replica watches criteria for buying

CasPer$$hunteR

Well-known member
Finally, a thread talking about buying criteria… really hope that people will get more educated in the matter and will make buying decisions correctly. I’m so tired of explaining to people that it’s they who have to be vigilant when buying a rep and they need to analyze the rep from different perspectives, not only the cheap price…
In fact, I got used to checking all the mentioned criteria. All of them are important to me. I understand that a rep watch is hardly 100% identical to the genuine one, and I can accept minor differences. Also, the number of complications is not relevant to me. As for the rest, I check all the mentioned aspects, including the customization. My wrist is pretty small and I might have trouble with long bracelets. So I need my watch to be adjusted before buying it.
 

sEVENDEM

Well-known member
Actually, I’d include an additional criterion here: website accuracy!!! Some stores have awful websites, making it impossible to find the needed product on them.
They are inaccurate, and the information and sections overlap one another. Also, I hate stores providing millions of brands on a single platform. It confuses me each time I want to buy a rep item since the offer is simply endless.
Stores with 4-7 brands available are just precious.
Website accuracy is like the visit cad of the store.
So, I never would buy from a website with an inaccurate and too-heavy homepage and structure.
Speaking about the watch criteria: there is a bit of every criterion en unmerited above.
A bit of brand awareness (even if it’s a rep, I still want it to come from a reputable brand), precision- it’s a must.
The more precise the watch, the more I can accept a higher price.
Also, I accept the exterior to be slightly different only if the finishing is perfect and the materials are high-quality.

Preferably, I opt for the Swiss mechanism but don’t mind if I find a good rep with a Japanese construction.
Warranty isn’t important to me as long as I buy from a trusted dealer that I find via recommendation exclusively.
I wouldn’t risk having a rep from an unknown dealer/store. I trust only those that are recommended to me.
 

fishwoddy12

Active member
Brand: yes

Brand history: partially yes;

Precision: Mandatory

Exterior aspect: a skilled and professional manufacturing process is welcome; can’t stand design inaccuracies, though can admit some deviations from the gen model:

Indifferent to the number of complications;

Indifferent to customization;

Identical resemblance is not strictly necessary: if the rep is identical but costs about $1500, I would accept some deviations from the design for a lower price instead

Movement: I embrace swiss, but it’s not a critical requirement. Can accept Asian and Japanese without any problems;

Warranty: currently, I look for a warranty. Some time ago, didn’t have any idea that it existed :D


Indifferent to shipping policy, unless it is additionally paid. I embrace stores offering free shipping;


Reviews: always take them into account, though don’t rely on them completely. Sometimes I can ignore them and buy a rep even if the reviews don’t really look positive. In such cases, I always make sure that I have the possibility to return the rep snd get my money back
 
For my safety, I always check the warranty, return, and privacy policy!!! And you can’t imagine the huge amount of stores that lack this information !!! If these aspects are missing, I don’t continue looking at reps and searching for other stores. This hobby is not secure and trustworthiness is the main priority criterion.

Further on, I look for the movement and its precision. The third criterion is the accuracy of the rep manufacturing. For this purpose, I usually ask for millions of pics to see the real condition of the reps

The rest of the criteria are occasional.
 

igivente

Well-known member
I think few rep watch manufacturers truly make research about their target audience. Few of them analyze what’s the buying potential of their potential and what are the preferences of the audience that visits their online stores. For example, most dealers don’t know that people don’t like websites that look like total chaos, item over an item, millions of brands, and unattractive pictures, among other aspects. Personally, I exit a website when I see an awful interface. Even if the watches might be indeed ok, I don’t go on surfing the website when seeing the mess on it. This speaks about how professional the attitude of the dealer is. So, maybe not the most important criterion, but one of them is the accuracy of the website. It’s a pleasure surfing on a website where everything is well structured and organized. Less is more.
As for the criteria mentioned in the thread, I mostly look at movement and manufacturing accuracy. The rest of them are secondary, but also keep them in mind, depending on the circumstances. For example, if smb recommends a trustworthy store, I don’t really get familiar with the return and privacy policies.
 

TropiKanCHO

Active member
I avoid buying from stores promising the "best imitations ever" priced at $100. It looks so ridiculous. How can a "best imitation" be $100 when only sapphire Cristal of a rep is about 70-120$?! and how can a cheap rep be made of 904 steel?
So, my first criterion is to inspect the "voice" of the website. I adore honest online stores that don't promise slam dunk. Of course, I always check the stores on forums and site reviews to make sure about its veracity. If all these aspects are ok, I move forward with analyzing the movement, design aspect and m materials that the watches are made of. is the source is new for me, I also get familiar with the refund, warranty, privacy policy
 

VioletteLonGoRIA

Active member
Well, it depends… I think the criteria for buying a rep differ a lot from the criteria for being a gen…

If speaking about gens, I think the brand is the most important aspect. You know the brand has a remarkable reputation and responses for its quality, also it offers warranty and all kinds of benefits. So there’s no much to worry about

As for the reps, the brand falls in second place, the first one being the quality of the rep. Here, I refer to the inner mechanism and its quality materials, as well as the quality of imitation overall: design, accuracy of the work performed, finishing, etc…

Given that buying reps is not quite the most transparent hobby, I would also pay attention to the store reviews. These mean a lot to prevent a potential scam and a potential irresponsible dealer who sells reps claiming they are the best, but in reality they are awful
 

randomWATCHlover

Active member
my first criterion is buying from recommended stores exclusively. when u know a store is trustworthy, you dont need to worry much about quality, warranty, shipping etc... you simply know that everything is gonna be ok and you'll not gonna run into stupid situations. You just pick the model you want and place the order without any problems.
 

cheetomargheritto

Active member
I seek balance between quality and price. when I find a watch comforting me with its aspect and price, I go on finding some reviews about the watches from the store to make sure my selection is a good one...
also, the brand plays a role for me. probably, wouldn't buy a rep if it was associated with an unknown brand...
 

diaboliquerye

Well-known member
great thread indeed... the I first entered this hobby, I was thinking that a good-looking homepage and some good photos are enough to close the deal. over time, and after some bitter experiences and money loss, I learnt how critical these criteria are, especially for newbies...
my to-do list of criteria include:
-buying from recommended saucers only. here, I include high-rated sources according to customers as well
-buying from stores that provide at east 1-2 years warranty. The longer the better. here I would also mention those stores that give 1 mon th to test the watch and accept without ny problem the watches b ack if u dont like it. I never returned one, but I kinda embrace the idea. this speaks about that the store is somehow sure of its quality;
-only after the aforementioned criteria I go to the next: aesthetics and functioning. Movement+calibers quality is more important that the aesthetic look. However I never buy reps with inappropriate look, always try them to be as close to the gen as possible. the other criteria are circumstantial
 

STERYBOL

Active member
showing time it's pretty enough... and not being scammed ... so buying from a trusted source is also enough
brand, complications, aesthetics dont really matter. you can accidentally fall off the bicycle and all the brand/complications/swiss movement/identical resemblance etc... simply cracks
 

EasyPeasY57299

Active member
I look at the rep design. But don’t usually rely on the pics from the website, but rather ask for additional pictures to be sent to my email… also, I consider the price. Never ready to overpay, even if the seller promises high quality. Don’t really trust sellers promising ultra-high quality for about $200. If all these suit me, I take a look at the website security, HTTP, etc…
 
I rely on a criterion you didn’t mention @cheetahapple : it's the recommendation criterion. All reps I own, there aren’t many, but all of them come from recommended stores. I saw the reps on my friends’ wrists. I inspected them, looked carefully from all perspectives, and ordered mine after that, from the sesame store. It’s more important for me the dealer than the watch.

Even if I don’t find the model I want, I would better buy another model without changing the source, rather than looking at another store I don’t know anything about.
 

whySOniCE456

Active member
I've only bought a replica Omega Moonwatch Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Limited Watch. The quality was critical for me since I was planning to give this watch as an anniversary present to my father when he turned 60. He is not a big fan of watches so I thought a good rep would make perfect sense for his needs.
Without much knowledge in the field, it was tough for me to make the selection wisely. million stores offering the same model with different pieces from the cheapest to the most expensive extreme. Neither warranty conditions, nor return policies helped me narrow my selection. all pics in all stores were looking incredibly good and I really wasn't able to understand why the prices were so different when these reps seemed to be identical to each other.
what really helped me were the recommendations of people who are involved in the hobby. These had good and bad experiences and suggested a couple of trusted stores, narrowing my selection. all of them provided pretty acceptable conditions.
The point is that I completely agree with opinions suggesting that recommendations are highly important. If I ever buy another rep, I will follow the same criterion.
 

hiFUProstry

Active member
R we talking about online purchases here?

If yes, then I never look at random stores appearing on my social media via paid ads. I even don’t look at those spearing on the 1st google page. I know there are many tools to raise an online store on google rating so if a store appears there, it doesn’t always mean that it’s a good store. My criterion is the recommendation from other users. In most cases, I hear about bad stores. that’s a natural phenomenon when people leave bad reviews much more frequently than positive ones. But when I do hear about a good store, I get in touch with the representatives, inspect all the conditions, see reviews, ask for additional pictures, etc… only then I choose the watch I need/like and place the order. Brand/ complications/customization is not relevant for me
 

peGASus4338#!

Well-known member
I opt for the quartz movement. I find it highly reliable and easy to maintain. also looking at the brand. And also consider the price. For me, a modest price is essential. The times I bought the reps, I took them from recommended sources, so didnt have much need in checking the dealer
 

WorldWideWisdom

Active member
As far as I see, I’m gonna be the first one to mention “resonating with brand/its history/philosophy…” and am surprised to see that no one mentioned this criterion before. Between a Rolex and an Omega, there must be something that attracts u more to one f them, and it doesn’t necessarily have to refer to the design only, right? People aren’t aware that actually, they love one or another brand not only because of the design but because of the magnitude of the brand itself. That’s why we don’t buy Citizen was he’s, but Rolex/Omega/Heuer… replicas. All of us even accept potential risks when buying a rep, just because we want the resounding brand on the wrist, even if it is a rep. So, why not admit that we all here run after the brand and its value/history/philosophy?!

Precision matters to me

Price matters to me (I will never buy a 100$ rep because I don’t believe in their quality. I better pay some additional cash, but to have a reliable one).

Warranty period and after sales support also matters to me
 

Whiseed

Active member
There are plenty of replica manufacturers providing a wide spectrum of replica watches. `some of them produce only Rolex replica watches, or only BREITLING, or in general replicas of a single brand. Others produce mass replicas of different brands, and different models. Some are cheap, some are expensive. Some are swiss-made, others japanese, asian, even turkish. Some fakes are identical, others have visible signs of intimations.
When u seek a fake watch, what’s your criteria of selection?
Ive made up a short list of criteria including the most frequent of them. feel free to add your own, if i've missed something and share your opinions on the matter, pls. The fake industry seems to be divided in two categories: manufacturers that produce fakes for quality, and manufacturers producing for quantity. What’s the consumer choice?!

Here u have the guidance criteria:
-brand
-resonating with the brand’s history, philosophy and brand awareness;
-fake watch precision;
-exterior aspect, exclusively,(accuracy of the finishing, careful manufacturing process) even if it is not identical to the genuine model;
-complications that the replica watch includes;
-customization of the order (possibility of adjusting strap, WR etc);
-easy readability of the dial, even if the fake might n to look identical;
-identical resemblance to the genuine model;
-movement, caliber (Swiss, Asian, Japanese);
-the price of the replica watch;
-warranty period and after-sales support;
-shipping and return policy;
-attractive design (the watch is simply attractive to u, even though it looks different from the genuine);
-online store's positive/negative reviews
Hi, not so long ago I received my first replica Rolex. This was a gift and I don't know for sure where they got it. I was too shy to ask and I thought that it was inappropriate. Anyway, I think that this list that you provided can help me with my next purchase. The thing is that I just started to be interested in watches. I really think that someday I would like to have a bigger collection.
I'm a little bit afraid to buy online. I know that I can read the reviews and choose the best store option, but sometimes I think that all is a scam. This happens to me every time when it comes to online shopping, I don't know what to do or how to overpass this.

I'll be really happy if you would be able to help me with my next purchase. I saw a really amazing Rolex Daytona that I would like to buy. Of course the best high-quality replica possible. Can you provide the best store? Thank you
 
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