Where the hell am I? :: stuff - watches - "RXW" Marinia Militare

This watch comes with a bit of a dilema about it. Is it a fake of a homage? Or a fake of a fake? Wait, I am ahead of myself, some background (as I understand it)...

In the late 1930's Panerai created a watch for the Italian Navy (some will argue this point stating it was a Rolex watch because it used a Rolex movement and oyster case, however these were purchased from Rolex by Panerai and assembled by Panerai, no different than watches using an ETA movement today, it's not called an ETA watch, but by the name of the maker), it was a big honking thing, with luminous markers and a large crown guard. Flash forwrd to the early 2000's, Panerai created a tribute to this watch from the 1930's, called the 1950, or "Fiddy" among Panerai enthusiasts. Ken Trading's RXW also created a tribute to this watch, his RXW Marina Militare, also 47mm, with the crown guard and sandwich dial, and a Unitas movement, for a few thousand dollars less then the Panerai (the RXW still sold for $900 from Ken's shop). The RXW was a big hit with those who enjoy the Panerai style but do not have pockets deep enough to own one. However, after time the Japan high court ruled Ken Trading had broken copyright laws (I am guessing here, cannot quite recall) and prohibited them from selling any more (which is confusing (especially when you don't have all the details) as RXW offered more for sale recently).

Now, it seems the firm who was making the watch for Ken decided to put out their own version (EXACT same version) of the watch, only with a Russian copy of the Unitas movement, which far lowers the price point. So, I had to take the leap, and I thus far have no regrets. It's a BIG honkin' watch that will get noticed. The strap is decent, but I am going to look for some other 26mm options. Now, I don't know whether to classify this as a fake or not. I suppose it is, since it was not sold by the company that had originally released it.