Caseback
Rotor
Lugs
Movement
Crown
Pusher
Crystal
Strap/Bracelet
Dial
Case
Bezel
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Click on any of the buttons above to learn more, or rotate the watch to get a different view.

Strap / Bracelet

Straps are generally made of supple materials like leather or rubber, while bracelets are made of materials like steel or titanium. In the end, it just boils down to personal preference on which is better. Generally, there are 2 types of clasps available:

  • Tang buckle : Tang buckles are the most commonly-seen clasps on watches with straps. Their simple design and quick adjustability make them popular choices on watches.

  • Deployant : Deployant clasps are seen on both straps and bracelets. They open and close quickly, but are not adjustable like tang buckles. Manufacturers like Rolex have implemented clever designs to allow minor adjustments on the fly, but usually adjusting them requires removing of links from the bracelet.

  • Bezel

    The bezel is the outer ring which holds the crystal of the watch. There are generally two types of bezels:

  • Stationary : Stationary bezels do not move, and generally do not provide any additional function. They may be part of the case itself, or a separate piece like in Audemars Piguet watches.

  • Rotating :Rotating bezels rotate to provide a variety of fucntions, from tachymeters to GMT displays. Most rotating bezels are ratcheting, which means they rotate with a solid click for each unit, which prevents the bezel from rotating during normal wear. On dive watches, these bezels rotate in only one direction for safety purposes.
  • Dial

    The dial is simply the face of your watch. It contains a whole lot of stuff that makes your watch.... a watch. We cover them here:

  • Hands : Quite simply, these tell the time. Most luxury watches have mechanical movements, which means the hands sweep in a smooth motion instead of ticking.

  • Markers : Markers mark out the time on your watch. They come in a variety of designs, from the classic stick to roman numerals. On many watches, these are lumed, meaning they glow at night.

  • Rehaut : The rehaut is the ring between the dial and the bezel of the watch. Some contain additional markers like tachymeters, while others like Rolex contain brand engravings and serial numbers.

  • Subdial : Subdials are additional mini-dials on the dial of the watch, and display a variety of functions like chronometers or second hands.

  • Date window : The date window is a tiny cutout on certain models which allows you to see the date. On some models like Rolex, there is an additional magnifying cyclops for easier viewing.
  • Case

    The case is the foundation of your watch, everything is built upon the case. Cases come in a variety of materials, from 316L stainless steel to NTPT carbon. At Ghost Pirates, most of our watches are built with materials and finished with processes just as the originals are.

    A notable exception are Rolex watches, which are built with 904L stainless steel. Read more about them here.

    Crown

    The crown allows adjustment of the time and other features on a watch. There are generally two types of crowns:

  • Push-pull : Push-pull crowns are simple, just pull them outwards to start adjustment. Some watches require you to pull them out twice to adjust the time, pulling once allows adjustment of the date or winding of the watch.

  • Screw-down : Screw-down crowns require you to unscrew them before adjustment. While they perform similar functions, screw-down crowns offer better waterproofing, and are thus more common on diver watches.
  • Pusher

    These buttons activate the chronometer on watches that have them. The top pusher starts and stops the timer, while the bottom pusher resets the chronometer. Some watches like the Rolex Daytona have guards which need to be unscrewed before the pushers can be pressed.
    The crystal is the glass face of the watch. It might just be a piece of glass, but to us it is one of the most important aspects of a good replica. Even the best replica will not look good with a cheap crystal. So what makes luxury watch crystals look so good?

  • Sapphire glass : Sapphire glass is the standard for all luxury watches crystals, and is the case for all our replicas as well. Sapphire glass is much stronger, scratch-resistant and optically-clear than traditional mineral glass. When placed on a watch, the difference is huge and immediately noticeable.

  • Anti-reflection (AR) coating : All our crystals are coated with an AR coating, which reduces reflections and makes the sapphire glass even appear even clearer than it already is.

  • This is the industry standard for luxury watches, and we will settle for nothing less on our replicas.

    Movement

    The movement is the mechanism that gives your watch the trademark sweeping movement. Movements are immensely complex consisting of 60 - 100 intricate parts, making them incredibly expensive to replicate. Most are also impossible to buy because big brands build them in-house, and do not sell them to the public. Thankfully for us, there are large movement companies who produce quality movements for smaller brands like SevenFriday, and these are available for sale, and they are what we use in replicas.

    This means that the easiest way to differentiate a replica from an original is to dismantle the watch and look at the movement. This is fine for us hobbyists, as the movement is not something that can usually be seen. But anyone trying to sell a replica as an original to a shop will most definitely fail, because shops are know better than to accept a watch without looking at the movement.

    This actually makes us happy, because unscrupulous people like these give replicas a bad name. Replicas are a way for people to enjoy owning a luxury watch without paying a hefty price tag, not a way to cheat innocent people of their money.

    Rotor

    The rotor is a balanced spinning metal piece found only in automatic watches. Moving our hands as we go about our lives causes the rotor to spin, which in turn winds the watch. This is why these watches are called 'automatics', as there is no manual winding required.

    When shaking an automatic watch in your hands, the spinning of the rotor can actually be felt. Low-quality replicas which do not have a real automatic movement can easily be detected this way.

    Caseback

    The caseback is essentially the back of the watch. Any maintainence or repairs done to the watch is done via opening the caseback. There are two kinds of casebacks:

  • Closed casebacks : This basically means that you cannot see the movement through the caseback. The caseback is a solid piece, and may be decorated with engravings or branded with serial numbers. Serial numbers are randomly generated according to manufacturers' standards in our replicas to help improve authenticity.

  • Open casebacks :Open casebacks have a glass window through which the movement of the watch can be seen. In addition to looking really cool, manufacturers actually came up with this design to combat replicas, as they knew that the best way to spot a replica is the movement. To get around this, our replicas have well-designed movement plates which easily disguise our movements as the original ones.
  • Lugs

    The lugs are the points on which the strap or bracelet connects to the watch. On watches like the Rolex Submariner, they are part of the case, but in some like the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, they are actually separate, moving pieces, which allow a little more degree of movement of the strap/bracelet.
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