Super Fake Watches
The days of fake watches are behind us – and oh, how we wish that were the end of the sentence. Unfortunately, the new age of knockoffs has ushered in an era of Super Fake watches. Super Fake watches are stronger, better, faster counterfeits, often using parts of real luxury watches all cobbled together. Here’s why we hate them.
Fake watches are bad enough. Not only do they degrade the beauty, rarity and prestige of the real thing, they hurt real people. We aren’t out here trying to garner support for the poor luxury Swiss watchmakers missing out on a $40,000 sale (though stealing Intellectual Property and counterfeiting are always wrong anyway!) No, we insist that you stop and ask, who’s making these fake watches?
It’s often destitute women and children forced into subhuman labor conditions. And they’re all working for a criminal enterprise, because no matter how nice of an illegal counterfeit ring boss you are, you’re still running an illegal counterfeit ring. And let’s be honest, these guys aren’t Robin Hood. They’re living large off the $461 billion a year counterfeit biz, and using it to fund their other endeavors like terrorism, human trafficking and organized crime. Counterfeit goods are not a victimless way for you to save a few bucks and still floss.
Beyond the abhorrent reasons above, wearing a fake watch won’t make you look cool. In fact, opposite. You’ll need to buy a Super Fake to passably convince anyone you’re wearing something real, and Super Fake watches still cost a chunk of change. Granted, we’re talking hundreds of dollars instead of thousands, but still. Why spend hundreds of dollars on something entirely worthless? That’s the definition of paying for a brand name (even if it is fake.) And yes, some of the cost of authentic luxury watches comes from the prestige of their name, but you pay for more than a label.
You pay for centuries of innovation; for the most expert hands in the field painstakingly crafting a feat of engineering that you wear on your wrist; we’re talking complicated machines the size of a pinhead; you’re paying for something truly rare in this ear: time and tradition.
Super Fake watches are the new face of those who seek to undermine that tradition of luxury. They’re cobbling together stolen or replicated parts of different watch models, sometimes different watch brands. They’re doing it hastily and with no skill, and they’re still charging you a chunk of change for it. Gone are the back alley “Patik Philips” and here are some seriously convincing Faulexes – even our buyers have been burned by the really good ones (until they’re opened up to look at the movement.)
We get it, it’s hard to feel bad for the people selling watches the same price as a car. And it’s hard to feel bad about being “savvy” enough to buy something for $300 that you’d usually get for $13,000. Please, read the first comment on this post. But, for all the reasons above, you’re better off waiting and saving for the real thing. You’re better off buying an authentic used watch. You’re better off buying what you can afford now – like a great, high quality TAG and upgrading as your love for watches (and your budget) grows.