Elgin Skeleton Watch: Round Two

I sent back the DOA Elgin watch I received about two weeks ago, and the seller refunded my money. But he also sent me a replacement. I ate almost $10 in shipping on the return, plus the time and grief, but this was more than fair. So, round two (with prettier pictures).



This unit works perfectly. I've described it before, but to expand a bit: the watch is heavy. More than 50g (=ca. 40%) heavier than my Seiko 6309-7290. Fortunately it balances well on its solid bracelet. Still, I wish it were a bit lighter. My second gripe is that it honestly looks about as cheap as it is. A bit blingy, a bit overdesigned, a bit Wal-mart. My third gripe is that the silver hands get lost against the busy silver skeleton movement. This a common problem with skeleton watches.

But I'm still glad this watch came back. I bought it for its skeletonized Sea-gull ST-16 movement, and it is indeed a beautiful movement, beautifully displayed. Many mechanical watches have display backs but few merit them. This one most certainly does.

DOA

I ordered an Elgin watch off of the 'Bay, and it landed yesterday. Elgin is a grand old American watch company that went belly up in the '60s. The name was purchased by jewelery bottom-feeder MZ Berger and the current line is made in China. They are just a step up from the lowest tier of Chinese watches. Basically Elgin is now a nice Wal-mart watch, with a few jewelry-store models on the top end.

The model I purchased (FG8030) is a generic sport watch. It has a solid bracelet with a fair bit of heft, but probably everything but the case back is plated mystery metal. It is skeletonized and shows off nicely a Sea-Gull TY2807 (=ST-16) movement. The movement is why I bought the watch. Sea-Gull, generally speaking, makes the best movements of all Chinese companies. I got a good deal. Ordering the bare movement from a parts house would have cost me as much as the whole watch.



So I was extremely disappointed that it arrived non-functional. It runs, and the second hand moves, but the minute hand does not. I only noticed this after I had resized the bracelet. The seller has rightly agreed to take it back. So I put the links back in. Annoying.

But the biggest annoyance is having to hassle with a return. Of course I'll eat the postage, and then do a wait-and-see, hoping that I get my refund. My first Chinese DOA, and with a Sea-Gull movement no less. That's something of a cold bucket of water.