What time is it? Watches and horology

Lol!

Yep. r/Reptime. Crazy.

Appreciate if you do find the 955.41x, as it looks like this movement is ‘in need of a service’ after all. It has lost two minutes since yesterday, which is disappointing/totally expected.

Balls. I'm just getting a train up to Edinburgh just now, so will check again when I'm home. In the meantime, you might get it working by dripping some naphtha or similar onto the jewels.

No stress! Not back in the UK until the 27th anyway!

Friday watch photo, due to recent rains going for full waterproof watch today

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I went down this rabbit hole a few months back. I'm not going to link here, but there's a couple of repo watch pages on Reddit for the interested. The fakes are incredibly convincing, and not at all hard to get hold of.

They started at a few hundred quid for the better ones - I was kind of interested for the sake of curiousity.

Add a Rolex signed crown as well and it would be just like the old days. Is there a fix for the Arial too?

Speaking of dodgy dial text, I had my worldview shaken this week by the realisation that Rolex have not correctly centred the “OYSTER PERPETUAL” text on the black and white OP 39s (the other dial colours are fine). It’s so weird I’m wondering if it’s a deliberate anti-counterfeiting measure or something.

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I looked on one of the replica forums and found a really great looking Patek Philippe Nautilus replica. Seriously thinking about buying it as it looks lovely and it's not I ever imagine I would own the real thing.

Is there a thread netiquette against linking these things?

I would imagine if I had a 50k plus watch that I would almost want to get a fake just to wear it everyday. #justsayin 😎

Nah, link it.

Be interested to see just how close they get to the real thing.

Nice short link: https://www.intime04.co/patek-philippe/6089-nautilus-jumbo-5711-super-replication-ppf-1-1-best-edition-white-textured-dial-on-ss-bracelet-ppf324.html

If it's ok to link, the reddits are here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/RepWatch/

https://www.reddit.com/r/RepTime/

Be interested to see just how close they get to the real thing.

Really close.

Case and dial look really accurate.

Movement looks horrible.

Price can't be argued with though...

like it.

I had a fake submariner pass through my hands last year. I was surprised by how close it was. It had some astonishingly nice touches, including the etched crown, the correct grade of steel, and the bracelet. We did a side-by-side with a real one under a loupe and there was only one tell. (I'll reveal under the pic.)

You can tell this one is a fake from the bezel. The real bezel numbers are filled with a silver metal for legibility. This one just has raw steel. They fixed it on the next revision. Fakes are incredible now.

I just always thinks it's the same as putting a red bodykit on your MR2 and calling it a Ferrari.
It's never really gonna be a Ferrari however good it is.
Even if nobody knows , you do.
A fake is always a fake.

Yeah, I got rid of it after a week or so. It didn't feel authentic, and if it didn't feel authentic, the feeling I got off it wasn't authentic either. Got the (genuine) Speedy a few months later and bonded with that much better. But if you're a person who literally wants it as a status symbol for the benefit of other people, and you don't care much about the provenance or history, I can see why someone would go for them.

You could spot the wonky hour markers from the other side of a crowded room.

Some of the letter shapes and text spacing are not right, but it’s minuscule stuff.

Gulling it today

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50 Atmos being tested to approx 1 atmosphere today.

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This really has got me thinking

I've been contemplating getting a grail(ish) watch for the last 6-12 months, but haven't been able to make a decision. I've got a soft spot for a Royal Oak, my options are:

1. Buy a Royal Oak - struggle with the massive cost in purchase and service, be scared of damaging it, cry a little inside ever time I knock it
   
2. Buy an IWC Ingenieur 3239 - great watch, not what I truly want
   
3. Buy something else - This is what I've been trying, but have yet to find something
   
   

Videos on fakes like ^ from Watchfinder provide a credible 4th option, fake it. Nearly all the benefits of enjoying the design/build , without the fear/risk. Biggest downside for me is the moral element.

Sorry guys but you have to be a special kind of asshat to own a fake luxury anything IMO. Every time you look at your fake watch you're reminded that you're a fraud, so what you save in upfront cost is far outweighed by the psychological cost of ownership. Far better to buy an homage watch (Steinhart, Parnis...) instead or a cheaper but genuine watch from a micro brand (who lift design notes from the luxury brands all the time) if you want exclusivity, quality and authenticity.

The whole point of a (luxury) brand is that you value it because you build a relationship with it so buying fakes isn't a victimless crime or a zero sum game.

/rant

I've been contemplating getting a grail(ish) watch for the last 6-12 months, but haven't been able to make a decision. I've got a soft spot for a Royal Oak, my options are:

Buy a Royal Oak - struggle with the massive cost in purchase and service, be scared of damaging it, cry a little inside ever time I knock it
Buy an IWC Ingenieur 3239 - great watch, not what I truly want
Buy something else - This is what I've been trying, but have yet to find something

Bulova Royal Oak
designed by Gerald Genta himself