TGIF: The Plethora of Homage Watches

There are many watches that have been inspired by the classic watch designs of famed watchmakers. In some cases, there is a feature or two that work their way into a design, in other cases a watch may be created as an homage to a classic watch and may look nearly identical save for some branding, and finally there are some watches are counterfeit watches that illegally infringe on trademarked brand logos by copying them completely.

A Genuine Rolex Sea Dweller Dive Watch

Why are there so many homage watches?

One of the things that opens the gates to homage watches and the incorporation of features into modern watches from many watch brands is the sheer age of the iconic designs. I'm not a hardcore student of classic brands that I can't afford, but look at when some of the most iconic watch designs were introduced by their manufacturers:

• Rolex Datejust (1945)
• Rolex Submariner (1953)
• Rolex Explorer (1953)
• Blancpain Fifty Fathoms (1953)
• Omega Seamaster 300 (1957)
• Rolex Cosmograph Daytona (1963)

I'm no legal expert, but in the United States, a utility patent protecting the inner mechanisms of an invention like a watch is good for 20 years. A design patent protecting aspects of the watch shape is good for 15 years. It's no wonder that the doors are wide open for homage watchmakers to copy much of a watches look and shape. However, trademarks on brand names and logos can last forever as long as they are renewed every ten years. This means that homage watches like an Invicta Pro Diver are legal, but counterfeit watches never are.

My Invicta Pro-Diver Automatic

The Advantages of Homage Watches

While some collectors may lament the plethora of homage watches, as a practical matter, they allow all of  us to experience the look of classic watch styles at affordable prices. The Baltany Explorer Homage (below) lets wearers enjoy a Rolex Explorer inspired design. It's a high quality watch built with good materials and solid craftsman ship and it's available for less than $300 here on Amazon. 

A Baltany Explorer Homage

While a Rolex Explorer may never be affordable or prudent for most of us, a Baltany may provide plenty of rugged outdoor watch joy for any of us. The challenge for the old guard of a watchmakers is to invent something new and have decades of exclusive rights to the next icon.

TGIF: Affordable Alternatives to the Rolex Explorer

Why We Lust for Rolex and What We Can Do About It!

We've been programmed to want them: the elite European watches. "They" put watches like the Rolex Submariner and Explorer on the back cover of National Geographic and on the big turns of every race track. Our movie heroes wore them.  Our favorite musicians wore them. Advertising and product placements fueled our desire. The watch lust became a part of us. Some succeeded in attaining that dream Rolex watch. God bless their energy, education, drive, and good fortune. But, many others among us found out that the world had other more sinister plans to move that dream further and further away.

A Rolex Explorer II (Rolex Explorer 2.JPG: TheMonster17derivative work: Pittigrilli, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

We learned that some watch makers will buy back models that don't sell well so that they can be destroyed rather than be liquidated at a discount. You will never luck out and find a Rolex at a T.J. Maxx or Ross Dress for Less store. If you're a western worker in technology, you'll undoubtedly feel downward wage pressure from low cost offshore competition and a vast pool of guest worker contract labor. Add in inflation usurping your purchasing power and the game becomes more challenging. Something has to give. Fortunately, there are ways to stop playing the game by their rules.

Finding Alternatives to Rolex

In this post, we'll look at affordable alternatives to the Rolex Explorer.  There are many great alternatives to that vaunted timepiece that won't break our bank accounts or divert money from other important financial goals.

Rolex Explorer I - Photo by Thierry Mostra-store, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Rolex Homage Watches

First, let's take a look at homage watches.  Homage watches have styles that are obviously inspired by iconic watches. Sometimes the watch is an almost exact copy that differs only in the logo on the dial, some materials used, and the internal mechanism that drives the watch. It's important to note that these aren't counterfeit watches. They are simply watches inspired by classic designs. Pagani Design offers affordable alternatives to several common Rolex models.  Take a look at their Rolex Explorer 2 GMT Alternative:

Pagani Design Automatic GMT Watch (Amazon Photo)

You can find the Pagani Design GMT Automatic here on Amazon for about 1/10 of the price of a Rolex Explorer II.  That's over $10,000 that could be used for investments or other purposes.

Alternatives to the Rolex Explorer I

The Rolex Explorer 1 is a tall order for most middle class watch enthusiasts, but a company called AddiesDive has a wonderful quartz homage for a fraction of the cost.

AddiesDive VH31 (Amazon Photo)

The AddiesDive 36mm Small Dial VH31 Stainless Steel Quartz Watch is available here on Amazon for a pittance.

Another Explorer I alternative is offered by a company called Tactical Frog. Like the Rolex Explorer 1, the Tactical Frog Cronos has a 36mm diameter case and 100 meters of water resistance. The watch has a stainless steel case and the sapphire crystal has an anti-reflective coating.

Tactical Frog Cronos L6032 PT5000 Automatic Watch (Amazon Photo)

If you'd like to make the hop to Tactical Frog, you can find this what here on Amazon.

One more Rolex Explorer is the Baltany Explorer. The internet and watch Youtube have gone crazy over this automatic with a beautiful stainless steel case. It's 36mm in diameter and offers a very solid 200 meters of water resistance.

Baltany Explorer 36mm (Amazon photo)

If you'd like to get a luxurious look at a more sensible price, bang it here to see the Baltany Explorer on Amazon.

Beyond Rolex

Of course, sometimes an homage watch can seem like it is trying too hard to be an exact replica of the inspiration watch.  If you don't want to look like a "wannabe," take a step back and look at what people value about the original watches. Setting aside rarity and prestige branding, people are drawn to the practicality of the Rolex Explorer series. The watch is readable, simple, and of a comfortable size. There are literally thousands of watches that fit that criteria. You might simply choose a sensible Seiko to meet that need. You can get this one with a brilliant sun ray blue dial for a sensible price here on Amazon.  It's romantically called the Model SZSB013.

Seiko Men's Automatic Watch (Model SZSB013)

If you let yourself breathe a little and look away from the unobtainable brands, you may find plenty of watches from companies like Bulova, Citizen,  Orient, Seiko, Timex, Tissot, Victorinox, and Wenger that fit the bill.  All of these companies have long, rich, proud histories of their own.  You can arrive at the readable, practical, watch that fits your budget and has its own heritage. Ultimately, you can define your own prestige watch.