IMHO if people here were billionaires, they probably would buy gens worth a few grand, and despise people who bought reps. We all are here cause we can't afford that much, or we might have been on watchuseek. Its like the 'grapes are sour' story. Yeah people here can afford gens maybe 4-5, but not as many as 20-30. Which is a normal number for reps. Just my thoughts. So yeah, if i had THAT much money, i would buy gens. People who say i wouldnt buy a gen for 10k when i can get 'almost' the same thing for 500, if u truly had 10k to spare, trust me, you would.
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Would you buy Gen if you could afford it?
- Thread starter jamie.swans
- Start date
If u have cash to spare, why browse and search for a version which has no tells and go through all the troubles of shipping and customs and get something thats 'almost perfect' when u can just walk over to a nearby AD, spend some spare cash and get one that is 'PERFECT'!
Okay, let´s calculate.
My Car is a Audi, got it for 35.000€. Needs Service every second year, big and small ones. The small ones are round about 200€, the big ones 800€. Makes 2200€ in 10 years and this are 6,3% service costs measured by the asset cost.
A 10.000 watch needs every 5 years a revision, says Rolex, makes 600€ each, makes 1200€, makes 12% of the asset cost.
So the service costs of a swatch are doppel as high as the ones of my car.
My Car is a Audi, got it for 35.000€. Needs Service every second year, big and small ones. The small ones are round about 200€, the big ones 800€. Makes 2200€ in 10 years and this are 6,3% service costs measured by the asset cost.
A 10.000 watch needs every 5 years a revision, says Rolex, makes 600€ each, makes 1200€, makes 12% of the asset cost.
So the service costs of a swatch are doppel as high as the ones of my car.
Noob to this forum (wristwatcher on RG) but I would imagine there are plenty of people on here capable of buying +20k watches....yes, multiple. At least there definitely is on RG. Some if whom I know personally! Reps are just fun. And disposable! Throw a few gens in mix for special occasions (a wedding, anniversary, heirloom piece)....to me it's worth it!
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I like both gen and reps, right now I have more gens than reps. Cheapest Gen I own right now is 10K.
The more and more I like reps, I tend to get the gen version. I have modded some great reps but it usually turns me to buy the gen.
The more and more I like reps, I tend to get the gen version. I have modded some great reps but it usually turns me to buy the gen.
Us all being watch lovers brought us here together at RWI.
I think its fair to say none of us are buying watches to be a poser.
We are borderline obsessed with our timepieces and continue to want more. We have many things in common but yet we are all very different too. As we like the same watch for a multitude if different reasons. This gives us so much to talk about and it's fascinating. And so is this topic.
My collection counts over three dozen watches; some gen and many more reps. The cost ratio is $20k/$8k so that s a significant amount of money for anyone but from my perspective it's money I was able to put aside, save up for and plan my purchases without it effecting our lifestyle in any way at all. I can afford gens and have not felt guilty about it because I planned for it and discussed the purchase with my wife as this was important to me in supporting my pleasure of owning them. The same goes for reps btw. My wife asked me today; "Hey, don't you have any watches coming soon?" and I was happy to say that Seads shipment of two watches will be at the doorstep this Friday. Yay... Just saying she appreciates my excitement for my hobby. You see, I only have this hobby. I don't buy fancy cars, I don't smoke, our businesses do well and the bills are paid. This isn't everyone's situation among us at RWI but this is the seat of my perspective on budget for my hobby.
so now, wearing rep or gen is all a game in my head. Like one of you wrote before, I also like to know exactly everything about the gen watch that I'm buying the reppe version of because I want to appreciate it. It's almost like a kid playing with a model car imagining it being the real one just in its own mind. When I wear a gen watch it's also my own little secret. I'm not showing it off to anyone to see. It's a constant private pleasure in my own mind every day.
to support, educate and inform myself I have many books, magazine subscriptions, blogs and forums I read every day and I'm not even in the business - lol. I should! Aside from this I visit watchmakers, watch stores and enjoy discussions with likeminded people - like all if you here on RWI.
so in a nutshell for me: having both gens and reps makes total sense.
I think its fair to say none of us are buying watches to be a poser.
We are borderline obsessed with our timepieces and continue to want more. We have many things in common but yet we are all very different too. As we like the same watch for a multitude if different reasons. This gives us so much to talk about and it's fascinating. And so is this topic.
My collection counts over three dozen watches; some gen and many more reps. The cost ratio is $20k/$8k so that s a significant amount of money for anyone but from my perspective it's money I was able to put aside, save up for and plan my purchases without it effecting our lifestyle in any way at all. I can afford gens and have not felt guilty about it because I planned for it and discussed the purchase with my wife as this was important to me in supporting my pleasure of owning them. The same goes for reps btw. My wife asked me today; "Hey, don't you have any watches coming soon?" and I was happy to say that Seads shipment of two watches will be at the doorstep this Friday. Yay... Just saying she appreciates my excitement for my hobby. You see, I only have this hobby. I don't buy fancy cars, I don't smoke, our businesses do well and the bills are paid. This isn't everyone's situation among us at RWI but this is the seat of my perspective on budget for my hobby.
so now, wearing rep or gen is all a game in my head. Like one of you wrote before, I also like to know exactly everything about the gen watch that I'm buying the reppe version of because I want to appreciate it. It's almost like a kid playing with a model car imagining it being the real one just in its own mind. When I wear a gen watch it's also my own little secret. I'm not showing it off to anyone to see. It's a constant private pleasure in my own mind every day.
to support, educate and inform myself I have many books, magazine subscriptions, blogs and forums I read every day and I'm not even in the business - lol. I should! Aside from this I visit watchmakers, watch stores and enjoy discussions with likeminded people - like all if you here on RWI.
so in a nutshell for me: having both gens and reps makes total sense.
Metalmickey
Renowned Member
- 1/7/14
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Have a rule that I will only buy a rep I could reasonably conceive being able to afford, and I use them as a means to test whether I will get on with the gen. I also use good homages to the same effect. I would not buy a rep to deceive anyone, or to make out I had more money than I do!
I'm exactly the same.
I could buy a gen pretty easily but I get bored. I will end up getting a gen sub at some stage but I bought a Rep Tag AR last year and to be honest it hasnt ever left my wrist, I love it. So I will get the Gen version but then I think why? I swear this TAG has been in the sea, showers, pools and work every single day and never missed a beat. I cleaned it the other night and looks the same as when I bought it. Sometimes the quality of the reps confuse me out of buying a gen, if you know what I mean.
I'm very new to this forum. The whole rep concept is something I am just beginning to understand. My background is that I was a gen buyer (and seller) for many years. I love watches and greatly enjoy variety. If you find a good maker the pleasure from a rep can equal that from it's gen equivalent. I'm wearing a recently bought rep and it is brilliant. Not a slavish copy of the original but an interpretation that in some ways makes it better in my eyes. Spending 10k on a watch certainly gives you "the medallion" but for less than a tenth you can have a rep that is individually made (swiss movement, if that's your thing), water resistant and very eye catching. What watch is that? people have asked me; a very well made copy, I usually answer. Long live the rep and those who make them possible. robbie
If I held to the concept that I would only buy a replica of a gen that I could truly afford I wouldn't have a single watch, because there's not a gen that I can afford besides a few hundred dollar gen watch. So, I buy what I like and I wear it proudly, even though there is no way in hell I could afford a gen, these reps give me the opportunity to have something that I probably will never be able to own. Too many people care about status and what other people think. That if you buy a rep of a 10K watch there's no way you would be able to fool people into thinking that you could actually afford it. I really don't care. If I like a watch, no matter what the gen costs, I'll get it.
Metalmickey
Renowned Member
- 1/7/14
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When I say could afford, I mean if I put money in a savings plan for 10 years and got a big bonus at work! Just bought this, and intend to buy a gen when I can explain to my wife why I need to spend the value of my car on a watch identical to one I own already...
hahaha. when i say a gen i can afford, i mean something believable.
something i could put on a credit card and be ok with.
not a $40,000 AP.
i could pass a omega that can be purchased for 2-4 grand used or new.
maybe even a sub.
nothing ridiculous like a AP or a hublot.
nobody i know would ever believe id spend that much money on a watch.
then again, not many people i know even know what a AP or a hublot is sooo..
something i could put on a credit card and be ok with.
not a $40,000 AP.
i could pass a omega that can be purchased for 2-4 grand used or new.
maybe even a sub.
nothing ridiculous like a AP or a hublot.
nobody i know would ever believe id spend that much money on a watch.
then again, not many people i know even know what a AP or a hublot is sooo..
Yes, that's my point. I don't care if I can pass a watch off that I can afford it. Doesn't matter if the gen is a $750.000 watch. If I like it I'll get the rep. I don't care about if I can pass it off or whatever. and you're right, most of the people don't even know what those watches are. Most people might recognize a rolex or omega, but they don't know what most other brands are. Maybe if I lived in a more well to do area people would be more familiar with different brands, but nobody I know knows anything much about watches. and it wouldn't matter if they did, I would still get any rep I wanted no matter the price of the gen.
Anyone here who is a watch geek like most of us would probably love to spend some time in a luxury watch boutique. Walking in with a gen watch and look the part will experience a much higher level of service and interesting dialogues would ensue upon your entry as opposed to not wearing a gen. This doesn't always apply but in my experience it makes a huge difference. Investing in a gen (new or pre-owned) is like having a lifetime VIP-access to a fun park.
Some of you say it's out of your reach to own a gen but you could purchase very nice pre-owned gen watches for around $1,000 and up of-course. Think about how many reps you have in your drawers or watch boxes/winders. How much did you spend on these all together? Three decent reps will buy you a (pre-owned) gen.
Where do you find affordable pre-owned gen watches?
Auctions, marketplaces, online, e-bay, friends & family, printed local ads, etc... Google what you like and educate yourself on values to shop around. Once you know what a particular watch is worth (high and low) it will take a lot to screw you over. Any watch boutique will be keen to talk about your timepiece and wrap a number of new watches around your wrist.
Reading so much about watches every day, I sometimes come across a rep that I just happen to have read about and for some reason intrigued me. This might be enough to look into with deeper interest and subsequently the purchase of this rep if well-made. The purchase based upon my current interest (this seems to change like the wind - lol) could be for a variety of very different reasons; design, history, rarity, movement, overall appeal, etc...
Some of you say it's out of your reach to own a gen but you could purchase very nice pre-owned gen watches for around $1,000 and up of-course. Think about how many reps you have in your drawers or watch boxes/winders. How much did you spend on these all together? Three decent reps will buy you a (pre-owned) gen.
Where do you find affordable pre-owned gen watches?
Auctions, marketplaces, online, e-bay, friends & family, printed local ads, etc... Google what you like and educate yourself on values to shop around. Once you know what a particular watch is worth (high and low) it will take a lot to screw you over. Any watch boutique will be keen to talk about your timepiece and wrap a number of new watches around your wrist.
Reading so much about watches every day, I sometimes come across a rep that I just happen to have read about and for some reason intrigued me. This might be enough to look into with deeper interest and subsequently the purchase of this rep if well-made. The purchase based upon my current interest (this seems to change like the wind - lol) could be for a variety of very different reasons; design, history, rarity, movement, overall appeal, etc...
its also pretty cool to buy a much cheaper rep to try it out first before buying a gen.
id hate to drop a few grand on a watch and realize i dont really like it.
id hate to drop a few grand on a watch and realize i dont really like it.
- 4/6/14
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Have a couple of gen breitlings and now buying some reps to change it up. I can't justify 100k in my watch box which if I get my "wants" it will be.
Reps mean I can keep a clean concience and still break out the gens if I want
Reps mean I can keep a clean concience and still break out the gens if I want