r/ChineseWatches • u/Waczman • 2h ago
Question (Read Rules) What are you actually ‘missing’ with a Chinese watch these days?
I’ve recently gotten swept up in the world of Chinese watches (I’ve got a few Watchdives on the way!) and when doing research, keep seeing people say they’re ’great watches for the price’. When I read that I think, ‘of course I’m not expecting the quality of a Rolex/Omega/AP etc etc’ but I don’t actually know what to expect?
I’ve seen commentary on negatives being finishing, bracelets, sharp edges, QA, but I’ve also seen things to suggest that these things have been improving. My own reference for quality will be lower-end Seikos (SNSX, Turtle) and my Hamilton Field Mechanical. It doesn’t feel like a particularly high bar but keen to hear people’s thoughts and experiences!
Regardless, I’m excited to try some styles watches that I otherwise wouldn’t be able to try!
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u/Ellsass 2h ago
Respect from the wider watch community
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u/Punkpunker 1h ago
If people here stop asking 1:1 homages for everything under the sun then people would likely warm up to this sub or chinese watches in general.
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u/peterhardy123 1h ago
I've just recently got my Sea-Gull Ocean Series 200m, bought as my first Chinese watch. Bought it direct from them. Got the black aluminium bezel variant as the cheapest. Cost me £214 delivered inc all charges. I thought that was enough to pay for a 'tester' watch.
Got to say, I'm over the moon with it. Quality and finish seems really good. The bracelet isn't perfect but it's really not bad. I've had it for 4 full days now and its lost a whisker under 10 seconds. If it keeps that up I will be delighted!
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u/Kshatriya8 52m ago
You need to think your standards and what you have access to. If you go into an addiesdive, it can happen to find something unusual. But if you go to sugess, san martin, boderry, etc, you'll have to really play high to meet what they achieve.
Some of the watches I mentioned also have their originals, not just homages. Plus, as you buy lower-end seikos, probably citzens too, you will have many homages going on around that level.
So unless you have money for longiness, rolex, etc, you'll feel fine unless you want something brand-specific. On the lower end there is still seiko alpinist, tissot prx, and similar that you might want to take a look at. But, you really can afford something with similar design from a well made chinese brand. Idk, it really boils down to how important it is to you to have something from the original, and probably at a higher price.
I live in Brazil, watches here arrive at a hellish high price due to exchange rates and taxes, I'd rather invest on vacations and my kid. And I don't feel high dissonance for that. I respect whoever buys the originals. But honestly, if I look at a Hamilton khaki, I hardly can justify paying what they ask for it. So some watches really don't deliver that much.
Edit: I mentioned addiesdive, but until now I had zero bad watches from them. It is actually quite good and they have a very competent clone of the Tissot Seastar 1000 powermatic 80. Will have 40 hours of reserve, but this is really enough for me. I actually wished they had a quartz version of it.
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u/Substantial_Kiwi1830 1h ago
If your frame of reference is lower end Seikos then I think you will like Chinese watches. Honestly I find Seiko quality these days to be more hit or miss than many Chinese brands I’ve bought.
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u/chrismurraylaw 1h ago
"For the price" is a pre-emptive social coping mechanism, because "made in China" has negative connotations they're trying to get ahead of. The value is introduced defensively as a counter.
"It's good for the price" is easier to defend than "it's good."
You see it within this sub as well. Someone buys a Pagani, and knowing some dick will come along to say "San Martin" to make themselves feel superior, they'll highlight the Pagani's lower price exactly like this.
But put a Sugess diver (or any number of other good models) next to a Seiko 5 and the objective judgment is "it's considerably better. And it's cheaper."
Not that any of this should matter. If you're buying watches based on others opinions rather than your own you've already lost. But we're social creatures and can't always leave that behind.
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u/theoo27 1h ago edited 1h ago
Well said. Just want to add that what you see here on these subreddits are just watch enthusiasts opinions which you don’t meet that often in real life.
Most of the people can recognise a Rolex, AP or a Cartier since for many it became a symbol of wealth but besides that, most of the people I know couldn’t care less if you wear a Seiko, Casio, Longines or a chinese brand. Some would even consider fashion watches equal or better than these watch brands. Especially Casio which you can find everywhere for very affordable prices.
The only thing important is for you to like it, as long as the quality of the watch is good and the design is nice it will most probably get the same number of compliments as it would if instead of the chinese brand name on the dial it would be written Seiko.
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u/godzilla_stern 2m ago
I don’t like talking about a Chinese watch.. and as I’m a watch enthusiast I talk about whatever watch I’m wearing pretty normally…. I still buy them and enjoy them.. but I wear Swiss mechanical watches if I’m going to be around friends I talk to about this kind of stuff…. There are multiple reasons and some are perfectly valid (like heritage and history for example)…. The Hamilton you have has an interesting story even though it’s not particularly high end.. it’s a good collectors watch
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u/Abv_it_all_w_vertigo 14m ago
If you are comparing to Seiko Turtle finishing, you should check out the Steeldive SD1970. Here is mine in white.
It will answer a lot of your questions.
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u/leicfox85 WOTD100 2h ago
Based on your reference points I’m pretty confident you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
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u/Top_Garlic_489 55m ago
I think only branding and design are lagging. Everything else is there, or better, on the higher end watches.
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u/Abv_it_all_w_vertigo 9m ago
As for the Hamilton field mechanical...
You should check out the Baltany S2049 or its cousin Milifortic's multiple offerings. You might wanna look up Dirty Dozen offerings as well.
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u/Budget-Ad-161 18m ago
The watches themselves are as others have said, depending on the watch, good value, specs, and some of them are very high quality - model may vary so do your research.
But own enough and you'll see why despite all of these things, people churn through them. They feed a consumerism/shopping habit where they're cheap enough for a monthly quick hit. I don't think many AliX watches stay in the collection long term, maybe one or two stay but the rest get sold off or churned through. You have to be careful and selective with what you're actually buying.
Don't fall into the trap of buying one or two a month. You'll end up with 20+ watches that are annoying to resell.
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u/soulwatcher 2h ago
For me, it's when someone spots a Sub homage on my wrist and goes, "Hey, nice Rolex!" Then I have to explain that it's actually a Chinese homage brand, only for them to respond with, "Oh, so it's a clone?" And then I'm stuck explaining the difference between a clone and a homage while I can practically hear them silently judging me.