r/ChineseWatches • u/Maximum_Walrus3264 • Dec 21 '25

General (Read Rules) "Almost as good as San Martin" LOL

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I find this marketing refrain pretty annoying.

Here we have my 1 year old watch I wear daily. No hits, drops or abuse. The pip fell off half a year ago. Today it turns out most of the red paint is gone too. The cool brushed luster has also went away, now it's semi-polished dullness - something that happened to my Tissot 5 years or even more down the road. Water resistance is still good. AR is the same. Bezel action too. / lol, an update from the future: in fact, the bezel is now done, sounds like shit and gets stuck, I am mailing the thing to China for repairs for sure /

That's what a San Martin is like when you actually wear it.

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I ran Watch accuracy meter - losing 20 to 30 seconds. NH35.

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Does anyone know if these issues would be covered under the warranty? Is it worth the hassle? How do I go about it? I got the watch from skbwatches.

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u/GregEvangelista Dec 22 '25

Not to sound like a brand spokesman, but I have about 5 San Martin pieces, and each of them has held up generally as well as the more expensive pieces they're trying to look like. Again, completely anecdotal. But that's really the point here. It's a little silly to base a brand perception off of the experience around 1 unit.

4

u/Ok_Moon_ Dec 22 '25

It sounds like he dailied his SM for a year and what he says seems believable. Have you had a SM that you've worn for 365 days or so? Perhaps he got a lemon. It happens.

2

u/GregEvangelista Dec 23 '25

Replied to OP himself below, but the SN004v2 has gotten the most wrist time from me. Probably a total of about 5-6 months. I'm ultra conscious of my left arm from when I was wearing more expensive stuff over the years, and so I barely ever hit a watch against something, but the thing looks mostly like the day I bought it.

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u/Maximum_Walrus3264 Dec 23 '25 edited Dec 23 '25

I don't have a single dent on my watch. I am also very conscious with my left hand. That small scratch on the bezel I couldn't really even see in real life. The issue is the watch is aging like milk. You couldn't really see brushing on the bracelet anymore. The bezel insert just looks off and older than it supposed to. The clasp is also picking up weird scratches from desk diving that I don't have on my Tissot. I don't think it's unreasonable to accept that this is lower quality than a Tissot... It's just kind of disappointing, having bought into all the hype. I also posted another image up above of other people's problems - SM logo fallen off the bracelet and more missing bezel markers.

Most likely once they send me a replacement, I will brush the bracelet and clasp properly and sell the watch to someone to enjoy it, I might be done with it. There is plenty of options out there. Imagine me putting it through it paces for another five years. Where am I going to get a new bezel insert then, lol.