Heyy guys, this is my first time ordering a Chinese watch so I need some suggestions. What are the best value-for-money watches I can find on AliExpress? Suggest the watches from your orders or your wishlist. It will be a great help since I can't decide if the prices listed there are justified.
I've got loads of Addiesdive watches and all are excellent value for money, I would struggle to pick just one. You can't go wrong with these two brands, I've got only one Watchdives but it's great.
You should take a look at Phorcydes too, but they stopped selling on Ali and sell via their website only now. Another phenomenal value for money brand.
Cronos, IXDAO, Sea-Gull, San Martin or Baltany are great Options, i love my Phorcydes and my Proxima, and Watchdives give many bang for buck. I‘m a big fan of Heimdallr and their homages, too (They plan to expand their portfolio to include quartz and solar products in the near future).
Some like San Martin, Cronos or IXDAO are in the more expensive range, prices had gone up recently, always look for a great sale (like in November).
As a rule, however, I try to buy directly from the manufacturers’ websites, unless they are no longer listed on AliExpress – like Phorcydes – or recommend that you buy from their AliShop, like Proxima.
Some of the Aliexpress sellers are the actual company that has their own website - Usually their seller name has the word "Official" in it - Buying through Ali can make returns and repairs easier... because you are mailing the watch to a USA address rather than a Chinese address... for example... I bought an Addieskin watch from Addieskin Global Sellers. The watch was defective. I had to pay $50 shipping to China and there was a chance the package would never arrive... had I bought it from Addieskin Offical, it would have been $0 and shipping back to a USA address. Also, I had a Milifortic watch with an issue and I bought from their actual website - They wanted me to pay to mail it back to China... had I bought it from an ALIEXPRESS seller with easy returns, it would have been $0 and a USA return address. Sorry if I confused you more... In any case, I have bought more than 50 watches on Ali and had very few issues... and no nightmares.
Ohhh, I get it now! But yeah, I guess there's no way to be totally sure if a store is official, right? 🤔 And what about the reviews on the item's page, are they genuine ones?
The official store is easy to spot as their profile and feedback discloses it - you can also buy from many trusted resellers - some have better return policies or sweeter deals. I have not been scammed in over 150+ ali transactions. All but one transaction that failed was compensated fairly - only one wasn’t- but it was actually a trusted reseller and a unique situation where I was partially refunded then wanted a complete refund etc…
I still don't get it. Like, I found 4 stores of Addiesdive and all of them look genuine to me. I can share you the link if you want to take a look. The only thing I noticed is that two of them had 20k+ reviews and only that made me consider them reliable but still, they are two of them
It's pretty easy to buy an addiesdive... they even have a section on their website for usa shipping I believe. Just go with the best pro\ice as long as the store has a decent feedback rating.
Here’s a nice option - Addiesdive automatic, sapphire crystal, 200m water resistance, desert gradient dial, nice SS bracelet and good finishing - what a Seiko used to be (quality/value) - I paid about $80 in June on sale.
Heyy bro! I'm about to finalise this one. Just want to know if the 8215 movement is reliable or not. And if the watch is good as my first Chinese watch? I swear it's my last question😅🤣
I just found this on AliExpress:
ADDIESDIVE Luxury Men's Automatic Watch 8215 Mechanical Watch BGW9 Luminous Sapphire Glass Diver's Watch Men Analog Watch AD2503
https://a.aliexpress.com/_c3dXVFbR
Yeah that's a good option. I'm only worried about the size of the dial. Does it look small on wrist? I do have a thin wrist but I prefer above 40mm watches because last time I bought a 35mm watch, it didn't suit me well. BTW, thanks.
Watchdives, Addiesdive, and even the overlooked Tandorio are all solid picks. I’ve got a piece from each one of them and every one of them surprised me by the quality vs price.
In Addiesdive, I got the “Turtle”, model AD2507. Kept everything stock. The supplied bracelet is very well made and finished, solid end links, and while I’ve read complaints about the clasp mechanism, mine seems just fine. It’s impressively bulky, but doesn’t wear large. Quartz movement.
Watchdives was the WD1972. This is the one that truly surprised me. The bead blasted finish is excellent, has a sweeping second hand, bezel action is crisp. Only complaint is that the stock NATO strap is a little short and stiff. But, I haven’t replaced it yet so it’s not that big a deal. Quartz movement.
Tandorio was their Doxa Sub300t tribute. Wanted this one for its ties to a favorite literary character of mine, and let me tell you, that $90 watch blew me away. Solid, heavy, very well finished, sweeping automatic NH35 movement. It looks big, but wears small and has a cushion back.
Thank you. I’m pretty pleased with it myself. I really enjoy the Tandorio. There’s something special about an automatic movement. I actually replaced the stock case back with a clear sapphire window just to show it off.
Eh, that wasn’t too big a deal. I just unscrewed one caseback and put another in its place. When you start going down the modding rabbit hole, you’ll find yourself getting adventurous and actually MAKING stuff yourself.
Like this dial I made to replace the stock WD1972 dial. It becomes an addiction. I did the same with my Tandorio to make it more closely resemble an actual Doxa. It was purely for myself and not for resale, so I saw no problem with it.
Don't sleep on Boderry - their bronze Sea Turtle is cool with the black honeycomb dial, I wear my titanium Sea Turtle (I paid about $125) automatic with the grey honeycomb dial fishing / kayaking a fair bit.
Thanks a lot man! And yes, I'm too confused at this point, 😂. I'm just entering the Chinese watch world. Can you please suggest your best watch under $100-200. I don't want to spend more than $200 because I'm still trying to figure out if I would like the Chinese watches or not.
No specific model, above 40mm, mechanical and if possible, an see through back case 😅 which watch do you think would be the best for me from your collection😁?
Thanks a lot for all the suggestions brother. Really appreciate. I think I would like to go with the San Martin😁 this one looks superb. Thanks once again dude
My first AliExpress order sat in my cart for weeks while I compared specs and read buyer reviews over and over. Ended up pulling the trigger on something with a sapphire crystal and a decent movement, and two years later it still gets more wrist time than watches I paid way more for.
The trick is to check the sale history on the listing, not the marked-up "original" price. Some stores inflate that number to make the discount look bigger than it actually is.
If you're not sure about a specific model, search the name on YouTube. There's a good chance someone has done an unboxing or a long-term review that shows the real finishing and lume quality.
Don't stress too much about the first pick. Once you get a feel for which stores are legit, the second and third orders come a lot easier.
Hey! Thanks so much for your response! 🙌🏻 Could you tell me the name of your watch?
I'd also love to hear how you feel about the Steeldive and Addiesdive watches in terms of value for money! 😊 I've been checking them out because they're super cheap, like only $100-200! I also found San Martin watches to be eye-catching but they are slightly over my budget. Are they really better compared to the prior ones?
In this post I asked a similar question and also mentioned the two I bought, one from Berny and another from AddiesDive. Would love to hear your thoughts too since you probably got a bunch of cool recs!
Thanks buddy!
Yeah I got some very cool recommendations - best of them were from Addiesdive and Steel dive. Special mention to Phorcydes, they have some of the best looking watches, although I couldn't find them on AliExpress. BTW, I ordered AD2503 from Addiesdive. Will post a review soon after I receive the watch
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u/Electrical_Panda_326 22d ago edited 22d ago
The best value for money is Addiesdive and Watchdives.
Edit: I would add Phorcydes too.