To appreciate the context of this article it is recommended that you first read ‘On the quest of the copy watch’ Part I.

Shenzhen, China

There may be some rules of the road in Shenzhen, but like intellectual property rights, no one pays them any heed.

We had just arrived in Shenzhen from Khabarovsk, Far Eastern Russia via Hong Kong.

The taxi driver’s heavy foot sped the car along the slick, wet darkened streets teeming with people, market stalls and stray cats. I was white knuckling the door handle on several occasions.

Hannes, my unlikely Finnish guide to the wacky world of replica watches in China, remained oblivious, head down grabbing some more sleep.

Hannes is a replica watch mule. He takes replica watches from the factory in Shenzhen and delivers them to a contact in Khabarovsk. From there the watches take the long journey into Russia, then Europe and sometimes way beyond. He was back in Shenzhen to pick up more replica goodies to tempt a luxury starved world.

We arrived at the hotel and clambered out of the cab. A doorman ushered us into the air con cool of a spacious brightly lit lobby. The scene was now set for the reason for my trip to Shenzhen.

I was posing as a potential customer of a factory that manufactures replica watches; thousands of them a month. I explained that I want to start my own watch brand, and insert my cleverly conceived brand name into a collection of watch blanks.

In truth, I just wanted to find out more about replica watches; who makes them, and how they are sold.

Let’s call it journalistic curiosity. It killed the cat, but I figured if the strays in the street can avoid the taxi drivers every day, maybe I could be lucky too.

Speaking of lucky, the factory is called Two Lucky Brothers Trading, one of hundreds of Shenzhen factories making a vast variety of watches, from cheap plastic kiddie gimmicks to sophisticated men’s chronographs.

And then there’s the other side of the business not nearly so well publicised – the making of replica watches.

You name a top end Swiss brand and somewhere around these cramped, bustling streets, you can find a factory knocking out doppelgangers in an infinite variety.

With the registration formalities complete, we agreed to meet for breakfast at 8:30am the following morning.

A change of plan

On any trip of this nature, the one thing you must expect is the unexpected. Hannes was already at the breakfast table when I arrived in the hotel café. Nothing unexpected there, but as I sat down at the table with a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon, he greeted me with the unexpected; a change of plan.

Good news, the Hong Kong boss was in town. I could meet with him and discuss my requirements in full.

Bad news, the boss had ruled out any hopes of a factory visit. I was disappointed but I could understand why. I could have been anyone – a lawyer representing Swiss watch brands, some member of an international vice squad, or just a competitor keen to pick up techniques and ideas.

“But I can show you some samples.” offered Hannes.

To fit in with the Lucky Brother’s timetable, we had two or three hours to kill.

Hannes is a man for whom waiting patiently is an occupational necessity.

A delay, sometimes in Shenzhen, but more usually in Khabarovsk, is common. He bides his time in his own stoic way.

Sometimes he has to wait days for a connection to pick up the goods in Khabarovsk, and on those occasions he has no choice but to sit it out in cheap Khabarovsk hotels. It’s a job that clearly suits him, because calm, patient and yet powerful resolve seems to be part of the Finnish psyche. Hannes describes it as ‘sisu’.

To kill the time I took the opportunity to quiz Hannes about his unusual choice of career. I wanted to take pictures of him, but for professional reasons he is camera shy, so all I got was a picture of his feet as he paid the breakfast bill at the counter, and the few pictures I did take of him he insisted must be cropped or pixellated, so the pictures are not an attempt at creative photography, but editorial necessity. In case you’re wondering, his English is excellent, his Russian fluent and his Mandarin passable. His Finnish probably isn’t too bad either.

Interview with Hannes, watch courier

PK: So how many watches do you deliver to Khabarovsk each week?

H: Well, there’s no set amount sometimes it’s a full load, maybe 400 watches sometimes only 200.

PK: Wow, that’s a lot of watches to get through customs, how do you manage that?

H: First I would say relationships are key, if you want to see a profit, sometimes you have to be prepared to profit share with one or two people in the right places. Sometimes it can be as simple as a couple of watches, but sometimes it takes something more meaningful.

PK: And you’ve never been stopped?

H: Yes, I have been stopped, but it’s how you handle things when you are stopped. And in fact, it might surprise you, but technically as we are not selling the product in Russia, it is really at the discretion of the customs officer to let the watches go through. I haven’t lost a consignment yet.

PK: How long have you been doing this?

H: So far, two years

PK: That’s amazing. Two years and no one has ever stopped you and taken your goods off you?

H: No I have been stopped but I have some help from technology in that regard, what you would expect to see on the x-ray is not what they can see, it looks pretty much normal, so I very rarely get stopped. But how it’s done is kind of a secret.

PK: I guess unlike drugs there are no sniffer dogs for replica watches?

H: (laughs) No I have not met a sniffer dog for watches yet. But I have given quite a few watches away to certain people, and in fact they keep wanting to add to their collection. This trip I am bringing in a new Rolex Milgauss to help smooth the way.

PK: A real one?

H: On this occasion, yes. Senior people don’t want a replica, they want the real thing. One of the Lucky Brothers owns a big watch shop in Hong Kong, that’s how we can manage to give some good watches.

PK: Can you make a lot of money from this business?

H: That’s why I‘m doing it, I don’t do it because I’m in love with Khabarovsk or Shenzhen – no way. I won’t tell you what I make, but it’s profitable.

PK: Can I ask about the quality of the watches – how good are they?

H: Ha, everybody thinks there are different grades, like Grade A, Grade AAA, but this is simply not true. There is no Institute of Professional Replica Watches out there awarding certification. They are as good as the people in the factory can make them. But with the new CNC machinery, they are getting a lot closer.

PK: What about the movements?

H: Well, for automatics they tend to be Chinese made Asian movements. There’s the Asian 2836-2 which is like the ETA 2824-2, and it beats at the same rate 28,800bph so it is smooth and reliable. Then there are cheaper models with Miyota quartz, sometimes Seiko quartz movements, but also some quality Swiss movements on some models. They have an Asian 7750 for chronographs too – I expect you know where that came from.

PK: Valjoux 7750 – right. But is the quality really comparable to the Swiss original?

H: I think definitely not. There is a reason you pay several thousand for a real Swiss watch and only around $150 for the replica. The quality of materials for one thing, the marketing for another, but also the quality control. You know that if it comes out of any Swiss watch company, quality control will be excellent. You just cannot guarantee that here. Sometimes it’s very good, and sometimes it’s not so good, checking is poor, and actually this is very frustrating. That is why even though they can make a watch that looks the same, and functions ok, the consistent design skill and intense quality control is lacking. It’s envitable.

PK: So why do people have this passion for something that is clearly second best?

H: I guess people want to drive a top of the line BMW, but there is no copy for it so they just can’t. But there is a copy for many of the best Swiss watches, and you can look like you own the real thing. People aspire to be better.

PK: Do you think the Swiss authorities or trading standards around the world will succeed in closing down the replica watch business?

H: Well, I would ask you, do you think the billions and billions of dollars spent on stopping drugs has worked? It’s the same. They can fight it, but they will never stop it. While there is money to be made from a nice copy, someone will be there to make the copy.

PK: How did you get involved in this business?

H: Well, let’s just say by accident, I was travelling.

At that moment Hannes’ phone rang and he had to excuse himself. A few minutes later he returned and explained that he had to carry out a couple of errands and that we would meet in the hotel lobby in an hour’s time for my meeting with one of the Lucky Brothers. I asked if he minded me asking him so many questions, and he just shrugged. Then he he said ‘But there are people who might’. On that note he made his way into the busy streets of Shenzen and I retired to the 12th floor to my hotel room.

Waiting and worrying

Waiting in my hotel room, one hour turned into two, two hours turned into two and a half and there was no word from Hannes. Deprived of feedback your mind has time to imagine all kinds of unhealthy scenarios.

I pondered his last remark; there are people who might mind about all the questions. Maybe Hannes had told his boss that I was very inquisitive and he’d been told to get out of Dodge. Maybe I had been dropped like a way too hot political potato.

Maybe they wanted to meet with me on the 20^th floor of a building and whisk me back down to ground floor level without the help of an elevator.

I was becoming paranoid and the sudden knock on the door did nothing to soothe my nerves.

It was Hannes; calm and implacable as usual.

“Sorry for being late – are you ready to go?

There was nothing to read from Hannes’ expression. No sign of treachery, but no crumb of comfort either. It wasn’t the smart thing to ask any more questions. Trying to ignore the steely little pinpricks of doubt, I grabbed my phone from the bed and we made our way down to the lobby. The problem was, I didn’t know Hannes from a bar of soap, he owed his bosses far more loyalty than me, so was I walking into a difficult situation? In South East Asia it has been my experience that all can seem fine until very suddenly it’s not.

As the song goes ‘I’ve done a lot of compromising on the road to my horizon’ and the thought reverberated in my head: was I in too deep?