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      03-09-2014, 05:03 PM   #75
tony20009
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Drives: BMW 335i - Coupe
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tony20009 View Post
...
As far as understanding why folks buy fakes, well there are some reasons that aren't hard to to grasp if one knows of them.
  • To get a sense of whether the look is indeed appealing.
  • To have a cheap version of an expensive watch to wear when the risk of theft is high
  • To buy the least expensive thing one can that looks good
  • To experience wearing a look that can only be had by spending vastly greater sums (granted this doesn't apply to a lot of watches)
  • To pretend to have the authentic article...
...
Quote:
Originally Posted by SenorFunkyPants View Post
...but it really is quite difficult to say.
1/ Partly true, I bought [several fake watches including an] IWC to see which I liked best. [I got rid of two and] I kept the IWC because I preferred the look.
2/ No
3/ Not really there are a million affordable watches that look good that I could buy.
4/ Yes maybe this.
5/ No. Relatively few people even know who IWC are or that they are expensive and no has as yet asked me or are likely to ask if my watch is real.

Even in the days when I was earning mental money and my contemporaries were buying Rolexs or similar I stuck with a relatively cheap watch.
I think my motive for buying a "fake" watch was to have a nice looking watch but was only prepared to pay what I thought it was was worth.
In the end its all about worth. I spend a fortune on cars because of the pleasure I get from driving - I just don't get the same from owning a watch.
  1. Red: So when do you plan to buy the authentic IWC?
  2. Blue: That one may be something that crosses the mind of folks who travel globally or who do things like charity work in rough, tough neighborhoods. Trust me though, you don't want to go to certain cities wearing expensive stuff as you stroll about just enjoying the place. The quintessential example of that is Rio at Carnival, but that's not the only example. There are also very wonderful places -- places that are safe in terms of your physical safety -- one might visit where leaving things in one's hotel room, even in the safe, isn't a good idea. One thing worth bearing in mind is that outside the U.S., and not including places with an inordinately high risk for terrorism, theft in various forms is the crime travelers are likely to encounter.
  3. Green: There are, but I have yet to come across a new watch that looks like the "big names" and that costs ~$25. I see exactly those things in the PRC every time I'm there. India, other parts of Southern and far Eastern Asia, South and Central America, and the Caribbean are also places I've seen similar things. That pretty well covers the majority of the world where one can find such things.

    (I wouldn't have offered this were this a "bargain basement shoppers" car forum, but it's not, it's a BMW forum. I think it's safe to say that BMW owners have the means to avail themselves of global markets in a what that buyers having a lower economic demographic don't. But, sure I could be wrong...)
  4. Purple: I have to agree that the point I made there can only potentially apply if one chooses a model that is well known enough that the general public would recognize the watch.
All the best.
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Cheers,
Tony

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