have very large arms/-wrists that if you get the stainless version like mine then you may need to source a few extra links so it will fit you.
Would I buy from Andrew at Trusty Time again?
Without a shadow of a doubt! I like to check things out before making purchases and this was even more of a case with this as it is a replica watch after all and for me it was not cheap either coming in at £397.20 including postage to me in the UK (Tag Heuer box in pics I bought elsewhere). If you are on the fence about buying a replica watch or are still not sure of a trusted dealer then I can fully recommend Andrew from Trusty Time for the following reasons. Very good price, Prompt response to my emails, High quality and prompt QC photos, Tracking number received quicky, Package arrived quickly to me in the UK. Packing: if all of his packing is like this for every watch that he supplies then you can rest assured that it will arrive with you safe and sound unless its been run over by a vehicle!
I for one am very happy that I made my first ever replica watch purchase with Andrew at Trusty Time and I see no reason why I would go elsewhere for my next purchase. Yes there is the odd TD where you might find the watch a bit cheaper but I was happier going with Andrew expecting the service that I received from him and I was not disappointed.
I now look forward to my next purchase with Andrew!
I have always had an interest in watches and have owned a few nice Seiko and Citizen watches over the years with the higher end options being well out of my price range. I also have been intrigued with the rep world and was never really interested in these £50 rep watches that that you see on market stalls etc. I started looking into higher end reps a few years back when I joined the forum and have read few a fair few threads over the years with the do’s and don’ts of the rep world.
My favourite high end watch brands are Tag Heuer and Omega. Both of these are in the sort of price range where a higher end rep could easily pass as genuine to the normal person due to them ranging in price from £600 upwards. Let me just say that I have not bought a watch to go around telling everyone its real, it is more a case of more people will let it pass than if I rocked up wearing a Richard Mille wondering where I got £50,000 for a watch!
The order process:
I decided to purchase my first replica just before Christmas. I did my research and went with Andrew from Trusty Time. I purchased a Tag Heuer 45mm Caliber 01 Stainless Stell Skeleton which is also supplied with a black diver’s strap. I ordered on the 18[SUP]th[/SUP] Dec and the payment was confirmed by Andrew the same day. On the 20[SUP]th[/SUP] Dec the QC photos were supplied to me. The photos were very clear and the photos also showed my order number with the watch showing that this was going to be my watch if I gave Andrew the green light to proceed. I had done my research on what to look out for with the watch in the QC pics and to be fair the watch looked perfect, I could not see any issues so I gave Andrew the green light the same day. On the 22[SUP]nd[/SUP] Dec I received the tracking number from Andrew and later that day the tracking went live although he said it may take a few days before the tracking goes live. Within no time the watch arrived in the UK which is pretty impressive due to all of the delays with Covid and also that it was over the festive period. The watch arrived at my house delivered by Royal Mail on the 4[SUP]th[/SUP] of January.
Packaging:
I have to say that Andrew went above and beyond to get the watch to me in the condition that he packed it in. The watch came packed in an outer sturdy brown box and inside was an exact sized sealed polystyrene box. On opening this inner box, the watch was wrapped inside bubble wrap which had a pocket which the watch was located in to help further protect it from movement whilst it was in transit. The watch was then inside another clear bag and the second strap was also in its own bag. Taking the watch out of the clear bag i notcied that the watch strap was also wrapped in a clear wrap to protect it from scratching and there was also a protector on the watch face and the back plate along with a strip of foam on the inner bracelet to stop it coming into contact with the back of the watch. I can safely say that this watch could not have been packed any better for transit as I think you will agree from looking at my photos.
The Watch:
Onto the watch itself, Once I removed all the protective packing, I truly was blown away by the quality of the watch overall. I know this model has a couple of tells to the trained eye with the two small gold wheels which you can see through the watch face and also the slightly different centre wheel around the back compared to the original, I was fully aware of these before I purchased and they are that hard to see that I knew it would not bother me. I know for sure that none of my mates would think that this is not the real deal if any of them saw it. I have a few other nice genuine watches like my Citizen Aqualand Titanium Diver which I bought back in 2004 for £350 new back then and it is still pristine to this day. I have to say that the Quality of this watch is easily up there with it. The stainless-steel strap is faultless and the watch body also looks perfect to me. The double ar coated crystal is truly stunning and I am amazed that a bit of crystal/glass that is so think is not noticeable when viewing the watch in normal lighting. When the lights hit the watch face I was surprised at how much sparkle and reflection that you get coming back from the watch face hour markers along with the centre links on the watch bracelet. It really does stand out when it is on the wrist. The chronograph function works perfectly. The start and reset button make a bit of clunk when you activate them but I have seen many others that do this so I am presuming that this is normal with these type of reps. The movement seems to be accurate with time keeping. After taking it off at night and checking the following morning it was still to the exact minute when checking against my clock which I set it with. The crown is very smooth and setting time and or date feels really smooth with no issues. The automatic movement of the watch is fairly quiet. Yes if you have it off and you are shaking it then you will hear the wheel going round if you listen for it in a quiet environment but once it is on your wrist I cant say that I can hear any noise from it at when I wore it for a day. The watch itself is fairly weighty coming in at around 228grams but this was to be expected with a large stainless steel watch like this and I prefer a weighty watch on my wrist although it may bother some people. My wrist is 7 inches but I feel this 45mm watch fits me fine and the lugs do not overhang my wrist so I am glad that I went with the 45mm version over the smaller 43mm version. I only had to remove two links, One from each side so bear that in mind if you have very large arms/-wrists that if you get the stainless version like mine then you may need to source a few extra links so it will fit you.
Would I buy from Andrew at Trusty Time again?
Without a shadow of a doubt! I like to check things out before making purchases and this was even more of a case with this as it is a replica watch after all and for me it was not cheap either coming in at £397.20 including postage to me in the UK (Tag Heuer box in pics I bought elsewhere). If you are on the fence about buying a replica watch or are still not sure of a trusted dealer then I can fully recommend Andrew from Trusty Time for the following reasons. Very good price, Prompt response to my emails, High quality and prompt QC photos, Tracking number received quicky, Package arrived quickly to me in the UK. Packing: if all of his packing is like this for every watch that he supplies then you can rest assured that it will arrive with you safe and sound unless its been run over by a vehicle!
I for one am very happy that I made my first ever replica watch purchase with Andrew at Trusty Time and I see no reason why I would go elsewhere for my next purchase. Yes there is the odd TD where you might find the watch a bit cheaper but I was happier going with Andrew expecting the service that I received from him and I was not disappointed.
I now look forward to my next purchase with Andrew!
Last edited:
