Short answer: no replica Patek Philippe 720 runs a genuine Patek calibre. What sits inside comes down to the tier you bought, and the spread is wide. Small ladies-style cases and thin dress pieces usually run quartz, often a Japanese or Chinese module. Mid-tier automatics run a workhorse clone such as a Seagull ST21 or a Hangzhou 6300, both descendants of the ETA 2824-2, or a Miyota 9015. Top-tier pieces run a decorated clone of the Calibre 324 family, meaning a generic base dressed with striped bridges, blued screws and an engraved rotor. It looks like a 324 S C. It is not one.

Is a Fake Patek Philippe 720 Worth It? An Honest Buyer's Guide

Why there is no single answer

The 720 label gets used loosely on replica listings. Sometimes it points at a small ladies' reference in the Twenty~4 mold, which on the genuine side is quartz (Calibre E 23-250 S C), so the rep follows with a quartz module. Sometimes it points at a men's automatic reference, where a mechanical clone is the whole point. Two watches under the same listing number can have completely different engines. The useful question is not what movement is in a 720. It is which tier you are looking at, and what that tier normally carries.

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What you actually find, by tier

  • Entry quartz: a Ronda, Miyota or unbranded Chinese quartz. Thin, light, no rotor, and the seconds hand ticks once per second.
  • Entry automatic: a basic Chinese automatic, often a 21,600 vph unit. It sweeps, but roughly, and the power reserve is short.
  • Mid automatic: Seagull ST21 or a similar 2824-2 clone at 28,800 vph, roughly 38 hours of reserve.
  • Upper mid: Miyota 9015 at 28,800 vph, about 42 hours, known for a clean sweep and a rotor you can hear across a quiet room.
  • Top tier: a decorated clone built to imitate the Calibre 324 family, 28,800 vph, around 30 jewels, Geneva stripes, engraved rotor. The genuine 324 S C also runs 28,800 vph with a 45-hour reserve and 30 jewels, which is exactly why the clone is dressed that way.

How I check one without opening the case

Shake it. A quartz rep has nothing spinning inside and should feel dead in the hand. An automatic will give a faint rotor wobble.

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Watch the seconds hand. A 4 Hz movement, which is 28,800 vph, moves in eight small steps per second. A 3 Hz movement at 21,600 vph is about five and a half. Quartz is one hard tick. If the listing claims a high-beat calibre and the hand stutters in obvious jumps, the claim is dead.

Best Clone of Patek Philippe 720: A Comprehensive Comparison Review

Test the reserve. Set it down, note the time, check it in the morning. A healthy 2824 clone or 9015 runs 38 to 42 hours. A clone dressed as a 324 should reach 40-plus. Anything that stops after eight hours is either a cheap automatic or a damaged one.

Then look at the back. Genuine Patek finishing is hand-applied and deep, with crisp anglage and Cotes de Geneve that change with the light. On reps you usually see shallow laser etching, a flat rotor engraving, and screws that are painted blue rather than heat-blued.

What the listing language really means

  • Swiss movement: usually a Swiss-parts kit, often ETA 2824 or 2892, assembled and finished in Asia. It can run well. It is not a Patek calibre.
  • Clone 324 S C: a decorative plate and rotor over a workhorse base. Cosmetics, not architecture.
  • 1:1 movement: marketing. There is no dimensionally identical copy of a Patek calibre at replica prices.
  • Free service included: ask who does the work and what parts they stock. Most reps get generic gaskets and generic oils.

Bottom line

Expect quartz on a small ladies-style case, a Seagull ST21 or Miyota 9015 on a mid-tier automatic, and a decorated 324-family clone at the top. All of them can be serviced. None of them is genuine. Judge the watch by beat rate, power reserve and finishing, because that is where the money actually went.