I have some other watches made in China, but this is a Chinese Chinese watch, purchased straight from the mainland. (There is yet a third level of Chinese watch, but let's not get into that.) I bought it for £1 + £10 shipping (about $18 total).
Yes, I like fine watches. But I became intrigued by cheap Chinese mechanicals a while ago. Mechanicals typically demand a price premium. My cheapest new mechanical previous to this was $50. A dollar mechanical is in effect the talking dog of watches. That it works at all at that price is a wonder. I decided to buy the least ugly example I could score for a buck at auction. £1 seemed close enough, and the candidate actually looked decent. So I went for it.
Seller image
eBay sellers often refer to this model as an M-12, but it is unbranded. I might wish that the maker had also dropped the bogus dial copy that claims the watch has a co-axial escapement (an extremely exotic technology) and is a limited edition. Uh, sure it is. It is an automatic, true enough, but the auto-winder does not actually work. That's typical for this grade of watch.
It has a 40mm case that the watch back claims is all stainless. Possibly. And it's fairly substantial (66g). The dial is a black mil-style with surrounding tachymetre bezel, all looking very Speedmaster, though the skeleton hands and red-tipped sweep second are right off a Seamaster. Amazingly, they are lumed. It's weak, but it works. The crystal is nicely curved and made of quite thick glass, but is a fingerprint magnet.
Seller image
Through the display back you can see the basic Chinese standard ordinary-grade automatic movement that has been made by the millions. It has a date wheel (at 3 o'clock) and, as a minor cosmetic upgrade, the rotor is decorated with a cross-hatch design. It handwinds (alas, only handwinds) and has a quick-set date. It runs well and and keeps good time. For a buck, that it runs at all is a marvel.
The "Genuine Leather" strap that came on it went straight in the garbage. The lugs are 20mm. I put it on a black nylon Seiko "tough band" that really suits it. The band is a bit short and abrasive, though, and I may buy an olive drab NATO for it. The watch is not uncomfortable, otherwise, though it sits high on the wrist. Here is a (terrible) video of the ensemble.
Yes, I like fine watches. But I became intrigued by cheap Chinese mechanicals a while ago. Mechanicals typically demand a price premium. My cheapest new mechanical previous to this was $50. A dollar mechanical is in effect the talking dog of watches. That it works at all at that price is a wonder. I decided to buy the least ugly example I could score for a buck at auction. £1 seemed close enough, and the candidate actually looked decent. So I went for it.
Seller image
eBay sellers often refer to this model as an M-12, but it is unbranded. I might wish that the maker had also dropped the bogus dial copy that claims the watch has a co-axial escapement (an extremely exotic technology) and is a limited edition. Uh, sure it is. It is an automatic, true enough, but the auto-winder does not actually work. That's typical for this grade of watch.
It has a 40mm case that the watch back claims is all stainless. Possibly. And it's fairly substantial (66g). The dial is a black mil-style with surrounding tachymetre bezel, all looking very Speedmaster, though the skeleton hands and red-tipped sweep second are right off a Seamaster. Amazingly, they are lumed. It's weak, but it works. The crystal is nicely curved and made of quite thick glass, but is a fingerprint magnet.
Seller image
Through the display back you can see the basic Chinese standard ordinary-grade automatic movement that has been made by the millions. It has a date wheel (at 3 o'clock) and, as a minor cosmetic upgrade, the rotor is decorated with a cross-hatch design. It handwinds (alas, only handwinds) and has a quick-set date. It runs well and and keeps good time. For a buck, that it runs at all is a marvel.
The "Genuine Leather" strap that came on it went straight in the garbage. The lugs are 20mm. I put it on a black nylon Seiko "tough band" that really suits it. The band is a bit short and abrasive, though, and I may buy an olive drab NATO for it. The watch is not uncomfortable, otherwise, though it sits high on the wrist. Here is a (terrible) video of the ensemble.
Overall the fit and finish is not great, and the bezel is a low point. Very cheap. But it was a dollar, it's mechanical, and it's totally wearable. No complaints.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment