It may come as a shock to learn that over the Christmas break just about everything shuts down for a few weeks for those of you situated outside of Australia,. This does include Time + Tide HQ, but that didn’t prevent me from getting out and about in the summer heat, to do what I do best.
I met with Dan accidentally, who was over from Singapore and spending his Christmas break here in Melbourne. He had some travel companions, but this particular Grand Seiko stood out to me, and Dan especially loves the creamy domed dial on this specific reference. On the wrist, the size felt fantastic, and the ‘rice bead bracelet’ was exceptionally comfortable. 
As December drew to a close, I spotted this amazing replica watches, which was in phenomenal condition after just coming back from a service. The owner purchased this piece years ago, after falling in love with the patina. After then, prices were obviously much lower, and a service was uneconomical and hard to justify. I know what you’re thinking — but he’s got no plans to let go of this piece anytime soon, and I can understand why.
I caught up with my mate Dane to see his latest acquisition as we entered the new year, one he’d spent a good part of 2017 tracking down. Now, gold Day-Dates aren’t particularly rare; however, Dane was after a rather particular configuration. As the ref 1803 doesn’t have a fastest date feature, he wanted a non-English date wheel, so that it wouldn’t bother him. Dane was also after a linen dial, and, certainly, the condition was paramount — so he was willing to wait it out for a good example. Lucky for him, he hit the jackpot and welcomed this piece to round off 2017.
Though, this is a piece you don’t see every day — an Enicar Digital Display replica watch, which belonged to a long-time family friend, Mike. Mike was given this fake watch in the ’70s, after lusting after a digital watch, which was all the rage among the kids at the time but just too expensive. This was Enicar’s answer — a mechanical watch, designed to display the time in a digital format. He’s loved this watch ever since, and it’s looking fantastic after coming back from a service. Cleaned up and keeping good time, Mike’s enjoying being able to wear his childhood watch once again.

Rolex has also long supported yachting, just like motorsports, golf, tennis, and equestrianism. The Swiss watch-making giant sponsors some of the sport’s top events, yacht clubs and awards. And now, our best fake Rolex and World Sailing have recently announced an even solid relationship.
Decades ago, Rolex has been a partner of World Sailing and according to Word Sailing, the new agreement means, “Rolex will support World Sailing’s vision and mission to grow and develop the sport at a grassroots level and cooperate with World Sailing on sustainability initiatives.”
As part of the partnership, Rolex will keep on sponsoring World Sailing’s Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards, which, as its name implies, recognizes the best male and female sailors of the year. Together with their trophies, the winners also took home the nice Rolex Yacht-Master in stainless steel with a platinum bezel—no doubt furnished with a particular engraving on the case-back marking their achievements. There’s no better trophy than the one you can wear confidently on your wrist!
Apart from sponsoring yachting events, actually the replica Rolex creates nautical-inspired replica watches such as the Yacht-Master and the Yacht-Master II. While the Yacht-Master I is probably more for the casual boating enthusiast the Yacht-Master II was developed with the competitive sailor in mind.
The newer Yacht-Master II, featured by its vibrant blue ceramic bezel, is particularly noteworthy for boasting a regatta timer—a function created specifically for competitive sailors. The regatta timer can be used to countdown when the boat can cross the starting line during a race. The Yacht-Master II rolex has a fly-back regatta timer, which can be set anywhere from 1 to 10 minutes. Besides being one of the most sophisticated modern Rolex replica watches to date, the Yacht-Master II is also one of the larger ones thanks to its 42mm Oyster case. What’s more, launched in 2007, Yacht-Master II collection is one of the newer offerings from Rolex too.
It’ll be interesting to see what the new relationship between World Sailing and Rolex will bring to the sport. Besides, for Rolex enthusiasts, perhaps this means we can look forward to a few new Yacht-Master or Yacht-Master II models in 2018.

According to data released yesterday by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FH), Swiss watch exports increased greatly in October, jumping 9.3% in value to CFH1.85 billion. Exports were up to 24 of the 30 markets that account for 92% of Switzerland’s global replica watch sales.
“Exports benefited from a very favorable base effect in October,” the FH said in a statement. It made the same point last month, a reminder that 2017 was a hard year for Swiss watch sales: global exports dropped 9.9%. Swiss watch exports have now risen for six consecutive months. The good October numbers suggest that the recovery that began in the second quarter of this year is picking up steam after two years of declines. However, it’s important to put the increases in context. 
Exports are up 2.4% in value compared with the year of 2016 for the 10 months of this year. This year’s top performer is China, the third largest market overall, with exports up 17%. Luxury goods are staging a strong recovery there, as the government eases its five-year anti-corruption crackdown on the practice of gift-giving. Perhaps the best news of 2017 for the Swiss is the recovery in Hong Kong, Switzerland’s top market. Exports there have jumped for five consecutive months and are up 5.4% year to date. These markets have helped increase mechanical watch unit sales by 3% to 5.8 million pieces through October.
That good news is controlled by the fact that six of Switzerland’s top 10 markets remain down year to date (see table). Besides, 2017 total exports year to date are 8.8% below the level of 2016, which was also a down year. Exports to Hong Kong are 24.3% below 2015 levels.
The FH’s July prognosis about the U.S. – “for the time being, there is nothing to indicate the outlook will brighten soon” – has proven painfully accurate. As we’ve noted before, the U.S. market is beset by a stew of problems that have hurt Swiss watch sales here more than in other markets. They include the rise of e-commerce (which Swiss luxury replica watches firms have generally avoided), a consequent slump in brick-and-mortar store traffic, inordinate levels of gray market watches, the increase of smart-watches and a boom in fake vintage watch sales.
However, the big story for the Swiss this year is that global exports are rising steadily after falling steadily for two years. China is back and mechanical watch sales are up. The Swiss will be happy with a 2% boost with two months to go after the way this year started.

It is known to all that the year’s fall auction season is all about Paul Newman’s Paul Newman Daytona. You might be forgiven for forgetting that there are any other watches hitting the block at all, with the wall-to-wall coverage, the non-stop chatter on social media, and the anticipation of seeing one of the most legendary cheap replica watches of all time sell publicly. But you’d be making a big mistake. Just 39 lots later in the very same Phillips auction, I have to say, there is a watch that is even more amazing than Newman’s chronograph: patek philippe Dufour Duality No.00.
When I first visited the Phillips preview in Los Angeles two weeks ago, I had to check out the Paul Newman first. Anyone would. And, of course, the provenance of the watch is as good as it gets, and the watch itself is pretty damn cool on its own. But the moment I put it down, my eyes immediately went right to Duality No.00 and they didn’t leave the rest of the evening. This watch is getting much focus, but to me it’s the real star of this auction week, popular chronographs.
All of these replica watches were made to sell, and as with any Dufour model, the customers had a few options. The case size is always 34mm, but it could be ordered in yellow gold, rose-gold, white gold, or, like the model here, platinum. The dials had some variation in color and markers, but there is always a subsidiary seconds dial between six and nine o’clock, and the layout seen here, with the numerals at the poles and subtle applied markers, is the most typical. As you’d expect from No.00, this watch dates to 1996, the very first year the model was offered.
As you’d expect, you don’t see the Duality very often. As a matter of fact, there is only one that has ever come up for sale publicly before, and it was this very watch. It sold at Christie’s in Geneva back in 2007, fetching 180,000 CHF on an estimate of 25,000-35,000 CHF (whoever drafted up that estimate must have been smoking some pretty good stuff) and has been with the same collector since. Back then, that was a huge price for something like this, and it’s a pretty safe bet that it will perform even better this time. The real question, though, is how much better?

There is a Lady-Datejust that outsells every other model among all the replica watches in Rolex world. Cherished for their everlasting gorgeousness, prestige, versatility, and longevity, the replica Rolex Lady-Datejust is the quintessential women’s luxury watch. It’s the little black dress of high-end watches—always in style and completely dependable. 
Different from the standard quartz movements found in ladies’ watches from other brands, Lady-Datejust watches all run on automatic mechanical movements. While the name Lady-Datejust refers to the lady’s Rolex dress fake watches equipped with date windows, there are some different models that fall under that name. Let’s see the four different diamond Rolex watches for the ladies.
The first rolex Lady-Datejust watch we have to mention first is the two-tone Rolesor Datejust model that combines sporty stainless steel and precious 18k Everose rose gold. Ever-rose is the fake Rolex‘s proprietary rose gold alloy, which the company says will never fade owing to its secret blend of gold, copper, and platinum. 
For those looking for a slightly larger and sportier ladies’ Rolex watch, there’s the midsize Datejust watch. This time, the 31mm Oyster case is crafted totally in stainless steel, as is the matching Oyster bracelet. However, for a touch more luxury, the bezel boasts 24 diamonds.
In 1992, Rolex unveiled a jewelry watch collection within the Lady-Datejust family, dubbed the Rolex Pearlmaster. Exclusively available in 18k gold and always furnished with diamonds, the Datejust Pearlmaster gets its name from its bracelet. The rounded five piece links Pearlmaster bracelet is recognizable and integral to the style of the watch.
The Rolex replica  President is perhaps one of the most well-known names in luxury watches. And it’s not just men who get to have one either! Although the Lady President is actually a Datejust rather than a Day-Date, it still gets to carry the legendary nickname since it’s equipped with the renowned President bracelet.
Just like the men’s Rolex President, the Lady-Datejust President models are only available in valuable metals. Topping the case is the signature Rolex fluted bezel whereas the white mother-of-pearl dial sets the perfect stage for ten diamond hour markers. The most prestigious of all Lady-Datejust watches, it doesn’t get much better than a Presidential Rolex diamond watch.
Whether in steel, gold, or two-tone, a Lady-Datejust is a tasteful everyday luxury timepiece that is deserving of its iconic status. And the diamonds are always the most popular factors.

It is well-known to us all that the replica watches and tennis make the perfect match. The two first combined together when the fake Rolex became the official timekeeper for Wimbleton back in 1978. After that, the replica watch industry and professional tennis have kept on building a booming and profitable relationship. 
In the early 2000’s, watchmakers started tapping some of the top players to serve as brand ambassadors, and by 2010, endorsement deals had begun to grow exponentially. At present, almost all the notable tennis has a partnership with a watch brand.
Djokovic made the shift from the popular replica Audemars Piguet to Seiko back in 2014. Since then, the pair has collaborated on several special edition models. The Limited Edition Seiko Astron SSE143 was designed in celebration of Djokovic’s career Grand Slam. It features a black color scheme with a ceramic bezel that highlights the world time cities with three-letter codes. The four cities where tennis’s Grand Slam tournaments are played are highlighted in yellow.
Zverev is new to both the world of pro tennis and watches, but you can expect to be seeing much more of him in the coming years. The nineteen year old German prodigy is predicted to be one of the next international tennis stars, and Richard Mille took note. That’s why the brand tapped him to join their ranks of ambassadors following the grand opening of their first boutique in Munich. You can spot him wearing the now-iconic RM 21-01 on the court, also famous as the first “Nadal watch.”
Feder’s relationship with the fake Rolex is one of the longest standing between a tennis pro and watch brand. His latest model of choice is the GMT Master II BLNR, also known as the “Batman” GMT. The dual-colored bezel is iconic to the GMT Master line, and this special replica model showcases a “bleu” and “noir” (abbreviated BLNR) color scheme that has been dubbed “the Batman.” It’s a fitting model for a player who never stops to marvel his audience while on the court. 
While Richard Mille is famous for making watches that can adapt the conditions on the tennis court and thus its ambassadors are often found wearing their fake watches during play, that’s not the case for most. However, Wawrinka has been sporting his pride for the replica Audemars Piguet both on and off the court for several years, wearing his Royal Oak Offshore. Perhaps it’s because he’s a Swiss national and wants to honor his country on the court, or perhaps it’s because the watch has brought him good fortune and seen him through many of his tournament wins.