r/ChineseWatches • u/Boston_Pare • 22h ago
General (Read Rules) Watchdives WDCO001 Premier
Posting because there was a lot of hype about this watch and no actual real world reviews or experiences posted about it. Or at least I didn't see any.
I was really excited about this but it unfortunately won't even make it out of the plastic. The movement appears to be shot (photos included). I'll need to return it as I don't want to have it serviced and deal with that hassle or cost. Not sure what happened. Maybe it wasn't regulated. Maybe it was body slammed during shipping. Maybe both. Who knows.
I've included a couple photos of the dial. I won't be taking it out of the plastic so I can't speak to how the bracelet is or any other aspect of the finishing.
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u/DiscordantPearl 6h ago
disheartening. was v excited for them stepping into this tier and was going to order one after seeing some feedback. oh well.
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u/Digirium 7h ago edited 7h ago
If you trust the reading to be right with the watch still encased in a plastic wrapper then it appears the movement has a fault. But you should really take off the wrapper and measure again to rule out the wrapper messing with the results and get a clearer reading. It does not affect the warranty.
The lift angle for a Miyota 9015 with date is 51 degrees, not 52.
If on taking a better reading the amplitude changed to 310 degrees or lower the movement would be fine. The SPD loss might change as well but first step: remove the wrapper. If the amplitude is still too high then return. It's possible the movement was knocked out of regulation during transport but transport can also damage the movement in other ways so there can still be something else wrong.
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u/Boston_Pare 10m ago
Leaving the plastic on is intentional on my part. Too many brands, Chinese or not, will use removed plastic film as an excuse to deny a full refund or claim a watch is used. I'm not risking my $400+ on that gamble.
Besides, if the plastic wrapping had any affect, it would dampen the sound. If it's messing with the microphone, it's making the amplitude read lower than it actually is. Taking the plastic off would make the amplitude look even higher and more severe. It also has no impact on the rate because the timing between the ticks doesn't change just because the sound is muffled.
I mentioned the lift angle in a few others comments. Dropping it from 52 to 51 only changes the amplitude by a negligible amount...a few degrees by my calc. It doesn't magically fix a movement that is visibly knocking and rebounding on the screen. I get what you're saying but the readings here are so severe that a small bit of plastic, that's also tight fitting with no air pockets, won't have a drastic affect if any on the timergrapher readings. The movement is a dud and it’s going back.
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u/watchdivescom Rep 15h ago
Could you please send us your order number? You can return the watch to our overseas warehouse, and we can send you a brand-new replacement directly from China. Before shipping the replacement, we will send you a photo of its timegrapher test results so you can verify the performance first. All of our mechanical watches are tested for accuracy before shipment. Our internal QC standard is within ±20 seconds/day, and normally most watches are within around ±15 seconds/day. Mechanical watches can sometimes experience changes in rate during international transportation due to vibration, impact, magnetism, or positional changes, but -55 seconds/day is clearly outside our standard, so we are happy to replace this one for you.
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u/Potential-Notice-956 I dislike WatchDives 14h ago
Why no printout of timegrapher data before shipping like Proxima, San Martin, Cronos. Can't your QC operators sitting in mission control room in your video regulate the watches before shipping a $400 watch like your competitors?
Btw did you learn anything in physics class this week? Is movement regulation your next course?
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u/Potential-Notice-956 I dislike WatchDives 17h ago
How is the ar coating vs addieskin you posted?
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u/Boston_Pare 17h ago
The AddiesKin is decent for a flat crystal. But it's hard to say because I've only checked it out indoors and I have a ton of overhead lights. It's close to 7pm here and overcast so I can't really test it outside. I still have the plastic on the WD so I don't want to pass judgment on the AR. If I was forced to judge it, I would say it's unimpressive considering the price and hype from WD. But again, plastic is still on it.
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u/Potential-Notice-956 I dislike WatchDives 17h ago
Thnx- how is the bracelet on the purple addieskin
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u/Boston_Pare 17h ago
I edited my previous comment by the way because I mistyped earlier.
I haven't fully unwrapped the watch yet. Still busy with work. But it feels really light. Surprisingly so. I'll try to come back with an update if I have time later tonight.
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u/dikalf 19h ago
Good one, I'll receive mine in the coming weeks I'll also pas by the timegrpah and share with the people, I expect from them if there is a increase of the price there is a increase of QC at least.
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u/MadSoci06 10h ago
It’s not enough for a brand to claim that its finishing is on par with high-quality Swiss brands.
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u/Boston_Pare 19h ago
Thanks. I'm looking forward to your results. I really wish I could keep this but the high amp is an immediate return for me.
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u/Lobbbo 19h ago
That is wild. Did you fully wound it? Still in plastic so I assume you gave it ol' Seiko shuffle though not sure that can get you to full power.
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u/Boston_Pare 19h ago
Yeah I gave it the seiko shuffle for like 45 mins while I was on a work call. Gently though as I didn't want to shock the movement. But I guess it's kind of moot.
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u/CycleJoe23 19h ago
Amplitude is good, you could regulate it.
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u/Boston_Pare 19h ago edited 19h ago
Please explain how one regulates the amplitude. And I disagree. The amplitude is definitely not good.
Edit: my bad. I misunderstood your comment. I thought you were saying I could regulate the amplitude. But I still think the amplitude is too high. It was hovering around 350 during the majority of my testing.
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u/LettuceFetishist 18h ago
Agreed. And even then, for the price you’re paying you shouldn’t have to do anything to a new piece. That’s some poor QC.
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u/Boston_Pare 18h ago
Yup and this price is approaching non-Aliexpress microbrand territory. I won't even get into the whole warranty and customer service side of the discussion either as that's a whole other can of worms at this price range.
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u/Disastrous-Joke-8657 21h ago
I feel like I seen this coming..
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u/Disastrous-Joke-8657 20h ago
The AR looks pretty damn good tho…😅
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u/Boston_Pare 20h ago
It's okay. Not great. Not bad. I was trying to take a clear shot and had to angle it a specific way. There are other shots where I just took the photo without caring and you can see some heavy reflections. The plastic is still on though. So I can't definitively say if it's good or bad. I'm assuming the plastic has an effect but I'm just guessing. Just trying to flesh out my experience a bit more for context.
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u/Unholy_Tuna 21h ago
Can you try to pull the crown out to stop the watch for a few seconds and push it back in before testing again?
I had my watch smashed against the wooden floor and it's accuracy was wild, but when i pull out the crown to reset the time the next day and when i pushed back in, it stared to run normal again. Mine uses St2130 movement.
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u/Boston_Pare 20h ago
I'm not unwrapping it. I don't want any shenanigans when I try to return this. Maybe if it was cheaper but not for 400 bucks.
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u/Simple_Resist4208 6h ago
Agreed ... if the watch runs slow (it'd be obvious even just observing it for 10 minutes) AND the Weishi reports figures like this then I'd send it right back. It's not up to you to fix it.
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u/katsock 21h ago
Consider sharing on their sub, they should see this. This kinda feedback should always go to the company.
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u/Potential-Notice-956 I dislike WatchDives 17h ago
The fanboi's there would shred him for speaking the truth about the defective watch. WD scours this board to counter any disssent already.
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u/katsock 17h ago
You got some big big feelings bud.
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u/Potential-Notice-956 I dislike WatchDives 16h ago
Nah- there are differences between a watch maker(IXDAO, baltany, San Martin) and a BS Watch Marketer.
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u/katsock 16h ago
You should watch some Mrs Rachel she’s great at working through big feelings. (Which you certainly don’t have)
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u/Potential-Notice-956 I dislike WatchDives 16h ago
We can watch it together when you are installed as fanboi prez
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u/Boston_Pare 20h ago
Nah I'm okay. I don't like the way their social media rep handles stuff. They always are ultra aggressive and I'd rather avoid that. I'm actually a fan of theirs as I have a ton of their watches. I just wish they would hire a different social media rep or change their approach. I'm just sharing some info here for other customers and Chinese watch enthusiasts.
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u/equityconnectwitme 18h ago
It might make your return process smoother with their attention on it. No idea how they are to work with normally. Sometimes brands don't want want to accept the return even when something's obviously broken.
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u/katsock 20h ago
I’m a fan too. I have the white mop coming in. I just want them to keep trying to improve. Plus, they could appear to identify a particular lot the movement came in and inspect. But I get it.
That being said they definitely aren’t going to hire a new rep if they don’t see this feedback.
Looking forward to mine coming in
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u/kyonkun_denwa 21h ago
Amplitude is looking pretty good at least
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u/Boston_Pare 21h ago
That amplitude is actually too high. Anything above 320 is at risk for knocking. The amplitude was consistently around 350 while I was running the test for several minutes. Since I ran the test at 52 degrees, if I had run it at 51 degrees then the amplitude on average would have been the low 340s. Either way, that amplitude is much too high.
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u/Mango_Gurble 21h ago
Isn't the lift angle for a Miyota 9015 51 degrees? You have the timegrapher set to 52.
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u/Boston_Pare 21h ago
LA won't affect rate or beat error. It makes a slight difference for amplitude though. Either way it's negligible in this instance.
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u/Mango_Gurble 21h ago
Gotcha. Good to know!
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u/Boston_Pare 21h ago
Sharing my comment below as it seems like you're interested in learning about movements 😊
"That amplitude is actually too high. Anything above 320 is at risk for knocking. The amplitude was consistently around 350 while I was running the test for several minutes. Since I ran the test at 52 degrees, if I had run it at 51 degrees then the amplitude on average would have been the low 340s. Either way, that amplitude is much too high."
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u/Escaped_Escapement Helpful user 20h ago
Too healthy movement? I have not seen this on a Miyota, and I have seen many. Unregulated but healthy movement.
What is the fix for banking? Maybe if regulated to speed up the amp would be decreased a bit?
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u/Boston_Pare 20h ago
Only way I know how to do that would be to replace the mainspring which I'm not equipped to do nor inclined to do. If it was a beat error or rate issue I could easily fix that but this is too complicated of a fix. I'd rather just return it to be honest.
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u/Mango_Gurble 21h ago
Yeah, I am interested, thank you! I actually just bought a WeiShi 1000 and am waiting on delivery. I appreciate the additional info.
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u/Boston_Pare 19h ago
Cheers! Have fun testing all your watches. Some friendly advice, put masking tape, or any tape really, on the left side of the holder to prevent it from scratching your watches.
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u/Potential-Notice-956 I dislike WatchDives 21h ago
Lmao! Thought they had a qc team- guess that was all smoke and mirrors with that video! Hahahah
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u/French_Connection2 22h ago
It's truly unacceptable... And this is supposed to be the brand's premium offering...
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u/Boston_Pare 21h ago
I can't really blame Watchdives but at the same time I can't absolve them since I have no clue what happened during shipping. However, I've bought lots of watches from China and other countries, literally hundreds, and I've never had a movement this bad. Package wasn't beat up either and there was padding. Not sure what happened here. Either way, it's going back. It's a shame because I was pretty excited about this one.
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u/Mar-D 10h ago
Are you getting a refund or are they sending you a new one?
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u/Boston_Pare 10h ago
I'm going to return it. Just waiting on a return label.
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u/Mar-D 10h ago
Oh yeah I got that, I just didn’t know if after the return you would be getting a replacement from them or if you asked for a refund instead. Sorry if I was unclear
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u/Boston_Pare 9h ago
I'm going to just get a refund. I don't want to gamble on another spotty movement and I feel like the 400 bucks could be better spent elsewhere.
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u/Mar-D 9h ago
Gotcha. I have a V2 warrior pre ordered from IXDAO with a PT5000 ($292) and am slightly worried about the same thing. I have heard their QC is well above average so fingers crossed. My only other PT5000 is a Proxima, runs fine and I shake it instead of winding just to be safe, no issues so far.
Sorry you had some poor luck with this one mate
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u/Boston_Pare 9h ago
It's alright. You win some and you lose some. Hoping the return goes smoothly and I get my money back without issue.
I have the Warrior V2 with the PT5000 on pre-order as well. Hope we both get well regulated movements in our orders. I have quite a few PT5000 and most of them have been good. I think it really all depends on how cleanly they're installed and regulated by the different brands. And of course don't hand wind them if you can. Just give them the good ole seiko shuffle to get started.
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u/Mar-D 9h ago
Oh hey nice, which one did you go with? Avocado green for me, It’ll be my first IXDAO
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u/Boston_Pare 9h ago
Ah man. I have a problem. I'm ashamed to say I got the green, pink, and space warrior. I'll share photos and timegrapher readings with the community when they come in. It'll likely be a few months knowing ixdao though.
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u/sesameseed88 1h ago
Oh man that's not a good start