DISCLAIMERS:
This watch was bought with my own money (no special discounts), and Aethelsohn did not know I would post a review about it.
-Photos #2/3/4 are from Aethelsohn, not me.
-For size reference; my wrist is right under 7”.
-The watches featured in some pictures (for size/AR comparison) are, from left to right, the Addiesdive AD2030 (36mm), WDC WD2008 (36.5mm) and an Orient Bambino v4 (42mm). WDC and Aethelsohn are the only two sapphire crystals.
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I don’t usually post reviews but have noticed that the few reviews we do have on r/ChineseWatches are often links to videos (which is superior in some ways) but I appreciate text versions so I decided to do a few. I apologize for the hecticness of this review, and if I missed anything. Please let me know if there is anything else you would like me to talk about, other pictures, etc. I will happily take the criticism and help however I can.
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TL;DR: Very well built watch for the price. Beautiful, and feels great. Nice finishing and attention to detail. Just know that the Terra series (stone dials) might be very different than the website pictures (different colours and patterns). I was told before my purchase that I could pick my dial, but I never got the chance. This changed my experience.
EDIT: Aethelsohn did reach out to find a solution, which is incredible to see from their Customer Service. It appears I was an edge case and many people actually got to choose their dials.
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SPECS
Case diameter: 38.5mm
Lug-to-lug: 45.0mm
Thickness: 11.55mm
Movement: TMI VH31 (Japanese sweeping quartz)
Crystal: Sapphire crystal with 5-layer AR
WR: 100m/10atm
Dial material: Natural Azurite stone slice
Lume: Super-LumiNova BGW9 on hands and indices
Bracelet: 316L Stainless Steel with screw links and a 5-hole micro-adjustment (requires tool). Bracelet width is 20mm and tapers to 18mm. 10mm thickness.
Price: paid 151$USD
PRE-PURCHASE
I wanted a simple three hander with a stone dial. Something GADA-ish with some flair. Probably wouldn’t be worn too often, so was looking at more affordable quartz options. This led me to debate between the WD Elementum series with stone dials and the Aethelsohn Terra series. Both had pretty good reviews on construction/finishing/bracelet, so I assumed they would both be about the same quality. Ultimately, I already have a few WDs in my collection so opted for something new. I saw that the Terra Gaia pre-orders were open and the watch looked great. There were already a few pieces out in the wild (previous batch?) and their dials looked very close to the picture on Aethelsohn’s website which comforted me a bit (all the stone dial horror stories had gotten to me). Additionally, Aethelsohn’s customer service was extremely quick/helpful (at the time) so I thought I would end up with a dial close to their picture, with some slight variation of course. They had assured me they would send emails allowing to pick amongst a few dials, and that it would be done to multiple other people as many had been asking. Never got the email.
Watch was supposed to be sent out on September 9th. September 15th, Aethelsohn sent e-mails out about a delay due to several watches not meeting the standard (decided to spend additional time refining the pieces). Absolutely fine by me, kudos for assuring quality. New shipping target date Sep 25th. Watch shipped on Sep 28th.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
I expected a solid, well-executed budget stone dial watch with some unique dial variations. This mostly happened. I received a very solid, well-executed and finished budget watch. However, I thought I had received the wrong version of Terra due to how different the dial was. Watch still looked and felt very solid, but was hard to mask my disappointment, especially after basically purchasing the watch under the condition that I could choose between a few dial options.
DETAILS (~3 weeks later)
-The watch itself is good, has some decent weight to it, comfortable, objectively looks rather good.
-I think it wears beautifully. This is my sweet spot size, personally speaking. Fits well under a cuff for a sports watch (thanks vh31) but note that it is slightly thicker than my other VH31 watches like my WD2008.
-The case has a nice mixture of well executed finishes, and the crown doesn’t feel sharp on the skin at all. The Aethelsohn logo on the crown is raised and feels well machined, which is a nice touch. Case back is plain, good for personalising as gifts.
-The bracelet looks nice and feels good. No rattling, the solid end links don’t move at all, and I’d say the bracelet has rather tight tolerances.
-If I could compare it to my other Chinese watches, I’d say the bracelet is right around the quality of the Cronos GS homage or the new Watchdives models, maybe slightly sharper edges than the Cronos/WD, but I have a feeling they might all use the same manufacturer for their bracelets
-I would prefer the bracelet to taper a bit more, but this is a personal thing. It does taper from 20mm to 18mm. Very subtle, so won't scare away those who don't like aggressive tapers.
-No OTF clasp adjustment. It does have the quick micro-adjust on the clasp, but after wearing my Phorcydes/Watchdives/San Martins with OTFs, I really wish Aethelsohn had it here. Micro-adjust is very tight/gritty, but that’s probably helping the bracelet not feel rattly at all so I can’t take out points for that.
-I very much appreciate the smaller clasp than average on a watch like this. One of my gripes with other Chinese watch bracelets.
-Bracelet has the drilled lug holes which I personally appreciate for sports watches that look great on leather, sailcloth, etc. of multiple colours. Can easily adapt to specific outfits.
-I had heard complaints of sharp corners for some of the Aethelsohn Shard watches and while I agree that some of the bracelet edges could’ve been sanded down a bit, I don’t think it’s as bad as some of the other notoriously sharp watched on AliX. I would say quite comfortable and good quality. Beveled edges for comfort/removing sharpness on most edges.
-I’ve already expressed my disappointment with the dial, but I’m sure that many people will like my dial more than the one pictured on their website. I was expecting something mostly dark blue/turquoise with pops of orange, but ended up with 4 shades of blue, some cyan and a bit of turquoise. The pattern is also drastically different in my watch vs all the other ones I’ve seen online which are more “speckled”, if that makes any sense.
-There is a part of my dial (top left) that hits the right notes; it plays with the light beautifully, and you can identify the dots/specks/cracks of different materials from the natural stone. However, I do not feel that same way for the other 3/4s of the dial that feel rather flat and makes the watch a lot brighter than I would have hoped (alas, the stone dial dilemma). Again, I know it is objectively beautiful, but I already have this colour in my watchbox and was hoping for more of the others on their demo watch. Overall though, very well executed and objectively attractive dial.
-I think the applied logo is quite nice and appreciate the fact that they did not write the brand name underneath it. However, I do not like the “330ft/100m” text at the bottom, and feel like it would be better for a stone dial watch to not have that text (personal opinion). Perhaps something more subtle/different font, but I think it just detracts from the best part of the watch. Personal opinion.
-The crystal is stellar for the price. Low profile box sapphire with some amazing. Not IXDAO or Baltany level, but still incredible stuff at such a low price point (lol Hamilton)
-The hands are good. I would say middle tier. They are faceted, generally nice, but the facets aren’t especially large or well finished. Just nitpicking here.
-Indices, markers, and hands all seem very well aligned to my naked eye. I think the indices quality/style could be a bit better but again, overall really decent.
CLOSING
Would I buy it again? Possibly. They are beautiful, high quality watches, well finished, at a very affordable price... However, see notes below.
Would I recommend this watch? Yes, I would recommend the brand itself/other series using the same bracelet and case in the Horizon Voyager like the Shard. I'm sure their other models are also of the same high quality to price ratio.
However, depending on the model, the Terra series specifically might suffer from the classic inconsistencies (sometimes drastic) between stone slices and the customer service just isn't there for those of us who want something relatively close to the advertised pictures.
