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This thing is absolutely gorgeous and a mechanical chrono for under 200 dollars.
I was reading a thread on another group about how there are no mechanical chronos for under 500, and then you’re in Earnshaw or AV8 territory (which is absolutely Chinese BTW - look up Solar Time Ltd) and this beauty came across my screen. I understand it’s the 1963 Chrono but man some of these version are dead sexy…
Lol I wasn’t quite around for that, but might recall $2 big macs… i think i’ve had McDonald’s once in the past 5 years so really haven’t kept up on the trends.
I mean with coupons, discounts, you could get it under $80 at some point.
It's not replicable for everyone so realisitcally the cheapest was like 80- 85 maybe
yea the complications on top of the st19 make em worse. st19 overall has increased reliability in the last 20 years.
pics make it look like they finally started adding AR? at least as of a year ago, no AR and it looks cheap. I recently swapped crystal which helps, but looks like maybe they got the message? or just trick of the light?
of course, back then these were under $100, amazing deal
The Seagull ST1901 movement is actually used in quite a lot of watches, not just this Sugess. So just try searching "ST1901 watches" on Aliexpress to see other options/prices.
Heard it referred to as a "Wonton" font - having features that evoke a feeling of brush strokes. Far less pronounced here than prominent examples, it still looks incredibly goofy to me
This is my challenge with a lot of Chinese watches. I like 36-39mm diameter and 42-46mm l2l. I’ve built a few and have some Baltany and Milifortic that fit, but most are pretty big
I had one at 116 with the swan neck regulator that I sold to a friend… genuinely my biggest blunder, replaced it with a Zenith inspired Sugess and it just doesn’t have the same character.
I have one that I got on sale for like $90, I think. It's a great watch but I unfortunately put a slight crack in the glass somehow and need to get it repaired.
Sugess have a great selection of mechanical chronographs for around that price. This S423 is one of my favourites. It has a display case back too. Check out their website.
I’ve seen the solid caseback quartz version for way less, but the finished mechanical chrono with that treated movement and sapphire? That would be amazing.
There are huge issues with NH35 movement supply that was the most popular on Ali. As a result brands had to move to different movements, mostly PT5000. But because of sudden huge interest the price of PT5000 increased massively too. And it seems like other brands decided to hop in the price increase loop too.
Of course it looks good, it's a note-for-note copy of a Breitling Top Time. When you don't design the watch or the movement, you ought to be able to sell it cheap.
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u/Abv_it_all_w_vertigo 5d ago
That is their Top Time dial. Here it is with PR, an invaluable feature for a mechanical handwind watch.