I wonder how many of us here can actually afford a gen pam if we wanted. I for one could afford just about any watch i want. Not to brag or anything I am just trying to explain why i dont buy a gen. I really love the pam but i dont buy a gen because i am hard on watches i actually wear them and wear them out. I just dont see the need to spend 5 grand on a watch and be scared to wear it. I also enjoy the challenge of the reps and enjoy them just as much as if they wrere the real thing. Does anyone else feel like me? Or am i just nuts? your thoughts appreciated.
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Who can afford a gen?
- Thread starter dawg
- Start date
I feel the same you do,Dawg, I have a gen Rolex GMT Master and it doesnt even get anymore wrist time-ever since I started buying my reps! :lol:
I'd rather spend my money on my 2yr old baby girl and save money to send her to a good college.
and have a little put aside for my rep addiction. 8)
I'd rather spend my money on my 2yr old baby girl and save money to send her to a good college.
and have a little put aside for my rep addiction. 8)
I had a pam - saw it at a jewelers in Walnut creek, feel in love and bought it as a gift for myself (just sold my startup to a large public company). I wore it for a couple weeks and then tried to change the strap; finding out that the threads were f'd and the strap couldn't be changed. I sent it back to the store, they returned it a month later with HUGE dings in case and bezel. It looked like they grabbed the watch with pliers. Sent back for a second time, it was gone for 2 months. Finally I called the store and said give me my money back. I have no clue what model that watch was. It was an automatic non-chrono solid caseback. I think it was about $4k.
Sorry for the long answer...
anyway - affording a gen? I guess that depends on what you mean. A lot of people buy things they can't afford... houses, cars, etc. I like to carry no debt so I probably live at a level lower than other people in my situation.
I can't imagine spending 10k for a watch. Maybe that's a magic number for me. $4k was ok, $10k seems too much.
Sorry for the long answer...
anyway - affording a gen? I guess that depends on what you mean. A lot of people buy things they can't afford... houses, cars, etc. I like to carry no debt so I probably live at a level lower than other people in my situation.
I can't imagine spending 10k for a watch. Maybe that's a magic number for me. $4k was ok, $10k seems too much.
FLIP954RR said:
I understand how you feel. I am not saying i dont have a love for watches by any means. I am just very picky. If i went out and bought a gen and i dingged it or scratches the crystal it would drive me nuts. I go nuts when i ding a rep. Maybe i am wrong but thats just the way i feel. I can enjoy any pam right here at the darkside and not worry about losing thousands.
zetterdawg said:
Hear Hear! ZDawg is spot on... Affordability is a matter of priorities.
Think of it this way: If one 4000 USD gen gives you more satisfaction than 4000 USD worth of reps, then get the gen.. kid ya not
On the other hand, I know some people who are really rough with their 6000 USD watch... can those guys afford it? apparently so.
I could not justify 10k USD for a single watch,
but some could justify a purchase of US$200,000 for a haute-horologie-type watch which they keep in their safe all the time :roll:
It's like the saying:
"If you have to ask, you can't afford it" :lol:
Very good words. I guess the answer is if you dont mind spending the money and you have no problem wearing the watch and dinging it and wearing it out then thats ok. Spending 200k on watch to put in your safe boggles the mind but i have seen these people. they never enjoy the watch because they are scared to wear it out for fear of being mugged or dinging the watch. I never understood that.
hmmm..rational as to why we don't buy gen watches..I think if a poll was taken might find that many here probably do have the real things...I wonder who on this forum has spent the most money for gen watch...then again who is going to fess up on that. :? Seems like there are quite a few who have spent $5,000 or under for watch. The hardest thing for me is deciding which one to buy. :? 
I don't think I would enjoy a gen any more than I would a rep.... pretty twisted huh?
I don't think I would enjoy a gen any more than I would a rep.... pretty twisted huh? Dawg, i am 100% with you....even if i could afford anything i wanted...i wouldnt buy the gen for crazy prices....
whats a Panerai....sweet design and a name in the business that has developed...but are prices justified....no fucking way....they have all the parts produced from different companies, the dials, hands....ETA movements that are upgraded and fine adjusted....no way i pay 4-8.000 USD for them.....just saw an ad from Tag again...with Tiger Woods on it wearing a Tag....why ? cause he get it for free PLUS a few millions...and who pays for that advertising...the stupid idiot customer that buys a quartz watch for 2000 Dolars...get it ?
who finances Audemars Piquet's sailing races...sure ....every mans dream....but they cost
MULTI....MULTI Millions...who pays for those...the stupid customer that craves the product! well....watches have an ideologic value....for those that are willing and able to cough up.....
i saw guys at Stanford Shopping center buying their high maintanance chicks Diamond- quartz crap watches with little bears and crap like that - just to keep them happy....for 15 grand.....well...they might make 25 - 40 grand a month....so who cares
my most expensive watch ( gen ) a 1896 IWC Portugese....marriage- handmade case....handmade movement...46mm.....cost me a total of approx...1300 USD. got heart and sould....and history.
thats impressing me !!
whats a Panerai....sweet design and a name in the business that has developed...but are prices justified....no fucking way....they have all the parts produced from different companies, the dials, hands....ETA movements that are upgraded and fine adjusted....no way i pay 4-8.000 USD for them.....just saw an ad from Tag again...with Tiger Woods on it wearing a Tag....why ? cause he get it for free PLUS a few millions...and who pays for that advertising...the stupid idiot customer that buys a quartz watch for 2000 Dolars...get it ?
who finances Audemars Piquet's sailing races...sure ....every mans dream....but they cost
MULTI....MULTI Millions...who pays for those...the stupid customer that craves the product! well....watches have an ideologic value....for those that are willing and able to cough up.....
i saw guys at Stanford Shopping center buying their high maintanance chicks Diamond- quartz crap watches with little bears and crap like that - just to keep them happy....for 15 grand.....well...they might make 25 - 40 grand a month....so who cares
my most expensive watch ( gen ) a 1896 IWC Portugese....marriage- handmade case....handmade movement...46mm.....cost me a total of approx...1300 USD. got heart and sould....and history.
thats impressing me !!
cybee said:hmmm..rational as to why we don't buy gen watches..I think if a poll was taken might find that many here probably do have the real things...I wonder who on this forum has spent the most money for gen watch...then again who is going to fess up on that. :? Seems like there are quite a few who have spent $5,000 or under for watch. The hardest thing for me is deciding which one to buy. :?
Good idea. I have added a poll. Lets see what people have spent on their gens.
I have had many gens in the $1-$3k range. Rolex Explorer II, several Omegas, several Breitlings...etc.
horologie_unitas said:
Exactlly!!! I would put me davidsen next to the gen anyday. Not to say its a perfect clone but its durabilty. The movement in my davidsen is wonderful and i look for it to last forever if i take care of it. thanks for your smart words they ring true to me.
ok, i must correct myself.....i might buy the one that i love the most...and where price / value ratio is somewhat ok.....talked to an ASIAN guy yesterday that had bought a gen Rolex Daytona....all proud he told me that the watch is gaining more and more value every year....thats what the dealer told him...so he considers it a statement of wealth, style ,,,and as an investment......didnt wanna ruin his excitement...
I would buy gens if I had the funds to do so. There is a certain satisfaction, not even to show other people, but to yourself. If you really appreciate watches, you don't buy gens just because somebody will comment nice watch.
I could but I'm relatively young and don't appreciate things as much as I should. I like new "toys". As I mature I will probably move in to gens more.
I think my problem is that I tend to agree with the over price argument. I do think the gens are way over priced and the watch does not justify the cost. Most are not solid gold you know. I think that most watch makers get their parts from the same manufacturers. I also think that most not all at the gen forum cant really afford the watches they have either. They either get a loan to buy or they spend money they have saved for something else. Then they have a smug attitude about it and look down on us. Maybe we are the smart ones after all.
i dont buy watches for others to comment...i buy them for myself.....
i had a guy once ask me what a huge watch i am wearing....and i showed it to him...took it of my wrist all proud.....so he could take a look at the movement...which he did....in all honesty....he said....the battery must not last long with all the huge sprockets in there..... I REST MY CASE !
ever since...i dont care for comments.....hardly ever meet people that know much about a good watch or appreciate it...i heared a lot...look at my 30 dollar LCD....tells me the time just as good....
so, i dont care about comments of others....
i had a guy once ask me what a huge watch i am wearing....and i showed it to him...took it of my wrist all proud.....so he could take a look at the movement...which he did....in all honesty....he said....the battery must not last long with all the huge sprockets in there..... I REST MY CASE !
ever since...i dont care for comments.....hardly ever meet people that know much about a good watch or appreciate it...i heared a lot...look at my 30 dollar LCD....tells me the time just as good....
so, i dont care about comments of others....
Right now, I could afford another gen, but I've got other priorities. An 18 month old tornado and another bun in the oven. :shock: Sure I could buy another gen, but it doesn't mean that much to me at the moment. If I was independently wealthy, I would NEVER buy a rep. I wouldn't knock those that do or look down my nose at them, but to me, there is nothing like strapping a gen on your wrist. You NEVER have to look around and think, "Do they know?".
As for my gen, it is a tool watch and I treat it as such. I wear it fishing, I wear is swimming, I wear it when I do wood working, I wear it when I cut the lawn, I wear it when I wash the car, I wear it almost always. I'm not afraid of dings and scratches - they really do add character. Not saying it doesn't hurt when you brush up against a concrete wall and get a little scuff, but after a few days - that has been forgotten. Each little ding and dent tells a story. When I send it back in for service each 3-5 years, they polish and brush it back to new and send it back looking like the day I bought it.
I was gung-ho with my purchases when I joined the rep community. I've since got two of my dream reps (Davidsen 005 & 113) and an Omega Speedmaster Moon watch that is being repaired by Trusty (and going to be sold up it's return). I sold my 183, I sold my IWC Inge. They didn't really do it for me and there is no sense in keeping them. I'm starting to stick $200-300 aside each time I get the urge to buy a rep, I am on a quest for another gen - a PAM 112. The only additional rep I see myself purchasing is a Vintage SD or Sub (likely a 1665 DRSD) and maybe a PAM 089Ti. Neither of those is a given.....
That's just me. I'm amazed at the quality of reps and how far they have come since the days of Canal Street or Chinatown reps. My Davidsen watches feel as solid as they come, beautiful works of art - he's a craftsman. Everything I purchased from Joshua or Andrew also were near perfect (the IWC Inge is just SICK!). The distance between the real deal and the reps is becoming more negligible each and every day, and I think that is a good thing. The gen manufacturers are gonna have to push innovation and design and we ALL benefit!
This is a good topic, I'm gonna enjoy reading the responses.
As for my gen, it is a tool watch and I treat it as such. I wear it fishing, I wear is swimming, I wear it when I do wood working, I wear it when I cut the lawn, I wear it when I wash the car, I wear it almost always. I'm not afraid of dings and scratches - they really do add character. Not saying it doesn't hurt when you brush up against a concrete wall and get a little scuff, but after a few days - that has been forgotten. Each little ding and dent tells a story. When I send it back in for service each 3-5 years, they polish and brush it back to new and send it back looking like the day I bought it.
I was gung-ho with my purchases when I joined the rep community. I've since got two of my dream reps (Davidsen 005 & 113) and an Omega Speedmaster Moon watch that is being repaired by Trusty (and going to be sold up it's return). I sold my 183, I sold my IWC Inge. They didn't really do it for me and there is no sense in keeping them. I'm starting to stick $200-300 aside each time I get the urge to buy a rep, I am on a quest for another gen - a PAM 112. The only additional rep I see myself purchasing is a Vintage SD or Sub (likely a 1665 DRSD) and maybe a PAM 089Ti. Neither of those is a given.....
That's just me. I'm amazed at the quality of reps and how far they have come since the days of Canal Street or Chinatown reps. My Davidsen watches feel as solid as they come, beautiful works of art - he's a craftsman. Everything I purchased from Joshua or Andrew also were near perfect (the IWC Inge is just SICK!). The distance between the real deal and the reps is becoming more negligible each and every day, and I think that is a good thing. The gen manufacturers are gonna have to push innovation and design and we ALL benefit!
This is a good topic, I'm gonna enjoy reading the responses.
Dawg
- i am in the same boat with you....do the math...i once won a Porsche P10 quartz chrono from Playboy germany.....value 2500 Deutschmarks back then. ok, sure nicely made....steel case back, real safire crystal, ETA quartz movement....latex band.....what doe it cost to produce the watch...let it be 250 !!
mark it up 1000 %....and sell it to exclusive customers.
you know what i did ? sold it ! got me a very nice Omega seamaster with swiss ETA 2824...that was years ago...and i still have the Omega rep running very fine....cost me 120 marks back then.
makes sense ?
- i am in the same boat with you....do the math...i once won a Porsche P10 quartz chrono from Playboy germany.....value 2500 Deutschmarks back then. ok, sure nicely made....steel case back, real safire crystal, ETA quartz movement....latex band.....what doe it cost to produce the watch...let it be 250 !!
mark it up 1000 %....and sell it to exclusive customers.
you know what i did ? sold it ! got me a very nice Omega seamaster with swiss ETA 2824...that was years ago...and i still have the Omega rep running very fine....cost me 120 marks back then.
makes sense ?