To homage or not to homage?

If you mistake a watch from this distance (and yes I did - it looked like a Sub at first), then it is “too hommage“ in my personal opinion.

Personally, I see nothing wrong with a Bond homage, and I have an Invicta pro Diver on a Bond nato strap somewhere in my collection that I put together when I started collecting. The movement in the Invicta broke, so it collects dust now (my issues with Invicta are a story in itself). I never replaced the Bond homage in my collection, and I probably won't at this point, as I am looking to add a vintage digital Seiko from the Roger Moore era to my collection at some point in the future, and that will be my Bond watch.

I have a Davosa Ternos "Hulk" homage. I bought this watch to actually scratch the itch and find out if I'd really like to pursue the "real deal" original at some point. The watch is high quality, the company has great service, and it looks great. Did it change my life? Nope, but it definitel looks good in my collection.  Do I want a Submariner now? Nope. Did it make me investigate other parts of Rolex's catalog to learn more? Yep...and now I'm more interested in and Air King or an Explorer. Did it get me to discover othe brands and their virtues and vices? Yep. In the end the purchase of an homage made me learn more about the rest of the watch world and I'm a better collector and consumer for it.

I buy homage watches to mirror image my higher end watches and wear them as daily beaters.  Can't go wrong with a well built homage watch.  Great choice 🤙🏽

That makes sense. I bought an Explorer homage to figure out if I would like such a style of watch. I came to realize that it is probably not the case, and in that sense the watch served its purpose.

If you like that style of watch, why not? I mean, it's not like most people have much of a choice.

I wasn’t familiar with San Martin, so I checked them out. Great looking watches with solid components at a killer price point. 10/10 would buy. 

To me a homage is completely acceptable if it is something that has not been in production for a long time or is homaging something that is unaffordable to the vast majority of us watch people. I think it is also fair to get a homage to trial if you want the original piece the inexpensive way. 

I do not have an issue with homage watches.  Some of our dream watches are simply not available or are unfordable to many of us even if they were available.  I am totally against fake watches.

My vote goes for Great Alternative!

It looks good

Definitely watch every San Martin review by Jody on Just One More Watch. Between that and Pagani he can give you all the good, bad, ugly/pretty on this brand.

I must have glossed over those reviews. Love JOMW. Thanks for the heads up!

Looks great!

Most people do not the have disposable income to buy a $10K watch, so if you like the style, and it's not a fake, buy and enjoy. 

Realistically, nobody but another watch nerd cares about what is on your wrist, so wear what you like. 

Agree completely with @KristianG … having 10k to drop on a watch is a pipe dream for several of us, so I say wear what brings you joy. 🤙

Is there another industry that does homage this well?

Ah the age old homage question. The short answer is, where whatever you want. Most people wear $50-$150 designer watches that, spec for spec, are equivalent to a $20 AliExpress watch, and probably wouldn't even know you have a Rolex homage, so it's of no consequence 95% of the time.

The only question is, do you care about what watch enthusiasts think? But then you get into the whole tribal fragmented nature of this hobby. In reality, the only person who would legitimately snub their nose at your watch is a Rolex owner who bought it purely for status, because he feels your watch dilutes that status. Ignore that guy.

On your watch specifically, good choice on the San Martin. Did you get the PT5000 option?

Finally, my personal opinion? I do not actually gravitate homages, or clomages, generally. I usually try to find something relatively original, or an homage that is pretty unique to itself. But this is for 2 specific reasons:

1) I use to wear a Seamaster homage, and found it very awkward when asked about it.
2) When I finally got my Omega Seamaster, I found that I liked it far better than what I had, and when asked about it, I was able to have a more comfortable conversation with a fellow watch enthusiast.

And I will say, whilst wearing either the homage, or the real one, I have found myself in 4 different situations where the watch came up. So it's still a relevant issue, despite my "95% of the time" comment.

All that said, I did finally pick up the Pagani Daytona after Jody wouldn't shut up about it, and I have to admit, copied design notwithstanding, it's a very fine watch for the money:
 

I have more or less the same view in homages. I have a couple of Corgeut watches with Miyota 8xxx movements that look a like current and past Omegas. They helped me learn more about the form factors and the models they got their inspiration from. Plus I got them used for next to nothing.. Still way better than overpriced fashion watches with cheap quartz movements with diamteres 1/3 of the watch diameter..😂

I buy watches from homage brands, because they are often spec-monsters at an affordable price in a design I like. That design may well be cloned/inspired from somewhere, which does not bother me much, especially if the original is unaffordable.  Currently I have a Parnis on order that looks like a Panerai, except that there is no such Panerai.

If I'd ever buy an homage as a try-it-out-watch for something really expensive then I'd go for a high-end homage (like most SanMartins) to get a realistic first impression. Paganis had some QC issues recently, so not for that purpose. 

My $0.02- No homage watches for me.

I try to get watches that I feel typify that brands' ethos or design philosophy.   For me, an homage watch makes me feel like I'm trying too hard.  

That said, as an exercise in seeing whether you like a particular style of watch, I see some value.  And if it's a good quality timepiece, then I could see it entering the daily rotation.  Wear what you want if it makes you happy.