Wristwatch collectors out there?

[mosesbotbol]

Originally Posted by e-man67

Word to the wise...do NOT buy an expensive watch without papers unless you are 100% certain of the source...I have a friend who bought a Sinn U1 rep and you cannot tell the difference...apparently they are coming from China and some dude is putting swiss Eta-2824's in them and selling them as reps...but if you didn't know it was a rep you would not be able to tell. I had an authentic U1 that I bought used for $1750 and it looked identical to this rep...ir crystal, bead blasting, smooth edges, bezel tightness, EXACT! Very scary.

Wow, that's crazy. There was a big deal in Biel a few years ago of similar. Someone robbed one of the Rolex assembly plants, steeling a lot cases. From there it's easy to fake a convincing watch. It's best to deal with trusted sources on something so costly. Most will never see the inside of their watch.

I've heard about employees taking a few parts at a time and assemble a watch over a year or so (at several companies). It would be "authentic" in sense until you send it to get repaired at the factory, lol...