Fake watch etiquette.

To paraphrase a beloved comic strip, be nice when you can, tough when you must. Not everyone wants to read about the origin of their homages and proper fakes

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PM first. Educate and discuss. Everyone learns through their own journeys as well as through others’ experiences…

I have ruined people's days by pointing out vintage frankenwatches. Since the net good in the world was not improved by that I now keep my mouth shut.

Yes. I had a watch pointed out as a fake. I had it confirmed the manufacturer. Does it suck? Yes. Its embarrassing. But lessons were learned. If you don't tell, they may unknowingly dive into a rabbit hole of fakes as they may continue buying from untrustworthy vendors.

This

I'm not seasoned enough a watch enthusiast to know from pictures whether something is fake or real. But even if I notice something odd about a watch, it's none of my business. The adage "no one cares about your watch except you" should also apply here.

I like to tell people in a gentle way. Remind them that it doesn't make it any less of a watch (it doesn't!) and maybe explain the context. I point out a lot of fake Seikos (Mostly on R*ddit where they are rampant) but it's often in the context of "IS THIS REAL?!" It isn't.

My rule developed through just living one day to the next is to keep my mouth shut! I might tell my fierce wife over our morning coffees who doesn’t care about watches or sports, she will mostly ignore me or politely pretend to listen.

Telling the poster doesn't always work. Many fakes are actually posted by fakers trying out their handiwork on unsuspecting watch enthusiasts. For this and other reasons most watch fora simply don't allow as much as even discussion of fakes.They are also looked down upon here as evidence of "counterfeits and fake" being a category for flagging a post. I'd just flag a post if I were sure it was a fake.

I let people wear what they want. I don't feel it's my place to critique anyone's watch or choice (short of the "is this a fake xyz" post asking the question).

As such, I also have zero issue with homage watches. Almost every watch out there has design elements of other and often more iconic watches.

As for replica watches, I would surmise that most folks wearing them out there are doing so knowingly. There are likely a non-trivial minority of cases of people being scammed into a fake on the used market, but those are often the folks posting asking if this is a fake or not. I hate that it happens. But if folks want to go to the trouble of sourcing a fake off the black market and passing it off as real to a community of watch enthusiasts who naturally strain over details like the placement of the "dot over 90," then they have larger issues they need to work out... Either way, not my place, really.

That's just me though.