I knew it was only a matter of time before pirates jumped on the bandwagon for SevenFriday. After all, it was a popular watch (unique design and affordable for a Swiss watch) and had a easy off-the-shelf-and-cheap-to-buy Miyota movement (okay, chalk off the earlier Swiss watch part), and was being sold at a rather high premium compared to the prices of the parts. I mean, Steinhart was a real Swiss watch selling at less than RM2k with an ETA 2nd-grade 2824-2; and SF was going at a RRP of almost RM4k with a non-hacking Miyota movement?! The writing was on the wall at quite an early stage.
From what I read online, replica SF enter the market very recently but was still recognisable from the font 'Seven'; the rear engraving (less legible wordings and rough workmanship); lower quality leather strap; no aluminium warranty card; and most likely come without the crate-like SF box which was a USD75 option on replica sites. And thus far, all the replicas' serial nos. seemed to start with the alphabet A, although it was only a matter of time before they incorporate other alphabets.
[Correction : I saw a Mudah seller advertising new SevenFriday watches at only RM1,500 and contacted him for purchases, if it was genuine watches. He confirmed that his was 1 to 1 replicas using genuine Miyota movements, and his replicas supposedly came with the crate-like SF box and he was keen to sell at just RM950 per piece! Still no aluminium warranty card though and alphabet was "A".
But the leather strap was of sub-quality - for instance, the leather strap for original P3-1 was red on the underside, but the replica's was black; where the original was soft to the touch, the replica's was relatively hard and unwieldy.]
And with grey resellers dumping the goods of genuine SF (look at Mudah where you can get new pieces for less than RM3k), I would rather hold on the purchase for a bit more as the prices slide downwards with the novelty wearing off, rather than spending RM1.8k (now reduced to RM950) on a replica. A replica can never beat a genuine piece, IMHO; although in this case, if the replica comes with an ETA movement at that price, it may just tip the scale to its favour amongst some WIS.
Personally, I find that SF is more like a fashion watch, which novelty wears off pretty quickly. It was meant to be a fun and quirky piece not to be taken seriously. It's a Swiss brand with a Japanese heart, assembled in China and couriered from Swiss (if you ordered online from HQ). I had a piece when it was all the rage then, but it didn't quite sing to me after I got it. For circa RM3k today, I would rather go for an entry-level Swiss-made watch or medium-level Japan-made watch. SF could however, up the ante by slotting in an ETA movement. Then the fun starts.
You always mentioned mwf in your entries and I went to take a look today. I saw this advertisement on Sevenfriday (http://www.malaysiawatchforum.com/index.php/topic,13978.0.html). The seller Albert said that it's hot demand and he can let it go at RM3400. I am looking for a Sevenfriday watch. Should I buy it? Is it a good deal to you? Will you buy it? Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThe e-mail notification on your comment was rather interesting, so here I came logging in for a quick reply.
Delete1) If you like SevenFriday watches, you could (or should, depending on how you look at it) buy it. Buy watches that appeal to you, I always say.
2) This is rather subjective. But I'll try to be honest about it. Try walking into Red Army and asking for a piece, then ask what is the best discount that you could get if you do an immediate purchase. Next ask if they could give you a better price if you buy vide cash on the spot. Do that and you would realise that SevenFriday watches are going at a bigger discount these days. And if you search online, you would realise that grey resellers are selling genuine watches at less that RM3k these days. Replicas are going at half that price i.e. RM1.5k and lesser, but I always recommend buying originals for peace of mind and self-satisfaction.
3) Personally, I won't buy it at RM3.4k. After all, I can get a new piece from a grey reseller at less than that, and still with 2-yaers warranty. But if the seller wants to trade with one of my watches in the RM3k region, then I may do a trade. Or if the seller takes a cut on the price to say, around RM2.5k, them I would be willing to consider a purchase.
Hope this helps. Do drop in a store and try out No. 2 first. If you really must go for P2-2 design and the seller's piece is the only available piece on sale (total sold-out scenario in KL as what the seller claimed), by all means grab your phone and arrange for a meeting. Hope you enjoy your watch!
You are right. I thought that the price at Red Army was fixed to the price tag. I have already bought a 2-week old P2-2 from Mudah seller for RM2500. It's the original one with warranty card, and I also checked back at Red Army after buying. Thank you for helping, bro.
ReplyDeleteAnother original P2 for sale : http://www.mudah.my/Sevenfriday+P2-30777023.htm RM2,899 only.
ReplyDeleteI have an original P3-1. I bought a replica P2-2 recently. All I can say is, unless you're handling both watches together side by side, you can't tell the difference. One cost more than 3 grand, the other just 850. You do the math.
ReplyDeleteOne tip. www.taobao.com with box and aluminium warranty card. No reps but real ones
ReplyDeletesevenfriday is not swiss made. it is made in Geneva but the movement is miyota. hmm i think 950 is too much for replica, it should less than 300
ReplyDeleteSo, the only way is check the serial code at authorised dealer shop? Any other ways?
ReplyDeleteYes, very interested to know how to differentiate the genuine and replica watch. Any advise on that?
ReplyDeleteit quite easy to spot with the rep's serial no. start at alphabet "A", but recently more limited edition SF selling in the market and how to see the (limited edition case back is different and the serial no's pattern is different too) serial no.?
ReplyDeleteThanks...
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