hi everybody Simon here Bangkok Chronicles number
this episode is going to be about the replica watches this is the one this is
for you JP you've been waiting for this one for a while
I mentioned watches quite a bit on these bangkok chronicles um and i have a
passion for watches her ology love what she's always loved the top brands but
never really been able to afford them so once I found started finding replica
watches in Bangkok I started collecting them and I probably built up about 50 in
my collection since I've sold them just it is satin drawers or display cabinets
never used it was pointless keeping them all but I've got rid of them all I think
maybe one or two left I don't replica watches are they serve a
purpose if you own an expensive Rolex you don't want to wear it and you have a
replica of the same model you're not so worried about losing it
forgetting it somewhere but replicas are not good for the industry the homage is
as I'd mentioned which is the look similar they pay homage to the real ones
but illegal they're fine but there is um was a lot of replica watches all around
Asia most countries in the world you can buy them but in Asia back 15 years ago
there were they were everywhere you could sit in a bar in Bangkok and a guy
come up with a like a fold or a pouch and open it up and he's got 50 watches
there and he's trying to sell them too while you're drinking a beer then the
next guy's kind of study sunglasses and so forth I had
to friends back in the UK very close friends to this day and they were all so
crazy about watches both move gentlemen got quite well off and they've got a lot
of the original watches but they love their watch collections as I started
finding in Chinatown I kept finding replica watches on the streets around
contour mainly I'd seen them on second big Road I've seen them in Patpong
market everywhere in Thailand you see them but I never couldn't work out where
they where the sauce was now once I've made lots of inquiries Patpong market I
knew somewhere and can't comment on so that's next the sound King in Chinatown
I knew there was some people there who were important them eventually once
member myself were together we will bind those cheap dollar watches and we kept
going down all the different lanes and just by chance it was just fate while
sitting at a cafe you can call it cafe on the side of the street having a cold
drink a woman and a gentleman Chinese lady Thai guy Saturday one excellence
were talking about watches and then was earwigging and she says to me
they sell watches and I worked had you thought you'd like I think I just sort
of said hello and excuse me do you speak English the lady Chinese lady perfect
English and we got chatting that's how we met this particular lady I won't
mention names but this lady was well she was one of the importers she was
importing from China from Malaysia or every country in Asia if she was getting
it from Singapore from Hong Kong they were just everywhere coming
in and she was buying in huge amounts and distributed to guys in the streets
that I'd seen that the ones in sir converts and Pat Bock
she was actually supplying them or where the watches whether they work for her or
she gave them discount and they then went on to make money I don't know but
she had a network of what I would call runners the guys would from all these
guys in the streets the guys had won a certain watch and the runner would go
off and go and get a watch offer or off another seller take you back to sell so
they were all connected all these stalls especially rare Chinatown we got
chatting and she invites you and I said that I was looking for some watches
I didn't say a man thought whether I was going to be you know huge amounts but we
just hit it off and men got chatting to her as well and the guy was her husband
it was like a runner as well I suppose they she took them across the road into
a just again two shops just a little alleyway between can you walk in a few
steps and it opened up and this alleyway was like a corridor going through the
store rings and this lady had a desk a wardrobe behind her another lady ate
with a similar set up opposite couple and the jewelers there who do strap
adjustments this was the lady she had catalogs galore and this is the lady
that taught me all about the different replicas and the different grades now I
must have visible I visited her hundreds of times we got really friendly
we still after this day we still chat she would bring out on the counter and
show me the different grades and to give you a rough idea of these there was a
great B let's talk about us take a rolex submariner so I put a photo
up a grade B and it sold on the street for 800 bars
still to this day 500 by 800 but really tinny strap is it's very hard for me to
explain and try and show you the differences of the qualities you have to
actually handle them pictures of what we do justice but this
cheap Rolex it had an automatic keep movement the strap you could shake it
and it was tinny it was a plastic glass it was cheaper nicely 500 about 800 bar
then she'd pull out another one which was back then plays on 500 bars it had a
sapphire glass non-scratch front the bezel turned and clicked properly the
strap was slightly better steel and there was a quartz or mechanical
movement different etas it could have been a sake hell inside it clean
anything swiss movements but they were really good replicas that looked almost
identical to the real thing and she had hundreds of different colors
and models for every type of watch she had everything the it was until about
six months to a year and a half living in Bangkok before she started
introducing me to these eight plus plus plus watches that the started coming in
now these watches were to me selling for between five and twenty thousand baths
each watch and that's up to sort of five hundred bucks
why would you buy a replica watch for five hundred dollars when you could buy
a homage watch back home for that sort of money
well these watches I don't know why they made them because there were them to
sell many to customers on the streets and things and there wasn't that many
available but the ones that were available were incredible you could
paint in every detail the movements inside with the same movements as
originals or they were user made a marked like the original if
you took one of these into a jewelers they would really really struggle to
tell the difference but the hell obviously was a few little things you
could spot the serial numbers were always the same the pins they used in
the straps just little things but these high-end replicas were amazing and but
there were a lot of money I know although we were making very good
money I couldn't justify spending that sort of
money for me just for toys but I bought the art one for myself I didn't want to
get into the market buying a sewing replica that's counterfeit goods I just
wanted to keep away from it there was too many problems you could end up
losing everything and getting locked up however back then I'm not sure others
today exactly but buying a replica watch seems to be okay with the law selling no
it's illegal supplying etc illegal but buying a watch if you go onto the web
and you go to google and type in replica watch websites you will see hundreds how
they getting away with it I don't know but you can see on their listings the
different quality of watches and some of them will explain them to you the
different grades I contacted my couple of friends back in the UK I took a lot
of pictures and both of them even though these was quite expensive picked a
couple of watches sent me money and I purchased these watches off this lady
and I posted them back the UK I didn't I just charged them cost postage and a bit
of money for my time for going to buy them they were friends I I told them
were happy with that the these guys were experts with watches and they bought
over six months they must have bought 30 or 40 watches
each these top grade watches they also had some of the lower grade watches off
me again I wasn't making money our number it did enable me to make just a
bit off them with my time so I could buy a couple of watches and that's what I
did I just use that so I could get a few
the both these guys were amazed at the quality and they loved them but they had
the originals as well so that so if you want if you're really into your watches
the bright lens the amigas were just stunning absolutely stunning the every
brand is there in Thailand you can probably nowadays with the likes of
Alibaba Alibaba Express and all the different Chinese companies online you
could probably source these watches direct from China and places but if
you're in Bangkok then I've marked on the interactive map head to
the console has changes the last year or so they've created all that and moves a
lot of people but I can tell you this lady is still in Contin in an alleyway
good luck finding that you have to ask the watch sellers in the streets where
the higher grade watches are explained to them you want the three to three
hundred dollar watches they'll know what you mean and they'll know where they are
they might even have something but they won't carry many of them because of the
cost for them to buy and sell conte on top of something grand all the little
alleyways and ask the more people you ask
ventually someone will say yes I know where and point you there quite a bit
all these people if they haven't got the product they can't see a way of making
money off you they'll point you in the right direction
and you might have bumped into this lady if you want to see these watches a full
retail price on the streets then the only place I've ever seen them and only
a couple of them was in Salaam Patpong market there was one seller I saw a
couple of these but putting a couple you have to go and ask them and that's the
night market chatter chat market just north of the city
I saw one who blew hablo whatever it's called one of those high-end ones up
there so maybe there and outside of Bangkok never didn't see anywhere who
care who are in per se never seen them anywhere else only in Bangkok so they
watch is if you're really into the high-end ones that's where you need to
go websites I've seen a couple of websites with these high M ones
I mean message me and I'll try and point you to those websites
good luck hum search if you're a watch collector and you want some of those
that's where you need to go and do some searching it's great fun wandering
around those streets around some pen it's brilliant gets a bit hot but it's
so much fun finding the new little alleyways and things well worth a visit
and a walk the next bangkok chronicles we're going
to delve into phones mobile phones which was a big part of my business also when
I left Thailand so that'll be the next one hope you're enjoying these
interactive map on my website and a smarter and calm top menu is on to
YouTube point at YouTube and a menu will drop interactive map and you can go in
and have a look and I'm adding bits and pictures to this map as we go along
thanks for watching I'll see you on the next one bye bye