The short answer
A fake grand complication listed as 720.025 v1 is a first-version replica of a full-complication watch. The number is a seller SKU, not a factory model code, so it tells you almost nothing on its own. The part that matters is "v1": it means the earliest build of that reference. On a watch with this many features, the first version is where the visible gaps live.
fake grand complication 720.025 v3
If a v2 or v3 of the same reference exists, compare them side by side before you buy. Subdial placement, case thickness, and hand shape are where v1 usually loses. If no later version exists, treat v1 as a starting point and inspect the photos the way you would inspect a used car.
Which functions actually run
On a genuine grand complication, a perpetual calendar tracks leap years and needs no correction until 2100. Replicas rarely do that. Most replica "perpetual" layouts stack a calendar module on a base movement, and the readouts are either annual-style (day, date, month) or partly decorative. A leap-year hand, when present, is often driven by its own wheel that advances once a year and drifts out of step with the real four-year cycle.
Other pieces of the puzzle:
- Chronograph. Usually a modular setup built on a Seagull ST19 hand-wound or a 7750-derived automatic. Pushers feel spongy, and the reset can snap or hesitate.
- Moonphase. Either a real 29.5-day disc or, on cheaper builds, a 24-hour disc painted to look like one. The giveaway: watch it for two days. A true moonphase moves a sliver. A 24-hour disc sweeps the whole aperture.
- Minute repeater. A working repeater at replica prices does not exist. If a listing claims one, expect a decorative gong and nothing more.
- Tourbillon. Sometimes real, from Chinese cage makers. Sometimes a static bridge styled to look like a cage over a hidden balance. Ask for a macro video with the movement running.
The three tells that matter most
Thickness
Genuine grand complications sit around 11 to 13 mm thick because the movement is designed around the complications. Replica cases run 15 to 17 mm once a module is stacked on top. That extra bulk shows at the wrist and in the caseback profile. Get the number in millimeters before you commit.
Dial layout
Subdial positions, date window shape, and the font on the month and day discs are copied from photos, and photos lie. Compare the spacing between the subdials against the original. Close spacing or a shifted moonphase aperture is the fastest sign of a first-version dial.
Hands and printing
Leaf and dauphine hands on complicated watches are shaped, not stamped flat. Look at the printing under magnification for spelling, weight, and alignment. Crooked text is common on v1.
What to ask the seller
- Does the moonphase advance once per day or once per 29.5 days?
- Is the leap-year indicator linked to the calendar, or independent?
- Which base movement is inside, and is the module Chinese or Swiss?
- What is the exact case thickness in millimeters?
- Do the calendar discs change instantly at midnight or creep over several hours?
- Can you send a video of the chronograph starting, stopping, and resetting?
Sellers who answer these with specifics are worth dealing with. Sellers who answer with adjectives are not.
Price bands and what they buy
Under $400, you are buying the look: a chronograph movement with cosmetic calendar subdials that spin but track nothing. From roughly $600 to $1,200, expect a real chronograph plus a working day, date, and month. Above that, you are paying for a genuine tourbillon cage or a more faithful case profile. Nothing in the replica market gets you a true perpetual calendar or a functional repeater.
Living with it
Keep it away from water beyond a splash. Never work the crown or pushers with the watch wet. Set the calendar outside the 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. window, when the change gears are engaged, or you risk stripping the module. Keep it running on a winder so the calendar does not need constant resetting. And find a watchmaker who works on Chinese movement modules before you buy, because many will refuse the job after the fact.
Buy the version, not the SKU. A clean v2 beats a rough v1 every time.