Watch Geeks?

[ChefBoyRG54]

Dude.. youre in China...

Pearl Market in Beijing... You can get any Rolex you want.. $50....

Lots of options at the Silk Market too

Lol was offered Copy Watch about twenty times downtown Hong Kong. I don't get buying replicas but there must be a market for it

 

[ChefBoyRG54]

Badum... Cheee... That's corny even for Internet standards. Time difference getting to you over there?

No, I'm fully convinced it's 10pm at this point

 

[mdwest]

Lol.. the USSS counterfeit unit at the embassy is who introduced me to the Pearl Market...

I wanted to know how a bunch of mid level govt employees could afford $10K panerai's.. rolex presidentials, etc..etc.. when I was visiting for the G20 back in 2005.... So they took me to the Pearl Market and showed me..

Funny.. the counterfeit team... buying the hell out of counterfeits.. and showing others how to buy them too...

 

[ChefBoyRG54]

Lol.. the USSS counterfeit unit at the embassy is who introduced me to the Pearl Market...

I wanted to know how a bunch of mid level govt employees could afford $10K panerai's.. rolex presidentials, etc..etc.. when I was visiting for the G20 back in 2005.... So they took me to the Pearl Market and showed me..

Funny.. the counterfeit team... buying the hell out of counterfeits.. and showing others how to buy them too...

It was popular in Turkey too. They kept saying how Turkey is known for counterfeits. Some claim to fame lol

 

[mdwest]

The grand bazaar in Istanbul is full of fakes of varying quality.. the ones they sell for $40-$60 are very obvious fakes with poor movement, poor weight, shoddy tolerances, etc..

the ones they sell for $200-$300.. would be a challenge for anyone other than a jeweler to identify as a fake.. they use quality movements.. and make the things on CNC machines, etc.. out of quality components and parts..

I like to think I can spot a fake easily, have quite a bit of knowledge about most of the "common" high end brands and their primary lines, etc.. but.. I stared at a "folex" for 10 minutes at the Grand Bazaar last year.. knew it was an absolute fake.. but couldnt identify a single thing "wrong" with it (they even had the damn near impossible to copy rolex movement down perfectly)..

Most of the junk you see in China looks close enough at a distance.. but once you actually pick the watch up and look at it.. it becomes very clear that its a copy...

 

[ChefBoyRG54]

Interesting. I do recall a few breitlings looking pretty good. The Rolex is usually given away by the bezel to glass ratio but I'm sure somebody can do it right.

Now counterfeit Cc bands, apparently those are tough to dupe lol

 

[StogieNinja]

@ilikefishes and @Cigary43... I blame you guys.

 

[Jmphotog]

Omg how come I never saw this thread before?! Lol I'm a total gear nut!



This was my cuff links for my wedding



This is my breitling which was my wedding present from my wife



This is my every day watch I'm thinking of switching to a suunto core black

I'll post the rest of my collection on Friday when I get home!

And Ryan omg I'm so sorry to hear that!!!!

 

[SmokinNukie]

Dave mentioned Oris watches previously. I have a similar TT1 Diver that I modified with replacement case to get the silver bezel (Oris service center said they couldn't change the bezel) versus the black one. It's a great watch however I need to get the stem fixed on it. My dial face is a inky black gloss and it really pops versus the wave texture dial.

The Seikos are vintage divers from the 70's and 80's. A 6105 and a 6309. The 6105 is Vietnam era.

I've picked up a good replica of a Belll & Ross at the Pearl Market. You have to really haggle with the vendors there to get them to open up their "good" ones. I also picked up a sweet Panerai in Turkey. It's near perfect. A Panerai nut couldn't even tell when I showed it to him. It's my chore watch for projects around the house.

Yes, I'm definitely a watch geek.

 

[Mr.Maduro]

Omg how come I never saw this thread before?! Lol I'm a total gear nut!

View attachment 55272

This was my cuff links for my wedding

View attachment 55273

This is my breitling which was my wedding present from my wife

View attachment 55274

This is my every day watch I'm thinking of switching to a suunto core black

I'll post the rest of my collection on Friday when I get home!

And Ryan omg I'm so sorry to hear that!!!!

For what it's worth, I found the Core to not be nearly as rugged. Even felt a bit fragile IMO. I sold mine for this reason. Just my thoughts.

 

[StogieNinja]

Just for fun...

 

[cgraunke]

^^^ I really like the couple Orient I've got!

 

[StogieNinja]

^^^ I really like the couple Orient I've got!

This is the first Orient I've owned, and also the first watch I've ever had that cost more than $60. It's pretty much the best thing ever. What other Orients do you have? I'm seriously considering a Bambino as my first dress watch.

 

[cgraunke]

This is the first Orient I've owned, and also the first watch I've ever had that cost more than $60. It's pretty much the best thing ever. What other Orients do you have? I'm seriously considering a Bambino as my first dress watch.

My big thing for my watches is mechanical movements. They're thicker and heavier, but I like the idea of the classic technology and all the moving parts. Like a living machine on your wrist! I don't own any quartz movements, but I might break from that rule and eventually pick up a Citizen EcoDrive. The OrientStar is an automatic winding mechanical. It was a gift from my wife and is supposed to carry inspiration from the classic Japanese motorcycles (tank, filter cover, and reverse winding so the power meter reads like an instrument gauge) The pocket watch was the only manual mechanical winding one I could find at a reasonable price that wasn't just cheap chrome plated brass or copper. Got two of these, one for me and one for my best man. Both watches are polished stainless with sapphire crystal and sapphire exhibition case backs.

 

[Happy Idiot]

I'm not a watch geek, but wanna give a shout out to Shinola. Company right here, makes em in Detroit. Clinton came here expressly to buy one. Anyone have one? Feedback appreciated.

 

[ChefBoyRG54]

I'm not a watch geek, but wanna give a shout out to Shinola. Company right here, makes em in Detroit. Clinton came here expressly to buy one. Anyone have one? Feedback appreciated.

My buddy does and he loves it

 

[cgraunke]

This is the first Orient I've owned, and also the first watch I've ever had that cost more than $60. It's pretty much the best thing ever. What other Orients do you have? I'm seriously considering a Bambino as my first dress watch.

My big thing for my watches is mechanical movements. They're thicker and heavier, but I like the idea of the classic technology and all the moving parts. Like a living machine on your wrist! I don't own any quartz movements, but I might break from that rule and eventually pick up a Citizen EcoDrive. The OrientStar is an automatic winding mechanical. It was a gift from my wife and is supposed to carry inspiration from the classic Japanese motorcycles (tank, filter cover, and reverse winding so the power meter reads like an instrument gauge) The pocket watch was the only manual mechanical winding one I could find at a reasonable price that wasn't just cheap chrome plated brass or copper. Got two of these, one for me and one for my best man. Both watches are polished stainless with sapphire crystal and sapphire exhibition case backs.

Oh, and that Bambino is a sharp looking quality piece that has definitely been on my radar.
Very classic look & feel. Check out creationwatches.com if you start shopping around.
Make sure you show us pictures once you finally break down!

 

[cgraunke]

One of my "If money was not an object" watches...

 

[oside]

Man, if money was no object, I'd love to have a Panerai Submersible, IWC Big Pilot, any Bell & Ross, Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean...

 

[StogieNinja]

Money no object?

1. Rolex Sub
2. IWC Pilot Chrono
3. Patek Calatrava