" I wonder what companies offering homages do to make money, even lower margins? Even lower overheads? My guess is probably lower quality to achieve the price"
Well, for a start, they don't have to spend a penny on research & design. Reverse engineering is cheaper than starting from scratch. From what I've picked up from YouTube reviews, they also don't spend/waste money on elaborate packaging. or advertising/fancy website, retail premises etc. If they sell far more then they don't need to make as much per item. We are told that the CW business model is that our watches cost 1/3 of their price to make, so the C65 that sold for £695 (less the usual £100 discount voucher) mus have cost £200 to make. I don't admire homages, but I can see how you can make a decent one and still make a profit ...
Labour costs in China are lower than Europe but whether or not the quality is lower is more complex. I always assume that any country with a space programme is
capable of decent production quality, though of course that won't be achieved at the budget end of the scale - you don't always get what you pay for, but you never get what you don't pay for.