For me, it is not so much about the price tag or brand name on the dial. I either like a replica watch or I don’t. However, I have been known to be a bit rash on occasion. Several times this year, I pulled the trigger without really thinking about it. This generally leads to more amusement than regret (as some of the Fratelli will gladly tell you). It is a shame that these poor, ticking souls enter my collection to die, but I like to think it’s really their own fault for not being very good… These watches often end up in this box that I have labeled, “the watches that never got worn”. It is not necessarily that I don’t like them. Sometimes, I just struggle to find a use for them.

Hated by many Rolex enthusiasts, but loved by yours truly! I always had a weak spot for the Rolex Yacht-Master replica with gray dial. It is a bit of an anti-Rolex by Rolex. Introduced in 1992, it took Rolex till 1999 to come up with this steel & platinum version. With a bi-directional bezel (completely useless to divers), and the rounded case shape and polished center link also made it somehow closer to the Daytona design than that of a Submariner. I am not a diver anyway, so that’s perfectly fine for me. Not everything needs to make sense anyway. Back in 2007, I had a Yacht-Master (from 2004) and, at some point, I traded it to fund an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak.

I always kinda missed the Yacht-Master though, especially during summertime. The dial is made of platinum and it has this nice sparkle when worn in sunlight. What I did have, was this Rolex Submariner 114060 replica that I actually never found myself wearing. This could be the stupidest move from a financial standpoint, but I decided to sell that Submariner and get that Yacht-Master back. I found a nice pre-owned Swiss made copy Rolex Yacht-Master (also from 2004) being sold by my friends from Burger in Maastricht and purchased it for approximately €8,000. It is the one without the Rolex clone rehaut and with the first platinum dial, which seems to have a coarser grain than the later (post-2007) ones. It is not something I wear often, but, when I do, I enjoy it.