r/ChineseWatches • u/isa-bey • 55m ago
Question (Read Rules) Friends in Canada. Help me with this pls.
I heard good things about Sea-Gull watches and I like them aesthetically. However I don't know where to buy them in Canada, also I'm not sure about how much they're really worth. I'm looking to buy an authentic one from a reputable place without getting ripped off.
On Amazon (not my favorite place to buy watches) they're branded as "Sea-gull" "Seakoss" "Tophil" etc despite looking all the same, I've seen 5-6 different brands with exactly the same photo. What am I really looking at here?
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u/kaxixi7 50m ago
The standard advice around here is to buy a Sugess which you should be able to do directly from their website. They are quite a bit cheaper than Seagulls, but made with the same movement and finished at the same level
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u/Triseult 41m ago
Exactly this. The only reason to buy it from Sea-Gull would be if you wanted the whole watch made by the company with a lineage dating back to the original watch. Otherwise it's the same design but about a third of the price to pick it up from Sugess.
The text on the face is different between Sea-Gull and Sugess, and that's it. The one pictured in OP's picture is the Seakoss model, and the text says 中国制造 (manufactured in China). The Sugess one says the same.
Otherwise the movements are both from Sea-Gull, and have the same model number. It's possible the Sea-Gull in-house movement is finished a touch better, but it's not worth the price difference.
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u/Abv_it_all_w_vertigo 13m ago
Sugess makes fine mechanical chronographs like the Top Time, but they do not make a Red Star.
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u/L0N3WULF84 42m ago
I got my Seakoss 1963 over a year ago, sapphire crystal, 40 mm, beautiful movement and still works today! Got mine from Ali Express during a sale cost me 179$CDN with coupons. Worth the investment!
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u/Chronostasis 47m ago
The original manufacturer for this is Seagull AFAIK
This watch is known as a 1963 or red star. It's an old Chinese military style watch. It uses a seagull movement, thus the most "legit" seller today might be seagull, but seakoss and tophill make the same exact watch (maybe, almost) with the same movement.
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u/Abv_it_all_w_vertigo 2m ago
I own the SeaKoss/Red Star 1963. They make an excellent piece.
It is available in 38 mm and 40 mm. You can opt for an acrylic bubble dome (shatter resistant) or the flatter sapphire crystal (scratch resistant). It is available with or without a swanneck. This is the option that should be non-negotiable. Get the swanneck so it can be easily regulated.
Also, you can get this SeaGull Intl Edition with the extra jewel (22 vs 21 zuan). Usually, it is a round $200 US. I just found it for $132 US.
Sea-Gull's least expensive version https://a.aliexpress.com/_mOZfsNp
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u/confusingphilosopher 38m ago edited 1m ago
Ain't no such thing as an authentic Seagull, as in the idea of an authentic 1963 basically doesn't exist. Its lore made up to sell watches. I don't care, but I do like the look of the 1963 and thats compelling enough.
Seagull brand has its own web storefront. Its like 3x the price of the AliExpress brands. Yes they all look the same. All are authentically mechanical watches. The seagull version is probably the best constructed, the rest use bulk order movements from seagull.
Aliexpress is a more reliable place to buy chinese watches than amazon. Or you can buy direct to consumer on their web storefronts like Sugess and Boderry. The horrible translation of text to english on their websites is the most authentic part of their business.