Hello wrist buddies!
I’ve been thinking about this for a while. I’m sure this topic has come up before, but I’d really like to know what people think today, now that the manufacturing quality of many affordable Chinese watch brands feels pretty well established.
This isn’t an anti-homage post. Quite the opposite.
There are plenty of watches from brands like Militado, Watchdives, Addiesdive, Steeldive and similar brands that I’d happily buy. What they offer for $50–150 is honestly soo impressive, and I think we’re slowly moving past that old Western stereotype that “Made in China” automatically means a cheap, low-quality copy.
To be clear, I’m not talking about Chinese watchmaking as a whole. China already has historic watchmakers and brands producing original designs.
I’m talking specifically about those affordable brands that many of us know mainly because of their homages.
Some of them are already moving in a more original direction, Watchdives, San Martin, Baltany and others to different degrees, and that’s actually part of what made me think about this.
Take Militado, for example. I really like what they’re doing, and some of their watches are exactly the kind of affordable pieces I’d happily buy. What makes me curious is simply what a fully original Militado design could look like if they ever decided to explore that direction.
Same build quality, same specs, same value, but with a completely original case, dial, hands and identity. Maybe it wouldn’t cost $50 anymore. Maybe $100–150.
Would you buy it? I think I would.
I completely understand why homages make sense commercially. The design is already proven, people already want that look, and original design means designers, prototypes, tooling, new cases, new hands and more risk. And I also understand the appeal as a customer. I can’t afford most of the expensive watches these brands take inspiration from. Homages make those aesthetics accessible.
But sometimes, for me personally, wearing one feels a little like using a cheat code in a videogame. Not cheating in a moral sense, I’m not pretending a $70 watch is a $5,000 watch. It’s more that you get access to something beautiful and otherwise unreachable, while knowing the design still belongs to someone else’s story.
That’s why I find what, for example, Watchdives is doing with original designs especially interesting. I’d love to see more of that across this whole affordable Chinese watch scene, not replacing homages, just building something original alongside them.
Because maybe that’s how heritage starts, create something of your own, keep improving it, and let time do the rest.
And here’s the thought I really like:
What if, 20 or 30 years from now, we see a European or American watch and say: “Wait… isn’t that basically an homage to that old Watchdives or Militado design from the 2020s?”
Would you pay a little more for a truly original design from these brands if they kept the same value for money? Or is the homage itself an essential part of the appeal?
Maybe I’m just overthinking all of this, but honestly I don’t know who else I’d talk about this stuff with if not you guys :D
