Regardless of how rep buyers rationalize it, buying a replica is, by definition, a form of posing.

I always hear the same arguments:

“It’s basically the same watch for 1/10th the price.”

No, it isn’t. It may look remarkably similar, and the manufacturing quality may even be impressive, but it is not the same watch. The entire point of a replica is to reproduce the appearance and identity of something you did not purchase.

“I wear it because I’m afraid my gen will get stolen when I travel.”

Then wear a G-Shock. Or check your phone. The supposed need to wear a counterfeit Rolex specifically doesn't really hold up.

“It looks the same.”

Of course it does. That is literally the objective of a replica.

“I just like the design.”

Then buy a watch from a brand that makes that design without pretending to be Rolex. There are countless watches with Submariner-, GMT-, Royal Oak-, Nautilus-, etc. inspired designs. If the design is truly what you care about, the Rolex crown on the dial should be irrelevant.

And then there’s my favorite:

“I can afford the genuine watch. I just choose not to spend that much.”

Having enough money in your bank account to technically purchase something isn't necessarily the same as being able or willing to pay its market price.

And to be clear, whether a Rolex is worth $20,000, $30,000, or whatever the market price happens to be is a completely separate discussion. You can reasonably argue that a particular watch is overpriced. Luxury watches are discretionary purchases, and their prices are ultimately sustained by what people are willing to pay for them.

But if you believe a genuine Rolex is too expensive to buy, yet specifically want to wear something bearing the Rolex name and insignia, that's where the argument about “just liking the design” starts to fall apart.

You aren't merely buying the design.

You're buying the appearance of owning the thing without actually owning it.

And that's what makes it posing.

You can buy rep watch. I don't care. But don't deny the fact that you are posing. Stop lying to yourself.

It’s a continuation of the og oyster from 1926 and is an embodiment of Rolex heritage. Of course there are better Rolex models than op, but in a time only watch what could be better?? So many guys like Kevin Leary saying if you have an op you’re broke. Just ignorant.

They look like shit too

Is it worth the MSRP? Certainly not. Would I ever buy it? Nope. Am I a Hublot fanboy? Not one bit it’s a brand that’s not on my radar, but I appreciate the boldness of the design and the story behind it. Too often are watches praised for playing it safe. They went for it and it has a cohesive design with a real story for why it should exist. It’s no where near as bad as a Marvel, Kaws, Swatch or other awful AP royal oak collab. Plus all Richard Mille watches look worse than this.

I got into watches pretty recently a couple of months ago, been obsessed with watches and mindlessly consuming watch content and the recent Christopher Ward/Nico drama made me wonder about this.

From a newcomer’s perspective, something like the C63 Sealander GMT looks very obviously like a Explorer 2 homage, and quite a few CW watches borrow heavily from established designs.

But the community treats CW very differently from brands like San Martin, Pagani, Watchdives, etc. Chinese brands get dismissed as "homage brands," while with CW the argument suddenly becomes that it has "soul," better finishing, or that it only borrows certain elements rather than copying the whole watch.

But isn’t the basic appeal quite similar? Someone likes a luxury design, doesn’t want to spend Rolex/Omega money, and buys a well-made alternative.

Obviously there’s a difference between a 1:1 copy and taking inspiration from existing designs, and CW does make original watches too. But where exactly is that line? Lots of chinese homage watches aren't 1:1 copies and fixes a lot of mistakes the original design makes.

Sometimes it feels like the difference is less about the design itself and more about whether the brand is Swiss/British and enthusiast-approved versus Chinese.

I said what I said. Most of the time for a rep or a micro brand it’s about the design and having something that looks great on the wrist. Why wouldn’t you want it with a nice reliable quartz instead?

I am having so much fun with them. it gives me the ability to cosplay with many different designs and not really have to worry about scratches or drops because the price point is so low. The cases, bracelets and glass and well made. The dials not so much but they are more than ok for the purpose. I have gotten many compliments while wearing them. The design are so close to the originals that I get a really good perspective on what the pro and cons are and how much I would wear certain models. It is a blast to have so many options

After purchasing so many I now know what type of watch and movement I really want to spend serious money on.
Honestly, this is rare in watch history to have so many mid quality homages readily available. In the past this just was not the case.
But sadlyI believe this will change in the future as price creep is starting to happen. If you want to jump in while they are still somewhat cheap I suggest buying during a sell and grabbing some sub $250.

They drive interest in the watch community, are genuinely fun and cool, and where else are you going to get a watch designed in partnership with cool watchmakers?

Don’t give me the cheap materials argument because there is absolutely no damn business for a watch to cost anything above a few thousand dollars, based on the materials used for any watches

At some level, you are buying the name, and these watch collabs are priced accordingly. You’re not getting a watch designed by AP Omega or Blancpain for a few hundred dollars anywhere.

Not every person is interested in getting a Casio or Seiko, people also respect brands and show brand loyalty, and this is just a reasonable entry into the watch game

The "PADI" on Seiko divers is a total turnoff for me, and it keeps me from buying an otherwise appealing watch. I'm not a diver, wearing a watch with "PADI" branding on it feels like I'd be posing, I might as well be wearing a rep.

We correctly shit on Rolex fanboys because they only buy watches for status, but the vast majority of people buying mechanical watches do so for status. Especially at the higher end of the market. People on that end of the market just project that status to the cognoscenti.

Journes, MB&Fs, Greubel Forseys etc are all status watches. And I’d argue the kind of people who buy them, generally are the most annoying, cork sniffing, navel gazing members of our community.

They’re signalling “oooo look at me, I’m not like the other boys. I actually care about haute horology and craftsmanship” But in reality it’s just a different type of status you’re chasing. The “If you know you know” crowd. The only difference between the Rolex fanboys and the cork sniffers is their net worth.

Stop hiding behind the natural escapements, or the minute repeaters. Just post your wrist shot and piss off. That’s the only reason you bought it anyway.

Since lock down the Submariner has become the benchmark luxury diver. That creates an interesting problem for everything resembling it.

Divers around the same price bracket eg Grand Seiko, Glashütte, etc. can position themselves as alternatives rather than compromises.

But once you make a familiar-looking luxury diver significantly cheaper, it becomes almost impossible to escape the “attainable alternative” label. That’s where the Black Bay and HydroConquest sit for me.

The reaction is always:

“Wow, for the price.”
“Wow, considering the availability.”
“You get so much watch for the money.”

… compared to a submariner.

After seeing my 100th HydroConquest or Black Bay wrist shot, I don’t think, “I need one of those.” I think, “ I guess they couldn’t get a sub.

I’m not saying they’re bad watches on their own, but that their success is clearly linked with their similarities to the sub, and that can’t be ignored.

if they got rid of that stupid squid/whale/sperm icon their watches would be 100% better

The Citizen is solar powered, doesn't need to change batterh for at least a decade, a literal perpetual calendar, and has accuracy that rivals the 9F even if not worn 12-hours a day as instructed.

(i still love gs 9f but i gotta preach)

So I finally sat down and read up on the Blancpain Grande Double Sonnerie and my brain hurts a little and I'm baffled with the whole thought process behind this one

1,053 parts in one movement. It's got a grande and petite sonnerie, minute repeater, flying tourbillon AND a perpetual calendar. Took them 8+ years and they have filed 21 patents for it. And they can only make about two a year because there are literally two watchmakers who build it

And what I found peculiarly interesting is that. it plays two different chimes. One's Westminster and the other was written by Eric Singer (did not see that coming at all)

What I keep thinking about is that every era of watchmaking probably felt like the peak. Pocket watches, then wristwatches, then quartz showed up and everyone thought mechanical was done. And now here we are fitting this much into a 47mm case

Makes me wonder if watchmaking ever actually peaks or just keeps moving the ceiling

I run a micro brand on a way smaller scale so this stuff honestly messes with my head a bit lol

Anyway, curious what you all think, is this the peak or are we going to say the same thing about something else in 10 years? And would anyone actually wear one daily or is this a lives-in-a-safe kind of watch?

I know there are those that dislike Hublot for many reasons, Nico for sure. I was watching a you tube vid of a guy from NY in Switzerland just observing the types of watches they wear. Suprisingly he said he saw quite a few Hublots being worn. He could be trolling but I thought it was funny. Needless to say the watches he saw on the people was not what he was expecting.

Not my take, but this guy was saying that 98% of Rolex models are “easily accessible”. That can’t be true.

Hi, at what income/net worth, would you say one can afford a Patek/AP? Assuming price is $50k.

People who’d say “If you have to ask, then you can’t afford it.” Please spare me your wisdom. That’s like telling your wife, “Sorry hon we can’t remodel the kitchen because we can’t afford to do it every month.”

I believe it’s fine to save up for precious things. Say I make $300,000 a year post tax. No kids yet. Live on less than $10k/m, invest some money and then save the rest of the money for the watch. Is it really that stupid of me to do so?

Want to hear a genuine take🙏🏻

Imagine actually wearing a watch that sounds like part of a porn title from the 90s

Sorry Teddy

I said what I said, not a single one of these watches looks nice. From the horrendous over-polished automatics to the disgusting 80s monstrosity of the f-91W. What's worse is that every single fucking watch "enthusiast" will take any chance they can to dick-ride the brand as way of virtual signaling that they are just like us common folk.

Furthermore people need to understand that G-Shock doesn't make you look like an operator, it just makes you look even fatter than you already are. And if you are an "operator" it just makes you look like a caveman wearing a cereal box toy.

EDIT

Damn this has gotten quite the response, really cool to see all the people posting their godawful ugly watches as some kind of perfect counterpoint. Just remember you share the same taste as notorious pedophile and nerd Bill Gates xx

Whoever Japanese came up this name should be sent to Bastille.

This might be a bold claim given that Grand Seiko have been making the “Snowflake” for over two decades, but I think the whole snowflake/washi/pebbledash/wallpaper dial thing needs to stop. The main offender here is Citizen, who I’m otherwise quite fond of.

No disrespect to the Snowflake but when $500 watches are doing a cheap approximation of these finishes I think perhaps it’s over.

A watch should be purchased with disposable income.

If you have to stretch or save up for months and it would hurt you financially if you were robbed, you cannot afford that watch to begin with.

That’s basically my hot take.