I feel like this post has probably been made a million times before, but what was the first replica you ever bought (on purpose or accidentally)- and/or what are some of the cringe-iest/most obviously fake replicas you own/have seen? I just very recently got started getting into collecting watches, and my first ever dive into "replicas" was fresh into the glistening magic cesspool of DHGate and Aliexpress, where I think my first 'rollie' takes the cake for cringe-iest and most obviously fake- considering the price range.
A few months back, a wide eye oblivious me ordered what was supposed to be a replica two-tone yellow gold Rolex Submariner for about $50 from your favorite 'local' Chinese wholesale website, and two months later I received a beautifully mangled package containing a.... Datejust. So that's a good start. At this time, I still had no real knowledge about Rolexes, let alone any concept of what made a replica "good" vs. "bad", so I thought it was the coolest thing ever. However, one cursory google search shows that this piece of junk kinda exactly hits every single red flag claiming it to be a counterfeit. To be fair though, it actually doesn't look hideous on the wrist, at least from a distance. Still, $50 is absolutely insane for this watch; I've seen $10 flea market replicas that are higher quality. You win some, you lose some.
Glory Shot:
Here's a list of some of my favorite 'features'
So anyways, I'd love to see even cringier stuff! Luckily I will no longer have to wear this monstrosity, as I've ordered a Yellow Gold DayDate Presidential from Ryan in inTime. Hopefully the $200-250 price jump and increase in reputability will yield something a little higher quality.
A few months back, a wide eye oblivious me ordered what was supposed to be a replica two-tone yellow gold Rolex Submariner for about $50 from your favorite 'local' Chinese wholesale website, and two months later I received a beautifully mangled package containing a.... Datejust. So that's a good start. At this time, I still had no real knowledge about Rolexes, let alone any concept of what made a replica "good" vs. "bad", so I thought it was the coolest thing ever. However, one cursory google search shows that this piece of junk kinda exactly hits every single red flag claiming it to be a counterfeit. To be fair though, it actually doesn't look hideous on the wrist, at least from a distance. Still, $50 is absolutely insane for this watch; I've seen $10 flea market replicas that are higher quality. You win some, you lose some.
Glory Shot:
Here's a list of some of my favorite 'features'
- First off, the cyclops and date window are all kinds of f*cked up. It magnifies... maybe 1x. Probably more like 0.5x if we're being realistic. In addition, the window is completely misaligned with the date itself, and the text on the date is never aligned perfectly in the center. This is one of the most common mistakes in replicas though, so it's almost to be expected in a $50 watch.
- Next, (what I wouldn't expect in a $50 watch) is that IT'S GOT A GOD DAMN QUARTZ MOVEMENT. And it's LOUD. For $50 they could've at least slapped some $5 Chinese automatic movement in there smh. You can hear this "rolex" "tick tock" from about a mile and a half away. Nowadays, replica Rolexes literally have one job: to not go 'tick tock'. God damn. (Peep the second hand in the gif)
- Another mistake common place in cheap reps- the classic poetic "WINNER ROLEX 24 AD DAYTONA 1992. '038'" on the caseback (so beautiful). It baffles my mind that Chinese manufacturers still engrave this on the bottom, given that A: Rolex only ever put these on Daytonas, not Submariners and Datejusts, B. They also only did it on watches rewarded to the winning Daytona Driver, so very very few real Daytonas with these backs actually do exist, and C. all modern authentic Rolex watches have a clean bottom! Everybody knows that.
- Yet another beautiful display of China's attention to detail: the bracelet clasps. Absolutely no attempt at engraving, stamping, or printing anything on the back of the clasps was made. I'm honestly surprised they even bothered undergoing the effort of stamping the crown into the front end of it. Surprisingly, however, the actual mechanical crown on the side of the watch does have the a rolex crown engraving, too (albeit a little shoddy). At least they tried.
- Of course, if you haven't guessed by now, there is definitely no "RolexRolexRolex" or serial number engraved, etched, or even printed in the rehaut/inner bezel. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten a chance to whip out my 100x zoom illuminated jeweler opti-visor, but my educated guess is: no, there is no carefully laser micro-etched holographic crown in the "crystal" (again, let's be realistic- it's probably just plastic)
- One absolutely amazing trait of this watch is the genius "weight saving" technology in the links of Jubilee style bracelet (you'd think they'd want their replica heavier though... Also, the bracelet just overall feels awful and "chinsey"- heads up). You've heard of Shallow Ending Links, but have you heard of just Shallow Everything Links? It's like the the ~factory~ that made these just had hollow shells, tried stuffing them half way, and then just quit when they figured out they couldn't just fill the links with old scraps of aluminum foil.
So anyways, I'd love to see even cringier stuff! Luckily I will no longer have to wear this monstrosity, as I've ordered a Yellow Gold DayDate Presidential from Ryan in inTime. Hopefully the $200-250 price jump and increase in reputability will yield something a little higher quality.
