Replica Quality V 'Other' Original at the same price point?

[Questions]

This got me thinking about the quality of the rep, sure they look good in the pics but would a rep of a given price be the same quality or even worse/better than an Original watch of the same price (in my case $360) purchased brand new at the jewellers say? I am totally new to this whole area so please be gentle with me

Tony I understand the exact question your asking because I asked it of myself the other day. Why buy a $3-350 Seiko when the rep PO 42mm I'm currently wearing looks/feels/appears to be of at least the same quality of the Seiko SKX-171 it replaced?

I have to say that if you look at the rep as *just* a watch and ignore the fact that it's a rep it's still a fairly high quality timepeice. For example the bracelet on the rep PO (5th gen) that I'm wearing is at least of equal quality and construction of a comparable Seiko, hell this rep has SEL's whereas Seiko only has hollow end links until you spend quite a bit more money. Same for the crystal, if indeed it is sapphire (which I'm not going to destructively test to find out), this again is a great value for money as no price comparable gen from Seiko/Citizen will typically offer sapphire. As for the movement, well I have the 21j DG4813 which from what I can tell is a rep of the Miyota 8125, I've had gen watches with the Miyota movement (LACO Fliger) that cost more than the rep does so what does that tell you -- you can pay more for a gen and get what is the same movement as a rep? Seems like the gen watch isn't as good of a value really.

Usually branded watches in the $300 range (Seiko, etc) use quartz movements, which is a completely different animal. They are usually more accurate than a mechanical movement but require you to change batterys, etc, and don't have any of the 'feel' that a mechanical movement has, if that makes any sense. If you ever happen to open your caseback to peek you'll understand what I mean here. So yes, often replicas come with movements that are of comparable quality to genuine watches while both are different (and usually preferable to the people on this board) than most $300 branded watches. (Some reps do use quartz movements to keep the cost down though, and there are $300 watches that have mechanical movements so there are variations.)

I have to disagree, you can get a Seiko 7s26 powered automatic for $300 or less all day long and I'd say that the 7s26 movement is probably better than most rep movements based on price. If I could have ordered my PO rep with a new, adjusted, 7s26 I would have in a heartbeat because I know that the Seiko movement is a reliable workhorse that will likely outlast the rep movement.

Heck, you can pick up several Orient's for under $100 with an in-house automatic movement that are excellent. $300 does not mean quartz at all, $300 can get you a very nice gen with an auto no sweat.

[Tony Montana]

Tony I understand the exact question your asking because I asked it of myself the other day. Why buy a $3-350 Seiko when the rep PO 42mm I'm currently wearing looks/feels/appears to be of at least the same quality of the Seiko SKX-171 it replaced?

I have to say that if you look at the rep as *just* a watch and ignore the fact that it's a rep it's still a fairly high quality timepeice. For example the bracelet on the rep PO (5th gen) that I'm wearing is at least of equal quality and construction of a comparable Seiko, hell this rep has SEL's whereas Seiko only has hollow end links until you spend quite a bit more money. Same for the crystal, if indeed it is sapphire (which I'm not going to destructively test to find out), this again is a great value for money as no price comparable gen from Seiko/Citizen will typically offer sapphire. As for the movement, well I have the 21j DG4813 which from what I can tell is a rep of the Miyota 8125, I've had gen watches with the Miyota movement (LACO Fliger) that cost more than the rep does so what does that tell you -- you can pay more for a gen and get what is the same movement as a rep? Seems like the gen watch isn't as good of a value really.

That's a great write up and exactly what i was after, thanks for that