Many people know that replica watches are manufactured in China, but what you may not know is that the ancestors of replica watches were actually made in Japan. Japan was the largest watch-producing country in the last century, and many well-known brands such as Rolex, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, and others were assembled and produced in Japanese watch factories. At the same time, Japan’s watch products were also growing rapidly. In fact, high-quality movements on the market are not only produced in Switzerland; Japan’s manufacturing capabilities for precision instruments in watchmaking are also world-class.
The oil crisis of 1973 caused economic turmoil in Japan. In 1974, Japan experienced its first economic downturn since World War II, accompanied by severe inflation. At this time, the focus of Japan’s manufacturing industry shifted again, and industries such as semiconductors, integrated circuits, and precision machinery grew rapidly due to technological dividends. Since then, Japan has transitioned from an OEM economy to a brand-driven economy.
But where there is light, there is also darkness. During this period, Japan also began to see the emergence of factories manufacturing replica watches, with technology developed by original OEM factories for replication, and then assembled and produced by related factories. Over time, Japan’s technology gradually expanded globally. However, in the field of replica watches, Japanese quality is absolutely top-notch.
In fact, fake watches are also divided into many grades, which can be classified according to their precision into low imitation, general imitation, high imitation, and ultra-high imitation. This article discusses replica watches. Unlike what many imagine, replica watches are not produced in secretive underground home workshops. In reality, replica watches must be manufactured in extremely legitimate watch factories, not in home workshops. Home workshops can only handle simple assembly at most. The massive supply of high-quality replica watches on the market today cannot be supported by home workshops, nor can the precision of replica watches be achieved by home workshops.
Nowadays, there are many legends on the internet about a certain replica watch manufacturer, claiming that it operates as a secret underground factory producing replica watches. These rumors are merely meant to add mystery to the sale of replica watches on the internet. The production of replica watches absolutely cannot rely on a single underground factory for independent processing, but rather requires the collaborative efforts of several factories. Among them, the initiator plays the most crucial role. The initiator first needs to forecast market trends, and then determine the watch styles that need to be replicated. They will directly purchase genuine watches from authorized dealers and completely disassemble them. Different parts are then sent to different manufacturers, such as movement manufacturers, case manufacturers, bracelet manufacturers, dial manufacturers, and packaging manufacturers, to mold and produce them one by one. Subsequently, these manufacturers assemble the components. These factories do not solely rely on producing high imitation watch parts for survival, but also accept orders for watches from other brands. Their manufacturing standards and processing environments may even surpass those of some major brands.
The high level of processing evident in the replica watches depicted in the three photos at the beginning of this article is entirely dependent on the collaborative efforts of these legitimate manufacturers. Producing replica watches is illegal in every country. So why do these legitimate manufacturers risk engaging in this business? It’s because the components they produce do not bear any “brand logos.” All these legitimate manufacturers need to do is replicate the parts sent by the initiators of replica watch production, producing identical components. This production process is not illegal; it’s just a regular part of the entire replica watch manufacturing process. The real illegality lies with the initiators who orchestrate the entire replica watch production chain.
The logos on brand watches typically appear on the case, dial, clasp, and bezel. The initiators first find a legitimate watch component manufacturer to provide blank parts without logos, and then a small workshop will imprint the logos onto them. This process doesn’t require highly specialized skills; it’s easy to find printing and metal engraving services in the market. The images below depict some replica watch components without brand logos, modeled after the Tudor Black Bay.
Relying on the technological expertise of these legitimate watch manufacturers, the innovation in producing replica watch components is incredibly rapid, even faster than many brands and some Swiss brands. Particularly noteworthy is the variation in case materials, ranging from stainless steel to titanium alloy, bronze, and even ceramics and carbon fiber.
For instance, the replica watch Panerai PAM382 features a bronze case.
◾️Replica version of ceramic Audemars Piguet
◾️The case, strap, dial, and other components of replica watches are relatively easy to manufacture. However, the movement, typically considered the heart of a watch, presents another challenge. The image below displays the preliminary version of the movement production. Please note that there are no markings on the movement.
◾️After purchasing the initial version of the replica movement, replica watch manufacturers need to undergo the following transformation: polishing the movement and adding the brand logo.
◾️The rotor removed from the movement.
◾️Put the genuine movement automatic rotor into the scanner to scan, and input the data to the computer.
◾️The machine-recognizable cdr document of the brand logo made
◾️Engravers and consoles
◾️The finished product after engraving
◾️Some automatic rotors will also be polished with Geneva patterns.A layer of plywood is superimposed on the movement, and then replaced with a custom carved automatic rotor.
◾️The movement used in the replica watch mentioned above is still based on the movement produced by the regular watch factory for the second transformation, which is still relatively elementary. Janpanese replica watch manufacturers even produce their own movements exactly modeled on luxury brands. One of the representatives is this Rolex 3135.
◾️The above two photos are the genuine Rolex 3135 movement, and the following is the imitation 3135 movement produced by the replica watch manufacturer.
◾️Although this replica 3135 movement has many shortcomings that can be identified at a glance, this movement is undoubtedly a milestone in fake watch production. Replica watch manufacturers have moved from simple case processing to complex movements. Let’s take a few more comparison photos, the top is real and the bottom is fake, the left is real and the right is fake.
◾️Now I will show you the Rolex Yacht Series, and you will find that you can’t tell the difference between true and false.
Only 5% of people can tell the difference！
The quickest way to identify it is to use a 10x magnifying glass to observe the font on the watch.
There are also many brands that do not use generic fonts, but customize exclusive fonts for anti-counterfeiting.
It is worth noting that
At the beginning of this article, it is mentioned that replica watches are all produced by regular watch manufacturers, but none of them have logos. In the end, it is necessary to print fonts for the dial, because regular manufacturers will not accept such orders, so most replica watches are looking for small workshops to print logos. This is the easiest way to expose replica watch in the font part. The font from the small workshop will be thick and stiff, and even the ink will overflow.
The upper is true and the lower is false. Pay attention to the letters swiss made in Figure 1. The font of the real watch has a stroke at the end, while the fake watch in Figure 2 does not. Moreover, the scale luminous powder in Figure 1 is very evenly applied, while the one in Figure 2 is uneven.
The replica watch industry is indeed extremely chaotic.
Due to the illegality of replica watches themselves, coupled with information asymmetry, there are many opportunistic individuals in this field. Below, I have listed several points for everyone to pay attention to. Make sure to read them multiple times!
- The same replica watch may be produced by multiple promoters, and even the same promoter may have multiple versions of the replica watch. Different versions have different prices. Some merchants sell low-quality watches at high prices.
- Many watch websites may appear to have cheap prices, but in reality, they use original images to deceive consumers.
- Substituting inferior movements for Swiss movements.
- There are indeed watch websites where their replica watches are made very well, but there will inevitably be differences in quality compared to genuine watches, and they cannot achieve 100% accuracy.
In conclusion, I would like to leave you with a final word: “Be cautious when buying watches, regardless of their authenticity. There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world.”
In addition, I recommend the website Miracle Watch Pro to everyone. Their website sells top-quality replica watches, and there are no issues with mismatched goods. Additionally, their logistics and delivery are very punctual, making it a highly recommended replica watch website. The only drawback is that they produce top-quality replica watches, and currently, they have not introduced cheaper options. However, I still want to remind you to be cautious when purchasing inexpensive replica watches, as you may fall victim to scams, and there may be no guarantee of quality.