Phillips New York Watch Auction: X concluded last week with all 149 lots being sold, a white glove sale. Among the lots were a variety of excellent Swiss made replica watches, some that fetched very tempting and reasonable prices, and others that tested the pockets of some of the top collectors. Looking at the latter, here are the 1:1 fake watches that fetched the highest prices at the auction, in order.
$953,000 For Replica Rolex Daytona Paul Newman Watches, Ref. 6239
Out of all the vintage UK perfect fake Rolex Daytona watches, ref. 6239 is undeniably the most special and important. It was released in 1963 as the first Rolex Daytona, although initially named the Le Mans. The 6239 features pump pushers and a matching metal bezel, in either gold or steel.
Out of the 14,000 ref. 6239 produced, only around 300 were cased in 18K yellow gold making them very rare in this day and age. Furthermore, the Paul Newman dials, originally known as Exotic dials, were produced approximately once for every 20 regular dials, meaning not much more than 15 are likely to have been produced out of the 300 gold examples of the 6239.
The present Daytona from 1970 is not only one of those, but a John Player Special (JPS) dial, in black with champagne subdials and black registers, an even rarer sight on the 6239. Furthermore, it remains in excellent condition over 50 years after it was produced, which is always the key when it comes to vintage luxury copy watches.
$940,000 For Fake Patek Philippe Watches, Ref. 5208
Frequently seen on the wrist of the Patek Philippe President, Thierry Stern, ref. 5208P is one of the most complicated high quality replica watches made by the brand. It features a minute repeater, instantaneous perpetual calendar and single button chronograph, all cased in platinum.
The calendar is displayed through three apertures at 10.30, 12.00 and 1.30. Its instantaneous nature means the calendar functions displayed in these apertures change instantly in synchronisation at midnight, which avoids any misreadings that may happen on non-instantaneous perpetual calendars. Furthermore, like all Patek repeaters, this example has passed through the hands of Mr Stern, who personally listens to and tests the quality of the repeater chimes from the striking hammers, visible through the sapphire case back.
Reference 5208P super clone watches online is highly rare and requires application for consideration from the Stern family, which must be granted before a client can purchase it.
$762,000 For Vintage Patek Philippe Replica Watches, Ref. 1518
When it comes to vintage Swiss movements replica Patek Philippe watches, few references prevail above the 1518. Produced between 1941 and 1954, reference 1518 houses a perpetual calendar and a chronograph, and was the predecessor which inspired the iconic and perhaps more known 2499. None the less, the 1518 is not only rarer, but more important in the overall history of the Patek Philippe perpetual calendar chronograph line, as it was the first to be serially produced.
Only 281 examples were produced, with most of them cased in yellow gold. This particular fake watches wholesale from 1945 cased by Vichet (Key nine) remains no different. In a well preserved state it features in enamel the long PATEK PHILIPPE & CO GENÈVE signature for models produced before 1948, as well as an extract from the archives which states that it sat around for two years before being sold in 1947.
Last year, the IWC Ingenieur returned. The original Gérald Genta design got reworked and, when launched in steel and titanium, proved an alternative to the (un)available Royal Oak and Nautilus, the most iconic of Genta-penciled Swiss made replica watches. A recent visit to IWC’s museum in Schaffhausen, on the banks of the river Rhine, sparked a couple of eureka moments. The first one happened when I laid my eyes on the IWC Yacht Club II ref. 3212 in the showcase. The second came a bit later. I will elaborate on that second moment of clarity, but first, let’s focus on a Genta design that, in my humble opinion, stood the test of time way better than others.
What were your thoughts when you saw Credor’s Genta-designed Locomotive come back to life recently? Did that €14,000 watch make it difficult to choose between it and the also-Genta-designed and similarly priced AAA UK fake IWC Ingenieur watches? Or did you instantly reject it as some of our readers did in the comments below the introduction article? Calling it “a derailed design” was rather funny, I thought. Anyway, we are living in a watch world where everything Gérald Genta touched gets a chance to be revived or remolded. There’s the Gerald Charles Masterlink, for instance, and last week, the LVMH-owned Gérald Genta brand launched a new version of the Gentissima Oursin, the 1994 copy watches for sale inspired by sea urchins. So why should IWC also bring back the Yacht Club II ref. 3212? Wouldn’t that be Genta overkill?
The missing Genta link is the IWC Yacht Club II ref. 3212
IWC brought the Yacht Club watch to market in 1967. Because of its broad, flared lugs, the 36mm perfect replica watches had a distinct look, but at the same time, the dial with its stick markers was quite straightforward and sober. It proved a winning combination because the Yacht Club became IWC’s best-selling model in the late 1960s and early 1970s. But it’s not this commercial success that I’d like to see return to the IWC catalog. It’s the Yacht Club II ref. 3212 that debuted in 1977.
Actually, there were two versions of the watch — reference 3212 with a bracelet and 3211 with a strap. The best fake watches in the IWC museum has a leather strap, but the sign reads “Ref. 3212” despite it being a 3211. That’s no biggie, though, because it made me think of re-releasing the two historical references as one new one; the practicality of quick-change straps comes into play here.
Quartz or automatic?
The Yacht Club II came just one year after the launch of the Genta-designed Ingenieur SL ref. 1832. The Ingenieur was the flagship watch in IWC’s SL collection. “SL” stood for “steel,” and the collection comprised several luxury sports watches with steel cases and bracelets. The Yacht Club II with its octagonal and beveled bezel and swooped case shape perfectly fit the zeitgeist. But the JLC 900-based automatic caliber 3254 that powered it didn’t. The Quartz Crisis raged, and IWC started to outfit later 2024 China replica IWC Yacht Club II watches with quartz movements. A re-edition with updated tolerances, finishing, and materials with a quartz movement is out of the question, of course. A future version must have a mechanical caliber.
After being in production for about a decade, the Yacht Club II was discontinued. There are five Yacht Club references in the current IWC collection, but these super clone watches wholesale are part of the Portugieser family. They have little to do with the original Yacht Club and absolutely nothing in common with the edgy Yacht Club II.
Steel only or two-tone as well?
The Yacht Club II in the museum has the 40mm “Jumbo” case, and that size is spot on in this day and age. IWC’s current versions of the Ingenieur also have a 40mm case in steel or titanium. The 10.8mm thickness befits a luxury sports replica watches online with an automatic caliber and a central rotor. Yes, a sub-10mm thickness would have been even more desirable. In the article “High-End Integrated-Bracelet Sports Watches Deserve To Be Slim,” I wrote that when a watch is “over €10K, it must be less than 10mm thick.” I still stand by that statement, so, if IWC decides to bring back the Yacht Club II, it should be at least 0.9mm thinner than the revamped Ingenieur, which costs €12,900 in steel and €16,100 in titanium.
Will top IWC fake watches‘ caliber 32111 fit into a case measuring less than 10mm thick? That’s a question only the brand’s engineers can answer. This 120-hour-power-reserve movement seems to be the most appropriate caliber for another Genta design brought back to life. A more difficult matter is what materials to use for the case and bracelet. A full-steel version is obvious. The titanium used for the “Ingenieur 2.0” isn’t so much. A two-tone version, however, would be very appropriate. IWC produced the Yacht Club II in a mixture of steel and gold as well.
The Yacht Club II 2.0 is two watches in one
Apart from stating my preferred materials for the case and bracelet, I won’t go into too much detail. I trust IWC’s Head of Design Christian Knoop and his team to get it right. So I will not write to avoid using beige Super-LumiNova to mimic discolored tritium on the stick indexes, etc (oops, I guess I did). But I do need to emphasize that the updated Yacht Club II should merge references 3211 and 3212 from the start.
In other words, I envision a Yacht Club II that comes with a leather strap and a bracelet. And thanks to IWC’s EasX-CHANGE system, the owner should be able to swap the sporty integrated bracelet for a more dressy look with leather just like that. In my opinion, this Genta design works best on leather.
A watch family of oddballs
My visit to the IWC museum didn’t just spark my interest in the Yacht Club II. It also got me thinking about a completely new IWC watch family. As you know, the reintroduced Ingenieur isn’t part of a family. It stands alone. That’s good. It means you will probably never see an Ingenieur perpetual calendar with a double moonphase indicator. But the Ingenieur could also mark the start of a collection of specific watches with something else in common other than their looks. The element that binds these high quality replica watches is historical significance.
A reference I believe would be perfect for such a collection is the 1986 Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar ref. 3755 in black or white ceramic. These were the first wristwatches made of high-tech ceramic zirconium oxide. Another candidate is the 1998 GST Aquatimer ref. 3536. Forget about creating a whole string of new Aquatimer variants. Stick to one model that captures the essence of that dive watch, and be done with it. By creating the Historic family, IWC would have the freedom to recreate significant replica watches for men from the past without the stress of devising a consistent watch collection pivoting around a single watch.
Does the Yacht Club II also intrigue you?
Please tell me that despite the plethora of Genta revivals, a reinterpreted version of the IWC Yacht Club II ref. 3212 also intrigues you. And if it doesn’t, I also want to read about it. Suggestions are, of course, also welcome. I will pass everything on to IWC; you can be sure of that.
IWC Schaffhausen has developed a proprietary luminous ceramic technology called Ceralume®.
Based on a highly engineered and patent-pending process, developed by IWC’s engineering division XPL, the technology enables IWC to produce fully luminous ceramic Swiss made replica watches cases for the first time. This is achieved by homogeneously mixing ceramic powders with high-grade Super-LumiNova® pigments, a luminous material that acts like a battery for storing light energy. In dark chamber tests, a fully luminous concept 1:1 China fake watches manufactured using the Ceralume® technology has emitted a bright blueish light for more than 24 hours.
Over almost four decades, IWC Schaffhausen has acquired comprehensive expertise in engineering ceramic copy watches for men. Ceramic is light, extremely hard and highly resistant to scratches. Back in 1986, the Swiss luxury watch manufacturer launched the world’s first wristwatch with a black zirconium oxide ceramic case. Since then, major IWC ceramic innovations have included watch cases made of brown silicon nitride ceramic and black boron carbide ceramic, one of the hardest substances known. After introducing a range of TOP GUN models in striking coloured ceramic, top UK IWC replica watches is now pushing the boundaries with Ceralume®. This luminescent ceramic is made using a highly engineered and patent-pending manufacturing process developed by IWC Schaffhausen.
“With the first fully luminous ceramic case rings, we underscore our role as a pioneer and innovator in ceramic best replica watches. The development of Ceralume® took several years. The main challenges we faced were producing watch cases with maximum homogeneity and meeting our exacting quality standards. To achieve these goals, we engineered a ground-breaking new manufacturing process – tailored to the unique combination of ceramic powders and Super-LumiNova® pigments,” explains Dr. Lorenz Brunner, Department Manager Research & Innovation at IWC Schaffhausen.
The fascinating glow effect is achieved by adding high- grade Super-LumiNova® pigments to the ceramic raw materials. Engineered by Swiss technology company RC Tritec, Super-LumiNova® is a high-tech ceramic compound that behaves like a light storage battery. The material absorbs light energy from sunlight or artificial light, stores it temporarily and then emits the absorbed energy as visible light. This cycle can be repeated an infinite number of times without ever causing the material to age or diminishing its light storage capacity. In dark chamber tests, Ceralume® cheap fake watches cases have emitted a bright blueish light for more than 24 hours.
CERALUME® IS MADE IN A HIGHLY ENGINEERED PROCESS
Conventional white ceramic is made by mixing zirconium oxide with other metallic oxides. These powders are shaped into a so-called green body, machined close to the final case geometry and then sintered at high temperatures in a kiln. For the white ceramic to glow in the dark, Super-LumiNova® pigments are added to the mix of raw materials. One of the main challenges in the development of Ceralume® was achieving a perfectly homogeneous mix of raw materials despite their different particle sizes and avoiding particle accumulations. To achieve this, perfect IWC super clone watches‘ engineers reverted to a dedicated ball milling process, which had to be customised to the raw materials used. In addition, the parameters of the sintering process and the grinding of the sintered ceramic body also needed to be specifically adapted to the luminous ceramic.
THE FIRST FULLY LUMINOUS CERAMIC CONCEPT WATCH
Using the new Ceralume® technology, IWC’s experimental division XPL has manufactured a fully luminous ceramic concept watch for the first time. In addition to its Ceralume® case, the concept replica watches wholesale in a Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 design features a white luminescent dial and a white luminescent rubber strap. The dial and the strap have also been enriched with Super-LumiNova® pigments. The dial’s brass base is sprayed with a Super- LumiNova® solution before the printing is added on top of the luminescent layer. Manufactured in an injection moulding process, the white rubber strap is likewise enriched with Super-LumiNova® pigments.
Developed by IWC Schaffhausen, the patent-pending Ceralume® technology will form the foundation of future developments and releases.
