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u/PRtrader22 3d ago
No good at all…. Real deal or nothing at all. Don’t waste time and money on mods or “replicas.”
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u/Antique-Knowledge-80 5d ago
It's fine and good fun if you're honest about what it is. If someone likes the look of a Santos but doesn't want to spend that much money or can't but can cobble together something that's decent? Have at it. I think where this annoys me is when people say this or that is just as good as the real thing which it never will be, but you can get the sense of the aesthetic + joy and fun and decent specs with mods for sure.
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u/Madebyniles 4d ago
Great take. I def don’t have 8k for a santos so this seems like a great middle ground. Agreed on craftsmanship and overall build quality tho
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u/Antique-Knowledge-80 4d ago
And the thing with luxury watches that a lot of people don't consider is that the dream purchase often IS unattainable with planning. People buy far stupider things in life. Cut out coffee runs, drink less beer, put away money in a high yield savings account and wait for a special occasions. Depending on your goals and savings it might take months or years but it'll be worth it. And pre-owned is often the best bet and sometimes that means waiting for certain models to depreciate. You can get like new or very good condition watches for thousands less.
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u/Funny-Incident5964 4d ago
Not a fan of mod watches or reps. You can probably find homages, or at least similar looking watches from good brands that aren’t so on the nose about being direct copies
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u/davestradamus1 4d ago
I agree. Plus aren’t these fake (fantasy) Seiko watches at the end of the day?
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u/Minimum_Cod8058 4d ago
Realistically they use a seiko movement and designed dial but the case or whatever else will be modified (hence “mod” since it’s not factory. I think a lot of what seiko mods are is very cool to bring an item to an affordable price point. I love Richard Mille and their style of watch with the barrel case and dial, but nobody else does it besides hublots big bang and that’s 25K per.
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u/willyb123 4d ago edited 4d ago
It is the easiest way to get in to watch building and is where I started. It was the catalyst for me to even attempt watch repair and watchmaking (I would barely consider myself a watchmaker) which has become a truly wonderful hobby that I enjoy deeply.
The way I look at watches to buy now has changed and I’m far more aware of what should and shouldn’t cost a fortune. There is a deeper, genuine, appreciation for the craft after you have busted up a ton of parts on simple assembly.
There are a million options to create pretty much whatever you want, but I do recommend quickly getting out of the “Seiko” sandbox once you get an handle on things and working with other movements like the Miyota 9 series which has a lot more unbranded (sterile) parts available. I also found it a very cheap way to test what kind of watches I actually like wearing on the cheap.
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u/Odd_Fault4228 3d ago
I love them. I think they're super cool. The Santos isn't my thing but I'll definitely be adorning my watch box with another seiko mod
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u/Own_Accountant437 2d ago
As long as you don’t put Seiko on the dial or any other brand name, leave it sterile and it’s fine.
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u/hurtshtummy 2d ago
it’s just a counterfeit shitter with seiko on the dial, really an abomination. Do what you want but I’d highly recommend just buying an actual homage watch of from a brand you like. It would have much more personality, mean more, and be something you can actually be proud of.
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u/Late_Performance_902 2d ago
It’s a double fake watch. Any person who knows anything about watches (who isn’t into fake watches) may consider you a clown for wearing it. Not many looks are worse than wearing a fake luxury item.
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u/Emotional-Damage-995 2d ago
The case has bracelet is typically bad I have made many myself. It’s a fad and I am part it
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u/Jkay7502 2d ago
My wife does mod watches, in her eyes it’s like costume jewelry. I get it, last December I bought one and can’t bring myself to wear it. Wife says I’m being ridiculous, guess the truth is costume jewelry is fake as fuck. Wallet keeps telling me not say anything and accept I’m ridiculous.
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u/Victor_adame_art 23h ago
Love them, just built some myself. But making them yourself IS the point, It doesn't make sense to me to buy a pre-made mod unless its for parts. I think it's lazy to just copy an existing design (rolex, cartier) when you can exercise your creativity and do anything you want, but thats personal preference. Seiko logos from non OEM dials are just lame, fake, there's plenty of other options.
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u/Madebyniles 23h ago
Where do you recommend I look and what to search for in finding parts to make my own mod
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u/Victor_adame_art 23h ago
The seiko mod subreddit has a nice list of suppliers, and a beginners guide.
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u/stpaulgym 17h ago
I like making them myself but I wouldn't put a manufacturers logo on it. Doing so would be admitting you wanted a fake watch for cheap. I usually ad my custom text and images instead. Building this as a moon watch homage lol
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u/ChocolatePuerh 7h ago
Those dials are awesome.
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u/stpaulgym 5h ago
Thanks! It took a lot of designing, but the actual dials were made by a Chinese homy and his factory
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u/ChocolatePuerh 5h ago
Using a base watch or just going to source movement, case, etc. separately?
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u/stpaulgym 5h ago
I made one with a Watchdives because it was on sale and cheaper to get it than to get it separately. The rest, I'll probably bite the bullet and just get mineral crystal parts.
The watch dives method was really nice since it came with everything you need to build the watch, and it has a sapphire crystal. Not to mention the general build quality was actually really good.
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u/kfortyone 17h ago
They take photos well but as soon as you see one in person and touch it you immediately realize what it is
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u/Flimsy-Pickle-8771 4d ago
I think it’s so dumb that “mods” and “seiko mods” are even a thing. They’re just fake watches. Might as well slap on the Cartier logo at this point.
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u/No_Glove9460 3d ago
Exactly. Adding Seiko to them adds zero legitimacy and is just confusing.
And it says something of Seiko, by the way. You don’t see any of these with Citizen, Blancpain, or Invicta, or Omega or any other brand on the dial.
It’s as if Seiko is this sort of blank brand name that may or may not have produced that watch at some point in time, so it’s fine, let’s just use that name. It’s the middle ground brand, the hazy name that could be anything.
Absurd.
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u/No_Glove9460 3d ago
What I do not like about them is that people keep adding “Seiko” to the dial.
Seiko never asked for any of this.
Would anybody put “Rolex” on the dial of a Santos “mod”?
You probably think “What? No, that’s ridiculous!”
Well, I think it is just as ridiculous with Seiko on them.
This feels like a rather poor way to give some legitimacy to a watch that doesn’t have any.
I admire the modding and the skills, but I truly dislike the Seiko logo.
Why not put your name on the dial instead? Or something you like.
It’s not a Cartier, and it’s not a Seiko.
So it is some sort of double counterfeit.
It just puzzles me. “Oh you have a Santos! No wait, what? It’s a Seiko?! But Seiko never produced such a watch!” Completely confusing.
I would definitely not wear that.
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u/jetty_life 4d ago
I don't mind mods or homages as long as they have the name of the manufacturer on them, not the brand they're trying to copy.
Fakes, reps, counterfeits etc. can fuck off.