A great many watch collectors are on Facebook groups; there’s some with tens of thousands of members and others with less than a hundred. But one thing is for certain, in all of these groups there are fights. Arguments that sometimes reach the point of adults posting memes making fun of each other and calling for group administrators to ban one another. Now, of course, watch groups, like any other Facebook group, have their usual quibble; ours are usually whenever someone makes a “Real or Fake” post. There is, although, another type of fight that appears every so often, one that is not necessarily about real or fake watches but about homages or homage brands like Skmei or Invicta, being allowed in the group at all.
What’s the difference between a fake watch and a homage? Well, the only difference is that a homage says it’s a homage by having only its own brand name on the dial, whereas a fake tries to pass itself off as another brand. So, when these fights are going on, there’s usually one side that’s calling for the photo of the homage to be taken down because it isn’t up to group standards, and another party that’s calling the first a ‘watch snob’ for “only wanting to post expensive watches”. Having noticed the predominance of arguments such as this in Facebook groups, I got curious as to why they always played out so similarly. Funnily, it seemed to mimic many of the debates we see going on in society today, where one side sees nothing wrong with what they’re doing and the other thinks its an infringement upon them. More so, it recalls the socioeconomic divides that are causes riots in places like Lebanon and Chile; where the lower and upper classes are locked in political and sometimes violent conflict. In our case its those with higher and lower quality timepieces who battle it out over the inherent value of their watches.
Homages have been around forever, and virtually every brand has done a few homage models; either homages to other watch brands’ models or to their own. Many notable homages harken back to the Art Deco era. Going back in time, one of the most popular examples of a homage in the early 20th century is of the Cartier Tank, with brands like Rolex, Omega, Longines, Patek Philippe, and Zenith mimicking Cartier’s case design, even using the same casemaker in some instances. I don’t think anyone would disagree with a vintage Rolex Tank picture being posted in a Facebook group, so what’s the difference if it’s a Skmei, that pays homage to the Casio G-Shock? Based on the arguments in Facebook groups it seems one side says its quality or originality; the inferior quality of the homage going against what the group stands for. While the other attests that the only significant difference is perceived prestige or price, and that there is no intrinsic difference or afront to the group principles in posting their watch picture. But who is right? Theoretically, those who buy homages could be said to follow a similar logic as those who buy counterfeit watches; in that they are presumably trying to get the superficial value of the watch without the added expense an original may come with. When you buy a fake Rolex you supposedly want people to think you have a Rolex, when you buy an Invicta the idea is that you want the ‘feel’ of a Rolex, without the price. And you don’t mind the dreaded “is that a Rolex” question here and there. Fundamentally, the difference is that you’re not outright trying to pass your watch off as something it isn’t, more so, that you’re willingly buying something that you know can be easily mistaken for something that it isn’t...which I suppose exempts you from foul play to the degree of actually buying a counterfeit timepiece.
Steinhard Ocean Vintage Military / Credit: 60Clicks.com
Following that thought, I’d counter both parties and say that if anyone deserves any bashing for their watches it should be for the intention behind their purchase. It’s okay to buy an Invicta if you want a nice beater watch that won’t break the bank and that goes for just about any homage. But if you want to buy an Invicta and act as if it’s a Rolex, or a Rolex equivalent; then that’s foul play. I’d also add that there’s a difference between homages like the Tudor Black Bay 58, one of the more popular homages on Tudor Facebook groups, and those like Davosa. One imitates a watch of the past and could perhaps be an alternative for what otherwise might be too delicate a vintage timepiece to wear regularly. While the Davosa would simply be an inferior, albeit not objectively bad, version of a Rolex. Anyways, if we consider that the intention behind the purchase is the most important factor and recall that we cannot truly asses said intention via Facebook, then I’d conclude that all of these arguments are without merit.
By: Andres Ibarguen