Would you buy a fake watch?

Last week I wrote a blog lamenting the loss of my Cartier Tank. I am still terribly upset and my Cartier watch tan line is fading fast. I have irrevocable hope that my watch will turn up somewhere; however, I have come to terms with the fact that I still need to know the time. Time has not stopped since I have misplaced my watch, but marches on never the less. Now what if someone offered me a replica of my Cartier Tank, would I buy it? It might be tempting at first, but after feeling the watch case and running my hands over the inferior crystal, I would probably hand the watch back in disgust. I am not a fake. If I cannot have the real deal I would rather not have it at all. I would rather purchase a cheap real watch that does not hide behind the pretense of being an expensive timepiece. A fake watch is part and parcel of a fake persona. In my mind it actually is quite a good judge of character or lack thereof.

The Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie and the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry has unleashed a worldwide campaign against counterfeiters and the individuals who sell and purchase the products. It is an important campaign that is exceedingly important in the current economic downturn. Not everyone feels so strongly as I do about fake watches and thus the amount of fakes on the market has reached incredible proportions. Counterfeits and piracy range between 200 billion to 360 billion a year. The FHS (Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry) estimates 40 million fakes are manufactured each year generating a net profit of One Billion Dollars. Who is the one losing out? The genuine prestigious Swiss Watch Brands who pour Millions of dollars into research and development, manufacturing, marketing and customer satisfaction are suffering.



The fake watches are often manufactured using inferior materials which are most often not hypoallergenic and health and safety standards are disregarded. The watches are manufactured in regions where child labor is common place and the revenue fills the pockets of mafias, criminal organizations and terrorist groups.


If you are strapped for cash, you can purchase a 100% genuine watch with serial numbers THE WATCHERY is an excellent source whereby you can purchase 100% genuine watches for a fraction of the list price. Purchase a Genuine Corum Bubble for 75% off the list price or a Concord Delirium for 81% off the List Price. The Savings are mind blowing and you get the real deal. No one knows what you pay for a genuine brand name luxury watch, but they sure will know if you are wearing a replica.

Watches that capture the eye.

My 9 year son was following me around the house this morning while I was frantically trying to shake off the languid weekend and get going. He was paging through one of the numerous watch magazines that I have around the house.

"Did you blog about this watch?" he said,


"No!" I replied trying to find my other shoe.

"Why not. I love this watch," he replied

"What about this watch," he insisted, "Did you blog about this one?"


By this time my entire top portion of my body was inside the shoe closet and I was scrounging around for the lost shoe. My son shoved the magazine in front of my nose ,which was still nosing around in my closet, to show me a De Grisogono watch that I had blogged about.


"Yes!" I said with enthusiasm " I blogged about that one", hoping I had gotten off the hook.

He was not impressed, and insisted I blog about the watches he had shown me.

His list of watches started off quite eerily and I shivered as I approached the Corum Bubble with vicious looking bats circling in the cloudless dial under the domed sapphire crystal. I was determined to please him, and I set aside my bat phobias originating from woodsy sleep over camps and I began to blog.

Corum Bubble XL Mens' Automatic Watch Blue Bat Dial Black Diamond Bezel on Black Leather Strap 082-157-49-0F01-BATR
Somehow I was not surprised when he showed me this watch, being an animal lover and all ... but I am not quite sure about the bat thing. Corum in all its eery splendour has managed to craft a watch with vampirish elegance. I love the blood dripping off the second hand. The minute and hour hand are skeletonized so as not to detract from the image. As with all the Corum Bubble Watches, the scratch resistant sapphire crystal is domed. The bezel is set with diamonds as black as the night.

Chopard Happy Sport Ladies' Square Watch 18K White Gold Diamond Dial with Floating Black Diamonds & Rubies on Deep Red Leather Strap 276852-1017

He watched as I gazed at THE WATCHERY website, jumping up and down as he saw the Deal of the Day. (I don't know what it is with him and watches). I could see what had caused such excitement. Chopard does that to people, even people as young as nine. The vibrant pomegranate red pulsated with furious energy. I love rubies they are gems that seem to glow with an inner warm fire. A ring of ruby fire encircles the dial which is paved with diamonds like Alaskan volcanoes circling the glaciers. As with all Chopard Happy Collection, gems float above the dial between two layers of Sapphire crystal, rubies and the black diamands which adds mystery to the ensemble. In addition the black diamonds cluster around the 18K white gold case. The hand indicators are blue which soften the look. All in all the watch boasts 58 black dioamands (1.58 CT) and 40 rubies (2.00 CT). The movement is precise swiss quartz. Currently the timepiece us 76% off at THE WATCHERY. Current price is $7,995.00 down from the List Price of $32,740.00. I will let you do the Math to discover the jaw dropping savings.

Next my son came forward with a Gerald Genta masterpiece which reminded him of the top of a soda can. A watch meant to get noticed, and noticed it did, by my son.

Somehow, I knew he would pick a Gerald Genta. Gerald Genta watches are quite unique one has to look twice to grasp the entire watch. The hands do resemble coke rendering the watch quite striking. The Gerald Genta Genta has an entirely hand decorated self winding movement. Jumping hours and retrograde minutes and date, which is quite common in Gerald Genta watches. With 45 hour power reserve as well as two rows of titanium beads encircling the case band. The Concave black dial is multi leveled with a gorgeous warm bronze-coloured stripe base. The dial is protected by anti reflection sapphire crystal. The crown is beaded as well as an open case back secured with pentagonal screws. The band is alligator leather for a comfortable fit.

A Creepy Corum Tale! Not for the faint hearted! Happy Halloween!

That awful clock in grandma's bedroom struck 12. It woke me. Grandma had passed on and papa had sold the clock. Or had he? The clock sounded on and on, louder and louder in grandma's bedroom. I got out of bed, shivering as the cold air brushed my skin. Papa was gone too. He had passed on and now it was just me and the house and the clocks. I walked towards my locked bedroom door, bent a little for I had carried the weight of life on my back for many years.

I felt in the deep pocket of my robe, and pulled out a big brass key. I couldn't see the key in the black midnight darkness, for if I had I probably would have stayed in bed till Halloween had passed. The key was glowing a devilish red. I unlocked the door and stepped into the hall. Grandma's room was across the long drafty hallway. The hallway was silent. Deathly silent. All the clocks lining the hallway had stopped. Suddenly I heard a faint scuttling sound and I had a sudden and immediate urge to head back to bed. Grandma's room was coming to life. I could feel it in the marrow of my old bones.

I had not been in Grandma's room since I was a young boy. I slid the key into Grandma's lock. The key was pulsating a blood red. I could see it now but all sense of reason had left. The key scraped against the lock like the rustling of skeleton bones, and the wind howled. Oh how it howled.

The door flung open with tremendous force splintering its wooden frame. I hit my head against the wall and blacked out. I was forced awake by a bony finger poking at my cheek. I opened my eyes, the bone white skull of a pirate floated just above my head and its hand ,which hovered by its side, clutched the lapel of my robe. The other hand held a glinting sword.

"Come in!" It said. "We have been waiting for you for years and years"
It beckoned to me and as its hand swept through the air dust floated to the ground. My mouth became dry. My heart raced and my legs grew limp.
"Hurry! We want to show you Grandma's collection before its too late"

I placed my hand on the disintegrating wallpaper and I willed my legs into a standing position.

I felt the bony finger poke at my spine. I shivered and entered the smothering darkness of a room unseen in decades. The clock chimed once. A deafening roar. Suddenly a fire flared in the fireplace and a skull roared to life. It tipped its hat and gnashed its teeth. The room became unbearably hot and I feared for my life.
A voice thundered at my back "Leave my place" and the fire vanished leaving a faint green light. A skull in a red Gangster hat floated within view and placed its ringed gnarled fingers around my neck. The skull floated directly in front of my head so that my old pitted nose was nearly touching its nasal cavity. Two cold red fires blazed in each eye socket. I trembled with fear.
"Get out of Grandma's room. Get out. The collection is mine all mine!"
Grandma's clock chimed. It chimed like Grandma's laugh.
Black dots began to mingle with the green choking mist. The deadly hands were squeezing my neck. I spotted something huge and orange swerve in front of me. The bony hands fell away. My neck was free. I bent down wheezing and coughing, swallowing bitter air. I heard a clatter and I looked up. The skull was laying on the floor, its red gangster hat under a dusty stool. Something told me to look up and I did. A huge pumpkin floated above my head. Carved in its thick skin were the numbers 3,6,9,12.

The giant pumpkin descended and gently rolled along the floor, stopping at my bare feet.
" Grandma wishes you Happy Halloween!" it said.
The clock chimed and ....

The sun caressed my face and I woke up. I opened my eyes and stared at Grandma's ceiling. Dust covered cobwebs lazily hung about. I sat up and looked at Grandma's empty dusty room. The frame of a four poster bed leaned against the wall. The only other piece of furniture was an old rickety stool beside the fireplace. Papa was right, he had sold Grandma's stuff.

"There is nothing here!" I said aloud. "It was a silly dream" Except something glinted in the dust. It was a watch with a skull and a red pirates kerchief. I stood up and spotted another watch among the ashes of Grandma's fire place. It was a Corum Bubble XL Corum Samedi. Another watch lay under the stool: A Corum Bubble XL Gangster and beside it sparkling in the mid morning sun was the bright orange Corum Bubble XL. Grandma had left me her collection.

I looked around for Grandma's awful clock but it was no where to be found. I turned to leave Grandma's empty room. The door was still open, leaning oddly against its shattered frame. The key was in the lock. I took the key and then it hit me. My key was an exact image of the Corum key. I shuddered and left the room.

Happy Halloween and Grandma says enjoy the Collection!

Story taken from the depths of my unconscious.

A R.Van Halem original.

What luxury watch is he wearing?

I have been writing this blog for quite some time now and I cannot control my urge to look at ones wrist watch. Now if the wrist watch belongs to a friend or a business acquaintance, I may ask, providing the circumstance is just right, "Could that be an Ebel Beluga?" As a result of my genuine admiration resonating in my voice, the friend will undoubtedly remove the fine masterpiece from her hand and give it to me for further inspection.
This very scene I just described happened two nights ago. I was seated at a wonderful dinner table and I was savoring tender moist grilled salmon. A stiff uncomfortable gentlemen was seated across from me and I noticed his watch, I squinted (my eyes are not what they used to be),
"Is that an Omega Seamaster?", I said, absolutely unable to contain my excitement. He looked at me with surprise, his gaze immediately softening.
"Yes it is! How do you know?" So then I explained that I blogged and then I explained how I blogged and finally I explained what a "blog" actually was.
"I dive!, " he said.
"You know the Omega Seamaster is a diver's watch. Water resistant to 300 meters, " he said.

He handed me the watch and as I inspected the screw in case back and crown as well as the luminous hand and dial markers, he related to me his numerous diving adventures.

If the watch belongs to a stranger in front of me at a check out line at my local supermarket, extended squinting and sidelong glances may cause the stranger to become quite suspicious of my intentions, resulting in an inevitable confrontation with the store security personnel. So I am forced to control my curiosity and increase my already vast knowledge of luxury watches so that a cursory glance would be sufficient.

The easiest watch collection to recognize from across a room or in an endless "10 items or less" line is the Movado Museum Watches. The dot at the 12 'o'clock is as conspicuous as a full moon above the Sahara Desert.
The Corum bubble watch collections are also highly recognizable with the thick domed sapphire crystals. Chopard's Happy Collections are a treat to spot with gems that glide across the watch face between two layers of sapphire crystal.
Of course the more pricey unique watches are not hard to miss as they shout "Look at me!" Take for example Girard Perregaux's Opera One Minute Repeater Tourbillon with three gold bridges, you may not recognize the type of watch ,being that it is so unique;however, you will recognize this watch as something special, worthy of a complete and utter fixation.

In case you would like to be the subject of admiring sidelong glances directed at your wrist, the watchery.com has your luxury watches for extremely discounted prices. Check out the website. The prices are really low.

Van Halem