Why Do People Hate Homage Watches?

The topic of homage watches can cause some heated debates and they can get a lot of hate from watch collectors, but is this hate justified?

I will be going through the main reasons why some watch enthusiasts are against homage watches.

At the end of the day, the reason you should buy any watch comes down to you. If you like the watch and can afford it, then buy it. It doesn’t really matter what anyone else thinks.

Homage Watches Have No Originality

One of the biggest issues is that a lot of the homage watches are just too similar to the watches they are taking inspiration from.

A lot of collectors believe that a homage should draw inspiration from older watches. The watch should very much be its own design but with subtle hints that it is showing respect to the previous watch.

This does happen, but in the vast majority of cases, the “inspiration” is more of a “copy”.

Instead of designing their own watch, they are just trying to ride on the wave of success of another watch.

The luxury companies charge a lot, but a lot of work goes into making a watch. There are teams who spend hours on the design and manufacturing processes, research, development, marketing and advertising of a new watch. 

That step is just totally skipped over by the homage companies who know people will be looking for cheaper alternatives to the luxury watches they have seen.

Homage Watches Are Only Made To Make Money

A lot of people do not really have an issue with the watches, but more the companies making them.

There is obviously a lot of interest in luxury watches, but the price can rule a lot of people out. Homage watches basically fill this hole. They make the watch affordable to everyone.

To some people, this is just business. To others, it just doesn’t sit right. These companies know what people want and then exploit that to their gain.

The fact that they put no effort into designing a new watch and instead focus on trying to copy an existing, popular and expensive watch shows they are only trying to capitalise on the people who can’t afford the original version. They never try and homage a cheaper watch, as they know people will just buy the original instead.

This can also be seen when a patent of a luxury watch runs out. It can seem like instantly there is a flood of watches that now use the design that had been patented. Now they can legally use the design they instantly try and use it to make some easy sales.

Homage Watches Are Low Quality

A lot of the homage watches are poorly made. They use cheap materials and you can see where the corners have been cut in the manufacturing process.

The same goes for their quality control. It can be pretty lacking at times.

Of course you are paying far less, so what do you expect? The point is that in other areas of life you would just pay for the proper item, not some low quality look alike, so why should you do any differently with watches?

Homage Watches Don’t Look Right

Although homage watches try and emulate the luxury watches, they are not the same as the original. For many collectors the homages just don’t quite fit with what they want. The look of a homage watch is just not quite what they are after. They know deep down inside that the homage might fill the hole, but not fully. It’s not the perfect fit. 

I feel this is made worse if you have had held the original watch in your own hands, when you then get a homage it just doesn’t look or feel quite the same. 

(You can read more about – How Do Homage Watches Compare To The Original Watches They Pay Tribute To?)

A Homage Watch Isn’t Earned

Some collectors feel homages are a cheat. If you want a luxury watch, you should earn it. You should work hard and save. You need to be patient and wait until you can have what you want. With time you will get your reward and get to enjoy the watch you have dreamed off.

When collectors with this mindset see someone wearing a homage, they know that there hasn’t been any effort into getting that watch.

You Are Trying To Be Something You Are Not

A homage watch is obviously trying to look like a more expensive watch than it is. A lot of people feel that if you wear one, you are trying to give off the illusion that you are able to afford something you can’t.

You are again, cheating.  I think this is a bigger problem with actual fake and counterfeit watch, than homages, but there is still an element of this.

To the average person, they have no idea about watches. They don’t know the brands and they don’t know the cost. They might just see a watch and assumes it’s expensive. Wearing a homage watch can make people think your watch is a higher quality than it really is due to its similarities to the luxury version.

Watch Snobbery

Sorry, but it’s true. Some people just hate homage wacthes due to watch snobbery.

They feel the original brand is only thing you should care about and anything else should be disregarded as trash. Of course most watch collects can actually articulate why they dislike homages, but you will always find a few who are just snobs.

These are the type of people who turn their noses up at Tudor saying they are “a poor man’s Rolex” so you can only imagine what they think of an Aliexpress watch!

The Hate Is Actually For Fakes, Not Homage Watches  

When you actually talk to watch collectors and ask them a few questions, you will usually find they don’t really have a problem with homage watches, the issue is actually with the fakes.

Yes, a lot of homage watches do “copy” the look of their expensive rivals, but you can see the difference when the two are compared.  A homage watch is perfectly legal

(You can find out more about this in – Are Homage Watches Legal?)

The problem is with the fake watches, where they are actually trying to pass themselves off as the expensive, luxury watch. This is of course illegal, let alone unethical.

These type of watches deserve every drop of hate they get and should be avoided at all costs.

Conclusion

Maybe you agree with the points in this article, maybe you don’t.

The decision to buy a homage watch is totally down to you. If you want to avoid them that is cool, if you want to buy them, that is also cool.

It’s a personal preference and also you shouldn’t really care what anyone else is doing. So long as you enjoy the watches you own and you are not ruining yourself financially, then that is all that matters.

(If you don’t like homages, you should check out – Affordable Watch Brands That Are Not Just Homages)