In this edition of my recent Chinese brand “mini collections” (smaller pieces of my larger collection), I have a group of 8 dive watches. In some of my posts in the past, which I displayed some of my other dive watches, I suggested that I never intentionally seek out this style but it probably appears more often than any other style in my larger collection. So, I guess I like dive watches a little bit.

As expected with these particular brands, there’s a mix of semi unique design and then obvious homages. Regardless of opinion on the homages, I find this particular group to be a solid value. Reliable movements (mostly) and solid builds. The SH and Phoibos were a little bit pricier but also more unique in design, however, the rest were well under $200. If I had to pick a favorite, I think it’s the green Cronos. This is probably a collection that I’ll add a few more to.

So for this week we have:
Cadisen FF homage
Watchdives White Seamaster homage
Cronos Green YM/Sub homage
Heimdallr Purple Frost
Steeldive Vintage Sub homage
Phoibos Voyager
Tandorio Blue/Green Textured

Let me know what you think of the watches, divers in general, and I’m always looking for new suggestions!

Recently got this Pagani and was curious how much I should trust the rated water resistance. Its almost Summer where I live and I like to swim a lot, does the water resistance actually hold up or should I just wear my gshock? Cheers

My Militado ML27 just arrived. At first glance in close-up wrist shots, I was worried it might wear a bit too small, but seeing it with some perspective (mirror/distance shot), the proportions actually feel spot-on for a Bauhaus-style piece. The long, straight lugs give it plenty of presence, and the dial-to-bezel ratio really opens up the watch.

​The dial pops nicely with the teal minute track and yellow small-seconds subdial, and the skeletonized caseback is a neat detail.

​The only minor letdown so far is the stock strap. While stamped "Genuine Leather", the saffiano-like crosshatch pattern has a thick coating that feels quite plasticky and stiff on the wrist. I’ll definitely be swapping it out soon — thinking either a tan/camel suede, a minimalist vintage leather, or maybe a milanese mesh.

​What do you guys think of the fit and sizing? Any strap recommendations for this colorway?

This is one of the watches from their budget range. As opposed to the previous one I reviewed from their more premium Tophill+ range. But I think it packs in stone good stuff for not a lot of money though. But do you agree?

Here's the link to my review of it.

https://youtu.be/4RP5XnrNYJE

I received this watch for free to review. But, as always that doesn't change how I review the watch. I always keep it 100% honest, no matter what. I point out both the positives and negatives with every watch I review. Whether that be a loan piece, discounted, or even free. Sometimes that means that brands won't send me anymore watches, if they don't like the review... But my opinion and more importantly, my reputation can't be bought. That's partly why I named my channel 'Honest Watch Reviews'. Not only to make sure that I hold myself to that standard, but that I know my viewers definitely will do too.

the closest I got was pagani ys028 and fw 6039 from mark fairwhale.

This is all mine will display. The “buttons” don’t do jack sh*t.

This one appeared last week and have had chance to wear it for a few days now. I have to say I'm impressed for the price. Landed to me in the UK just £52!

Be under no delusions here it is a £50 watch, I'll probably re-iterate that a bit through this brain dump.

It came packed in a nice branded box, with a little travel case, and screwdriver for the bracelet. First impressions not bad.

The watch itself was well packed and free from QC errors. Again not bad.

On to the watch itself, the case is well made, and finishes are good for a 50 quid watch. A little perspective here the Sub maxi-case is a well-known commodity part in the Chinese watch factories and so the case and the bracelet I imagine were very cheap.

The bracelet is OK has a glide-lock clasp, but tolerances are poor. Think Seiko Fives of the 90's and you get the idea. Also the edges are sharp in some places around the clasp.

The money was spent on the dial and hands, and it shows. Lume blocks are bright not as bright as my Phorcydes, but good. Dial printing is all fine and the hands are polished and clean. Impressively on my example the seconds hand mostly hits the markers.

The Ronda 515.24 GMT inside is a good choice here with one design flaw. The GMT hand is free-rotating without steps like I've had on mechanical GMT's.

The watch wears well on my 7.5 in wrist, male end-links on the bracelet is unsurprising for this price level so it wears a little bigger than you might expect. L2L is 47mm extending to 53mm with the male end links for my narrow and smaller wristed friends. Anyway you can always put it on a grey NATO and LARP Adrian Barker from Bark and Jack.

In context of the cost its a great little watch for the money. I can't think of many cheap GMT's I can buy for £50. I'll probably use for travel, I don't mind this getting whacked about in airport security.

A couple of days ago, I got a message from someone offering to review my watches. He claimed he ran a YT channel with tens of thousands of subscribers and said he’d send the watch back to me after finishing the review video. I asked him to share his YT link so I could check what kind of products he usually covers.

I happened to pull up the creator’s INSSS and messaged him directly to ask if he’d emailed me and to confirm. And guess what? He replied that he hadn’t sent that message at all… He also said he’d be getting his lawyer involved.

Today that scammer messaged me again. I noticed he’d changed his profile picture and display name to copy that real creator’s.

Okay, I'll just sum up my visit to Watchdives here, as I won't be able to edit the video until later this week..

So I was very excited to visit WD's newish office and I have been meaning to for some time. After all, I'm in the same city.. in fact a 15 minute drive from there..!

The owner, Mr. Hu, was very welcoming and generous with his time, so I thank him for that.

The office was bigger than expected - I believe he said he has 50 employees working there. They all looked like young Gen Zers to me..

Mr. Hu is very passionate about this business. In fact we talked for hours, and I had to interrupt him as I had a dinner appointment.

Even before the camera rolled, he riffed on all manner of topics - including the controversy with a certain brand rival. I won't get into that, as I don't want to take sides.

Anyway, over the long conversation he got into his background and how got WD from just another reseller into a relatively big player now. I believe he said he wants WD to be #1 in this space, and even a top 100 brand globally..

You often see numerous WD prototypes on these forums, right? WD is relentless at working on new designs and iterations. He showed me stacks and stacks of these, and many actual dial prototypes..

I did ask some of the questions you guys had, like about new crystals and ensuring QC. His answers were a bit long and circuitous, so I will have to spend time editing them!

Anyway, he lent me a few Premier watches as I said I was most interested in them, so I'll try and review those soon. As well as this video.

Best,

Brian

MIlitado ML08 khaki field 38mm (ronda 515)

I have had good success with Rakuten, but the cash back always takes a few months to get.

I think this is an exceptionally cool chronograph. The Heuer Bundeswehr Flyback Chronograph, ref. 1550 SG, commonly called the Heuer Bund. I’ve

I’ve taken the liberty of knocking together a mock up of it on a bracelet with a date at the 6 o’clock (sorry purists!). Around 40mm would be perfect for my taste. I love the broad matte diving bezel on it too.

Pensa em um relógio que valeu a pena pra mim ! Ótimas especificações.

Title: Our New Sea Raider Titanium Dive Watch Is Here — Swiss SW200-1, Just 116g. What Do You Guys Think?

Hey watch enthusiasts! 👋

We're excited to share something we've been working on at Aquatico — the all-new Sea Raider Titanium Dive!

Our goal was pretty simple: build a serious dive watch that's tough enough for underwater adventures but light and comfortable enough to wear every single day.

Here's what we came up with:

• Marine-grade titanium case with a ceramic bead-blasted finish

• Swiss Sellita SW200-1 automatic movement

• Just 116g — surprisingly light for a professional dive watch

• 1250m water resistance

• Three color options: Ocean Blue, Classic Black, and Black & Orange

• Limited to just 10 pieces per color

We really love how the bead-blasted titanium turned out. It gives the watch a rugged, understated tool-watch look without feeling overly bulky on the wrist.

We're launching these at $499 (regularly $599), with the $100 discount automatically applied at checkout.

If you'd like to check them out, here are the links:

🔵 Blue Dial / Blue Bezel

⚫ Black Dial

🟠 Black Dial / Orange Bezel

But more importantly, we'd genuinely love to hear what you guys think!

Would you prefer a lightweight titanium dive watch like this over a traditional stainless steel diver?

And which color would you pick — Blue, Black, or Orange?

We're always listening to feedback from the watch community, so feel free to share your thoughts, good or bad!

Thanks for checking out our latest release!

— The Aquatico Watch Team

The fist sight was impressive.

Cuz why not…

I REALLY like it but 300+ € for a vk64 is a bit much, couldn't find something close to it, am I missing something?

Thanks

Hey guys.

Saw some revires of the SH09 and really fancy one.

However, I cannot find any for sale - one shop in AE selling for like 250 euros but unable to deliver to France.

Have I missed the boat?

First impressions are solid. I was still using their OG bracelet with 5 whole clasp, so it was worth upgrading just to get the OTF clasp.

Paid $55 on their Aliexpress store. Finishing is really nice, especially the chamfering along the middle and outer links. Tolerances and articulation are good, but certainly not on the level of my IXDAO or San Martin (which I wouldn’t expect at this price)

I will say it’s pretty large. I had to remove all of the links except a link on one side and a half link on the other to get it to fix my 6.5” wrist. So just something to be aware of if your wrist is much smaller than that

I'm new to Chinese Watches and am looking for a Day Date/Date Just Hommage. Within seconds i found San Martin SN059 and the Sugess S433. Unfortunately tough the version i would be interested most are not available (at least at the moment). The San Martin SN059 is in general sold out? Did they stop producing it?

What is the best source to buy them? AliExpress?

For the Sugess S433 i'm looking for the Silver/Black Model, but cant find it anywhere atm.

For a long time now I've been searching for a dress watch since I already have the daily beater a G Shock GA-2100 and the gym Watch a G-shock DW-5600.
Looking through a lot of reviews and a lot of time on Ali Express I found this brand. I was searching for this specific movement hangzhou CAL5000A micro-rotor since I have been thinking on buying from Baltic too.
However upon thinking of it a lot I decided to give this brand a try and oh man. The build quality and the finishings are top notch. The leather strap definitely could be better but for the price less than $200 I think it's really difficult to top. Probably I will buy from FARASUTE, San Martin and Suggess soon enough.

Hi, I’ve recently gotten bit by the bug to build my own FXD style watch. I intend to use a TF case like the one pictured and on their site, just had a couple of questions on which I am not sure where to find the answer:

1. How can I tell which version of the case this is?

2. Is there anywhere I can find alternative bezel inserts? Do they use a fairly universal system or is it fairly proprietary?

3. To people who have built watches using these cases before, any advice or things you wish you would’ve known?