The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Further to the fake watches thread thats always being started I thought I would add a new thread looking at things the other way round.

Say you buy a Speedie for example and don't have enough dosh to get a bracelet is it acceptable to buy a fake bracelet till you can afford a real one?

Or the other way round is it acceptable to buy a real Leather Omega/Breitling etc strap and put it on a fake watch.

What does everyone think is this less of a "CRIME"?

has anyone done it?

Let me know what you think people.

Incidentally the gen Breitling Sprint i picked up yesterday had a fake Breitling strap on it it went in the bin as soon as I got home.

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I'd never do it. Honestly, I don't enjoy fiddling too much with any aspect of a watch's main aesthetic components. A good watch can very easily be ruined by subtle changes. I think that putting a strap/bracelett that was not "meant" for the watch mearly detracts from the overall value.

This goes for drastically altering the finish of the watch as well. Bead-blasting, polishing, and other alterations might as well be tie-dye.

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“The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.” - Albert Einstein

I thought about it once for th epilot bracelt on one of mine, but my friend made a good point. what happens whe the pos knockoff bracelt has a pinn fall out or link break and your watch falls overboard from the boat.......

I was conned by the "gentleman" selling fake croco straps on ebay, once I found out i burned it!

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SOH46

It's got to be originals every time for me!

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STAFFWOLF - NAVITIMER

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=4090

Did you report it/him to ebay?

Sorry to go off on bit of a tangent, but do you have any more details of the seller? There have been some Croco straps on UK eBay at less than half price

I've purchased the unbranded clones off eBay a few times. I'm a bracelet guy and will always prefer a bracelet to a strap, so I've tried to save money by buying the clones on ebay, thinking they will be close enough until I find the real thing. These are the same chinese made bracelets found on the replicas, but without the branding (more on this later0). Quality levels vary widely on these bracelets. Some are decent, some are garbage, and you will never know what you get until it arrives in the mailbox. I had a 24mm Speed bracelet that was pretty good, maybe 80% as nice as the real thing, cost under $50, screw links etc. Had a Planet Ocean style bracelet with end links for a speedy, PO style clasp (very nice) it was very nice quality, 85% of the quality of the real thing. The rest were pretty crappy. I bought a pilot for a Chronomat Evo that was pictured sterile, and when it showed up it had the Breitling branding on it. Quality was OK, but I was pi$$ed that it was branded and now presented me with a moral issue about wearing a fake bracelet, and subsequently selling it. I ended up throwing it into a deal as a freebie (with full disclosure of course).

So my conclusion after trying many of them is... don't do it. There is a moment of satisfaction when (if) you get a decent one, knowing how much you saved. But after that initial satifaction wears off, you quickly realize that it doesn't feel like the original, and it will degrade the experience of wearing an authentic Breitling. They have sharp edges, tight and loose links, and generally lack any refinement. I'm done with them, I would rather wear a Breitling on a OEM leather strap than a replica/clone bracelet, it just feels right.

Mark

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Here is my input. Gen straps/bracelets are far superior in quality, hence I never compromise when it comes to supplying my darlings. I always buy complete with bracelet (not trying to save a lousy few bucks by going for a cheaper "strapped" watch).
BUT, given the environment where I use my watches, I often use straps, in order not wear down the gen bracelet. On such occasions I can go for "aftermarket" products. This also gives me another benefit: before each deployment I have a few moments with the watch to make it ready, buffing it and putting on a suitable strap, and when i get back, putting back the right bracelet. This gives me a few golden moments where I give my darlings some extra care.

Regards

In terms of bracelets, I will only go genuine having never found a comparable quality elsewhere.

In terms of straps, I am a big fan of Breitling's OEM quality and I would never consider a 'fake' that is designed to look like a Breitling strap.

However, I am more than happy to consider high end aftermarket straps - the one that i got through the deal that Altair got, ABP, etc that offer something that I just can't get OEM.

Interested to hear what do you all think about Panatime straps?

There are some great non-OEM straps out there. The Panerai world is dominated by them. Ted Su, SanDave, Heroic18, etc make some really great straps.

I see nothing wrong with putting one of those on a real watch.

I wouldn't go near a fake bracelet though.

my policy on this is that if i can not afford it i dont want it. wearing fake stuff just does not cut it.

There a good point in that if the bracelet breaks and the watch is damaged in the subsequent fall, you're going to have a tough time getting any help out of Breitling.

On the other hand if a genuine Breitling bracelet breaks my expectation would be for Breitling to cover not only the bracelet repair but possibly cut you a deal on the watch repair.

I have always gone for OEM straps which is just a personal preference. However I am in the process of ordering some high end aftermarket straps which I'm exited about. As long as they're good quality I don't see an issue.

I wouldn't personally use fake bracelets however as I don't think the quality is high enough. It also just wouldn't feel right.

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Happines is Good Health and a Bad Memory.
"Ingrid Bergman"