Your take on homage watches?

If I could one day get the watch in the futur, I will not buy the hommage (example : 2000€ longine spirit) but if I know the watch is too expensive and I could not have it in the futur, I will probably buy the hommage (example : zenith el primero revival)

That's exactly my take on homage watches!! The Aquaracer homage was my first automatic watch, and in hindsight, I should've probably saved up just a bit longer, and get the actual TH. Still though, it's very well made so I'm keeping it for the time being. 😉

I do not like nor condone the homages like the one shown above. But true homages, so watches that take inspiration from a, usually legendary, watch I'm ok with. I own a CW Sealander GMT, certainly not a copy of the explorer II from which it takes inspiration. I actually found myself browsing this post because of the new Squale 1545, now less copy of the Sub (technically 70s Fifthy Fathoms, also "inspire" by the Sub) and more of an homage to those two models, made by whomade the actual cases 50 years back, to top it off. And yet I'm still not convinced,  I guess I'm looking for validation....

Homages are great if you want to mod /customize. Also, some offer features that the Real Thing just doesn't have. 

See my post: https://www.watchcrunch.com/ElTomstro/posts/custom-panerai-homage-the-triple-whammy-18385 

I´m not against them, but i don´t buy them. I think they provide nothing to our hobby and only exist to make the quick cash. They rip of an existing design without any own ideas. It´s not like, they took inspiration, they just tried to make it look like the original 1:1. 

There are so many microbrands with their own designs and ideas, it´s a shame to put money in Steinharts or SanMartins, when you can support real watchbrands. 

Personally I wouldn’t buy a homage that just copies a watch design. It’s okay to take cues and inspiration, after all that’s the case in pretty much all design across the board. 

But some ‘homage’ watches are just rip offs of the originals. Might as well buy a replica at that point 🤦🏻‍♂️🤔

I have a libertarian stance on intellectual property. The innovator gets a set period of time to reap exclusive profits, then the idea enters the public domain. Theoretically I should be against honages to new concepts like the Moonswatch, but I feel that competition improves the breed.

If the "original" can't beat price and quality of copies, they are either doing something wrong  or not directly being challenged.

I'm strongly opposed to the notion that some stale decades old design is the eternal cash cow of anybody.  Innovate or die. 

Homage watches can, in fact have a purpose.  For instance:

I flirt on and off with the idea of getting a Speedmaster, so I liked the idea of the Moonswatch in theory — essentially, test drive the case of the Speedmaster to confirm that it’s your kind of watch before plunking down thousands.  But then I realized that the Moonswatch only lets you test out the case, which isn’t really the whole story with the Speedmaster.  I’ve never lived with a non-hacking, no-date manual wind watch before, and whether I would like such a piece has been on my mind for some time.  So, for less money than a Moonswatch, I took a chance and went and ordered a Phylida homage to the Moonwatch (in fact, the last one in stock) during the Ali 11.11 sale.

Now, Ali watches can be hit or miss, so I may have tossed some money out the window, but I couldn’t not take a chance on this given that it will answer the question of whether I’d really want a Speedy over the long haul for almost $100 less than a Moonswatch.  It even operates essentially the same way as the older 1861 models, as a manual wind, non hacking, no date Chronograph beating at 21600vph.  The only difference is that this is actually a column wheel chronograph (which I’ve never had before), vs. a cam-lever. So, for a mere fraction of the price of the real deal (and we’re talking ~$6300 less, really), I get to try out 95% of the functionality of an actual Moonwatch before taking the plunge on the real deal, if I even decide it’s ultimately for me.

Alternatively, they can allow you to get the look of a watch that you like, but don’t like the price of.  For instance, I have a Cronos homage to an IWC Mark XVIII Le Petit Prince.  I could never justify $5000 on a basic three hand pilots watch, which I like the design of, but is essentially just an ETA powered timepiece with some neat engineering tricks in the bracelet.  My Cronos let me replicate about 80% of the look at a price I felt more comfortable with:

Nothing wrong with it as long as it's a re-creation of a model that is no longer in production.

I've run the gambit on homage watches.  I think I fall within the crowd of not buying one that I could afford otherwise.  I have less of a problem with getting ones of watches that don't exist anymore (Vaer D5 Tropic and Vaer C3 Korean Field for example).  At the end of the day to me though, I'd still rather see a ton of homage watches than the fakes.

Your last sentence is something I can 100% agree with. At first glance, you might think it's the actual watch. But it is upon closer inspection, that you notice all the subtle differences. Like I wrote in a previous post, I've had a bunch of situations where people actually thought my Submariner homage was the real deal, but when they came closer, they quickly noticed the differences and it was a nice conversation starter. So at the end of the day, I'd rather see Steinharts, Invictas or Pagani Designs than full-on Rolex clones.