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As I understand it, the Chinese replica market buys essentially all their movements as genuine goods from Japanese manufacturers like Seiko. The movements (i.e.
by semi-extrinsic 10y ago
As I understand it, the Chinese replica market buys essentially all their movements as genuine goods from Japanese manufacturers like Seiko. The movements (i.e. the really complicated parts to make) for expensive quartz watches cost less than $50. So the Chinese don't have to replicate the tricky part, they just have to build a mechanical case from mineral or sapphire glass and stainless steel that's pressure tight to (usually) 10 or 20 bar, and fit a strap to it.
(I'm wearing a sub-$50 Parnis flyback chronograph as I type this.)
- hanklazard 10y agoHmm, that's not my understanding. Most higher-end replicas use "Asian" ETA clones (ie A2824 and others). The manufacturers have copied ETA parts over the years and now are able to create fairly reliable and, when they want them to, authentic-appearing Swiss movements, at least to the untrained eye. This brings the cost down much lower than the Seiko and Miyota automatics, which even purchased in bulk are much more expensive than Asian ETA clones. These Chinese movements look the part, but tend not to last as long, have larger tolerances, etc. Source: a number of watch shops around my city where people frequently try to trade-in fake watches.
- semi-extrinsic 10y agoFor automatics, I think you are right. I've seen this mainly for quartz or mecha-quartz movements.