he IWC brand has an impressive collection of mid-range timepieces to its name. Founded back in 1868, the company started off with high-quality pocket watches and continued to evolve with watches that emphasize the absolute essentials.
Their iconic IWC Pilot series boasts of an array of watches that were originally designed as navigation devices for pilots - and even now, still, retain their military-style rugged design with a signature metal case and durable soft strap, and are considered one of the best watches for outdoorsy people.
And even though IWC watches don’t go as high as some luxurious brands, some of their watches can still set you back by up to $12,000. Thankfully, homage watches are here to save the day!
The Soki Glow-in-the-dark Watch
Homage watches should clone the authentic watch as accurately as possible and should be much more affordable. The Soki Glow-in-the-dark watch is one homage watch that does fulfill these qualities.
For just $2 on Wish, it is an ultra-budget-friendly homage version of the $5,000 IWC Pilot Automatic Spitfire watch, and one of the cheapest watches we have reviewed.
Key Features
The Soki watch features a silver case with a brushed finish, and an army-green canvas strap. The canvas strap comes with a double-layer construction that feels really durable and is easily secured with a buckle closure. The strap also comes with backing material on each side of the buckle holes. And as the name suggests, the Soki Glow-in-the-dark watch does glow in the dark, making it great for low-visibility. It comes with a phosphor-green dial that gives a great contrast to the black hour numbers and minute markers, black minute and hour hands, and a red second hand, and also features a date counter.
It also comes with a crown and a shiny sealed back.
The Flaws
The Soki watch, however, has its flaws. First, the strap, even though well built, still feels really cheap. Secondly, the dial comes with a permanent glow-in-the-dark color that stays that way both in the day and at night – the authentic watch comes with a black dial that lights up once it’s dark.
Thirdly, inner mechanism on the homage watch is also quite loud, typical of cheap watches, and is only ideal for outdoor use. The authentic watch comes with an automatic self-winding movement that is only so quiet.
Lastly, the authentic IWC Pilot watch is water-resistant to up 60 meters while the Soki homage isn’t.
But for a watch that will save you 2499 times its value against the authentic piece, these flaws are easily forgiven. If you are looking for a cheap watch to take along when exploring the outdoors or to buy for your little one, then this homage watch is just the thing for you. And you can even go for several without hurting your pocket, if you’ll be using them heavily.
