Real Watches Vs. Aftermarket Watches

Watches are luxury products. They go through many steps starting from the material to the assembly and up to the distribution. Skilled watchmakers inspect the watches to check the intricacies of the timepiece. However, what if the watch you see on the market is an aftermarket piece?

It can be difficult to tell the difference between the real and aftermarket. When you are new to watches, it is understandable not to tell the difference between the two. Here is what to look out for when comparing these two categories.

Key Features of Real Watches

Real watches have their watches built with approved parts. And that includes all parts, from as small as a gear up to the watch’s straps. These parts are carefully placed together following the manufacturing specifications.

There are also security features built into the watch. It includes a unique serial number with the year the watch was manufactured. If you own these watches, you have access to their warranty. The warranties are included in every luxury watch.

For example, Seiko 5 watches have a warranty period for each purchase. These perks must be used when there are defects, and can lengthen your watch’s lifespan.

Key Features of Aftermarket Watches

At their best iteration, aftermarket watches are designer watches without approved parts. However, they still have the prestige of real watches, but with parts not used by the manufacturer.

Independent watchmakers make the parts used in aftermarket watches. These watches address buyers’ capabilities.

For example, you obtain a luxury watch and have parts not offered by the manufacturer. Here is another example, you have a stainless steel watch with a gold bezel.

However, Seiko does not permit using gold bezels in that watch. As a result, buyers would get the aftermarket watch to obtain the gold bezel.

How Can I Tell If I Have A Genuine Watch?

Although aftermarket watches are legal to buy and sell, read the details carefully. Therefore, you should see the listings of each retailer if certain parts are not approved.

Genuine watches have a seal of approval from the manufacturer. You can find this in the watch’s information provided inside the packaging. You can also find it when you get an official receipt from the store. If you have the receipt of your watch from a flagship watch store, it verifies that your purchase is authentic and real.

Do Aftermarket Parts Affect The Watch’s Value?

Yes. The watch’s value is based on age, condition, and originality (OEM). OEM refers to Original Equipment Manufacturer. So the more original parts it has, the value increases. When you have a watch with aftermarket parts, it may not be as valuable, but it is in good condition. If you keep up with these three factors, the watch’s value can stay high for a long time.

Wrapping Up

Real and aftermarket watches have their place in the market. Both are status symbols and can  tell the time.

Image Source: Pexels

Author’s Bio:

Luther Abrams is quite a jack of all trades type of guy. He loves exploring new things and cultivating his knowledge every now and then. Today, he grows more and more interested in jewelry and watches and even writes about such things in his free time.