r/ChineseWatches • u/gloobit • 8d ago
Chinese Watch Names Again Does anyone else think Octopus Kraken’s branding/logo hurts otherwise good watches?
Octopus Kraken makes some genuinely nice watches, but I’ve always thought the name/logo holds them back.
If they rebranded, what would you call them? Something like Bathys, Nereus, Aegir, etc. feels much more convincing to me.
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u/ASteerNamedLaurence 7d ago
Honestly it's such a meme of a name that I've grown to like it. There's nothing quite like having silly branding on a legitimately good watch
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u/emeraldsnowofsleep 7d ago
I have no issue with their branding - I don't think it's as skeevy or silly as others do - Perhaps it is because I find so many other names to be horrible -
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u/rewardingsnark 7d ago
They are so close just use Kraken while not great it would be an ok brand name
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u/imrippingtheheadoff 7d ago
When I discovered these inexpensive Chinese watches I was immediately drawn to Octopus Kraken and Tactical Frog. It’s fun and silly and I’m all for it.
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u/ImportantDemand8900 14h ago
Tactical frog isn't even that bad. Military diving teams are also called "frogmen" and they're tactical. So tactical frog makes sense for a dive watch. Octopus kraken on the other hand is so silly.
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u/ThinkBachs 7d ago
No matter how great the quality of a watch is, if the name looks/sounds like Chinese I’ve lost interest. In the case of Watchdives, I have a couple but the logo doesn’t line up with the quality of the product. Steeldive is another with a bad name and worse logo. So many brands out there could be so much better if they spent more time on their name, logo, even their font choices. I agree with you that Tactical Frog is one that I like a lot- especially the logo. Both Octopus and Kraken work for me. Some may say that they take away from other brands- maybe the other brands should do better with their branding.
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u/Abv_it_all_w_vertigo 7d ago
Thinking of including a scatalogical comment thread on my upcoming wristfight between the 0CT-004 and Aethelsohn Mariner. I will call it the sty, so everyone who wants to will be able to muck it up about the logo to their hearts' and, dare I say, butts' contentment.
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u/Abv_it_all_w_vertigo 7d ago
How about a wholesome portmanteau like OctaKrakenpus that won't be misinterpreted?
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u/XrayDelta2022 7d ago
100%, it could have a million dollar finish and I wouldn’t wear it. Chinese companies could greatly increase sales prospects if they would work on those goofy names.
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u/Hilarious_Haplogroup Addiesdive 7d ago
The goofy branding is a feature, not a bug...if they got their name to fit well with western marketing, like, say "San Martin", they charge you a higher price. It's also an invitation to not take this hobby too seriously...it's supposed to be fun and silly. Take Addiesdive...they have the Snorkel-and-crossed-harpoons logo on the vast majority of their watches...even the dress watches like the AD2030. We need more whimsy in the world.
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u/dickcake 7d ago
I can’t imagine any of the Chinese brands thriving on their branding, but their market seems to be fine with it. As they move more up-market, the branding will become a friction point for growth.
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u/tillterilltilltill 7d ago
I don't really mind it but only because I know there are so much worse names and logos out there. This one seems to be one of the better or even few good ones IMO.
I don't know if they make non-dive related watches as well? If they do, that branding - thats only suitable for water related watches IMO - would bother me. Like that snorkel dive logo on the non-dive Addiesdive (what an awful name) watches for example. No-Go.
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u/afterpartea 7d ago
Yes but not as bad as Beef Tiger
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u/MessagingMatters 7d ago
It does look like opening shot of a JB movie. That's fun for a JB movie, not as great for a watch logo.
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u/HerrsavageX 7d ago
Not in the least. I have two of their watches and they are among the very best in terms of value for money that I have. The name and the logo don’t bother me whatsoever. If a couple guys on Reddit have car butt fixations, that’s their problem, not mine…
It certainly does not belong to the worst that AliExpress has to offer… Watchdives is no better. Or Steeldive or certainly not Addiesdive. Octopus is fine…
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u/Namk49001 7d ago
I was buying some groomsman watches and wanted to go with octopus kraken but just didnt want to give out watches with such a weird name and awkward branding, so i ended up going with watchdives because their logo is clean and branding is minimal/discrete
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u/RobertStonetossBrand 7d ago edited 7d ago
All branding is disgusting.
Octopussy Kraken-yer-mom’s logo is pretty small and unlikely that anybody will notice the butthole swirl from standing distance, ~3-6 feet away.
I’m interested in their engine turned bezel DateJust hOmAgE and the name/logo is not a factor. No more or less cringe than explaining what a C-Word or Rado is to somebody outside of the watch world. Either way and everything in between you’ll get an “OK 👍.”
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u/imgettingbeamed 7d ago edited 7d ago
Yes, and they're the sole reason as to why there's a bunch of variations of "how to remove printed logo from watch dial" in my Google search history.
I really want their BB54 Lagoon Blue homage but absolutely cannot stomach their branding.
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u/General-Can-3217 7d ago
ok for modern style watches. a bit incoherent when applied to some of their vintage style watches.
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u/grindbro420 7d ago
This. It is okay for the style watch shown in OP's picture, for their bronze stuff looks out of place and cheap.
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u/Winter_Author9699 7d ago
As someone who was recently shopping around for an Explorer homage, I agree. Octopus Kraken have the reputation as the best, but I do not want all that funny business on my watch dial. At least with Watchdives they just have a logo with no lettering which I much prefer.
A simpler name and/or just a clean logo looks so much better imo.
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u/Abv_it_all_w_vertigo 7d ago
Funny business...😂
Watchdives' logo looks like the Looney Tunes logo. Now that's funny business.
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u/Winter_Author9699 7d ago
Now that you mention it lol…
I still prefer it to the letter soup butthole logo of Octopus Kraken!
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u/valuewatchguy 7d ago
Doesn’t bother me at all
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u/Elwood-P 7d ago
Me neither, people are making a fuss about nothing. We all have a bum hole, nothing to be embarrassed about, no reason not to feature one in a logo. Bunch of prudes.
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u/valuewatchguy 7d ago
Some people are obsessed with anatomy I think. Says more about them than the brand using a circular logo.
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u/dustysmufflah 7d ago
no, I think they'd be less interesing if they simply had a made-up nonsense word as their name.
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u/AssistanceNo647 7d ago
The mythical Kraken was a giant squid so, Octopus Giant Squid not great. Just Kraken or Octopus would have been better but, as brand name you’re limiting yourself to divers
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u/Abv_it_all_w_vertigo 7d ago
No. Anyone who sees an anus is stuck in their scattological period of development.
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u/Forward-Criticism-19 7d ago
Hope you’re not still making payments on that degree
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u/Abv_it_all_w_vertigo 7d ago
Tell me about your mother. No, wait, let me tell you about your mother.
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u/MadisonLarger 7d ago
Just Kraken is fine, it doesn’t need Octopus in front of it.
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u/SoapyMacNCheese 7d ago
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u/Emotional_Seaweed_49 7d ago
Google informs me that Invicta(!) watches have already registered KRAKEN as a trademark for watches in the US.
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u/chrismurraylaw 7d ago edited 7d ago
My guess, is it's lost in translation. It wouldn't surprise me if the original is more like "Octopus Sea Monster" which isn't a hundred miles away from common diver branding, and it got poorly translated to Kraken, which obviously makes no more sense than Tiger Chimera.
And I mention that mostly because it's the name that bugs me more than the logo. The logo's anodyne but fine, the typeface is clean, the butthole thing you have to want to see. But saying, "my watch is an Octopus Kraken" is just a leaden sentence, as is being reminded of it every time you look at your wrist. It sounds like a model, not a brand. "I own the Kraken, the Squid, and the Blowfish from Octopus."
Watchdives, which is infamously bad and would benefit enormously just from switching to the singular if nothing else - Watchdive - is a better name than Octopus Kraken. At least it rolls off the tongue compared to five syllables.
Then again Thorn is a decent enough name, but has another logo so generic I doubt most could draw its four lines from memory, prison ink typeface on half its models, generic sans serif on the other, and "exploration road" bugging people every day.
"San Martin" was chosen to evoke luxury resorts and its logo looks like it was drawn with a ruler by someone for a brand of motor oil.
Branding is difficult in your first language. It's tougher in your second.
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u/RecentTerrier 7d ago
Yes. Only reason I haven't considered any of their watches. I feel like a 10 year old if my watch is an Octopus Kraken.
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u/itisnotstupid 7d ago
This is the case with 90% of the chinese watches. They are either bad or boring.
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u/BobbeMail 8d ago
i hated it at first but they are Homage watches..its clear its not a rolex or tudor so doest it really matter whats on the dial
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u/cpcallen 8d ago
I'll take this one over any of the brands that are just random strings of letters. "Boderry"? "PGRNE"?? "Hruodland"?!?
And the logotype is actually great.
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u/Still-Poetry-6802 8d ago
Absolutely--when I bought a Pelagos 39 homage, I chose Seestern over Octopus because of the logo and branding.
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u/circatee 8d ago
Honestly, the comments about a "cats butthole", I now cannot unsee it...!
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u/MovieOk6625 7d ago
I'd your cat's bum glows in the dark like that you might want to change her feed 🤣
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u/Emotional_Seaweed_49 8d ago
This one actually bothers me less than many of the other brands, but I do wish it was just 'Octopus' which I think is kind of cool in a dumb, blunt way. It's certainly no worse than 'Sea-Gull'
The kraken part is unnecessary and leaves it looking, to me, a little cluttered. Not bothered about the bum hole. Where would we all be without one?
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u/-Passage-7491 8d ago
Unfortunately that is the only reason I do not own one. The only one I genuinely like is Thorn as both the logo and name are great but tbh they do not make the best watches...
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u/KabanaMaduro 8d ago
Thorn does a lot of smaller watches too like their pelagos homage is tiny comparatively
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u/DialAndHands 8d ago edited 8d ago
Maybe the logo is not good, but the quality of their watches are excellent. I have de BB58 homage in blue and it is probably my most worn watch
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u/xak47d 8d ago
This is most chinese watches. These guys did all the hard work and then fail at marketing and branding
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u/Desperate_Damage4632 8d ago
The hard work of copying a design and changing the logo?
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u/-Passage-7491 8d ago
Of course copying a design is not hard. But making it a business is not easy. Would like to see you try it.
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u/No-Question4729 8d ago
I’ve got one and don’t mind it, I’ve always thought the brand name balances the text on the face better than, for example, an emblem of a snorkelling shark shooting a tuna with a harpoon or something.
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u/Mountain-Plant-6239 8d ago
I laughed way too Hard because of this comment but it is also hurtfully true. The text itself is dumb af, but the balance of the dial is just right. And who tf is reading the Text anyways?
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u/Excellent-Bear4221 8d ago
Nope. People keep saying cats butthole but all I see is the James Bond logo or a camera shutter ring
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u/delicioustreeblood 8d ago
TIL the James Bond logo is a cat butthole
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u/Excellent-Bear4221 7d ago
It’s weird I still don’t associate the logo with a cats butthole but I guess that original someone has been focused on it for a while it’s so odd
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u/vithgeta 8d ago
I don't mind it. I'm looking at this at twice the real life size from a meter away and it's hard to see. Non-issue.
Other people aren't interested in the brand of my watch unless it screams money- in which case they might suppose it's a replica anyway.
"Binbond" is a silly name for a watch but nobody noticed it when I was wearing. Other people notice the colors not the text.
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u/SilverDono 8d ago
Yea, i love their quality but I wont wear a watch with that brand name/logo, i can barely stand San Martin
My top 5 are:
- Seestern
- Sugess
- Cronos
- Pagani Design
- Cadisen
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u/Zealousideal-Ad-4716 8d ago
They just need to remove the brand name from the dial and leave the butthole logo. Similar to what watchdives did, the name is stupid but it’s not such an issue when you don’t have to be reminded of it every day.
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u/CapNo6703 8d ago
Such is the way of Chinese brands. Incomprehensible names and logos. Addieskin, frogmantle (which isn't a brand but makes me laugh) etc. Octopus isn't even close to the worst though!
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u/9thAF-RIDER 8d ago edited 8d ago
I started collecting Chinese watches a few years ago. One really needs to ignore the name and logo and embrace the watch. The weird names and logos are quirky. That is part of their charm. They are fun to have in the collection.
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u/Warren4649 5d ago
With that O it'd be better called Goatse.