Is It Really Worth It To Buy A Fake or Replica Tag Heuer Watch?

I must confess to having fallen victim to the fake watch bug myself. What I learned I learned the hard way with hundreds of dollars of my own hard earned money that could have gone toward buying an original watch.

First of all, fake watches are illegal and are illegal to buy and receive in the mail even if ordered from what look like official websites. This I did not know at the time because the websites looked like real businesses, with phone numbers and credit card checkouts and assurances of quality and "warranties".

All of these companies are illegal and are selling an illegal product and your watch may be confiscated at customs. This is why many of these companies will ship your watch inside a toy or plastic mug and put that item and not the watch on the customs information form.

Some claim to be "grade one Swiss Replicas". Replica is just another word for fake and calling it a replica does not make it legal to buy. There is no agency that certifies illegal watches as "grade one", "grade two" etc. This is merely an advertising ploy.

Calling it a Swiss replica with a certain number of jewels or kind of ETA motor does not mean that it is high quality. (Eta is a legitimate make of watch motors buy has factories in China as well as Switzerland).

Most, if not all of the watch motors described as Swiss ETA are made in China despite claims otherwise.

Using all of these tactics, including selling the watches for a fairly high price of $800 or more is no indication of quality.

Illegal merchants of fake watches have learned that it is true that people perceive quality is related to price and they price their fakes accordingly.

Having said this, there are some fakes that are better than others but none are as good as the original despite what is claimed.

Most fake Tag Heuer and Rolex watches are not even water resistant. If you do find one that claims water resistance it is only to 30 feet and there is fine print that says that water damage is not covered in their warranty.

Warranty? Really now! Do you really want to ship an illegal watch with your address on it back through customs overseas to be fixed (even if they would) when US customs could charge you with shipping counterfeit goods? I don't think so.

Once you plunk down your money on a fake Tag Heuer or Rolex watch it is gone and all you have is a cheap hunk of junk on your wrist that you will know is not real.

At some point this is going to bother you, whether it is the embarrassment you will feel when the jeweler who re-sizes the watch band informs you it is a fake, or when it suddenly stops working because you forgot to take it off when you showered.

Even just knowing you are walking around with a lie on your wrist will eventually bug you.

Just save up for a few more months and buy the real deal. You will get quality, legality, a warranty and the satisfaction that you are wearing a quality timepiece on your wrist.