Identifying replicas
Note: Some famous brands like Cartier, Breitling or IWC create models that look similar to their older versions. Although such watches are genuine, sometimes even professional collectors may take some models for a skillful forgery. There are models created for certain reasons, whether on demand or for international exhibitions. These are made in very few examples, thus they may be unknown to some people.
A glance in the history
Watchmaking industry has a long history. Manufacturers of exclusive timepieces were not always able to survive on the market. There were plenty of reasons for this: competition; economic, political and/or social issues.
Revolutions during the 19th century, the First and Second World Wars had a great impact on watch world. The companies that were able to survive started increasing their sales of mechanical self-winding or automatic watches. The prosperity was about to end in 1980s. This was the time when the quartz watches from Asian countries invaded the market.
Replicas
Before purchasing a certain watch it is important to look through the catalogues of the original brands first and remember the main aspects of a real timepiece. To identify a replica you should know some important features of genuine watches. It is important to know several features of the face of the watch but not forget about its bracelet, clasp and its back, where there is manufacturer's stamp (engraving).
In case a certain model is not shown in the catalogue or on company's official site than it doesn't necessary mean the watch is a replica. Watchmaking companies have a lot of collections that may not be included in the catalogue.
Some genuine watch manufacturers engrave their serial number in certain places of the watch. For example Omega timepieces have an 8 digit serial number which is laser etched and in most cases it can be found on the back of a lug or the case.
Today replica watches are more qualitative than they were several years ago. However, some complicated features of original watches may not work properly on replicas. The transparent case back can be made lower quality glass. The glass, thus, can be easily broken when the watch is dropped.
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