How reliable are super clone movements?

[wasup]

Was wondering, I recently read about people preferring to not order watches with rolex clone movements because if something goes wrong it's hard to fix.

I.e for a rolex submariner they prefer to order one with a 2824 instead of a 3135 movement as they can replace the 2824 with a swiss movement?

anyone have thoughts on the 4130 clone movement in a daytona? would kind of suck to buy a replica watch and have the movement fail and not being able to get it fixed/serviced for a low price

 

[Nono92]

Yes, clone are more difficult to service. But if there is a problem, you can order another movement. It would always be much less expensive than the gen

 

[p0pperini]

With regard to the comment above about clone movements being difficult to service, I'd say it's not so much they're difficult, it's that finding someone willing to do the work can be more problematic. Plenty of watchmakers and watch shops will refuse to touch a clone movement, so you may struggle. The best solution to this problem is learning to do it yourself (at least getting competent at being able to swap out a non-working movement for a replacement). But this takes practice and tools and a bit of manual dexterity, so isn't for everyone.

 

[WatchSmith.US]

Was wondering, I recently read about people preferring to not order watches with rolex clone movements because if something goes wrong it's hard to fix.

I.e for a rolex submariner they prefer to order one with a 2824 instead of a 3135 movement as they can replace the 2824 with a swiss movement?

anyone have thoughts on the 4130 clone movement in a daytona? would kind of suck to buy a replica watch and have the movement fail and not being able to get it fixed/serviced for a low price

You will not a a "low price" for servicing a 4130. They are complex movements with lots of parts and lots of time required to service them, and as far as I know, there are no aftermarket parts available for them, so you'll need gen replacements. 4130 are generally considered to be one of the best or THE best clone movement made, but sadly they are assembled in very dirty environments and not a clean watchmaker's workshop. Look carefully at the attached pics of one on my bench now and you will see dirt, skin, lint, and debris, not to mention rust in a few places. So be sure you know this going in. Hopefully you'll get a clean one that lasts forever, but there are no guarantees.

2824 is always a good choice because of their reliability, plenty of available parts, solid Swiss clone equivalents, and ease of repair. They are not a good choice if you choose to add genuine parts like dial, hands, etc.

 

[wasup]

You will not a a "low price" for servicing a 4130. They are complex movements with lots of parts and lots of time required to service them, and as far as I know, there are no aftermarket parts available for them, so you'll need gen replacements. 4130 are generally considered to be one of the best or THE best clone movement made, but sadly they are assembled in very dirty environments and not a clean watchmaker's workshop. Look carefully at the attached pics of one on my bench now and you will see dirt, skin, lint, and debris, not to mention rust in a few places. So be sure you know this going in. Hopefully you'll get a clean one that lasts forever, but there are no guarantees.

2824 is always a good choice because of their reliability, plenty of available parts, solid Swiss clone equivalents, and ease of repair. They are not a good choice if you choose to add genuine parts like dial, hands, etc.

which factory was this? that's kind of ridiculous if you bought a super clone for $500-$1000 and got all that stuff in your watch

 

[WatchSmith.US]

which factory was this? that's kind of ridiculous if you bought a super clone for $500-$1000 and got all that stuff in your watch

It's a customer's watch. I don't know what factory, but this is not uncommon. We see it all the time regardless of how much they paid for it.

 

[p0pperini]

which factory was this? that's kind of ridiculous if you bought a super clone for $500-$1000 and got all that stuff in your watch

Yeah… You do realise there’s a reason these “super clones” are $500 - $1000, and not $5000 - $10,000+..?

 

[TESLA760]

which factory was this? that's kind of ridiculous if you bought a super clone for $500-$1000 and got all that stuff in your watch

You're free to source a gen movement if you find this unacceptable.

 

[Prizon]

You're free to source a gen movement if you find this unacceptable.

agreed.

Reps, use it abuse it = stops working just throw it away and buy the newest model.

IMO

 

[wasup]

Yeah… You do realise there’s a reason these “super clones” are $500 - $1000, and not $5000 - $10,000+..?

a $10 watch from walmart wouldn't have stuff stuck in the movement lol

 

[CarpetRyd]

a $10 watch from walmart wouldn't have stuff stuck in the movement lol

Don’t think you’re going to find a $10 automatic chronograph at walmart...

 

[_JD_]

I think the golden rule is - never buy a replica if you cannot forget about this amount. Had many times a lot of 2824, one of them got broken, so I sold the watch as I don't know a watchsmith here who will be willing to fix it. A superclone movement means just a higher loss at the end. Also A7750 - have heard , that in case of emergency they are also hard to fix. But it's up to everybody to decide whether you want to take the risk or not. On the other hand there was a very good overview which GMT movement you should go for and which not and why. So as usual - every coin has two sides...

 

[eBoy]

which factory was this? that's kind of ridiculous if you bought a super clone for $500-$1000 and got all that stuff in your watch

I have the perfect solution for you!

Invest your $500-$1000 here instead:

www.tissot.com
www.seiko.com
www.hamiltonwatch.com
www.certina.com

They have great watches with clean movements that weren't assembled in an illegal sweat shop by untrained workers below minimum wage.

This recommendation is not tongue in cheek by any means, it's actual, seriously meant advice. Because you won't find happiness with replicas (they're called replicas, "super clone" is marketing speak reserved for our TDs) if a little bit of dirt in a Chinese rep movement shocks you, believe me.

 

[eBoy]

a $10 watch from walmart wouldn't have stuff stuck in the movement lol

 

[eBoy]

a $10 watch from walmart wouldn't have stuff stuck in the movement lol

I asked the horological oracle at ChatGPT and it says you're not a watch expert.

 

[NoInterview77]

I think the way to think about clone movement reliability is that there’s two big factors. 1 is who made it, like the VS3132 using better quality parts in general than the SH3132, and 2 is that basically nothing has any quality control. Toyota isn’t Toyota because they’re magically using -that much- better, longer lasting parts than other companies. It’s QC. Stuff gets pulled off the line if it doesn’t pass muster. With clone movements, there’s literally no QC. So you could do okay with something like a VS3132 because it uses decent parts to begin with, but there’s always a chance that it completely shits the bed because it was assembled like shit and no one pulled it off the line. It’s just a gamble no matter what. All you can do is hedge the gamble by getting movements that use better quality parts.

 

[wasup]

almart wouldn't hav

Don’t think you’re going to find a $10 automatic chronograph at walmart...

Who said anything about Walmart having a $10 automatic chronograph, I said there wouldn’t be a bunch of lint/hair inside a $10 Walmart watches movements

I’m surprised people think this is normal? Maybe I should just stay away from replicas.

People paying $500-$1000 for replicas and think it’s normal to have a bunch of stuff stuck inside the movement and say it’s a gamble whether the watch works or not

What kind of replicas and factories are you guys buying from? I’d like to know so I can stay far far away.

 

[wasup]

You’d think something like a watch, which main mechanism/purpose is its movement , wouldn’t have stuff stuck inside that, regardless if it was put together in a Chinese factory, or whatever factory.

It’s kind buying a bike with no wheels, what’s the point?

I can understand stuff in the dial, maybe bezels scratched, maybe the bracelet is dinged, not screwed properly etc but having stuff stuck in the movement makes no sense, that’s the whole point of the watch. Even more surprising people are saying this is to be expected. You guys really buy replicas expecting stuff to be stuck in the movements?

How do you go about handling that? Take it to a watchsmith and they just clean it up and it’s working? If that’s the case that’s fine.

 

[wasup]

I asked the horological oracle at ChatGPT and it says you're not a watch expert.

 

[seanizcool]

agreed.

Reps, use it abuse it = stops working just throw it away and buy the newest model.

IMO

That's the beauty of this hobby.

Also, I tend to prefer non-clone reps, only ever had issues with a miyota due to some faulty screw that literally broke vertically. But if anything ever goes wrong with these generic movements, can just buy another one and swap them out. I don't really care about the decoration on the bridges and stuff like that cause I'll never look at it while I'm wearing it.