The fakes have arrived. $150. Be careful

 

Less than a month since initial release. Faster than I expected.

 

Swatch watches are not discounted so if you are offered a new one for less than MSRP walk away.

 

Tell.

 

Amazing. You cannot go to a Swatch store and buy one or order one online, but you can buy a fake.

 

They should employ the fakers production facility and resources to meet demand. Use their powers for good and not evil.

 

Any pics or reference where you are seeing these?

 

So it’s a fake version of a fake version of a real watch.

Its basically the synthetic CDO of the watch world.

 

Last I looked they were selling for thousands on flea bay. Where are you seeing the fakes?

 

On Reddit they have a “rep time” sub. I follow it a bit as I saw they were making “vintage” fake omegas which surprised me and it helps me determine the “fake” vintage seikos. About a month ago they were reporting fake moonswatches but I have yet to see any pics. That group is pretty up on it so it’s probably true and not like it’s difficult to believe

 

I'm not going to reveal anything but I inquired about pictures (not available, yet).
Here's the response:

I'm still waiting for factory to release the samples to me

 

I was thinking the same thing. Perhaps this will lit a fire under Swatch to ramp up production so they can take advantage of the demand before the masses resort to buying the reps.

 

Knowing the fake market is very important if you plan to buy second hand since there is some very scary stuff out there. Gone are the days of cheap clones of eta movements. An acquaintance of mine is a watchmaker and he showed me a fake 3135 caliber Rolex movement, and he said it took him a little bit to realize something was up. To my eye, knowing the General shape of a 3135, it was fine, but it was as fake as the day is long. Omega coaxial fakes are a bit easier to spot but one needs to know the details.

I don’t understand the fake owners. It just doesn’t compute. There are so many awesome watches, great stuff, under $1k and some of these really good fakes are running up on that. It drives me nuts if I don’t have the correct brand of spring bars in my watch, so wearing a fake Rolex, Omega, whatever, would send me into a tailspin of self-doubt.

All I’m saying in this rambling, roundabout way, is to know your enemy.

 

It's all about getting the likes/followers/clout or whatever other cringey word people are using these days. In the past, I think the lower quality replicas kept people from wearing a replica out of fear of a knowledgeable watch enthusiast spotting the fake and judging them. Nowadays people can pay a few more hundred bucks for a high quality fake and never have to worry about outing themselves as wearing a replica, since even with a loupe or with the caseback off, it can very difficult even for a seasoned eye to determine what parts were incorrectly replicated. Scary stuff for people who like to buy 2nd hand and save a few bucks....or in the case of some models, spend more bucks, just to be able to own a hard to track down piece.

 

It’s definitely a strange world anymore. I got into watches about 15 years ago, and back then, a fake was easy to spot. However, these days you have to be an expert. The devil is in the details.

 

I feel similar to however I know a couple people who collect “fakes” they research and investigate the best possible “model” they can. Actually had one such member of that club over for dinner a while back. I commented as I thought he had a real Rolex and he told me about the whole fake thing and all his reading up on them. I think he paid 700. I forget now what Rolex reference he had. Now these type have no intent on fooling anyone or selling it as real but I did show him the vintage divers I got for 700 or less and modern seikos.

I don’t like the whole counterfeit thing. The only part I liked is this “subgroup” thinks it’s wrong to pass them off as real but personally I’ll wear my 65 dollar seiko 809 before I wore a fake 700 dollar Rolex. I did want a moonswatch at one point (real one) but that has been wearing off there are no swatch stores in a reasonable distance around me and although I think they are cool I’m just not that excited about them, I guess the thrill is gone.

 

Used to spend a lot of time in China. I hated to go to the knock off malls (which is what many colleagues new to the country always wanted to do after dinner) I hate fakes and people who buy em are basically enabling criminal behavior.

 

The sad thing is that for every person not trying to fool us, there are 50 who are. The whole fake space just seems like a waste of time to me.

I don’t consider the MoonSwatch a fake, I see it for what it is: Marketing and a bit of fun. Omega is showing us they aren’t taking themselves too seriously, and as long as they keep their promise of making them available online to anyone, I’ll remain a fan.

 

Omg the first time I went to China I had a mistaken idea that with the exchange rate I could get a good deal on a Rolex or omega. I hit the Bund in Shanghai and went to the AD’s. Nope, priced similar to the US probably more. But when you leave that store you are attacked by crews selling reps it was overwhelming how forceful they were trying to sell. They were canal street versions even me who had owned one Rolex in my life could tell just by look. Very unpleasant experience.