Do you find replica/"fake"homage watches ethical or not

I voted No, assuming that is was "No, they are not ethical".

I'll expand on that though, as it seems like you're lumping two different things together. A "fake" or replica with false branding is unethical, and illegal many places. A clone that doesn't have fake branding, but looks similar is not unethical, or illegal.

A Steeldive, Pagani, or San Martin clone is simply a watch copying the design of a famous model, but not trying to pass itself off as a famous luxury brand.

Well said. I don’t support reps and while I personally don’t care for homages, I support what they do for the hobby.

Fakes, no. A homage, especially of something that hasn’t been sold for years, sure. The Tudor Black Bay 54 and 58 are homages to watches from their past, and the BB54 is a near 1:1 copy of the original with new materials/movements. My only homage watch is the Invicta 1953 homage of the Original Rolex 6204, but I chose the Batman bezel to add a modern twist.

I have sufficient income to buy a luxury watch, but all my watches are below $100… from Seiko, Casio, Timex, Victorinox, and … as noted above, Invicta. You don't need to spend more than $200 to have a nice watch from a reputable brand.

Homages are ethical. Counterfeit fakes are not. There are also plenty of nice $200 watches out there that aren’t close homages.

Generally I try to curb any impulses I have to defend large corporations.

I too consider an homage (even if it is nearly a 1/1 copy) ok so long as it is not counterfeit. For instance have a Steeldive Willard but it is accurately branded.

Homage? Sure, as long as the buyer knows what they’re getting. I own two PD Omega homages and I quite like them.

They don’t say Omega. They have Seiko movements. Quite good specs for the price.

And it isn’t costing Omega any sales because I’m not in that price tier.

Fakes presented as “the real thing” are entirely different, though I haven’t seen any of those from any of my vendors.

Caveat: I think the cheap Casio clones (schmoo? can’t remember the awful name) are potentially hurting customers and Casio.

Big difference between a $10 copy of a $20 watch and a $150 copy of an $8000 watch.

Skmei

I voted yes, with the proviso that its a homage (a look alike) and not a fake.

I see no issue in a watch taking the bulk of ots styling cues from a high price brand provided that its not badged as the same.

Counterfeits help fund some very unsavory underworld businesses as well as being illegal and outright theft of copyrighted designs and logos.

If you buy them, you are supporting organized crime. Period.

Not to mention, people know you are wearing a fake. And then they laugh at you for it. Personally I don't trust anyone that wears a fake. Speaks of who they are, and not in a good way.

Yes I meant brands like san martin & pagani not a brand name clone.

I'd like to thank everyone who took their time to respond to the post and elaborate further on their votes. I've been noticing a bit of a trend and hence I wanna elaborate on it. I don't mean replicasor clones as in taking the brand name and reselling it under the same name, but rather brand thats have a similar or nigh identical design that pose as their own brand. I don't support faking a brand name.

I think I may use your assistance in finding set 200$ gems. Thank you so much for taking the time to elaborate on your vote :)

I'm not okay with counterfits as well. I meant watches with similar or identical designs to more high end watches, though made by diffrent brands. Example: casioak or half of the san martin line up

I agree completely with this sentiment. An homage and a fake are two different thing. San Martin, Steeldive, Pagani are all fine for what they are and they don’t pretend to be anything else. A fake is illegal.

Wait or the next AliExpress sale, we’ll worth it in your case.

Homages are fine.

Replicas, fakes, counterfeit, etc. are illegal in most countries. I don’t know the laws in Egypt but I say, illegal or not, counterfeits are unethical.

I fully agree with you on counterfits being unethical. I'm talking about replicas such as san martins royal oak esk watches, etc

Going back to the first post, you have to be cautious with using the word replica. It’s the same meaning as fake.

Replica is a word that fake watch buyers use so they don’t have to admit to themselves that they are buying illegal counterfeit merchandise.

Well what would be the right word to use. I'm still new to the hobby and not familiar with every terminology so apologies for not understanding all the naming conventions. What I meant with replicas are brands who design similar or even 1:1 copies of more expensive or discontinued watches, though under their own brand name and not the original designers brand name. (san martin for example)

Homage is the best term even though it isn’t technically accurate.

Thank you for the clarification my friend :)

I'm just curious how someone from Egypt says "y'alls." 😂 Are you from south of the Mason-Dixon line?

On Topic: Homage watches are fine, I have plenty of divers that are homages to the Rolex Sub.

Well I was born and raised in toronto canada until I was about 6 from two immigrant egyptian parents. Then my parents did a full 180 and went back to egypt (worse decision ever). Most of my accent was based on the nursery I was at when I was young and the english tv shows I watched, with y'all sounding like an easy word to use. Its similar to "ya wala" or "ya welad", which I use regularly (meaning "my dear" and "my bros"). Litral translation is more "the dear" and "the children".

The weight of how you say it matters too 😅

What an interesting life you've had so far. Welcome to the WatchCrunch family. 🤝

Thank you so much my friend. I'm honoured to know all of you guys and gals and be an active part of this community :)