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Hublot's fight against replicas

Lelouch

I'm Pretty Popular
18/8/11
1,315
7
38
Here's an interesting video about how Hublot is fighting against reps:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcDR0keFLfI&feature=g-vrec"]Hublot Fights Counterfeiting at Baselworld 2009 - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INAFjgOXiTw&feature=endscreen"]Hublot uses WISeKey Smartcard technology to protect its brand - YouTube[/ame]
 

Strodda

Supporter 'smith
21/1/11
4,440
42
0
TX/USA
Nice idea as a way for owners to authenticate a genuine watch, but it doesnt matter for those of us who intentionally buy a rep.


Hell, I wouldnt be surprised if those smartcards are rep'd too.
 

Cee

Renowned Member
1/6/11
691
5
0
I'm sure these wisekeys will eventually be somehow faked and sold alongside the rep boxes too. Therefore it will still be hard for some to distinguish the real from the fake, unless they are actual geeks, like us.
 

STOOF

Getting To Know The Place
19/3/12
72
0
0
I dont see how me buying a $400 rep hurts the company, I would never spend 20k+ on a Gen so they're not losing out on a sale.

If anything, they're making out by me advertising them on my wrist! lol
 

lildaddym

Renowned Member
14/3/10
604
1
0
I dont see how me buying a $400 rep hurts the company, I would never spend 20k+ on a Gen so they're not losing out on a sale.

If anything, they're making out by me advertising them on my wrist! lol

Without a doubt... I would NEVER spend $20K on a blinking watch, even if I had the money! I have a hard time with $1,000...
 

Skeletor

Cunning Linguist
Supporter
Certified
2/2/10
1,119
1,022
113
CAD/USA
I would spend 20k on a watch if I could... but not a Hublot.

Keep fighting the good fight JCB, lol!
 

ichi

Active Member
25/4/12
287
0
0
I enjoy how they are trying to sell this as doing YOU a favour. Yes, gen Hublot owner, we have done YOU a favour by adding a new technology into our watches that let us identify fakes. By the way we will also be passing the cost of this addition onto you, the customer.

IMHO this only makes reps an even better idea.

Furthermore, imagine how easy it would be to pass off reps as gens by using the same tech. If a hacker was motivated enough to tamper with this wisekey app they could totally rig a fake one to say its real. People would rely on the outcome of the tech more than their eyes.
 

mbjoer

I'm Pretty Popular
17/3/09
1,104
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I enjoy how they are trying to sell this as doing YOU a favour. Yes, gen Hublot owner, we have done YOU a favour by adding a new technology into our watches that let us identify fakes. By the way we will also be passing the cost of this addition onto you, the customer.

IMHO this only makes reps an even better idea.

Furthermore, imagine how easy it would be to pass off reps as gens by using the same tech. If a hacker was motivated enough to tamper with this wisekey app they could totally rig a fake one to say its real. People would rely on the outcome of the tech more than their eyes.

Agree.

It is a statement of failure that Biever has to admit that Hublot is threatened because fakes can be as good as the gens. If the quality of the Gens was proportionate to the price they would not have the issue.

The card will for some time assist against reps being sold as gens, and that is good, even if temporary. But it will have no impact on reps sold as reps.

If the watch makers really want to fight repdom, they have to improve the quality and charge reasonable prices. But for now the business model they use is to focus on marketing instead and that leaves the field open to reps.

For now they are making big money as it is, so that will not change for a while.
 

sirhenrypoole

Getting To Know The Place
25/5/12
72
0
0
i'm sorry to say this but the chinese will just get better and better regardless whatever anti-counterfeiting technology they launch. I'm a hedge fund manager and I can tell you these figures openly:

Hublot 2011 revenue - around EUR 250 Million
2011 Counterfeit watch market value - almost USD 1 Billion

Assuming if 5% of the replica watch market are hublots, that's a whopping USD 50 Mill revenue. I rather own a Noob-factory than a Hublot factory. The supply chain for fakes is just so profitable compared to an authorised dealer who pays crazy rental fees and salaries at Bond Street London.
 

lildaddym

Renowned Member
14/3/10
604
1
0
My issue is that I would never spend that much money on a watch. They would never have my business, anyway! Now, back to your regularly scheduled topic...
 

TheBattler

Active Member
26/7/10
408
0
0
I understand the reasoning that rep owners have that basically says they'll never spend that kind of money on a watch, so they are not potential customers and therefore do not hurt the gen company.

However also take into account how much money these companies spend on brand image. Millions and millions. Some of us might not look out of place wearing these watches, but some among us do.

The unfortunate reality is that if you're an Auto Valet that parks cars for a living, you should not be wearing an Hublot or even a rep of one. I know that you might not care if someone knows it's a fake. But at the expense of sounding elitist, you are doing a disservice to a company that spends millions and employs many to protect an image.

I don't have a problem with you wearing that sort of watch off duty, but please be conscious of the appropriate time and place.
I'll leave it up to you to decide if that Rose Gold King Power looks good on you while you're parking my Dad's Caddy.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2
 

lildaddym

Renowned Member
14/3/10
604
1
0
... you are doing a disservice to a company that spends millions and employs many to protect an image. ... and this became my problem when? Yeah companies spend a ton of money for 'brand image,' but that's their prerogative, and a necessity, since most are 'for profit' companies ... they have to show one, and advertising and brand image allow that...

What you are saying, and by your own admission, it is 'elitist,' is that the people that have the money to buy a gen have the right to be 'elitist.' What if a millionaire that decides to park cars for a living, as you so succinctly observed? A watch of that caliber might be the only thing that give any clue as to his/her real status, and they should be, as anyone is, allowed to wear what they bought anywhere they want!


I understand the reasoning that rep owners have that basically says they'll never spend that kind of money on a watch, so they are not potential customers and therefore do not hurt the gen company.

However also take into account how much money these companies spend on brand image. Millions and millions. Some of us might not look out of place wearing these watches, but some among us do.

The unfortunate reality is that if you're an Auto Valet that parks cars for a living, you should not be wearing an Hublot or even a rep of one. I know that you might not care if someone knows it's a fake. But at the expense of sounding elitist, you are doing a disservice to a company that spends millions and employs many to protect an image.

I don't have a problem with you wearing that sort of watch off duty, but please be conscious of the appropriate time and place.
I'll leave it up to you to decide if that Rose Gold King Power looks good on you while you're parking my Dad's Caddy.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2
 

TheBattler

Active Member
26/7/10
408
0
0
...

What you are saying, and by your own admission, it is 'elitist,' is that the people that have the money to buy a gen have the right to be 'elitist.' What if a millionaire that decides to park cars for a living, as you so succinctly observed? A watch of that caliber might be the only thing that give any clue as to his/her real status, and they should be, as anyone is, allowed to wear what they bought anywhere they want!


Why you resort to pety semantics is beyond me.

Obviously a millionaire would not park cars for a living.

Obviously (barring a conflicting law) anyone is allowed to wear what they want.

In regards to your 1st claim, yes someone who has the financial capacity to spend a sum like $50,000 on a watch is entitled to feel elite. Because statistically speaking, they are.

In regards to your 2nd claim, why should you care about gen companies and what they do etc.

The answer is you should care about the Gen watch companies simply because they create the designs you so actively seek. If you did not admire them you would purchase any other watch. That simple. Why would you want to bring down a company that is simultaneously designing all your reps?

Clearly you don't care about the human element and companies that employ thousands but we all should.

Yet you should also care for other reasons because some of the said Gen watch companies are very powerful. Hence why we respectfully curtail our rep activities. Would you wear your Rep to an AD? What about the factory in Switzerland?

Overt rep activities can only hurt us and our dealers and then our available watches. Not to mention our wallets.

Take this into account when you clock in your overtime at your part time valet job.


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