Few designs have had the longevity as those deriving from the ultimate ‘tool’ timepiece – those wrist-worn instruments designed to be used on or below the sea. And different from its brethren, conceived with features offering service on land or in the air, truly submersible watches come with additional USPS, including a unidirectional bezel (for accurately timing dives), water resistance to at least 100m (obviously), and a clear, legible read-out at great depths. These elements certainly inform the design of some of today’s most recognizable replica watches, including those birthday boys, the Aquanaut by Patek Philippe (20 years old), the cheapest fake Rolex Seadweller (50), and Omega Seamaster (60). 
And if it doesn’t sate your appetite, you can read more about the original Submariner in James Gurney’s exhaustive “How to collect Rolex” – the fourth installment in our must-read ‘Anatomy of a Watch Collection’ series.
We celebrate a group of replica watchmakers who – in a sector that lately has, as an author and watch eminence named Nick Foulkes notes in his latest ‘Tale From The Industry’, become more of a career choice than a vocation – stand apart. For starters, we have Jean-Claude Biver, the man responsible for reanimating the traditional Swiss watch business in the face of the quartz revolution, first with Blancpain and later with Omega and Hublot. And then there’s Edouard Meylan, scion of an important watch dynasty, now shrewdly guiding the fortunes of another reanimated dial name, H. Moser (with a little help from a VFF*). And we also profile David Sokosh, whose decision to assemble his own watches from his stall at the Brooklyn Flea Market has resulted in a novel take on the term ‘Made in the USA’. 
So, all in all, the three men represent a degree of individuality sometimes missing in others. Which is what GQWatch out to achieve when it launched back in 2007. Eleven years old, one old faithful remains alert and attuned to the best replica watch world as it unwinds over the year ahead: the eleventh installment of our, our one-of-a-kind A-Z guide to the most important watch brands on the market, once again compiled by Simon De Burton. Hopefully, you will find plenty to feast upon, generally speaking.