Eric Wind is the owner of Wind Vintage, a business that buys and sells the finest vintage Swiss made replica watches and helped enthusiasts to collate exceptional collections.
Previously vice president and senior specialist of cheap UK fake watches at Christie’s auction house, he has also been a regular contributor to Hodinkee.
Regarded internationally as an authority on watch authenticity and brand analysis, Mr Wind is a regular expert voice in titles including New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, Financial Times, Chicago Tribune, Business of Fashion and Robb Report.
Here we challenged him to choose his personal Top 1:1 replica watches, a task that proved so hard that we allowed Mr Wind one honourable mention for each of his top picks.
“Picking my 10 favorite watches is not something easy – or even advisable given the inevitable collectors and companies that will be disappointed by what is left out,” says Mr Wind. “But it is better to be in the arena than to be a cold and timid soul watching from the sidelines.
“For this list, I am focused on models rather than specific reference numbers and I am not wanting to repeat any brand on the list. Here goes nothing!”
DIVE WATCH
Replica Rolex Submariner Watches
The Rolex Submariner was the first luxury online copy watches I ever knew, after going to a Rolex retailer in Colorado with my dad who wanted to buy one when I was about 10, and it was also the first vintage watch I really wanted to save up and purchase as a young professional just out of college.
The first Submariner I purchased had a gilt glossy “Bart Simpson” dial, but it was also the Swiss movements fake watches that first taught me about case polishing as the lower right lug being over-polished compared to the other lugs drove me nuts and led me to sell it.
The Rolex Submariner reference 5512 with meters-first dial that I got from Paul Altieri of Bob’s Watches back in 2016 was the product of a multi-year search for an unpolished Submariner.
It would, money aside, be the one watch I would run back into the house during a fire and grab – even though I wear other vintage perfect Rolex replica watches more frequently these days, specifically my GMT-Master reference 1675, Explorer II reference 1655, Explorer reference 1016, and Datejust reference 1603.
ICONS
Fake Omega Speedmaster Watches
As I once heard from Ben Clymer, every great collector needs a Speedmaster in their collection at some point in time. I feel the same way: a great Speedmaster is one of the most rewarding AAA replica watches to wear.
They have it all: great chronograph movements, an amazing case design, fantastic dial and hand aesthetics, and an unbelievable history, particularly the history of the cheap fake Omega Speedmaster watches with space exploration.
As someone looks at building a collection, I am always recommending they look at getting an excellent and appealing Speedmaster.
PILOTS WATCH
Breitling Navitimer Replica Watches
The Navitimer was one of the earliest high quality super clone watches designed for pilots and set the trend for so many famous chronographs that followed.
The case is large, but somehow still svelte and hugs the wrist so well. I always feel like a person wearing China replica Breitling Navitimer watches is extremely smart and ready to do advanced calculations with the internal slide rule.
I remain excited each time I hold a great Navitimer reference 806 (or ‘Cosmonaute’ with reference 809 with 24-hour time) or vintage Breitling generally.