I will never own one, but I won't fly off the handle if someone has a replica. However, I did get a little angry when my brother in law asked how much I paid for my Rolex Explorer II when he paid $150 for a fake Explorer II. However, a few months later, it broke on him. To some extent, you do get what you pay for.
If I were you, I would get an homage watch as opposed to a replica. It will look like the real deal up to about a foot away, then if a watch snob asks, you won't have to deal with a diatribe about how wrong it is to wear a fake. The best quality homages out there are from Alpha. A lot of guys on the watch forums love Alpha. It's a great starter watch too for people who aren't into automatic watches and don't want to blow a grand on something new.
http://www.alpha-watch.com/