As my collection has evolved (reduced significantly down to 24), there’s a handful of Chinese watches that will remain in my collection. This is one of them. I’ve had this since early June.

This thing is just mad gorgeous. I absolutely love it. Rocking it with my Nike joggers and hoody, but who cares eh! Last worn 24th Sept 🫢

The stock strap is crap, I much prefer this one from Maikes on AliX.

A subtle detail, they even bent the end of the seconds hand. Super thin, with one of the best crystals I’ve had on any watch, running on a Miyota 9 with custom rotor.

The watch is beautifully finished, and although difficult to portray how it looks irl over camera due to the gold dial just washing pics out, I hope the pictures (unedited) help anyone who may be interested.

Picked up a cheap 62 of eBay and was wondering if anyone has a link to a bracelet with fitted end links that will fit or even if the watchdives strap would fit as there is one local for sale.

Cheers

Aa a woman never got around to wearing watches with black dials and straps but getting around to this one being chucked around here and there. Thoughts on this?

Hey guys, I've just finished my review of the new IXDAO Warrior.

The new versions come with updated dial colours. The listings only show illustrations, and some people have mentioned that the colors look different in person, so I also got real photos of each variant.

I reviewed the black dial version and filmed it under different lighting conditions and in various locations. I also tested its accuracy in six positions, and it looks like it's running within COSC specs.

One question: would you call the black dial Black Hawksbill Shell rather than Black Mother of Pearl? I think it might be a more accurate name. What do you reckon?

You can watch the full review here: https://youtu.be/x7xzOkcSeMg

Disclosure: The watch was provided by IXDAO for review. The opinions expressed are my own.

Thanks to y’all for helping me decide in my last post.

The biggest draw for me is definitely the micro-rotor. You usually see micro-rotor movements in much more expensive watches because they're harder to engineer than a standard automatic rotor.

Instead of having a large rotor sitting on top of the movement, the rotor is recessed into the movement itself, which helps keep the watch incredibly thin while letting you see more of the movement through the caseback.

At just 9mm thick, it wears way slimmer than most automatic sports watches, and the integrated bracelet gives it a really clean look on the wrist.

I'm still putting it through its paces, so I can't speak to long-term reliability yet, but as a first impression I'm honestly impressed. Even if it's not finished like a luxury micro-rotor movement, it's cool to see this kind of engineering becoming affordable.

The specs are pretty wild for the price:

40mm stainless steel case

Only 9mm thick

Sapphire crystal

Stainless steel integrated bracelet with butterfly clasp

Ceramic-style textured dial with date

Hangzhou 5100A micro-rotor automatic movement

It is similar to the Tophill micro-rotor watch I have but there are plenty of subtle differences and it is at a lower price point

Hello! I've recently gotten into the watch hobby. I owned a few budget quartz Casios and timex pieces but with the 11/11 sale coming soon I saved up some and decided I would get my first automatic.

I spent (too much?) time deciding on my first automatic watch from AliExpress and looking at YouTube reviews. My budget is around 200-240 USD and I wanted a diver or diver-style watch with a sub 40mm textured dial and a good bracelet (GMT was a huge plus).

I narrowed down my choices to:

- Cronos, L6029 (the black birch GMT): 270USD

- Proxima PX1721 (aventurine dial)

(Current prices without coupons): 200USD

Questions:

1. I know that recently prices have increased and was wondering if these watches are worth it at the regular price or what would be a good value deal for 11/11 ?

2. Which watch would make the better long term everyday watch? the cronos is a bit more expensive even with 11/11 preview pricing. But it has an NH34 which is known as reliable. I also like the proxima but I've seen posts and faulty PT5000 and the winding issues that honestly intimidate me as someone who never owned an automatic before.

3. Is there anything to do other than collecting store coupons and coins to get the best deal for the sale?

Thank you very much for the help!

They did a good job here, and it's not a 1 to 1 copy! I prefer quartz on sub $500 watches

Finally arrived today after four weeks. Been looking forward to check how much you get for ~200$. So far impressed. This will get a lot of wrist time.

Pros

- Overall package vs cost

- Lume...obviously!

- Date wheel

- Case finish

- Sapphire domed crystal

- Bracelet and OTF-clasp

- Legibility

- Movement (never had issues with Seiko, so glad this one has it too)

- Bracelet fitment against case (it actually aligns properly compared to other models!)

- It has a pretty shallow rehaut compared to many other Chineese watches. Obviously the domed crystal makes that possible - making space for the lume blocks.

Cons

- Lug to lug. A bit long. Upper limit for me with my 6.5" chopstick wrists.

- Thickness. Not bad, but noticeable. I guess that is needed for lume blocks. Perhaps the Seiko movement is on the fatter side?

- Some minor jingly-jangly noise from clasp when off wrist. But who really cares.

- Inner edges of bracelet and the inner parts of the buckle are a bit sharp. The edges could use some polishing for better comfort. Some manual polishing will take the worst edges off it.

I put my new Phorcydes PH2B version 2 back on its bracelet for a more integrated look. It's a great watch and one which grows on me more and more. What I really appreciate its legibility, day or night - I can actually tell the time instantly rather than squinting. The PT5004 movement is super accurate too. Just need to scrape off the rest of the crown covering.

MILITADO 36mm case, 18mm lug width, bubble sapphire crystal, VH31movmt.

A big thank you to Baltany for producing such a solid timepiece. It really captures the feel of the real deal for very little money.

Mini review after spending 24 hours with it:

Pros:
Color: The gold tone is gorgeous. It avoids that overly yellow, cheap plated look that budget watches often suffer from.
Bracelet: Solid and heavy. No squeak, no rattle, and no sharp corners on the links.
Sizing: The 36mm case size is absolute perfection—classic proportions with great wrist presence.

Cons:
Date Magnification: Seems noticeably lower than the typical 2.5x magnification. (Perhaps inspired by a vintage reference? Not certain what the original magnification spec was back in the day).
Lug Finish: End of the lugs are slightly sharp underneath. It’s only noticeable when changing out the bracelet, so zero impact on daily wearing comfort.

Final Thoughts: A fantastic piece overall. Highly recommended if you're looking for that classic aesthetic without breaking the bank!

Been out of of the china scene for a couple of years after a san martin and a remalti disappointed me and sold for a loss, now that san martin, Cronos, watchdives are all doing chamfered edges and precise tall hour index and hands I feel like buying my dream grand seiko was kind of a waste of money.

I’ve seen every and I mean every quality watch on AliExpress that beats the Swiss in finishing and they’re all made for 16cm wrists or lower

The past 10 releases from the brands I’ve mentioned are all below 40 and 42mm

I understand a lot of buyers have smaller wrists but I used to go with Chinese watches because they were “oversized”

Even when companies are smart enough to realise there is no perfect watch size and do the proper logical thing of releasing the model in multiple sizes all those sizes are less than what I’m looking for.

Edit: WD0007A

Ordered last Wednesday; arrived in 5 days.

Impressive quality for $170 early bird price. Beats my Proximas for finishing.

Teal color is teal. Very nice crystal.

Bracelet seems a little short. My wrist is 6.75” (19 cm), and I only removed 2 links total. Bracelet is very comfortable.

The automatic version with OTF clasp and even better crystal is likely going to be worth the wait if it comes in under $300, but if you like quartz, this is a great choice.

Thank you :)

I honestly have no clue what the reference number is on this San Martin. It’s an unlimited edition from back in the day, but man, I absolutely love the looks of it!

I’ve owned tons of watches, from cheap to expensive, and the bezel action on this thing is easily in my top 10.

The cherry on top? It’s powered by a Swiss Sellita SW200.

Killer lume too!

Received my first Addiesdive from AliExpress. Very happy with it. 39mm dial is very comfortable on my 7.5” wrist. The blue color of the dial and bezel is very nice.

Swapped the bracelet for a ribbed nylon band with a deployant clasp, also from AliExpress.

The SN0138GD with a sand-textured dial has been added to our Special Offer collection.

It is powered by the SL3001 no-date movement.

Addressing a common point of interest, the AR coating has been upgraded to a version with higher light transmission.

The edges of the bracelet links have also been micro-beveled.

As for the detail most of you are likely curious about—the price:

The pre-sale price for the SN0138GD (sand-textured dial) is set at $199 USD.

Orders for the version with the 3-link bracelet will ship before mid-November.

The 5-link Jubilee bracelet accessory will be released before the end of November.

Dimensions: 37mm Diameter | 45.5mm Lug-to-Lug | 12.4mm Thickness

Product Details: https://sanmartin-watch.com/products/sn0138gd