Thank you for all of your help guys. I'll definitely check out these sites and see if I can arm myself better with more knowledge before taking the plunge. By the way, Diamonddave, the place that quoted me the watch was Kenjo.

Thanks again!

 

I'm going to second the "Buy from an AD" advice. Here's the warranty info from the site you posted:

Watchesplanet.com is solely a RESELLER of all the watches we carry and we do not represent any of the manufacturers for the watches we carry.

Watchesplanet.com sells only brand new, genuine, 100% authentic watches with international warranty that comes with the watch. (subject to the terms and conditions given in the warranty booklet that comes with the watch) Watchesplanet.com DOES NOT sell used, refurbished, factory seconds, or replica products.

We are NOT the authorized dealer and we choose not to be the authorized dealer for most of the Swiss brand watches we carry due to pricing issue. The authorized dealers are not allowed to sell their watches at discounted price. We work closely with our business partners and manage to get all these Swiss brand watches at very good prices.

Basically, you are s.o.l. if the watch craps out on you and you want to return it to the manufacturer.

Hey, take a trip to St. Thomas or Hong Kong and get a watch duty free for about the same price!

 

I'm going to be in Hong Kong sometime within the next month or so and I might just do that. Thanks again guys for your tips.

 

i can't understand why anyone would spend so much on an item that will undoubtedly get scratched up. i'd go for a well made fake. sorry if that doesnt help.

 

There's no such thing as a well made fake, despite what they try to tell you on the fake watch sites. They are usually the cheapest Chinese movements with crappy cases and bracelets. They ask $250 - $400 for a fake version of the watch in my avatar, and you'd be lucky if it lasted a year.

Why not just buy what you can afford in a real watch? There are plenty of Seiko automatics (Seiko 5, Samurai etc) for sale in the $150-$250 range. Way better than a fake.

 

Actually I'd beg to differ. While I collect swiss watches, have a bunch of Seiko's, and some throw arounds here or there.

I also have picked up a few fakes here or there on business trips. I find it fun and its actually exciting hehe. They pull you into some back room or corner and whip out the watches like they were dealing crack...

I won't name which ones are fake and which ones are real though

But one of them I just picked up in Korea has a swiss eta movement in it. Its not an automatic movement, but a winding movement.

I would never buy a fake online though. You have to know what youre looking for and what the real deal looks like. Then find one vendor out of the 100 that aren't trying to get you out of their store in 5 minutes with the watch(no time to look it over). Most of the time there is a slight difference in the real vs. replica(I'm talking the elite 5% here). Lets say a chrono has three dials, 2 of 3 have blue hands, the other is silver, well maybe one dial has the blue and black hands switched... I believe it is some sort of legal loop hole. So unless you are comparing them hand in hand, you'd never know the difference, unless you can remember details like that. But there are exact replicas out there, but they command a price of $500 for swiss watches IE Rolex, Patek Phillipe, etc... They are made impeccably, and cannot be distinguished from the original(and are HIGHLY illegal, good luck finding one, vendors will not show you these to a first time buyer). I never wanted to shell out that much for a fake despite the quality. There was an article about this in Watch Time a year or two ago(experts couldn't distinguish between a real rolex and a fake one.) The watch with the swiss eta winding movement cost me about $160. not bad for a watch that I kinda like, but wouldn't pay 5 G's for.

Also brand wise some are better than others. Rolex is of course the most heavily counterfitted watch. You have a range of $50 for crappy, to $150 for good, and $500 for perfect. Cartier fakes are usually pretty bad, along with Tag and Movado, Id also stay away from the Breitling, IWC, Baume, Corum, and Jaeger fakes. I will leave the certain good ones out of this posting though for various reasons .....

While I'd say that 75% of the fakes out there are really crappy. IE the chinese movements etc.. cheap bands etc... 20% are decent with seiko or citizen movements usually, and the remaining 5% are the elite, with swiss movements, stainless steel bracelets and casings, and sapphire crystals not mineral. But for the good stuff you really have to go overseas. NY has SOME, but not many, usually only the crappy chinese ones.

Also none of my fakes have broken and still work as good as new. Except for the REALLY CRAPPY REALLY FAKE Movado I picked up back in highschool for like $20. HAHA yeah that was crappy.

But yeah if this is going to be your "main" watch then just go out and buy a Seiko.

They'll last a lifetime. I have one that I received from my dad 18 years ago, and it still rocks on.

 

Also as a side note. Women's watches are almost ALWAYS crappy. So don't try to pull a fast one and pickup a fake watch for the gf/wifey.

That'll get you in the dog house...

 

Know thyself. If you think you will tear a watch up, then do what you can afford. If you can't afford to ruin a nice watch and you still want to look cool, then buy a fake.

My wife is rough on watches and consequently bought only cheap watches. I bought her an Omega Constellation automatic which she has worn daily for two years. Not a single scratch on the crystal. Sure, the bracelet has some scuffs, but who cares, the watch still looks and functions wonderfully. She'll never go back to "cheap" watches.

 

well said

for me, for that kind of money, i rather go with a Sinn U2 (has put innovative technology into their watches), Omega planet ocean (co-axial movement, though not really *in-house* per say), Panerai (for the movement, look and history of the brand), Rolex (in-house everything and 2nd to none quality control), Seiko Spring Drive (in-house everything + automatic movement with quartz accuracy), etc

don't get me wrong, B&R makes good watches. just that i don't know if the product justify the price

 

I cannot understand why anyone would buy a fake. There is a huge range in price for legitimate watches of every style, so it isn't like you can't find what you are looking for at a reasonable price.

I've had an auto Hamilton for the last several years that I paid ~200 for. This thing has been rock solid, and I am very hard on watches. It looks great, and I have had several people comment on it. Not one was like "too bad you didn't get a fake Rolex, that would really impress me."

The whole reason people spend more money than they need too on an Omega or a Breitling or whatever is because they want the fine quality that comes with it, as well as the warrantee. When you buy a fake, you aren't getting that quality or guarantee, so why would you care what it says on the dial again? Oh, that's right. The fakes sell to the superficial. I love the people who believe the claims that some fakes have quality movements inside (of course, they are probably better than what real Rolex's have inside lol).