As I was going through emails on Friday last week, preparing for a four day weekend and of course, Christmas, I stumbled across a question regarding the legality of repairing replica watches. I figured it was a good topic for an article, so here it is.
So why this assumption? If I had to guess, it stems from the belief that doing so would violate some law, due to the fact that selling and importing reps is illegal; At least in the US. While it is true that selling reps is against the law, as is importing them, repairing them most certainly is not. That is, assuming that the repairer isn’t selling and or installing “branded” parts, e.g., parts that have logos or markings such as trademarks, brand names, etc, on the parts. It is true that some watchsmiths that repair reps do in fact offer/sell/use/install branded parts. RWR does not. We do not obtain, use, sell or install any parts that have a logo, brand or trademark in, on or around them; Unless the part is genuine. This is actually quite simple because the few parts that have branding on them inside or on a replica watch are parts that typically do not fail, like bridges, retainers, etc. In the off chance they do, lets say a rep Rolex crown with bad clutch mechanism, a gen crown and tube can typically be sourced to replace the failing rep part. In the case of a bridge, we can re-jewel, true, etc, to use the existing part. The fact is, most issues in replica watches are with the movement. While a rotor, or decorative plate might be branded, what makes it tick is most certainly a movement that is unbranded, made by a reputable company and sold on the open market. This means that parts will be obtainable. It is very, very rare that we come across a branded part in a rep that needs to be swapped. Like once or twice a year rare. However, should it arise, we will typically send the customer to a TD to purchase the part, or to an M2M section on one of the forums to find the part. In either case, we’d have it sent in and use what was obtained.
So why is it then that virtually no mainstream watchsmiths are willing to work on replicas when legality isn’t an issue? Difficulty for one thing. Replicas are notoriously more difficult to repair than genuine makes. Further, prestige would be another. Lack of ability, as reps are often much different than the genuine article. Fear of genuine brand retaliation is a common one. Lack of a supply network is also a huge deterrent. The list goes on. Our biggest issue years back was fear of brand retaliation. If our house brands found out that we serviced reps, their nameplates would most certainly have been pulled out from under us. For the smaller guys, I’d guess lack of ability and lack of supply would be the main two reasons. I know many customers say that when they asked, their local watchsmith turned there nose up at them for even implying that they might fix a rep. In reality, I doubt it was as much of a “turning of the nose” as it was the fact that they know with replica watches, they can easily bite off more than they can chew.
So, illegal, no. Difficult, coupled with a troubled parts supply and the need for a unique workflow, specialized tools and a skillset honed to a level far beyond that of a standard watchsmith? You bet.