The Breitling Watch Source Forums

There really is a forum for everything out there!

I was looking to get my hands on a used Bentley 6.75 and was searching the net as you do.

Curiosity led me to stumble upon a forum for Replica watches.
There's actually a forum for replica watches?!

Anyhows, there's a guy who has a replica Super Avenger, but the thing is, he has replaced many of the parts with genuine Breitling parts.
Firstly why would anyone want to do this? since it would still be a fake and not acknowledged by Breitling.
Secondly, this makes buying used Breitlings more risky for me now, especially since I'm not an expert on the brand.

Anyhows, just thought I'd share.

Be careful!

Now remember you were reading a blog made up of devote fake watch guys - so you may not want to draw any conclusions from anything you read there. The SA uses the modified 7750. VERY FEW fakes have a 7750 which costs about $450. They have weak Asian replica 7750s and the parts very from production run to production run and from location to location. So if he is putting stuff in the movement it's not likely OEM parts. Replica manufaturing in China is still illegal but tolerated to varying degrees largely dependent on payola. These places are mobile and they get the movement parts as they go.

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SHARKMAN

There are a few replica forums.
Some of that guys modify their reps with genuine parts, but majority of that folks are just watch lovers like we are.
The most of them don't have thoughts of scamming someone.

The idea of weirdos spending all that cash on authentic parts for their fakes piqued my interest, so I googled "replica watch forums" and attempted to see for myself... Several of the major replica watch forums required one to register just to peruse the forums... I've never come across a single forum like that ever, yet as soon as you get into forums dedicated to fakes, they want your info even if you're just trying to take a look... One can reasonably assume they intend to sell it to spammers. It's like even their attempt to marginally legitimize fakes by creating forums is a great big shady fail.

+1 and the replica industry is still illegal.

What about selling fakes? There are a number of vendor websites devoted to selling fakes. Try going to Youtube and searching for a brand name watch - don't even bother entering "fake" in the search - and you will likely see videos come up of fake watches of those brands put out by the websites that sell them. Most of them openly admit they are fake. So, while the production of the fakes themselves might be illegal, is it illegal to sell them if the sellers disclose they aren't real? If so, it blows my mind how open these guys are about it. Frankly, the whole industry makes me mad.

I guess it's just an enforcement problem more than anything. It's a big problem with clothes and all kinds of industries. Not sure how to do something about it, but 90% of even what Ebay has on for Nike etc is all fake. I tried 4 different pairs of a certain shoe I like and every single pair I got was fake. What can you do about it? Report a fake and educate yourself.

I'm educating myself as much as I can, that's for sure. As for reporting fakes, I can see it if we're talking about an eBay auction, but to whom do you report an entire website devoted to fakes? The Attorney General maybe? It seems to me if the Justice Department was intent on quashing the industry, it would have no problem finding out about these websites; we're not talking underground sellers here. If these websites are that blatant, it would seem they don't fear enforcement.

Not all jurisdictions have the same laws or the same degree of enforcement. I guarantee you that all of the companies behind the fake sites are registered in countries with more relaxed laws / enforcement.

Probably so. I tried finding out where some of these companies are, but the ones I looked at didn't list a geographical location in their contact info. (Big surprise.) In the U.S., I would think it would all be federal jurisdiction, since it's practically all interstate commerce. I haven't checked the federal laws regarding selling fakes, but since gents here said the fake industry is illegal, I thought some of them might know the laws on selling fakes.* But if the companies are all located outside the U.S., it's probably a moot point anyway. Technically, the U.S. would still have jurisdiction over companies that sell items within its borders, but that doesn't mean they'd have an easy time reaching them.

* In double checking, I see that JustinFournier is in Canada; I need to remember this is a largely international forum.

Dude! An entire website devoted to fakes - there are hundreds or thousdand of entire websites devoted to fakes - just google it. These places are almost all based in the Far East and SE Asia. You can pick up little clues form common misuse of pronouns and such. Or shipment by "EMS." The US has absolutley no jurisdiction. And the reality in the US is buying or possessing a fake is not illegal. So the authorities don't care - the only folks they can get at ain't breaking the law.

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SHARKMAN

Technically not true, but for all practical purposes you're right. U.S. courts technically have jurisdiction over companies that sell products within its borders, even if they're foreign, but only insofar as the adjudication relates to the sale of the products within the U.S. They couldn't shut down a foreign company; all they could do is limit or prohibit its commerce activities within this country...which would be completely redundant if the company is selling illegal items already. It's more a problem of how they can enforce the jurisdiction. If the sale of fakes is already illegal, and foreign companies sell them online and ship them in through the mail, it's a practically untouchable practice. And that's assuming the authorities care enough to try in the first place. I'm sure the authorities are more worried about illegal drugs, and look how effective they are at stopping that. I go back to my original statement: the whole fake industry turns my stomach.

Here is a video by Breitlingsource that will help you spot a fake, though you need to see watches in order to know what he is on about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uEIgz3x9tU

Technically it isn't possible to do anything - the US has no jurisdiction unless the company has a presence in it's borders. Absent a meaningful treaty with the country where the goods are sold, there is nothing to do. That makes it an issue for Customs. Thousands of watches marked "hardware" from China and sent by EMS go through Customs daily. They are Xrayed - they know what they are. A judgment has to be made over the cost and time for interdiction versus the cost and harm of doing nothing.

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SHARKMAN