To mod or not to mod, that is the question?
As someone who hasn’t the expertise to make modifications to watches and admires the skills of those who can, my only option is to buy a modded piece or pay someone to have it modified for me.
It then occurred to me a question; what modifications would I have made?
There seems to be two general avenues that rep lovers take. One is to get as close to the genuine article as possible by subtle changes to the aesthetics and/or replacing some of the parts with genuine. The other route is to age the watches to give the appearance of a well worn item thereby giving the impression that this can’t possibly be a rep, for why would it look so old and ‘shabby’.
This was a view recently re-enforced by a comment made about one of my recent purchases that said ‘it needs aging’.
This posed another question which was what impression we are trying to give when wearing our replica watches; modified or otherwise.
There are those who claim they are not trying to pretend that they are wearing the genuine article and it is just down to the self satisfaction of wearing a design that pleases. This concept seems to parallel female models as they strut around in barely there pieces of material about the size of small handkerchiefs while telling everyone they ‘do it for themselves’ and insist that they deplore being looked at. Personally I’m quite happy to be thought that I’m wearing a genuine Rolex or Panerai but if someone calls me out I’ll happy admit to the reality. It’s never happened by the way.
So now to that aged look. It seems that, as much effort goes into making something look old and genuine that it does trying to make it look new and genuine. Some of the results I’ve seen don’t appeal to me at all and have been taken a little too far, but hey that’s down to individual taste.
If I analyse this logic a little more thoroughly it seems that the objective is still to convince others that a genuine piece is around the wrist, it’s just trying a different approach. But what do the independent observers make of the somewhat distressed watch hanging from the wrist. Do they indeed think what an attractive aging genuine watch OR do they think ‘what a shame, he used to have money but now can’t afford to update his old battered Rolex’? Rather like someone getting into a tatty and rusting old Jaguar thinking that everyone is admiring what he thinks is an impressive ride.
Perhaps it is part of a progressive evolution where we all start by looking for the ‘best sub’. We then find that a Datejust is more appealing which quickly merges into wanting a Daytona or a GMT. Without realizing it we suddenly find Panerai more attractive and find two or three in our collection with a Breitling and an Omega apparently appearing from nowhere. Is it at this point we begin the search for a modded piece with gen parts or does the desire for the antique look come first?
Maybe I’m over thinking this and it is all down to the fact that the skilled watchmaker/modder sees it more of an individual challenge, seeing just how close he/she can get to making it look genuine. Is there after all an element of personal satisfaction in using a skill set to create, what after all would be a very individual watch.
Perhaps, but even so there is a little voice at back of my mind that keeps saying, ‘No, everyone just wants to pretend they have the genuine article on their wrist.’
Exactly where is the tipping point between an obvious, poor replica and a well crafted high end or well modified replica? More to the point, who is to judge?
The judge must surely be the observer rather than the wearer. The wearer already knows it is not gen, but hopes it will pass for one.
Then there is the question of how competent the observer is to make the distinction, and that is the major variable factor. I am willing to bet that a very small percentage of the public won’t be aware of a prestige brand let alone identify one. The majority, I suspect, will have knowledge of the major brands such as Rolex and Omega etc. but few would be able to authenticate one beyond reading the name on the dial. What remains is another small percentage that are familiar with certain brands either because they have owned one or they are members of forums such as this and have gained some expertise in the subtle differences. Even then the standard of a good replica watch is such that even that group may not have one hundred percent confidence that they have identified a replica and would hesitate in making their suspicions known.
Of course if you just stepped out of a beaten up used car dressed in rags, not many are going to be fooled by your DSSD wrapped around your wrist; or would they? There will always be someone willing to believe that you are some weird eccentric just pretending to be a pauper and the Rolly is a giveaway!
So are all these modifications and aging and the costs associated with it really worth the effort?
You, no doubt, will tell me.
