VipTimeClub (viptimeclub.ru) is an online wristwatch shop whose earliest surviving site was based in Nizhny Novgorod. In a snapshot from November 22, 2004, the site called itself an "online salon of elite watches," listed as its only contact phone number a Nizhny Novgorod area code +7 (8312) 10-60-99, and among the page's keywords, next to the words "copy" and "replica," was "Nizhny Novgorod"[1]. In December of that year, viptimeclub.ru took part in the online vote for Nizhny Novgorod Internet Day[2]. In the 2010s the project grew into a nationwide Russian trade in replicas of Swiss watches, with a free 8-800 line and branches in seven cities, where Nizhny Novgorod became just one line in the list[3]. The last snapshot of the shop itself in our collection is dated August 23, 2019[5]; by January 2024 the domain hosted an online casino page[6].

Salon of elite watches, 2004

The earliest surviving version of the site was arranged as a small catalog with a menu of seven sections: "Vip Club," "Watch Catalog," "Shop," "Workshop," "News," "Cart," "Contacts"[1]. The list of brands numbered around two dozen items — from A. Lange & Söhne and Audemars Piguet to Vacheron Constantin and Versace[1]. The home page described its circle of buyers directly: "Members of our club are affluent people, entrepreneurs and top managers, as well as youth striving for success, and of course lovely, wonderful ladies"[1].

The same page featured a "month of fantastic discounts" — 10% off all men's models, 12% for women buyers, and 15% off the total price when buying two watches together — and a contest with two grand prizes, Patek Philippe and Chanel watches, running until December 10, 2004[1]. Beneath the showcase models were prices of 3,400, 4,990 and 9,333 rubles[1]. The true nature of the goods was betrayed by the page's keywords, where next to the brand names and the phrase "Nizhny Novgorod" stood "copy" and "replica"[1]. Feedback was directed to info@viptimeclub.ru[1].

Place in the Nizhny Novgorod internet

The only measurable trace of the site in the local network that we have is the results table of the Nizhny Novgorod Internet Day vote, a holiday that the internet company "NN.RU" held on December 16, 2004[2], the internet company "NN.RU". The shop was entered as number 123 in the "Most Useful Site" category, where 48 entrants competed, and received four votes by email and none by SMS[2]. By comparison, the leader of the same category, the site "Nizhny Novgorod Auto Forum. nnov.ru," received 212 votes by email and 36 by SMS[2].

We have no other traces in the Nizhny Novgorod Internet. In the surviving rating lists of Counter.nn.ru, which underlie the Archival study of the Nizhny Novgorod internet from the counter.nn.ru rating, viptimeclub.ru does not appear, but this cannot be taken as evidence of the shop's standing: what survives of the rating are pages from 2000, when the salon did not yet exist, and the top tens for eight dates between 2002 and 2016.

From a Nizhny Novgorod salon to a nationwide shop of replicas

By March 2013 the site had been rebuilt and renamed in its header: "Accurate copies of Swiss watches, inexpensive"[3]. At the top was the toll-free number 8 (800) 555-82-80 with hours "Mon-Fri: 9:00-18:00," and below it four promises from the shop: "100% replica," "Swiss movement," "Free delivery," "Warranty up to 2 years"[3]. The catalog had grown to about thirty brands and gained a section for watch boxes — branded boxes, winder cases, storage boxes; a filter by gender and price and a site search appeared[3]. Prices had risen to 14,000-25,000 rubles per model, and a separate block featured "Bill Gates's watch, the Patek Philippe 'Sky Moon Tourbillon'," discounted from 28,045 to 19,630 rubles[3]. The footer listed branches: St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod (8 (831) 280-81-37), Samara, Rostov-on-Don, Krasnodar, Chelyabinsk, and the Republic of Kazakhstan[3]. The copyright line read: "© 2003-2013, internet boutique viptimeclub.ru"[3]. There, visitors were also offered a survey asking what to improve — introducing trade-in, credit purchases, or card payment[3].

A snapshot from February 2016 catches the shop already with a Moscow phone number, 7 (495) 649-85-55, alongside the line 8 (800) 555-82-85 and a countdown for a "warehouse liquidation"[4]. The "About the company" section stated that the salon had been operating since 2003, had "more than 25,000 grateful customers," had sold "more than 29,000 models," and gave a warranty of up to 25 months[4]. Goods were divided into "replicas from Hong Kong" and "duplicates from Switzerland"; the page named the movements Ronda, ETA, Soprod, Lemania, Valjoux, its own production in Luxembourg and Hong Kong, and stated a price floor: "You will not find watches cheaper than 9,000 rubles in our shop"[4]. Delivery was handled by the courier services CDEK and SPSR, with separate representatives in Ukraine (+380-631-729-730) and Kazakhstan (+7-707-777-67-19)[4]. According to the page's text, the service center was headed by Nikolai Kotikhin[4].

The final years and the domain's fate

In a snapshot from August 23, 2019, the site noted: "We are 16 years old"[5]. The assortment had grown far beyond watches — men's bags and briefcases, wallets, eyeglass frames, ties, cufflinks, writing sets, scarves, shoes, women's bags, and jewelry; sections for "Trade IN" and "Pre-owned watches" appeared, and the warranty grew to five years[5]. The storefront showed the price of the replica next to the price of the original: a duplicate Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore cost 69,790 rubles versus 1,800,000 for the original, a Rolex GMT Master II 49,990 versus 1,920,000[5]. By then the contacts were entirely non-regional: a call center at 8 (800) 555-82-85 and a service center at 8 (499) 64-90-393, with the email timeclub.vip@gmail.com[5]. The latest entry in the "News from the world of watches" feed is dated June 18, 2019, and the copyright line in the footer stopped at "© 'Vip Time Club', 2003-2018"[5].

This is the last snapshot of the shop proper to make it into our collection. The next saved snapshot of the domain, from January 11, 2024, shows already alien content: a landing page enticing visitors to the Vavada online casino, with a signature left in the footer, "© 2023 viptimeclub.ru"[6]. The switch happened no later than 2023: that is the year given in the casino page's copyright[6], and according to our own survey of the domain, the same page was already there in March 2023. A availability check made while preparing this article found no working site at the address.

Sources

  1. web.archive.org — Home page, 2004 (archive)
  2. web.archive.org — Nizhny Novgorod Internet Day voting results, 2004 (archive)
  3. web.archive.org — Home page, 2013 (archive)
  4. web.archive.org — Home page, 2016 (archive)
  5. web.archive.org — Home page, 2019 (archive)
  6. web.archive.org — Domain snapshot, 2024 (archive)