Replica Watches are becoming collectibles
NEW YORK -- A replica watch's primary function might be to keep track of
hours, minutes and seconds but its style, system and statement are hardly
secondary factors.
That was a lesson collectors learned with quartz replica watch.
Advancements in timekeeping techniques -- some of which date back
centuries -- barely budged until the 1970s when quartz replica watch came
on
the scene, replacing the tension-controlled springs found in mechanical
replica watch with a crystal in an electric field to oscillate at a
constant
frequency.
Almost immediately, the demand for mechanical replica watch waned and a
slowdown in production of those replica watch followed.
But what happens when people stop making something?
"Everyone wants one," says Edward Faber, co-owner of New York's Aaron
Faber
Gallery, which sells vintage, collectible and estate jewelry. "They want
one
for the nostalgia of a mechanical replica watch."
That made replica watch "collectible," and in a world of expensive toys
and
eccentric hobbies, collectible often is a code word for valuable.
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"Now if you have a Daytona replica watch or Patek Philippe moon-phase
(watch) -- if you have the means to acquire these -- when you walk into a
board meeting in Los Angeles, London, Paris or Italy, it gives you cache,"
says Faber, who wrote "American Wrist replica watch : Five Decades of
Style
and Design" (Schiffer).
The private market for high-end mechanical replica watch started to
skyrocket, with particular interest from European and Asian collectors,
and
auction houses recognized the trend. The value continues to increase so
dramatically, according to Faber, that replica watch made in the 1950s and
'60s that cost hundreds of dollars then, are now worth thousands. "The
Rolex
Explorer -- a simple black military replica watch -- sold for $300 in the
'70s. Now you can spend $6-, $7- or $8,000. You could have bought a Patek
Philippe replica watch moon-phase full- price for $2,000 in the early
'80s,
now you cannot find shade sail for less than $100,000," says Faber.
A Cartier Tortue Minute Repeater, a rare minute-repeating wrist replica
watch in 18-karat yellow gold from the 1920s, was auctioned earlier this
year in New York for $640,500.
A luxury replica watch is an acceptable -- yet noticeable -- sign of
wealth
for a man looking for a counterpart to a woman's diamond ring.
or tennis bracelet. "A big gold bracelet or pinky ring -- a man can't
really
wear. But it's OK to wear a 1930s Cartier or Vacheron Constantin,"
observes
Faber. He says that Ralph Lauren has worn an exaggerated tank replica
watch
(a rectangular shape) as a symbol of style and elegance for years, and
once
something is spotted on celebrities and fa****on insiders, consumers will
follow.
However, for replica watch to keep their value, they also have to be
perceived as
Almost immediately, the demand for mechanical replica watch waned and a
slowdown in production of those watches followed.
A Cartier Tortue Minute Repeater, a rare minute-repeating wrist replica
watch in 18-karat yellow gold from the 1920s, was auctioned earlier this
year in New York for $640,500.
However, for replica watch to keep their value, they also have to be
perceived as special and rare.
When the pendulum looked like it was swinging back toward mechanical
replica
watch in the late '80s, Swiss watch companies increased production.
However,
the skilled craftspeople of the previous generation were gone, Faber
explains, so the company looked to computers to help.
The result is well-made contem****ary replica watch with a lot of bells and
whistles that cost a lot, but they don't command the interest or price of
vintage replica watch, he says. "When you take that soul out of it, you
lose
it."
replica watch are becoming collectibles
It's a perpetual challenge to mix modernity with a brand's heritage and
integrity, all equally im****tant elements when you're hoping to design a
future collectible, says Stanislas de Quercize, president and CEO of
Cartier
North America.
For the 100th anniversary of Cartier's first wristreplica watch, the
Santos,
the company unveiled an updated version with its classic square face and
screws that stand out, representing the rivets on an aircraft that Louis
Cartier's friend Alberto Santos-Dumont would have flown. Cartier created
the
replica watch so Santos-Dumont would be able to tell time while he was in
his plane and unable to reach his pocket replica watch.
"For the new Santos, the spirit is the same. The square replica watch is a
provocative design because most replica watch are round, and it has the
screws that are a tribute to industrialization but a much larger size and
sturdier," de Quercize explains. "We want to keep the myth alive by
reinterpreting the classical shape and classical spirit. We still want
someone to immediately recognize that you're wearing a Santos."
More people are collecting replica watch even though the need for them as
a
timekeeping tool is dimini****ng since cell phones, TV news crawls and
computers display the hour and minute, he notes.
"The people who are collecting replica watch do Shade sail because it's
something that recalls our dream of eternity. It's also one way to remind
us
that time isn't forever. The precious replica watch on your wrist reminds
us
that our time is precious and the way we're spending our time is up to us
everyday," he says.
Brian Pier probably wasn't that reflective when he bought his first
Swatch,
certainly a less expensive "collectible" but probably more recognizable.
He was on vacation in the Netherlands in the early 1980s and shelled out
about $30 for the quirky replica watch with a black face, gold hands and a
black plastic band that he expected would last two weeks. "I thought it
would make a nice souvenir," says the 48-year-old cor****ate recruiting
manager for an information technology company in Springfield, Ill.
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