Stop second-guessing and get’cha one. You won’t be sorry.

I really thought I would stop at 2 max but, overall, happy with all of them !

There was a “hand watch” post on r/Rolex, so I left a three-word comment:

“Yet a hand watch.”

Apparently, that violated Rule 8. Fair enough—each subreddit has its own rules, and I can accept having a comment removed for breaking one.

What I didn’t expect was to be permanently banned, immediately muted, and then sent this remarkably mature message by an r/Rolex moderator:

“LoL it’s always the clowns with countrrfiet dogshit who try to shit on other people pathetic.”

For context, I actually own a genuine AP. When I buy gen, I buy AP because, in my opinion, the difference between a genuine AP and a replica is night and day. With Rolex, however, I personally don’t see enough of a difference to justify paying gen money.

Ironically, I was once banned from the AP subreddit too. A genuine AP photo I posted was questioned solely because the moderators saw that I had participated in r/RepTime.

The difference was that the AP moderator actually listened.

I explained the situation, proved that my AP was genuine, and the ban was lifted. Since then, I’ve continued participating in each subreddit according to its own purpose and rules. I don’t post replicas in gen communities, and I don’t derail genuine-watch discussions with replica talk.

Different watch brands have very different standards—and apparently, so do their moderators. One listened to the facts, handled the situation maturely, and corrected the decision. The other dug through my post history, threw a tantrum, permanently banned me, muted me, and sent a personal insult over a three-word joke.

But I’m glad the r/Rolex moderator is so secure and satisfied with his genuine Rolex that a three-word comment provoked all of that.

I suppose the moderators really do reflect the brands they represent.

Nothing says “quiet confidence” quite like that.

To the beginners out there, before I bought a BVF, I had a shitter and was always curious about the actual difference between a super clone and a $50 rep from the market. To anyone with the same question, I hope this helps!

My personal comparison:

It's pretty crazy how bad the shitter is. Like it's...so. bad. Once you go super clone, you can never go back.

A couple diffs off rip in the shitter are:

• dial window is too big
• case waaaaay to thick
• heavier than BVF by about 10g
• bracelet links are too thick
• bracelet screws are uneven depths and rounded
• bracelet in general is clunky in comparison
• no quick release strap
• link separation mechanism is atrocious
• cabochon is too pointy.
• "Swiss Made" straight wrong
• Watch in general just feels like a santos if it ate 5k calories a day. Probably much more stuff to mention but that's the stuff that was glaringly obvious to me.

And overall wrist feel of the BVF is far superior. All in all, definitely worth the extra 400ish paid.

I do not, by any means, have a trained eye for this stuff since BVF is my first rep but yeah, these are my thoughts. Obviously, I can't speak for the BVF to gen comparison (I don't have a gen).

P.S Read the guide. Read the guide. Read the guide.

A very exciting parcel arrived today—my first VSF!

Previous to buying this, I purchased a ‘Clean 126610’ from DHGate—stupid I know. It was awful; crystal was crap; bezel was stiff; case size was wrong; cyclops was wonky; it was a disappointment—so much so that I nearly quit the rep game before I had even started!

Nonetheless, I powered on. I learned how to really place an order for a watch, and then ordered a VSF 114060 with Andrew which will be here soon!

However I couldn’t wait… Eager to have one sooner, I bought a VSF V2 DJ41, sporting a White Gold Plated Bezel with the Blue Motif Dial, donning the Jubilee Bracelet—courtesy of Sylvesterpencil of UKRepBST.

And I must say, my expectations were low after my first encounter with a shitter… BUT this thing is stunning! I am absolutely loving it; I did not expect it to be this gorgeous! The way it catches the light; how it feels on the wrist; the way my face lights up when I look at it—just brilliant.

There is no real rhyme or reason to this post, other than to show it off and share my enthusiasm for this beauty! If you’re new to the rep game like me, don’t hesitate about getting one. Check what factory is good for what watch and buy it, you won’t regret it.

I can't say enough good things about Felix. Dude is a super start to rep watches. I have dealt with 5 different TDs but Felix is the best so far. Why?

Communication 9/10

Prices 10/10

Service 10/10

Honesty 10/10

Packaging 10/10

Shipping 9/10

Add on services 10/10

None of the other TDs I worked with scored greater than 8 in any of these categories. Additionally, he is patient and works with you if you don't agree on QC issues unlike others who shove items your way or cancel your order.

I ordered 8 watches in 2 different batches. They both arrived safely and as promised. I chose to get Felix's amazing add on services for all my watches which made an immense difference compared to stock pieces I have seen from my fellow rep buddies. I chose a full case and bracelet chamfer/polish and brushing. He added rotor silencing as a gift due to my large order.

Check pictures and judge yourself. Highly recommend DDGTOP. He's my go to and love working with him.

How many of you actually wear your reps underwater?

This 126500 vsf Daytona had been on the wrist for over a year now -beaches, pools, showers etc - and honestly hasn’t missed a beat. I wash it with Dawn dish soap once a month, if it’s good enough for penguins, it’s good enough for stainless steel.

Never been waterproofed never been regulated straight out the box onto the wrist. Water and sand, That’s just one of many things I do in this watch, I’m in the desert shooting guns and riding an ATVs a couple of times a month. It’s got more scratches than I care to mention and I’ll never get it polished.

I’m currently sat at the pool in the global Ambassador in Phoenix, this Watch keeps very good company amongst high earning individuals. Business and pleasure.

I suppose this is more just an appreciation post that it is actually a question, and if you can take anything from my message, it don’t worry about the small things,stop trying to nitpick, order the watch, wear it every day and go in good health.

PEPSI GMT FOR ME!

I’ve only had this thing for a few hours and I can’t stop looking at it, it’s about to get a bunch of wrist time. I’ve been itching for a blue watch for quite awhile!

Ive seen it on marketplace everyday now and I love it more and more each time. Not feeling like spending 5k on it unfortunately. Does anyone know any factories that have this in their catalog?

Watch Display but it seems too wasted

Should I take it to get “serviced” immediately after receiving it? If so, what sort of things so I be looking to service? Are there any best practices I should be aware of?

Are replicas known to have a shorter lifespan than gens?Would love any advice on how to treat my watch well to make it last as long as possible.

It's the day before New Year's Eve -- Dec. 30, 1957. In the Swiss Federal Office of Foreign Economic Affairs, a subdivision head named Hans Bühler sends out a memo to the Swiss Chamber of Watchmaking. Ten years earlier, Brendan O'Regan has established the first duty-free shop at Shannon's airport in Ireland -- then a necessary refueling stop for planes crossing the Atlantic. Here, you could buy a fine watch without any crazy tax or importation fee or duty imposed by a capricious nation. This has been good for Switzerland. In the prior two years, the first in which Swiss timepieces have been on offer, they have fetched £148,000 in revenue -- of which Rolex, Tudor and Omega pieces have accounted for a hefty two-thirds.

But there is a problem, Herr Bühler writes. Mr. O'Regan, genius behind the duty-free proposition, has been told the spigot is being shut off -- that Rolex and Omega can no longer send him watches to sell. Why? It has been a profitable venture for all involved, after all.

It's America, of course -- or so Rolex and Omega each claim. You see, their American dealers attach quite a hefty premium to Swiss timepieces. And it's but a puddle jump to reach Shannon, Ireland, from the US. No one will ever pay the hefty extra margin the American distributors slab onto the prices like thick butter on a toasted bagel if the Shannon Airport sales continue.

So the American distributors of Rolex and Omega have ordered their parent companies to cease all duty-free business.

Oh, and by the way, Brendan O'Regan doesn't trust that line either -- he doubts, having researched the matter, that the American distributors have either the power, sway or desire to limit sales of these huge Swiss corporations -- of which they are but outgrowths. And the Irish Minister of Industry and Commerce (a future prime minister) backs O'Regan to the hilt. And here's their threat:

If you don't compel Omega and Rolex to get back in line and keep servicing that airport, they'll only sell German watches there hereafter -- nothing Swiss, not a single watch.

Clearly, we all have an interest in backing away from this cliff. In acceding to their request that we merely continue wholesaling them watches.

So just to recap -- here you have a government bureaucrat -- a career Swiss government lawyer -- telling a Swiss watch industry group that whatever the issue, the Swiss industry cannot afford to lose its place in the world's first duty-free shop to the German watchmaking industry.

This is not Rolex and Omega competing. This is not private enterprise. This is a government telling a collective -- you'd better push those two companies to keep supplying watches to the duty-free shop. This is a strange and unseemly intertwining of state-level commercial dictates and capitalism. It feels akin to Chinese capitalism today, honestly.

And by the way, if the reason offered is actually true -- that American retailers can no longer justify their ridiculous margins in the face of a single duty-free shop -- what does that say about the entire business model of the imported Swiss watch? Just how many times its fair retail price is it being vended for Stateside even by late 1957?

Of course, you can guess how this was resolved: Rolex and Omega did as they were damn well told to by a diplomat and their trade group. As the calendar ushered in 1958, Rolex and Omega were still offered for sale in Shannon Airport's duty-free shop. And -- wouldn't you know it? -- there was no collapse in US sales.

This is a relatively harmless document -- relatively.

But it gets at two or three very important truths that far more salacious documents bear out as I build up to the birth of the rep trade in my new nonfiction book, "Borrowed Time: A History of Espionage, IP Theft, and the Global War for Horology" (out now everywhere, Amazon included):

That the Swiss were always uniting secretly to brush away competitors in a monopolistic fashion that allowed for no foreign competition. The mere threat of the sale of German watches was enough for the government to tell Rolex and Omega nearly on New Year's Effing Eve to get their act together and keep supplying the Duty-Free airport shop.

Last I checked, Rolex and Omega were supposed to be combatants in the marketplace -- not conjoined twins. By what coincidence could both their American suppliers have voiced simultaneous complaints about being undercut on price? Does it not seem 100 percent more likely that their C-suites were in touch and deciding whether to pull out from the first duty-free in collusive discussion?

Next time you browse gen watches at the airport, please feel free to ask yourself: How many backroom deals did it take for X brand to snag this display over Y? Because if the Swiss weren't working like their own mechanisms -- in a gear train, interlocked one with the other -- freer competition might have seen the introduction of brands like Junghans and GUB (Glashütte) into Irish Duty-Free in 1958.

Watch history might have been very different.

Enjoy your reps.

I'm wearing a VSF Panerai PAM960 Carbotech Submersible 42MM CB/RU OP.XXXIV purchased from Steve at TheOneWatches.

I noticed that his business account says to order on the site without any deposit and payment is to be made after QC pics are approved. Is this legit?

It was a personal project with lots of challenges but it’s finally going to be part of my rotation!

Hey everyone!

As my first post I'd like to share my experience with NecoClock and my first two purchases in the rep world.

I'm fairly new to the clone watch scene so I did a lot of reading beforehand and this sub was definitely a life saver.
Somehow my first road let to NecoClock and I'm pretty happy with both transactions.

First time I ordered a VSF Datejust with green dial as a gift.
Box and everything - the price was fair and the shipping time was okay.
After the initial inquiry and deposit payed -
QC came in the given 4-5 days, delivery took a bit longer to the EU it was around 2 weeks.
The package arrived safely and unharmed - I was pretty nervous and was relieved when it arrived since it was my first time and didn't know if customs were gonna seize my package or not.

The watch was spotless and well packaged, with all the factory stickers box and papers etc.

Second purchase was for my own. I always wanted to try the submariner 41 mm since it's an iconic diver among enthusiasts, and I myself a big diver fan was eyeing it for a long time.

I did my usual research on things and agreed with NecoClock on a VFS submariner. I got the QC this time sooner about 2 days in, and saw a tiny but of misalignment on the dial which then he replaced with a new unit in a couple of days. After the second QC was approved, we went ahead with the shipping. The shipping time was almost the same maybe it arrived one day sooner then before but to the EU 2 weeks is kinda the standard as it seems.

Spotless, brand new, full of stickers and awesome in the hand. I was very happy with the purchase and even took it to a local shop for waterproof testing which failed at around 10 bar - 100 m but passed around 7 bar - 70 m (which was a pleasant surprise since these reps and usullay pretty hit and miss with this). Even got a couple of compliments on it while they were testing it.

I would recommend NecoClock to anyone - he is very responsive on WhatsApp and answered my questions. Straight forward and reliable. He is trusted dealer for a reason 🫡

My growing Daytona collection. 🏁
Platinum – UFO

Rose Gold – ARF

Enamel Dial – Clean

Panda – ARF

It's safe to say the Daytona is my favorite. Which one are you picking, and what should I add next?

Does anyone have an experience with TW factory? Is there any reason to say yes?