This Stunning Automatic is Easily the Best Tudor Homage Watch

The History of Corgeut Watches

This is going to be a short section.

This brand doesn’t have a history in the same way that other watch companies do. It’s what watch nerds have termed a mushroom brand. By that, they mean a watch brand that has sprouted from nowhere to suddenly be all over the big e-commerce sites, social media and the like.

It’s a common occurrence, with some brands surviving and others quickly disappearing. Corgeut to their credit has been around for a few years now. To a certain degree, these Chinese names are interchangeable and often originate in the same factories.

You may already be familiar with Parnis, Bagelsport, Pagani Design and others. Corgeut seems to have made quite an impact and has been well received by watch fans.

Is it ethical to buy a homage watch?

This can be a difficult question and one that you ultimately have to answer for yourself. There are some good arguments for not buying homage watches

• The watches are using stolen IP
• Luxury watch brands lose money
• Homage watches are poor quality

Are Homages Watches Fakes?

Homages aren’t fake watches.

It may seem like I’m splitting hairs, but we do need to clarify that a homage watch is not a fake. Homage brands like Corgeut are using the designs created and made popular by Tudor. But they’re not kidding you that you’re getting a real Heritage Black Bay.

You don’t wear a Corgeut watch in the hope of convincing people that you’re wearing a Swiss luxury piece. Let’s be honest. Nobody notices your watch anyway. If they do they’ll either not know that your watch is a homage to a different brand or they’ll not care.

Homage watches are for your own pleasure.

Do luxury brands lose money when you buy a homage watch?

I’m going to suggest that they don’t.

There are a couple of types of buyers for homages. The first browse Amazon and see an affordable watch that they like. They have no idea that they’ve ordered a watch styled like a previous luxury design.

The second type is people like me.

I like the luxury brand's designs but I don’t have the available cash to buy them. Even if I did - I love watches! I want more than one or two.

If I had £3k to drop on a Tudor I probably wouldn’t - because I know that there are several other watches that I also want.

So what I do in reality is buy affordable brands, Microbrands and the odd homage. No luxury brand loses a sale.

Are homage watches poor quality?

Corgeut watches certainly aren’t.

I’m sure you know by now that many well-established watch brands have their watches built in China. It’s where I get my own brand Northwind made. There’s no doubting the ability of Chinese factories to produce high-quality watches.

But if you buy a £20 Chinese automatic watch online you’re buying rubbish.

Use the normal common sense that you would when buying any watch. Read guides like this, check the reviews and have a look at the watch specifications.

There are a few additional ethical issues, but I believe that they are either not limited to homage watches - environmental and labour issues for example - or are down to your own conscience - has meaningful intellectual property been stolen?

Are Corgeut watches good quality?

The reason that I’m doing this post on a Corgeut watch is that the consensus seems to be that they make excellent watches. There are others that seem to be hit and miss when it comes to specs and quality control. On the whole, Corgeut gets good feedback on the watch forums I frequent.

For the most part, Corgeut mechanical watches use branded Miyota Japanese movements.

These are better than movements used in most affordable watches on the high street. Expect to also find that the watch has a sapphire crystal, good lume and functional water resistance.

I’d encourage you to follow the affiliate links I’ve included in this article. Read some of the customer reviews to get an idea of how others have found the quality.

Conclusion

Corgeut makes good quality homage watches.

There’s nothing original in the design - with almost all their models being based on a previous Swiss luxury watch. They are, however, well-made and powered by reliable, branded Japanese automatic movements.

The other components - the glass, lume and case - are good quality and better than you’d find on most similarly priced highstreet watches.

Whether you’re comfortable buying and wearing a homage is a personal choice. It comes down to two main questions.

• Are you cheating the luxury brand out of a sale?
• Do you consider the watch to be a fake or a true homage?

Leave your answer in the comments below.