The difference between the quantitative release of original luxury watches against replica versions is indeed overwhelming. While only Switzerland releases about 25 million pieces, the replica industry attains 665 million. And that’s just only the official statistics, not considering the non-declared amount. It’s no secret that replica watches register an increasing demand among watch lovers. Even though these come in different grades of quality, watch enthusiasts don’t give up and look for a better version each time they might get disappointed. Who are those watch enthusiasts? Why do they prefer certain luxury brands over others? Are they even conscious that they are buying fakes instead of original items?
We have appealed to our customers to find the answers to these questions. All of the respondents admitted to being watch admirers. We remained perplexed by their confessions and we decided to share them with you.
The reasons behind the buying process
Testing
We always thought that the main reason behind buying a replica watch is the low price in comparison to the original piece. Well, this factor is not missing from the entire list of reasons, but it is not nearly the basic one. A customer X (he didn’t want us to post his full name) explained to us that in fact, he wanted to test a certain watch, before buying the original version. He wanted to offer a special gift for his father, at his 70 jubilee. He wasn’t sure about the timepiece his father would appreciate.
Therefore, our customer decided to test a Panerai Luminor Marina, since he thought it might be to his father’s liking. The customer spent $245 for the replica watch, and he is glad he took the test. After presenting the watch to his father, they concluded that a Tag Heuer Carrera series was much closer to his father’s personality and preferences. As a result, the father got the original Tag Heuer watch from his son for his jubilee, while the son remained with the replica on his own wrist, glad enough to have made the correct decision.
The conclusion is that even people affording original timepieces can appeal to the replica industry. Buying a replica watch does not necessarily mean you lack money. It sometimes means that you are cautious and care for the preferences of your beloved ones.
Protecting
A nice discussion with another of our customers led us to the conclusion that a replica watch can also be bought for … protective reasons. It might sound strange but is as true as it can be. A wealthy woman got in direct contact with us to find out certain specs about our Rolex Perpetual Blue. After asking her for permission to find out the reason for her replica choice, she told us that the watch she planned to buy was for her young daughter. It was not a problem for her to buy an original version. But, because of the sloppy nature of her daughter, she preferred a replica instead of an original.
Her daughter had in her watch collection various original pieces and unfortunately, she had lost or broken most of them. As a result, the mother decided to offer her replica versions to diminish the “pain” of a potential loss or damage. She told us: “I’d rather buy 3 qualitative replica watches for her so that my pain is not so powerful each time she neglectfully damages the watches. In contrast, if I give her an original version, that would be a true waste of money for me. I adore my young lady, but I have to admit she is quite inaccurate with her accessories”.
The conclusion is that a replica watch can be an alternative for persons whose nature is nonchalant and adventurous. Being a free person is wonderful. However, this adventurousness might sometimes come with small disadvantages, like distraction and carelessness toward personal things.
The level of fame of replica timepieces
All luxury brands officially declare that the replica industry is of no value at all. And the reason is evident: original brands seem to lose plenty of money every other year because of such an “illogical” competitor. However, the replica industry does not lose ground and increases exponentially despite all existing myths. An important aspect that original brands lose sight of is that they mistakenly believe that they share the same customers with the replica industry.
Brands believe that the replica industry “steals” their customers and, potentially, their revenue is substantially affected. On the other hand, let’s assume that the replica industry completely disappears and no replica manufacturers exist anymore. Will the customers run into the brands’ stores to buy those original watches right away?
The answer is evident for most of us. And there are a minimum of three reasons:
- Production shortage. Luxury brands don’t have such an amount of luxury timepieces to cover the whole demand.
- Prices. The major part of customers will never afford to buy timepieces at their original price. People would rather prefer to remain without watches than to buy those, cosmic pieces.
- Luxury brands need that “hard to attain” status. This is a convenient aspect for luxury brands. This creates a sense of limitation, restriction, and uniqueness. Being available for everyone means losing the status of exclusivity. And this is what a brand would definitely not want.
Therefore, luxury brands and the replica industry have absolutely different target buyers’ personas. The two of them are not direct competitors. They are rather indirect. Each segment of customers has different social statuses and different reasons to buy either original goods or replica ones.
The most hunted brands
Although there are plenty of luxury watch brands on the market, the most hunted for the replica industry remains the Rolex. It is then followed by the Panerai, Omega, Breitling, Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, and Constantin Vacheron. To make a comparison, you might want to look at the Louis Vuitton brand and its replica bags all around the world. They are present everywhere, literally.
As a matter of fact, the Rolex brand is on top of the most replicated watch brands among all. Moreover, this brand is even higher in the replica rating than Viagra, even though it is not part of the same industry. Either way, other brands do not lack replica manufacturers’ attention. It might be due to the different design approaches or due to more attractive prices.
Replica watches funnels
So, where do watch enthusiasts take those replica timepieces? As you might intuit, most of them come from China. It’s not a secret that China has established an overwhelming footprint on the replica territory and has spread its tentacles all over the world. However, it is not a unique market. The USA and even Switzerland have also taken the lead in this direction and take pride in less quantity but better quality in terms of replica watch manufacturing.
Even though there are plenty of physical stores proposing different grades of replica watches, the Internet funnel remains the most outstanding. The Internet source comes with both advantages and disadvantages. On one hand, you can order from wherever you like, with free delivery if you wish. On the other hand, you cannot see and “taste” the replica watch until you buy it, and this might be risky sometimes. Sources like eBay or Amazon are viewed as trustful funnels, but only by unaware customers. As a matter of fact, these sources propose only lookalike pieces, but not real replicas, in the fullest sense of the word.
On the other hand…
If referring to real watch enthusiasts, they mostly rely on online stores that honestly and openly speak about their replica status. However, not any online store is a trustworthy one. The main question here is: how good is the replica watch in one store in comparison to the other store? Given the fact that we cannot validate the quality only via some pictures, there comes the big challenge, to know how to spot the differences. We have covered this topic in our previous article and we recommend getting through it once again to refresh the memory and avoid potential risks. But one thing remains always up-to-date: every single online store has to be scanned starting with the interface and ending up with the warranties and refund policies.
What about Frankenwatches?
Is it a new term for you? Try to remember the dr. Frankenstein’s story is in which the doctor makes up a monster by adding together body parts from different cadavers. It might not be the most pleasant association but it is pretty explainable. A Frankenwatch is, therefore, a combination of different watches parts pulled together to generate a timepiece close to the original model. The components from various watches might be original or might be fake, it does not matter a lot.
To make things, even more, clearer, a Frankenwatch might come with the following complication: the case and the dial can be adopted from a genuine timepiece. If you take a close look at the screws in the bezel, they also can look original. Further on, you want to inspect the movement and take away the casebook. There, you easily see that the movement does not look as in the original model and it comes with slight differences. It still might be of good quality.
However, the movement is adopted from another replica timepiece. In conclusion, these types of watches preserve a certain component or components from the original timepiece that is no longer functional. The other components come from other fake timepieces. In contrast, replica watches have no genuine components. These are fully manufactured in their replica context.
Which is better?
I have come across astonishingly good Frankenwatches, as well as incredibly bad ones. In the same context, the same happened with replica timepieces. Therefore, it is hard to say which ones are better. The answer is kept in the heart of every watch enthusiast. Frankenwatches usually are designed according to extremely rare and exclusive timepieces that are no longer produced neither by the original brands nor by replica factories.
Therefore, there is a sort of exquisiteness for these watches that make them special. On the other hand, frankenwatches are frequently mistakenly associated with vintage pieces. As a result, dishonest dealers can take advantage of vintage lovers and claim prices that are far from realistic.
From another point of view, replica enthusiasts say that it’s better to handle a fully imitated watch. They sincerely trust their dealers that offer only high-end quality watches. The “Frankenstein” model does not sound reliable for them since the timepiece looks neither old nor new. This confusion makes them loyal to the replica industry.
Who is the buyer persona for the replica watches and why does it choose replica watches?
Returning to the first chapter of this article when we were covering the reasons, we didn’t include the third reason. We have left it for the final part. One of our customers came to our service center to clean his Rolex Oyster replica. He does it regularly and each time he comes, our team remains disconcerted about the luxury cars he drives. He definitely can afford the original Rolex he wants. The cleaning master has summoned up the courage to ask why the replica, instead of an original? The answered then that the replica timepiece was a gift from his 3 little sons. “I afford financially. But I can’t afford sentimentally to wear an original Rolex. How could I explain this to them?! I’ll break their little hearts”
The conclusion is obvious. Wearing a replica sometimes means wearing a sensible heart. It was adorable to look at the scene where a wealthy man emphasizes sentimental value over social status.
Final thought
Replica watches do not always mean wealth or lack of wealth. The reasons usually go beyond appearances. It does not take much effort to speak to a person who wears a replica watch and reveal the true motives. In most cases, these are unexpectedly surprising. No matter how hard the fight between original brands and replicas is, each segment has its customers along with their specific reasons. And it’s not always about quality, even though this is a really important aspect. With a little research and education, it is possible to find great replica watches that can represent someone’s major act of attention and love.