Buying A Rep - Managing Expectations

A recent phone call with a new customer prompted this article. Most of you will read this and think yeah, no s**t. A large volume of our customers, however, struggle with this aspect of buying a rep. The call started like this:

"I bought a top of the line Swiss made replica of an Omega Seamaster chronograph. The watch is beautiful but it's not keeping time. Can you help?".

Well sure we can! Maybe. And while I take great pause in the 'top of the line' (who decided this?) and the 'Swiss Made' part (hint, it's not), the question in this particular situation was what is the customer expecting out of this watch?

Fast forward a few weeks and the watch is on the bench. Its a good quality Omega rep, currently considered a superrep by the forums. Chinese built, with an A7750 movement. It's running +35 sec/d with the chrono off, +20 sec/d with the chrono engaged, over 5 positions. Beat error of .3ms. It's dry and dirty. At this point I imagine your questioning what's the issue here. Or at least you should be. For all intents and purposes this watch is actually running quite well, for a rep. Other than the fact it's dry and dirty, it's not running all that bad and would be acceptable to many. If this was mine, new and the gen $6k+ Omega Seamaster Chronometer, it would be in the warranty center for a tune up (In this hypothetical I paid for it, I'm not doing it, lol). Being a $400 rep, made using cheap plated pot metal parts, in a dirty factory, with decorative crap glued all over the movement, timing like this isn't too bad.

The customers request you ask? COSC spec. Now I have a whole different issue with this request, mainly in the fact that what he really means is he wants chronometer certification grade accuracy, even though he is stating COSC specification. I understand the confusion. None the less, the customer believes that the watch is actually capable of this because it's a "1 to 1 replica" and it's "Swiss Made" and it's a "superclone". And while he may be right in terms of being capable of the timing, it's not because of all the B.S. hype used to sell the watch (I'm still waiting for a truly 1:1 sub... what's it been, 40 years?). In this particular case, all the sales pitch jargon the TD listed was bought hook, line and sinker. I pity the fool.

Managing expectations is a huge part of enjoying this hobby. If you believe you are buying the same quality that makes up the genuine article, for 1/10th, 1/20th, 1/50th the price, you're going to be disappointed. If you believe 1:1 means it is indistinguishable from the original watch, you're again going to be disappointed. The fact is that reps are exactly that, replicas. They are not built to the same standards as genuine timepieces. In many cases, they are built using greatly inferior alloys, plating, crystals, lacquers, and other materials. They are typically manufactured in inhospitable environments, with far less quality control.

This however does not mean that they cannot be fun, functional and long lived. They can be a worthy purchase and while I wouldn't consider them to be investment grade, if properly taken care of they can provide years of enjoyment. Understanding this can go a long way to enjoying your soon to be new timepiece. Find one you like, wear it, maintain it and if it stops working, call us, lol.

So, was the watch capable of the desired spec? Almost. We serviced the movement with an end result we were comfortable with; Timing in the sub +12 sec/d both static and engaged, with an average BE of .1ms. In the end he was happy with his new watch but he still has a lot to learn.