First off, forget about the fancy boutiques. Those are for the *real* deal. You’re looking for something a little more…underground. The most obvious place is the Ladies Market. I mean, they practically advertise the fact that they’re slinging fakes. You’ll find bags, shirts, the whole shebang, and yep, plenty of “Rolexes” that probably cost them about 50 cents to make. Just…don’t expect too much. These are usually bottom-of-the-barrel quality. I’m talkin’ ticking louder than a bomb and probably falling apart after a week.
Now, the real challenge is finding something that looks *okay*, you know? Something that won’t immediately scream “I bought this in a back alley for the price of a sandwich!” That’s where things get tricky.
I saw someone mention r/RepTime and r/ChinaTime. Honestly, those subreddits are GOLDMINES for info. They’re mostly about ordering online, directly from China (which, let’s be honest, is where *everything* comes from anyway, fake or not!). But browsing those threads can give you a good idea of what a “good” fake looks like, what to look for, and how much you should *actually* be paying.
Also, someone mentioned Carousell. Which…yeah, I kinda forgot about that! It’s basically like Craigslist/eBay but for Hong Kong. You’ll find people selling all sorts of stuff on there, including (probably) some slightly better-quality fakes. Just be careful, meet in a public place, and don’t hand over any cash until you’ve actually seen the watch. Scammers are everywhere, dude.
Here’s a weird thought, though: maybe expand your search beyond just Rolex? There’s this place, Golden Watch Company in Tai Wai, apparently. They *don’t* sell Grand Seiko (dang!), but they do have a bunch of Seikos. Now, a genuine Seiko is still a good watch, y’know? Maybe you could find a cool Seiko diver or a Seiko 5 that looks way more legit than a totally obvious fake Rolex. Just a thought.
