I have a Gen watch that had a starting price of $8K when it was new.
Honestly, I don't find myself ever wearing it. Maybe once a month when it's the turn in the rotation(but even then, it doesn't feel like a special day)
The reps are just too good these days. I can hold that $8K watch in one hand, and a $200 Pam Noob V3 in another...and I can't even really tell the difference in quality. They both have that hefty feel of an expensive watch, the glass has very similar AR(the noob is maybe a tiny iota worse), as a non-watch nerd, when I flip them over and look at the movement, they both look amazing. That's the thing, the superreps these days are so good that they can't even be spotted unless you either have 2 watches right next to each other, or if that person is allergic to pussy and the only thing they do with their time is memorize movements.
Like literally, if any of the superreps were their own company, and there was no gen to compare to, they could easily sell in that same price range based on the quality/attention to detail alone.
Now yes, I think it's important to have 1 gen, so you know what it feels like to actually wear a $8K watch on your wrist, so you know how it makes you feel, so that when you are wearing your rep you can get into the same mindset.
But if there is a super rep for a watch, no way in hell should you be getting a gen.
And as far as reliability is concerned. Sure the OEM is obviously more reliable. But you still need to service that watch, and for a Rolex, that's $500 every 4-5 years. Most reps these days will last more than that, and when they break, you can always use that $500 to buy yourself a new one(although we all know it'll be even less than that). And when you buy that new version 4-5 years down the line, it'll be a) more reliable b) even closer to gen c) it'll again be brand spanking new instead of full of scratches and dings.
3d printing is pretty much already here, within 5 years, they'll be able to make truly 1:1 replicas of these watches. Just look at how far the reps have come in the last few years.
So pretty much there are only a few cases where it actually makes sense to buy gen:
1. it has an intricate in-house movement, that's very obvious and impossible to copy. If you have to be a watch nerd with a magnifying glass just to spot the difference with the gen(omg that screw is 1mm too big...FAKE!), then just get the rep.
2. the cost of the "superrep" is just too much compared to the cost of the gen thing. Unless you are saving at least 90% of the cost compared to the gen, there is really no point.
3. you are a corrupt Chinese/Russian official and need a way to smuggle your money out of the country.
