Differences between SS for reps! Help me understand the truth.

[dancerINTHEdark]

strange that I don't really notice that factories produce reps in 440 ss lately... a few years ago, these reps were very frequent. now more are produced either from 904 or from 316l ss

 

[BarbaraO]

in this case just need to deal with the fact that there is a high chance that some of your watches are actually made of some other SS than the one mentioned by the supp..
nothing wrong with that.. a lot of people dont do it. it is ok

actually i understand the idea, i know what they mean tho...
i understand that somehow you may think that what is the reason to go with this there is no reason at all.. even so, i think that for some people including myself, this is pretty important.
i want to be sure that the supplier is offering me what he is supposed to.
i really dont like to b e fooled.
even so, there are a lot of people that are saying the same thing... it is a still replica, well yeah, thats true but the idea is that i pay for one type of replica but i get another type, which is way cheaper than i actually paid. so I dont want to be fooled by that and feel idiotic

 

[BarbaraO]

strange that I don't really notice that factories produce reps in 440 ss lately... a few years ago, these reps were very frequent. now more are produced either from 904 or from 316l ss

im not that familiar with the 440, is it a good one? worth to go with?

 

[BusyAsHell]

im not that familiar with the 440, is it a good one? worth to go with?

it is supposed to be a little higher level than 316l. I have seen several watches with this type of steel, but I can't say that I was very surprised by how they look. that is, it does not look bad, but it is not at all different from the 316l option. In the end, I think that regardless of the grade of steel, what matters is how the replica manufacturers apply the polishing effect. if they have high-performance techniques, 316l steel has a good chance of looking phenomenal

 

[Maric]

To be honest, all the replica watches I've come across were made of 316 steel. I have not met any of the 904 or any other type. the ones I saw seemed quite ok. I compared them with Fossil and other similar watches and I didn't see the visible difference between them. The 316l from the replicas have a pretty ok finish. I think that any watch made of 904l steel will look silly if the owner does not take proper care of the watch. so it's more about care and maintenance than about the material, I guess...

 

[HahREF5583468]

To be honest, all the replica watches I've come across were made of 316 steel. I have not met any of the 904 or any other type. the ones I saw seemed quite ok. I compared them with Fossil and other similar watches and I didn't see the visible difference between them. The 316l from the replicas have a pretty ok finish. I think that any watch made of 904l steel will look silly if the owner does not take proper care of the watch. so it's more about care and maintenance than about the material, I guess...

+1 here... I've seen gold watches that looked like hell only because the owners had a terrible attitude towards them....


however, the finishing technique of the manufacturers also matters. some 316 replica watches have a finish that makes them look exactly like the 904 ones, and others that have a terrible finish that makes them look like plastic... well, I'm exaggerating a bit but you get the point

 

[BenStone]

I have a 316l replica watch, my friend has a 904. his is not a replica, it's a Pompeak Sub-Aquatic (Deep Dive Dial) 904l. the only difference I see between mine and his is that his natural shine is a bit stronger than mine. and while mine has a slightly darker tone, not too much, his is a little bit more bright. I assume that the reason would include the finish, which influences the degree of gloss. Mine is polished, while his is brushed. and this could influence the tone of the material


otherwise, absolutely no difference, both are equally resistant to scratches, and both are equally sensitive to more severe impacts that leave small, almost invisible marks. both need to be cleaned equally regularly to refresh their look... in short, the ones from 316 is highly practical, and if the difference between one from 316 and 904l is much too big, I really don't see the need to overpay for the difference. if the difference is not very big In price, then it's worth it, for an extra gloss of the material.... at least that's my opinion...

 

[GeorgeClintonBiden]

I could probably tell the truth about ss grades in genuine watches. manufacturers are responsible for what they do. but when it comes to imitations, who knows what materials the manufacturers use?!

even if a replica has "904l ss" engraved on it, no one can guarantee this. that is, the manufacturer can offer guarantees and things like that)) but as the industry is not regulated, no one can offer guarantees and absolute credibility))) so, when I buy a 904l ss rep, I don't have too high expectations and I am ready to find out one day that it is actually 316 ss.. and I'm ok with that... I understand that I was deceived but what can you expect from a replica watch that is around $250? Surely you can't expect l pure gold yellow or white, like you can't expect pure 904 ss.

so, just taking the risks and assuming them...

 

[StevenOhio]

Hello, there, and welcome to our club!
It is very nice to meet people that actually are interested in finding out more information!
Thank you for the kind words, honestly, I feel it too. This is one of the things that made me love this forum even more, the idea that you can talk about things that matter and make it easy for every single person here. In fact, it is cool to know that all people, can understand what we talk about.
About the SS quality, there are a lot of things that we should talk about here.
Well, unfortunately, this is true, quite all the replicas are working with not the best SS material for the watches. If you think logically, there is an explanation for this. First of all, you are going for a replica model, which is supposed to be cheaper and when something is cheaper this means that you spend less money on the materials.
Let's talk about this step by step, this is going to ease the process of understanding how it actually works.

There are 4 types of SS that you can find info about.

1. SS 440
This may be you have never heard about. That's because there are no replicas made of this specific type of SS. Even so, this information is pretty important for everyone to know. All the dealers and suppliers that are working with replica watches are aware of this. So, it is important to remember that if you go and see something like this on a site. If a dealer is offering you watches that are supposedly made of SS 440, you need to understand that this is bullshit and that this can't be true. Usually, when I see sites like this, I doubt that they can generally sell you something good. This is based on a logical assumption of the fact that, if they lie about this maybe they are lying about something else too.

2. SS 904L
This is the material that we are all looking for. There is a reason for it, as it is one of the best SS materials that you can find on the market. People that are constantly looking for replica watches usually are looking for those dealers that are assuming that they provide goods that are made with 904L stainless steel. This material is super expensive, this is why generally speaking is really hard to find replicas that actually use this type of material for their goods. I don't want to make you feel like losing hope. There are replicas made of this material but are really hard to find. Usually, these kinds of replicas are really expensive.
!!!! REALLY IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER!
Even if you find high-priced replicas that indicate that is made of 904L SS, this doesn't mean that the dealer is telling you the truth. Some dealers do this to make you spend more money for a watch that actually is made with a less quality SS. Don't be mad, can happen quite all the time.

To make you understand why it is quite impossible to find a replica made of 904L. Remember that 904L SS is a material that Rolex uses for the production of their SS watches. So, if the Rolex company is using this material, imagine how much it actually costs.
The reality is that 904L SS costs three times more than the 316 SS.

3. 316L and 316F SS
The last one to mention here is actually the material that you are going to find in almost all the replicas out there. Generally is not the best SS of all the SS materials existent out there, but it is highly used. Quite all the replica watches and even some genuine watches from some brands are made of this material.
Some dealers are going to make you believe that if you go for 316 F it is going to be better than 316L. Find one watch model that you like and try to find two prices. A model that is made of 316L and the same model made of 316F. I can assure you that you are going to observe that the price for the 316F is actually higher.

Even if you hear that your dealer is telling you to go with the 316F which is a little bit more expensive than the 316L, remember that this is not the case. If you go to see the chemical elements used for the 316F and 316L, you are going to see that the 316F has a little percentage higher of some specific chemicals, but 316L has a higher percentage of other chemicals.
Otherwise, none of this is actually influencing the shine of the color or the steal. So, there is no need to spend more money on the 316F instead of the 316L.

The shine and white appearance of the 316F that is usually so talked about has no basic foundation with some good proof. This all depends on the polishing matter that is used and how it is treated in the production process. Personally, I have seen some 316L that were shinier than 316F and vice-versa. The price related to 316F is totally non-biased on some proof that the material is really better.
You can check by yourself and see the difference. There are a lot of tables that indicated the chemicals used for both types of SS.

View attachment 305

I hope that I have been explicit about this and that this information can actually help you understand how actually the SS material works on the replica watches market.
Greetings!

could not have been said it better than that. this infographic illustrates very well the difference between stainless steel grades. a lower grade will be more sensitive to scratches, impacts and deformations, if you want. the higher grade, such as 904l stainless steel, will last for decades. most replica watches are from 316 ss. it's a pretty ok material for a watch. those from 904 ss are usually more expensive and hard to find