Are homage watches ever acceptable?

Homage watches. It's a divisive topic in the watch community, but a tricky one at that.

First up, what is the definition of a homage watch?

It’s a watch that mimics the look of a well known watch and most often sells for much less than the original watch it pays tribute to. Homage watches are not fakes or replicas as they don’t try to pass themselves off as the real thing.

It’s a tricky debate. But for the most part if we want to buy a watch in a more affordable category, we will opt for a model that has a more original look. For example, if we want to add some color to our collection, but don’t want to spend a lot of money on a watch that we know will only be worn occasionally, we’ll choose a fun but original design.

Photo by Gnomon Watches

Say our target is a green dial watch. You could go for the Squale 20 ATMOS MINT Ceramic - 1545, a green dial Submariner homage watch for $570.

Photo by Gnomon Watches

Or you could choose a Seiko “Sumo” SBDC081 for $750.

Photo by Monochrome Watches

If you want to go higher up on the chain, consider the Oris Aquis Date in green for $1,680.

Photo by Steinhart Watches

But if you are dead set for something that looks like a Submariner, check out the Steinhart Ocean 1 Double Green Ceramic Premium for $610.

Now who are we to tell anyone else what watch to buy? We’re just happy you prefer a mechanical watch over an Apple Watch. But if it’s our money, we would get more satisfaction from owning the Seiko or Oris as both have pretty unique case shapes and a strong feature set. For us, if we were to look down at our wrist at a watch that looks like a Submariner but isn’t one, we just wouldn’t bond with it as much as the original designs.

Then there’s the issue of wanting a look that is an homage to a virtually unobtainable watch like a Rolex Milsub or Paul Newman Daytona. In this case, we’re not just referring to price, they are just plain hard to find too. You could get a Steinhart OVM that is an homage to the sword-handed Milsub or a Gevril Tribeca, which models its looks after the Newman Daytona. 

In these scenarios is it more acceptable to buy the homage? More than likely, we’d still rather spend our dollars on a completely original design. There are just so many opportunities to find original designs that are interesting and worth experiencing.

Even if your entire collection is homage watches, you should proudly display and protect them with an Everest Watch Roll.