Chinese Watches: Are They Worth Your Time?

Chinese watches tend to have a bad reputation. No doubt spurred on by the countless counterfeits rolled out of the country, their detractors warn of shoddy workmanship and non-existent quality control. Not all Chinese watches are created equal though, and if you look beyond the knock-offs listed on Wish, you can find yourself some great watches on a budget.

 

Chinese Watches – Brands to Avoid

Generally speaking, if you can pick up a Chinese watch for less than £20 brand new, it’s not going to be particularly well put together.

This may seem like obvious advice as there’s very little in that price point that is be made to last. If you’re picking up a watch for £12, you don’t expect to be handing it down as a heirloom to future generations. You know what you’re getting and I wouldn’t necessarily dissuade you from dipping your toe in at this price.

The problem is though, that the same watches are often sold elsewhere for up to 10 times this figure. They’re not ‘bad’ watches, unless you’re spending over £15 on one of them. Think of these as the Primark equivalent of Chinese watches: you might see a funky-looking t-shirt for a couple of quid, so at that price you’ll buy it, even though you know that the fabric will start pilling within a few months, and no two will ever be the same size. Similarly you might find a cheap Chinese watch that’s interesting (and cheap) enough for you to take a punt on.

A good rule of thumb I’ve found is that if the Chinese brand has an English language name that seems a bit off, then it’s generally not a well-made watch. The main culprits here are Curren, Winner and the attractively named Sewor.

 

Whilst we’re on the subject of Chinese watches with bad English names, I have to mention Steel Bagelsport and Custom Made One Of Edition (sic). They’re copies of designs from Rolex and Panerai respectively, but compared to the brands mentioned above they’re a little sturdier and closer to the £40 mark.

I love that somewhere in China, it was decided that the brand name ‘Steel Bagelsport’ ticks all the boxes needed to appeal to Europeans. For that alone, I kinda fancy getting hold of one.

Never be tempted to buy a watch from Wish though. You get what you pay for, and often less than that. I bought a couple that were both less than £10 just out of curiosity. They weren’t as the pictures displayed, the non-functional subdials were painted on, and the hands jumped out of place if I moved my arm too quickly. Avoid!

 

Chinese Watches – Brands Worth Buying

There’s three main players in the Chinese watches industry: Sea-Gull Tianjin, Beijing Watch Factory, and Shanghai Watch Factory.

All three share similar histories, having established themselves in the 1950s. Beijing tend to move towards the dressier watch styles, while the other two dabble in military reissues and various other styles. You can really get a lot of watch for your money with these brands, with Sea-Gull offering a mechanical chronograph for around £200, and all three boasting models with tourbillon movements for a couple of thousand pounds rather than the usual five digits you’d find in Switzerland or elsewhere.

A word of caution though. Many Chinese watch dealers will advertise their watches as having a tourbillon movement, when referring to an exposed balance wheel instead. A true tourbillon will look like the one in this video below.

 

Sea-Gull Watches

Of the three brands I mentioned, Beijing and Shanghai watches can be tricky to come by over here in the UK. For that reason, the only one I’ve had first-hand experience with is Sea-Gull.

Sea-Gull are huge. In fact, they’re one of the biggest manufacturers of watch movements in the world. The reason that they’re not so well known in the western world is because they sell their movements to other companies to use. These can be found in everything from Timex to some of those cheap Sewor watches I mentioned earlier. The consensus in the watch community is that Sea-Gull churn out a lot of ‘decent-enough’ quality movements, but keep the best aside for their own-branded watches.

I’ve owned two Sea-Gull watches: an automatic skeleton (exposed movement) and an automatic with several complications. Both keep time excellently, and in general, I’ve had no problem with either.

 

Possible Issues with buying a Chinese Watch

That’s not to say that they’re perfect though. My skeletonised Sea-Gull occasionally developed condensation on the underside of the crystal, making it illegible at times. My M172s meanwhile finds its date hand sticking now and again.

While both look great (the skeleton watch in particular garnering praise), closer inspection shows that the finishing isn’t quite up to par with Swiss and Japanese peers. That said, for a similar Swiss watch, I would have been looking at three times the price I paid for this.

There’s also some dangers to look out for when buying Chinese watches such as Sea-Gulls online. The problem is that as manufacturing costs are so low in China, they can find it profitable to counterfeit any watch.

We all know that popular brands like Rolex and Omega are often cloned, but you’ll also find fakes of more affordable brands such as Seiko, Tissot, and even Casio. With Sea-Gull so popular in China, there’s a whole bunch of counterfeits out there. Because of the ubiquity of their sub-par movements too, you’ll find that they even have a genuine (if worse) movement inside! There’s guidance on watch forums of who you should buy from on eBay, but for the uninitiated, it can be a minefield!

If you’re wondering, the seller I found most recommended (and whom I bought from) goes by the name of trusthonestman. Yeah, seriously. That’s not even a joke. Trusthonestman did thankfully live up to his name, and if you can live with a lengthy delivery time, does seem to provide the real deal. I should mention that I know nothing about this guy though, so don’t hold me responsible if you order and something goes wrong! This is just my personal experience.

So Should you Buy a Chinese Watch?

As long as you’re careful and know what you’re buying, why not?

Despite higher RRPs, it’s easy enough to find both the watches I have for less than £200. In terms of features for the price, you’ll struggle to find any more bangs for your buck. If you’re more interested in quality and finishing, then Japan can’t be beaten. Japanese brands such as Seiko, Citizen and Orient are perennial favourites of watch aficionados because of the sheer value for money you get in regards to quality. They’re easily on par with Swiss watches that retail at two or three times the price.

For me, I just loved the designs. This goes especially for the M172s (the white one), the likes of which I’ve yet to see elsewhere. Speaking as a bit of a watch nerd, I was also unlikely to find anything for the same budget that boasted a flyback date and power reserve complication.

If you’re reading this as a novice to the world of watches, I’d steer you toward Japanese watches. Much like their cars, Japanese watches are well built and offer superb value for money. If you’ve just fallen in love with the design of a Chinese watch though, then by all means, take a punt. Just stay out of the Sewors!

 

Need a little extra pocket money before you start googling “trusthonestman”? Check out these jobs for stay at home dads.

You know what would go well with your new watch? A healthy luscious beard! Here’s a particularly good beard grooming kit.

I’m always adding new watch vids to the Paternal Damnation channel on YouTube here’s a popular one on the Mr Jones Watches ‘King’ automatic. Don’t forget to subscribe!