I've been in the replica game since the early 2000s, and I have to say—I really miss the golden days. Even though the quality wasn’t as refined back then, the variety was unbeatable. Factories were making everything—every exciting new release from brands big and small. You could find rare Panerais, fresh Blancpain models, and the coolest JLCs and IWCs. Now? The market feels stuck on an endless cycle of the same Submariners, Seamasters, and Breitlings. Don’t get me wrong, today’s replicas are better than ever in terms of quality, but watch collecting is about more than just three or four major brands. I’d love to see that creativity and diversity return—both for modern releases and vintage pieces. Here’s hoping we get back to that golden era of variety and excitement.
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I miss the golden days when we had cool replicas!!
- Thread starter santieceballos
- Start date
I don't miss my wrist turning green! 
I was buying and selling back in the 2000's, I don't know where your buying from, but since I got back into reps 18 months ago I have managed to get all sorts I'd never even seen before, OK, sometimes you have to go off the TD piste and buy a bit lower quality, but they can be improved drastically and fairly cheaply with a few minor upgrades, i.e. bezel alignments, better bracelets and straps, subdial freeze, regulation etc etc
Read this thread which we have discussed about your sentiments,
Rep scene aint the same no more
for introduction, I have been a member at RWI and repgeek since 2008 way back then i feel the rep scene was quite different than today from noob factory to h-fac to v6 and now clean, ARF etc etc id say we used to have more choices than we have now gone are the days where new panerais were...
forum.replica-watch.info
long story short, consolidation of the replica game means that unfortunately people who don't want Rolex, Patek, AP, are going to have a tough time,
However, it doesn't mean you won't find variety, there's lots of it, it's just not that well advertised/discussed here, and dealers simply don't want to source/have a harder time sourcing stuff,
You can find Breitling, JLC, IWC, Blancpain, Panerai models are still being released but maybe not to the same standard/variety, it's still all there, you just have to hunt.
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I agree, there seemed to be more options, I still lust for rarities from the early to mid 2010s, noob and hf panerai base models, franck mullers, some obscure breitlings etc...
But this may come back around, once vsf or clean reach a true god tier, where it makes no sense to add gen parts, they'll either be shut down or people will perhaps stop buying them as much? If they ever reach a true 1:1 AAA+++ that we all dream of, well, how many subs do you need at that point? When there's no sense in any more versions because they're "perfect". Personally think they'll be shut down before they ever get there but that may open the gate for a resurgence too.
Sadly, the Asian rep market wants the newest models, and they buy the most so from a factory's standpoint, why change?
Still for the life of me can't understand why "jkf" or "bp", who has never been "shut down" AFAIK, doesn't take some of that cold-hard shitter cash they've been banking for over what? 15+ years now? And upgrade to making vintage rolex that are spot on. It can't be that challenging to nail it. Then, they can charge twice as much while making Viet parts irrelevant.
But this may come back around, once vsf or clean reach a true god tier, where it makes no sense to add gen parts, they'll either be shut down or people will perhaps stop buying them as much? If they ever reach a true 1:1 AAA+++ that we all dream of, well, how many subs do you need at that point? When there's no sense in any more versions because they're "perfect". Personally think they'll be shut down before they ever get there but that may open the gate for a resurgence too.
Sadly, the Asian rep market wants the newest models, and they buy the most so from a factory's standpoint, why change?
Still for the life of me can't understand why "jkf" or "bp", who has never been "shut down" AFAIK, doesn't take some of that cold-hard shitter cash they've been banking for over what? 15+ years now? And upgrade to making vintage rolex that are spot on. It can't be that challenging to nail it. Then, they can charge twice as much while making Viet parts irrelevant.
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I have tried to buy from DHGate and I always get scammed so I try to stay within RWI’s trusted dealers.
I've had everything from no watch at all thru shitters to actually not bad at all and unavailable else where.
The latter category needs you to sometimes fettle, perhaps realign a bezel, swap a bracelet etc.
it takes a bit of money I think I punted around £500 at DHG before I learned which sellers were good, how to "read" the sellers and their photos, and now my strike rate is pretty good as I tend to stick with the same MO.
I am waiting on 2 more atm, will see if it's still same after CNY
The good thing is I was able to gift the shitters to my grandson, or sometimes salvage a few parts for them.
Obviously if the rep is available elsewhere i.e. RWI TD, then that's where I buy
Or never knowing what the correct time wasI don't miss my wrist turning green!
shyreplover
Renowned Member
- 12/6/06
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Aren't we all miss postings about rehaut, cannon pinion, bezel insert modding, crown guard reshaping. Rolex modders were the rockstars of the forum... the David Lee Roth of RWI
- 30/8/24
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I can definitely see where you’re coming from, and I agree that the variety in the replica market isn’t what it used to be. While today’s quality is far superior, there’s definitely less diversity beyond the usual Rolex, Omega, and AP releases. That said, I think a lot of the variety still exists—it’s just harder to find. Dealers don’t always advertise lesser-known brands as much, but with some digging, there are still unique pieces out there.
It’ll be interesting to see whether the market shifts again. If top-tier factories hit a ceiling with Rolex and Patek, there might be more incentive to expand into other brands. I’d love to see a return to more Panerai, JLC, and vintage options. Maybe demand will push things back in that direction.
Curious—are there any specific models you’ve been hunting for that have been tough to find?
It’ll be interesting to see whether the market shifts again. If top-tier factories hit a ceiling with Rolex and Patek, there might be more incentive to expand into other brands. I’d love to see a return to more Panerai, JLC, and vintage options. Maybe demand will push things back in that direction.
Curious—are there any specific models you’ve been hunting for that have been tough to find?
I just noticed you've been here since 2006, that's wild!
- 4/3/06
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Yes!! I miss a lot of things from the infancy ages of the rep fora. The original RWG, and before that RWCC which was long gone even before RWG.
I still have a Panerai with short cannon pinion. I also still have our original RWI watch that @enzo made.
