Feelings on Homage watches (not fakes) by Micro Brands

[Rolex74]

Originally Posted by FTX I

I never thought I'd buy one to be honest but I went to NY last year and decided to get this souvenir. The watch is well made, 40mm, glidelock clasp, sword hands and keeps great time after service, so it's a nice 'beater'. I hardly wear and I'd not buy another but I really don't regret it.

Very nice! It does look well made.

[Pw92676]

To be honest, I don’t have any issue with them. To each their own. If you like it, go for it. Who is anyone else to judge?

[Rolex74]

Originally Posted by Pw92676

To be honest, I don’t have any issue with them. To each their own. If you like it, go for it. Who is anyone else to judge?

I agree with you, as long as it is not an outright fake, everyone copies everyone, just look at cell phones, Apple and Samsung have a lot of similarities, it is just what they do. The homage market does have a niche, not everyone can afford a real AP, PP, or Rolex, so getting a nicely made homage is an option.

[RHJ]

I had once a Steinhart, an exact copy of the coke. I loved the design, but couldn't stand it: I love the Rolex design, not Steinhart's copy. But it was was a very good watch.. So I sold it and got the Titanium GMT from Steinhart. A good watch with its own design.
Then I felt better, hoping to get one day a real coke.
I don't want to have a lookalike!
So, I agree completely to respect the original brand of a design.

[Rolex74]

Originally Posted by RHJ

I had once a Steinhart, an exact copy of the coke. I loved the design, but couldn't stand it: I love the Rolex design, not Steinhart's copy. But it was was a very good watch.. So I sold it and got the Titanium GMT from Steinhart. A good watch with its own design.
Then I felt better, hoping to get one day a real coke.
I don't want to have a lookalike!
So, I agree completely to respect the original brand of a design.

I can absolutely agree with you on the respect of the original brand, but for some, like a PP, it is not within reach of most people, so an homage is an option.

[Maxy]

MKII GMT by one of the revered watch makers - Bill Yao is one of the best homages of early Rolex GMT Master and very practical watch to use 24/7 without any worry! The design and execution is spot on and doesn't come across as cheap imitation!

He's one of the first watch makers who introduced gold gilt hands and dials back in style until Tudor went ahead and made their own version in Tudor Black Bay!

[fmc000]

Originally Posted by Maxy

MKII GMT by one of the revered watch makers - Bill Yao is one of the best homages of early Rolex GMT Master and very practical watch to use 24/7 without any worry! The design and execution is spot on and doesn't come across as cheap imitation!

He's one of the first watch makers who introduced gold gilt hands and dials back in style until Tudor went ahead and made their own version in Tudor Black Bay!

Really nice. And because of the fact it's not a lookalike of a currently sold model, I'm OK with it.

[FTX I]

Originally Posted by Maxy

MKII GMT by one of the revered watch makers - Bill Yao is one of the best homages of early Rolex GMT Master and very practical watch to use 24/7 without any worry! The design and execution is spot on and doesn't come across as cheap imitation!

He's one of the first watch makers who introduced gold gilt hands and dials back in style until Tudor went ahead and made their own version in Tudor Black Bay!

I thought about getting a Nassau instead but too many games and lists almost like ADs so I gave up. Anyway a glidelock clasp is a must have for me so I think I made the right choice but this is a really beautiful watch. Congrats.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by yoast

IMO Homage is just a nice word for fake.

In my book homage are fine with me, but fakes made to deceive buyers into thinking they are buying genuine watches.Now these scum need to be hung drawn and quartered very slowly.And many watches over the many decades have looked very similar to most all makes worldwide over the years,even Rolex with the first Blancpain sub in 1953.Now they were very similar apart from the name on the dial, and the Blancpain was on the market around 9 months before the first true Rolex sub.

[Rolex74]

Originally Posted by padi56

In my book homage are fine with me, but fakes made to deceive buyers into thinking they are buying genuine watches.Now these scum need to be hung drawn and quartered very slowly.And many watches over the many decades have looked very similar to most all makes worldwide over the years,even Rolex with the first Blancpain sub in 1953.Now they were very similar apart from the name on the dial, and the Blancpain was on the market around 9 months before the first true Rolex sub.

Good point, so in reality the Rolex Sub is an homage to the Blancpain.

[Rolex74]

Very nice! Are these still being made and sold? What do they typically cost?

Originally Posted by Maxy

MKII GMT by one of the revered watch makers - Bill Yao is one of the best homages of early Rolex GMT Master and very practical watch to use 24/7 without any worry! The design and execution is spot on and doesn't come across as cheap imitation!

He's one of the first watch makers who introduced gold gilt hands and dials back in style until Tudor went ahead and made their own version in Tudor Black Bay!

[Maxy]

Originally Posted by Rolex74

Very nice! Are these still being made and sold? What do they typically cost?

Don't think they are made now. Only 399 were made in 6 combinations of dial & bezel. They are being sold in pre-owned market between $1500 to $2000.

[JBZ]

I've tried them (Steinhart milsub homage, specifically). It was nice enough, but I just didn't wear it.

I don't have any problem with them, but I'd rather have something more original, and there are a lot of affordable brands out there with some nice designs (Seiko, Oris, Longines, Hamilton, etc.).

[KatGirl]

I wear this. Reviewers have said it is higher quality than the MKII It is about $1300.00 with the Swiss Soprod A-10 movement.




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[Pongster]

Homage means to pay respect or to honor (if i recall right).

Not sure if the examples above pay respect to or honor the watches they are supposedly an homage to.

[reeko]

Originally Posted by padi56

In my book homage are fine with me, but fakes made to deceive buyers into thinking they are buying genuine watches.Now these scum need to be hung drawn and quartered very slowly.And many watches over the many decades have looked very similar to most all makes worldwide over the years,even Rolex with the first Blancpain sub in 1953.Now they were very similar apart from the name on the dial, and the Blancpain was on the market around 9 months before the first true Rolex sub.

I agree! Homages are completely different from fakes that blatantly put a brand name like Rolex on the dial. People can go on about how it looks similar, but there are so many watch brands that use similar styling. For example Omegas pre-bond seamaster used Mercedes hands and so has Tag. Mercedes has used sword hands. Nobody owns those dial hands. There's not much you can do to change a divers watch style.

I think Steinhart makes great quality watches. Like another poster said, if you don't want to overpay for a used Pepsi or hulk and you're on a 10 year waitlist, why not get a steinhart to enjoy in the mean time.

People who judge on how you spend your own money aren't with your time, especially if the watch makes you happy.

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[Pongster]

As a follow up to my earlier post (two posts up): I have a Steinhart that turns out is heavily inspired by Bell & Ross aviation watches as well as a Sandoz that is somewhat inspired by the Rolex Submariner.

[GradyPhilpott]

As long as no laws are broken, I'm okay with homage watches.

Counterfeits are a whole 'nother story.

[Maxy]

Originally Posted by Pongster

Homage means to pay respect or to honor (if i recall right).

Not sure if the examples above pay respect to or honor the watches they are supposedly an homage to.

MKII GMT does!

[KatGirl]

I love my 2 OWC’s. The size is great, at 40 mm, especially for me. They have double AR coated 4.5 mm thick sapphire crystal, true compressor case, Swiss movement, beautifully finished bracelet. Lumed ceramic bezel. There is nothing not to love here. The best part? I can afford it.

[Blansky]

I think a lot of people make judgements on this based on one of two things. I want the design so I'll get a fake or design rip off, if I feel like it, and the other is Rolex et all have tons of money so who cares if they get their designs ripped off.

We've seen in the music business where artists have had their songs stolen and released using different lyrics with varying success in restitution.

We've seen people writing books with stolen research from someone else's books (plagiarism) and getting publicly outed for it.

Most inventions have patents and by tweaking things a bit, even those inventions can be stolen.

But I think public opinion changed around the time of Napster stealing music and most people being fine with free downloads. And sharing copies of computer programs. Most people just think that who cares, they make lots of money, so why shouldn't I get it for free. The morality of stealing seems to disappear when the originator is thought to be rich. In fact fakes of Apple products, movies copies from someone sitting in a movie theater and recording a movie and then uploading it, is all presented as ok because "people here can't afford the real thing" so it's ok. They think it's a victimless crime.

A lot has to do with the fact that most people have never been in the position of creating something and having it stolen.

It's a mirky world and moral relativism is pretty rampant. Personally I think we should be better than that.

Here is an interesting article about owning your image (I've been a photographer since the 1970s), who owns it and how it can be used. I doubt many here would be all that concerned about the person involved, because she had tons of money and she's a model anyway......but....

https://www.thecut.com/article/emily...ign=pockethits

[Maxy]

Originally Posted by KatGirl

I love my 2 OWC’s. The size is great, at 40 mm, especially for me. They have double AR coated 4.5 mm thick sapphire crystal, true compressor case, Swiss movement, beautifully finished bracelet. Lumed ceramic bezel. There is nothing not to love here. The best part? I can afford it.

Except that burger logo! That threw me off and I was seriously when I was trying to purchase one!

[FTX I]

Originally Posted by GradyPhilpott

As long as no laws are broken, I'm okay with homage watches.

Counterfeits are a whole 'nother story.

Agree Grady. I'm a law-abiding person so if the company is legally established, paying taxes, and there's something I want to buy why not. However, I never thought I'd buy a homage watch. Guess I'm getting naughty with age lol

[Wahlberg]

Originally Posted by Maxy

and doesn't come across as cheap imitation!

At what price?! Perhaps interesting to tell everyone this.

[KatGirl]

Originally Posted by Maxy

Except that burger logo! That threw me off and I was seriously when I was trying to purchase one!

Yes, the logo ain’t great, but the owner is proud of his little company in Orange, AUS. The watch, however, is really nice.

[Maxy]

Originally Posted by Wahlberg

At what price?! Perhaps interesting to tell everyone this.

I think it was little over thousand dollars during pre-order but it sells anywhere between $1500 to $2000 now on pre-owned market!

[KatGirl]

Here is the other one:



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[linesiders]

Originally Posted by Blansky

In my opinion any “homage “ not released by the original company is hair splitting not calling it a fake and I’m not sure of the motivation of anyone buying one.

These 3 examples so far are just fakes with a different logo.

I get that a person may like the design of a “ homage” but it is a complete design steal and if a person wants that design, save up for the real thing. Everyone that sees it on their arm knows that they are trying to pass it off as the real thing.

I’m not trying to insult anyone but these designs are a rip off and these companies should be sued. It is intellectual property theft.

Someone had to say it.

I'm mixed - overall I am OK with an Homage, but if it rolls off the same assembly line as one with a fake Rolex dial, all it is doing is indirectly supporting the fakes industry. So if Joey Two Hands buys 200 cases from Polex and slaps his own dial in, is it really an Homage?

I have a 90s Sandoz Sub with a killer MKII dial in it - gets close to the line but does not step over, IMO. But i rarely wear it - rather wear the real thing.

Originally Posted by padi56

In my book homage are fine with me, but fakes made to deceive buyers into thinking they are buying genuine watches.Now these scum need to be hung drawn and quartered very slowly.And many watches over the many decades have looked very similar to most all makes worldwide over the years,even Rolex with the first Blancpain sub in 1953.Now they were very similar apart from the name on the dial, and the Blancpain was on the market around 9 months before the first true Rolex sub.

The only proper solution to own Rolex Sub is to own a Blancpain Fifty Fathoms from 1953

[CaptT]

Interesting thread. Personally, I’m not interested in fakes, nor to a lesser degree some of the homage watches of currently-produced models. However, I think there can be a charm to an homage of something that is no longer produced - the Mkii Paradive comes to mind.

And fwiw, I love my Tudor GMT homage to Bill Yao’s GMT ;)

[Goose 104]

I have two homage watches. The Lorier Neptune which is its own design and strong influences from the Sub. I also bought the Steinhart OVM39 which I was in two minds about but it isn't as if there are many 5517s about to pick up instead. They are both well made and I like them - especially the Lorier.



Edit: I forgot about this cheap Ali Express Kermit copy I bought for my son as his beater watch :)