Why Replica Watches are in Demand and How to Identify Them?

Identification

Look through the catalogues: To identify a fake watch one should know the features of genuine models. Look through the catalogues of the original watch manufacturers and remember the main aspects of a real timepiece. It is important to be aware not only about the face of the watch but also about its bracelet, clasp and of course the back of the watch where you may find the stamp of the manufacturers.

It is also important to understand that if a model is not shown in the catalogue or on the website of the original manufacturer it doesn't mean it is a fake. Various watchmakers have many collections the timepieces of which cannot be fully displayed.

Pay attention to specific features: Most of replica watches do not possess specific features of a genuine timepiece like the transparent case back or a helium release valve. If you find some replicas that really include such features then it doesn't mean that they work properly. The back of the case can be made of some glass which can be easily broken when the watch is dropped.

Fake chronographs can have for instance non-operating subdials and some functions like the stop watch. Some replica watches may have color combinations or textures of their bezel that cannot be seen on the genuine timepiece. The mechanism on the clasp of the bracelet can have a less complicated mechanism.

Identify the older or less known genuine watches: Some famous brands like Cartier, Omega or IWC create models that look similar to their older versions. Although these watches are original sometimes even collectors collectors may mistake some watches as being just a skillful forgery. Some watches are created for specific reasons, whether on demand or for international expositions. These are made in a small number so they may be unknown to some people.

Some original watch manufacturers engrave their serial numbers in specific places of the watch. For example Omega timepieces have an 8 digit serial number which is laser etched and in most cases it can be found on the back of a lug or the case.

Breitling Replica Identification

Movement First! An easy way to reveal a Breitling replica from the original Breitling watch is by its movement. It is important to make sure that the movement of the genuine timepiece is automatic and not battery powered and its chronographs work. To understand whether the movement is automatic or not, it is necessary to take a look at the second hand. The latter is sweeping on the timepiece with an automatic movement. It means that the hand does not tick every second. Having a look at the second hand you can see that it smoothly moves through a series of some very fine ticks.

Chronographs: The original chronographs work when pushing small buttons located at the side of the watch. If you see that the chronographs can act as stop watches, then you got the original watch. On the fake Breitling models the chronographs simply track the seconds as well as hours and days. The Breitling replicas have chronographs that whether do not function or are unable to act as timers.

Why Not Prohibited?

The possession of a replica watch is not considered to be illegal but their production can be considered so. This is because fake watch manufacturers violate the law concerning the copyrights and trademarks of the original watch producer. There are several reasons that can explain the fact that fake watches are not stopped by the law or legal actions of the original manufacturers.

First of all the watch market encompasses a huge number of fake watch manufacturers. Thus, when one manufacturer of fake watches is stopped several other replica timepiece creators appear on the market. It is like a tendency, some kind of axiom. This cannot be stopped. Legal actions require huge costs and original manufacturers are aware of the fact that their actions against fake watch manufacturers are just a waste of time and money.

In order to stop the invasion of fake watches the watch market requires government intervention on the international level but recently there are other important international problems that need to be solved besides fighting the replica watch manufacturers.

The second reason is that the replica watches do not have a serious impact on the original watch manufacturers. The latter will lose much more money on legal pursue than on letting the fake timepiece producers do their job. And finally, the legal manufacturers do not want to be involved in some cases like the sale of a fake watch by the price of an original. The latter are the cases of fraud handled by the police. For the manufacturers of original watches there is no need to be involved since in the fraud cases there are no sellers or dealers that have any connection with the original producer.

A Glance into the History

The industry of watchmaking has a long history throughout which the manufacturers of various timepieces not always were able to survive either because of competition on the market of watches or because of economic, political and/or social aspects. Some watchmakers that have become well-known today had a long way to go before they achieved the status of famous.

First there were some revolutions during the 19th century, then there occurred the First World War and afterwards humanity felt the impact of the Second World War. The watchmaking industry survived and continued its production increasing its sales of mechanical winding or automatic wristwatches. The prosperity was about to end when the manufacturers of mechanical timepiece faced the quartz watches that came mainly from Asian countries.

The rivalry among mechanical and battery powered movements during 1980s ended and each company finally found its customer.

Highlights on Replica Watches

Today the manufacturers of genuine timepieces have another issue to face, which is related to replica watches. The latter have already become popular thanks to their price, which is much lower than the original watches, and the exactness of their reproduction.

The most popular models of watches designed by the famous brands are copied by various replica watch manufacturers. The price of copied timepieces may vary from ten dollars and till several hundreds of dollars. It is quite obvious the fact that the more peculiarities of a genuine watch are accurately copied, the higher the price for a replica will be. Still, no matter how brilliantly the timepieces are copied, the price of a fake watch is still lower, which is why there is a high demand for replicas.

Today the original models are copied quite well, having even the manufacturer's logo, serial numbers and many other aspects with the help of which it is easy to detect whether the timepiece is genuine. As for the durability of replica timepieces - it can vary from two or three years and up depending on the quality of materials used in their manufacturing as well as the assembling.

The replica watch "trend" is not a new one. Among various copies one can find watches that were copied many years ago. The old fakes were copied from the brands that were not very popular and the price of which was also not very high. These old replicas were relabeled. A different logo of the brand on the dial of a fake watch was repainted.

But it is still up to the consumer to decide what kind of timepiece to purchase. The main advantage of a replica watch is its price but the main advantage of a genuine timepiece is its reliability and durability. Thus the main choice refers to the mix of quality and price.

You Need a Watch

Something Small and Astronomically Expensive? You Need a Watch

Have you ever asked yourself, how much could the most expensive watch cost? 20,000 dollars?
The answer is NO.
Even $ 50,000 and $ 100,000 would not be near the actual number.
The most expensive watches are all estimated like works of art, like masterpieces of those great artists and painters like Van Gough or Picasso. And why not treat watches as some of them deserve – like works of art?

Yes, some might say that this is illogical to give bags of money for one single watch, yet the true connoisseurs are not sorry for hundred thousand dollars paid for a masterpiece, whether it is a timepiece or a piece of art.

The making of a good watch is truly art, because when you look inside of that watch you won't understand everything what is going on under that shining case and despite that it shows the time and all other possible things. There are many pieces which complete each other; these pieces work all together as one team, as one single mechanism. This mechanism is like a good football team, where all the players are performing a good team-work and not displaying individual skills. The same thing is with a watch: if one piece was missing the whole team would fall apart.

Thus the watch makers are not doing it hastily, they take their time and do their job as if it were the last job they were doing.

Swiss – Is That Good?

In 2005 there was published a list of 12 most expensive watches of the world and some people can't possibly imagine how expensive they really are. These prices are not any bids at an auction, since they are manufacturer's prices; this means that they estimate their work in a price that looks like a phone number. In 2006 there hasn't been any list created, at least not yet, so this article will contain the list of most expensive watches from the end of the last year.
In that list all twelve watches are made by Swiss watchmakers and only two of them were founded in the 20th century, moreover in the mid nineties. That is a piece of statistic to show what a Swiss made watch means.

The Best of the Best



The first on this list is the Tour de l'Ile from Vacheron Constantin, the Swiss watch maker founded in 1755. This timepiece is a unique watch, which was seven years developed and then three years assembled. In 2005 this watch marked the 250th watchmaker's anniversary. Tour de l'Ile is probably the busiest watch in the world, as it has 834 separate pieces and 16 complications inside (including tourbillon, power reserve, striking-mechanism torque, moon phase, sunrise and sunset time, perpetual calendar, sky chart and many other features too impress with). Its price was 1.5 million US dollars and you can be sure that the watch enthusiasts won't hesitate to write out a check for this money.




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Blancpain


The second on the list is a Blancpain watch bearing the foundation's year as its name – 1735. This timepiece is for the second year in a row on this place. The ultra-slim 42 mm platinum case incorporates 740 separate pieces, of which only 18 are of a limited run. The perpetual calendar, minute repeater, split-second chronograph, tourbillon and moon phase are the 5 of 6 complication. According to the Swatch Group (the owner of Blancpain) the ultra-slim case is a complication itself. There were only 30 watches assembled and it didn't last only one year for sure. The price for the 1735 Blancpain was $ 839,000 (though in 2001 its price was 1 million dollars).




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Girard-Perregaux


The "Bronze" goes to Girard-Perregaux's Opera Three with over $ 300,000 gap between the second and the third place. The Opera Three could be bought for $ 532,000. In this company of extraordinary watches it has almost everything other timepieces also have, though there is one 'but': the watch is able to signal the hours not with a beep, chime or gong, but with real tunes. These tunes are played thanks to a miniature music box, which has 20 blades and a drum spotted with 150 hand-mounted pins. The owner of this watch can choose between 2 tunes to match his taste. The wearer can also disable the music playing by using the lever to disconnect those tunes entirely or play them upon demand.




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Parmigiani Fleurier

The fourth in the list of lucky ones landed the Toric Corrector Quantième Perpétual from Parmigiani Fleurier, one of the two Swiss watchmakers founded at the end of the 20th century (1996). It is also a sophisticated mechanism watch with a series of complications, as showing day, month, leap year, retrograde date and the precise moon phase. The subdials do their job with the complications, while the "javelin" hands keep the time running. The extravagant thing in this watch is its ability to correct all of its calendar functions with just one push of the button. The Corrector has also a minute repeater function and its power reserve lasts 45 long hours. The timepiece is available in a limited edition of six in two variants: 950 platinum for $ 477,000 or in 18-karat pink gold for $ 346,000.



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Roger Dubuis



The next work of art is Roger Dubuis' (another new watch maker, founded in 1995) Excalibur EX 08. The name speaks for itself! Every one who can afford paying $ 450,000 for a watch will look nicely with this piece strapped around the wrist. It is a 45 mm watch with an 18-karat polished and satiny gold case. The time is shown by golden hands on the dial of relief Roman numerals. The complications are the flying tourbillon set at 5 o'clock and the minute repeater. The watch was set on a limited production of 28 pieces.





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Audemars Piguet



In the middle of the noblest watches' list has found a place the Royal Oak Tourbillon from Audemars Piguet. This watch comes from Audemars Piguet's (founded in 1875) Tradition d'Exelence Collection. In only 46 mm of 950 platinum case there are many devices to show a lot of different and maybe vital information: the two-barrel power reserve up to 10 days and the stop-work, both engraved with the designation of the watch; the 10 mm tourbillon at 9 o'clock; the 30-minute chronograph, which stands out on a black background. All this pack of little mechanisms is available in limited edition of 20 pieces for $ 379,000 each.



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Jaeger-LeCoultre




The Gyrotourbillon I from Jaeger-LeCoultre (founded in 1833) has begun the list of the other half of the twelve most expensive watches in the world. It represents a 950 platinum case with a caliber 177 movement, which includes 512 separate parts. The watch, if wound to the limit, works unstoppably for 150 hours. The dial includes hours, minutes and seconds display, along with other complications as power reserve, ongoing equation of time, perpetual date and two retrograde needles, retrograde perpetual month and leap year on the back. The Gyrotourbillon I costs $ 310,000 and includes also a gray alligator strap.



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The Gyrotourbillon



The Gyrotourbillon I is followed by the Grande Complication from IWC (the International Watch Company, founded in 1868). It is a fine piece of art, containing 659 mechanical parts, 71 of which are jewels. The whole mechanism is responsible for performing 21 functions, among which minute repeater, four-digit year display and moon-phase display. The case is made of fine polished goldstone and has a perpetual calendar for the next 500 years (you can now imagine how much it will cost in, say, 300 years). This wristwatch is available for round $ 300,000 for each of the 50 pieces produced.





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Omega





The 9th most expensive watch is the Skeleton Central Tourbillon from Omega. This watch is no exception from the well-known watches from Omega, which have always a lot of additional functions (no wonder Omega is the first watch to be on the moon). The Skeleton Central has impressed with its 800 separate parts, each of them being hand-made, and with the placement of the tourbillon right in the center of the face. This watch is available for anyone being willing to pay $ 282,500 for it.




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Breguet



The next on the line is the Classique Grande Complication from Breguet. This timepiece is one for those who like to have the only watch in the world, as every single watch comes numbered and signed. The platinum 44 mm case has an 18-karat gold dial inside, which has a perpetual calendar to display date, day, retrograde month, leap years and phases of the moon. The reserve of power is 44 hours. Every unique timepiece of this type from Breguet will cost you 2,800.
And here are the last two most expensive watches: the Ten Day Tourbillon from Patek Philippe for 0,000 and Bentley Mulliner Tourbillon from Bretiling for $ 215,000 in platinum and 2,000 in gold.




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The Ten day Tourbillon




The Ten day Tourbillon is a stylish piece of jewelry, which is a platinum case with its 32 mm movement diameter; it will hold on to your wrist tightly with an alligator strap. The main thing about this watch is its ten-day power reserve, despite all of its complexities.








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The Breitling





The Breitling's watch is also one worth buying. It was turned to a production of 2 per month over the next years, so that each customer or any person willing to buy this watch could customize the particularities at his taste. 'His' because the Bentley Mulliner Tourbillon is a particularly masculine wristwatch, which comes with a 30-second chronograph, which enabled readings to one-sixth of a second.









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In the End…

You have seen that classicism is not dead, as all on the list are analog watches by the best Swiss watchmakers. There are various watches, amongst them skeleton watches, with "grand complications" and not so "grant", but none of them is a digital watch. Of course, nobody wants to underestimate the digital watches, as they might have a doubled number of functions as the analog watches, but the collector values the art in watch-making and not the technology. Handicraft, precision and patience – these three qualities determine what a watch will be like. A watch absorbs the whole love, which was given to it during its making and after it is done, it is always highly estimated and respected by those who can value the masterpiece in time.

12000 Feet Available for Breaking the Records

12000 Feet Available for Breaking the Records


18th September 2006 marked another event in the series of world-record-breaking days in the history of watch-making.

The Swiss watch-making company has presented the world a watch, which endures such oceanic depths, which you could not even imagine – 12000 feet (3 657,60 m). This frightening depth has also given a name to this watch from Swiss Military Watches – 12000 FEET.

The Testing of the Watch

The history of this watch has begun in 2003, when Mr. Frank Bürgin informed that he is ready to accept the challenge and assemble the most water resistant watch for the divers ever. Since then he undertook many steps to assemble and then test the prototypes of this timepiece.

First of all, the materials used in the process of building had to be newly invented. After developing the design of the new watch, it took several stainless steel alloys to come up with the optimal weight/pressure resistance index. A higher pressure requires also a powerful metal alloy to be able to resist this pressure. But powerful, means heavy. Thus the watchmakers had to test several compositions, so that the divers won't have to carry a one-kilo watch in addition to the 50 kg equipment.

Additionally, the crystal had to be reinvented, as none of the existing crystal glasses would be able to resist this huge pressure. After a series of lab tests the new 8 mm thick crystal glass (a record itself) is able to resist a pressure up to 370kg/cm2. The anti-reflective shield on the glass increases the visibility under any circumstances.
It is easy to imagine that this watch had to be also tested under the 12000 feet pressure conditions. This testing chamber able to generate the pressure of 800 at had to be also assembled and tested.

Thus almost every little detail of the new watch had to be an absolutely new concept, which firstly had to be developed, designed, assembled and then tested.
The final tests under conditions of natural pressure were undertaken by the famous Oceanographic Institute of the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom. These final tests have proven that the Swiss Military Watches are now rightly called the most water resistant diving watches.

Technical Characteristics

As for the technical characteristics there is not much unusual to say. The watch is powered by a mechanical movement Caliber Valijoux 7750. The watch has the central second function, whereas the seconds themselves run on the additional sub dial at 9 o'clock. The chronometer hands (the central seconds and the additional minutes' hand) are red. Other additional sub dials are the 30 minutes and the 12 hours dials, which are at 6 o'clock and 12 o'clock respectively. The big date display is at 3 o'clock. The glowing indexes and the hands will always offer highest visibility for the watch's wearer under any conditions.