Wristwatch collectors out there?

[e-man67]

Word to the wise...do NOT buy an expensive watch without papers unless you are 100% certain of the source...I have a friend who bought a Sinn U1 rep and you cannot tell the difference...apparently they are coming from China and some dude is putting swiss Eta-2824's in them and selling them as reps...but if you didn't know it was a rep you would not be able to tell. I had an authentic U1 that I bought used for $1750 and it looked identical to this rep...ir crystal, bead blasting, smooth edges, bezel tightness, EXACT! Very scary.

[0002S]

Originally Posted by e-man67

Word to the wise...do NOT buy an expensive watch without papers unless you are 100% certain of the source...I have a friend who bought a Sinn U1 rep and you cannot tell the difference...apparently they are coming from China and some dude is putting swiss Eta-2824's in them and selling them as reps...but if you didn't know it was a rep you would not be able to tell. I had an authentic U1 that I bought used for $1750 and it looked identical to this rep...ir crystal, bead blasting, smooth edges, bezel tightness, EXACT! Very scary.

Sorta like some cigar lables....

[mosesbotbol]

Originally Posted by e-man67

Word to the wise...do NOT buy an expensive watch without papers unless you are 100% certain of the source...I have a friend who bought a Sinn U1 rep and you cannot tell the difference...apparently they are coming from China and some dude is putting swiss Eta-2824's in them and selling them as reps...but if you didn't know it was a rep you would not be able to tell. I had an authentic U1 that I bought used for $1750 and it looked identical to this rep...ir crystal, bead blasting, smooth edges, bezel tightness, EXACT! Very scary.

Wow, that's crazy. There was a big deal in Biel a few years ago of similar. Someone robbed one of the Rolex assembly plants, steeling a lot cases. From there it's easy to fake a convincing watch. It's best to deal with trusted sources on something so costly. Most will never see the inside of their watch.

I've heard about employees taking a few parts at a time and assemble a watch over a year or so (at several companies). It would be "authentic" in sense until you send it to get repaired at the factory, lol...

[gettysburgfreak]

Went to Torneau in the Forum Shops in Las Vegas and literally walked around with my mouth open the entire time. Got to see pretty much every nice watch you could think of. I wish they would have let me put some on to get a few pictures but I can understand why they wouldn't want some 23 year old kid holding a $250,000 platinum Rolex.

[s15driftking]

Originally Posted by gettysburgfreak

Went to Torneau in the Forum Shops in Las Vegas and literally walked around with my mouth open the entire time. Got to see pretty much every nice watch you could think of. I wish they would have let me put some on to get a few pictures but I can understand why they wouldn't want some 23 year old kid holding a $250,000 platinum Rolex.

I visited Torneau in Chicago, I was stunned with their selection. I can't imagine what was offered in the vegas torneau!!!

[DrDubzz]

Jealous of both of your, the Torneau in Dallas is only so-so

Although I found my RW there

[gettysburgfreak]

Originally Posted by s15driftking

I visited Torneau in Chicago, I was stunned with their selection. I can't imagine what was offered in the vegas torneau!!!

The selection was absurd. They had anything and everything you could think of. Seemed like the average price of a watch in there was 40gs.

[DrDubzz]

Originally Posted by gettysburgfreak

The selection was absurd. They had anything and everything you could think of. Seemed like the average price of a watch in there was 40gs.

[mosesbotbol]

Originally Posted by s15driftking

I visited Torneau in Chicago, I was stunned with their selection. I can't imagine what was offered in the vegas torneau!!!

The Vegas one is pretty impressive. Looks about the same size as Chicago. They lack a few brands or models, but they have something for a Sultan's budget that's for sure.

[TheRiddick]

Originally Posted by mosesbotbol

The Vegas one is pretty impressive. Looks about the same size as Chicago. They lack a few brands or models, but they have something for a Sultan's budget that's for sure.

Its about same size, if not smaller, than the original shop on Madison in NYC. The new one they moved to a number of years back is much larger. Great selection, but like you said, one needs a Sultan's budget and a complete disregard for actual discounted prices these watches can be had at.

[s15driftking]

Originally Posted by TheRiddick

one needs a Sultan's budget and a complete disregard for actual discounted prices these watches can be had at.

Exactly, many times a watch can be had for 20-25% off of what it lists for, sometimes as much as 30%.