Are replica watches fake watches, and are high-imitation watches worth buying?

Hello everyone, this is Bokey Watch Industry. Friends who often buy watches via WeChat often ask us questions such as what replica watches mean and whether high-imitation watches are worth buying. In fact, after being engaged in the watch industry for so many years, it is necessary for us to share these industry common sense with watch enthusiasts.

1. Are replica watches fake watches?

First of all, it must be clearly stated that the “replica watches” referred to by watch merchants in Zhanxi Watch City are fake watches. In the watch industry, the original meaning of “replica watches” refers to: a watch brand reworks or reissues a previously influential watch model as a commemoration, a co-branded limited edition, or something similar.

However, merchants selling fake watches now define “replica watches” by themselves as high-imitation watches that have an extremely high similarity to genuine ones, are modeled 1:1 after the original, and are basically indistinguishable from the real ones by ordinary people. To put it bluntly, it’s just a nicer term.

2. Are high-imitation watches worth buying?

Actually, whether high-imitation watches are worth buying depends on different situations. In the Zhanxi market, high-imitation watches can cost as little as tens or hundreds of yuan, while some are priced at thousands or even tens of thousands of yuan. Even higher costs are involved for those with diamond inlays, gold plating, or equipped with Swiss ETA movements.

1. If you really like a certain brand of watch, but think it’s not worthwhile to spend tens of thousands or even over 100,000 yuan at the counter just for the brand story, and you don’t have a psychological rejection of fake watches, then there’s no problem in choosing a high-imitation watch. You can select watches with different levels of similarity and prices according to your budget.

2. If you own a genuine watch of a certain brand but cherish it very much, then choosing a replica of the same style for daily commuting is a good option. Moreover, if you want to “play with” more imitation watches of other brands, the cost of one genuine watch can allow you to have a dozen replica watches, which is also a great choice.

3. You may think buying a high-imitation watch is acceptable, but you’re worried about its quality. Actually, this concern is somewhat unnecessary. Except for those extremely cheap street vendor products, most high-imitation watches use qualified movements from regular movement factories such as Seagull, Shanghai, and Dandong. There are also Japanese Citizen and Seiko movements, which are accurate in timekeeping and reliable in stability.

Finally, if you can’t psychologically accept fake watches, and you have sufficient financial strength and appreciate the story and culture of watch brands, then buying a genuine watch at the counter is a natural choice.