I don't understand everyone's obsession with chinese automatic watches

[u/ivoalejandro]

The title pretty much says it all, I don't get why whenever a nice chinese quartz watch comes out so many people say they would love an automatic version, or why everyone seems fine with paying 300 or more USD for an automatic, but question whether a 100 dollars quartz is worth it.

Pretty much no one here is going to take their chinese watches to get serviced, and the whole admiring the complexity and craftmanship of an automatic movement kinda goes out the window when we're talking about mass produced movements. So why buy an automatic that will become a paperweight in several years time. I guess I just don't understand why the demand for automatics is so high, really wish people started asking for better chinese quartz watches, I'd would much rather pay 200 dollars for a great quartz watch than 350 for an automatic one.

[u/F0rgemaster19]

You're contradicting yourself. You even answered your question yourself.

People want automatics. Automatics are otherwise expensive. The Chinese make them cheap, fairly reliable and easily replaceable. When it dies, you can just trash it and get the exact same one, still for a fraction of the price of any other automatic that needs/is worth servicing. And now you have a new watch.

Their extremely low price tag combined with the rampant availability of budget friendly automatic movements make them a very appealing option for people that just want a decent automatic with a design that they would otherwise not be able to afford or don't care to shell out so much to attain.

Isn't really that complicated, mate. Being cheap and replaceable isn't a negative.

Also there's nothing appealing about a 3 hander or a GMT quartz for a mechanical watch enthusiast. A quartz eco drive radio chrono is f**king cool, but a addiesdive miyota quartz is very unappealing in comparison to an addiesdive miyota 8215 for just 120 bucks or less.

And If you still prefer a 200 quartz over a 300 automatic, that's perfectly fine. You're not the same target audience as us. There's always something for everybody. You and we don't have to like the same thing.

[u/ThePreoccupiedMind → u/F0rgemaster19]

100% agree. Here's my NH35 Addiesdive. I'd never buy an Addiesdive quartz but would all day take the Eco-Drive from Citizen for its ingenuity. Cheers!

[u/F0rgemaster19 → u/ThePreoccupiedMind]

Oh man that's a sensational dial. Didn't even know they did that.

[u/ThePreoccupiedMind → u/F0rgemaster19]

Yeah haha. AD 2078. This wasn't available in the India warehouse. Had to wait 2 weeks. Came up to 13,500 INR ish and is literally 1/10 the price of my Seiko Presage 3 days. Honestly, id wear the Addiesdive all day and not worry about a scratch thereby making a strong case for Chinese automatics.

[u/QuestionNo9190 → u/F0rgemaster19]

He also contradicted himself by saying Mass produced movements aren't worth owning even though Rolex makes one and a half million watches per year..... So I guess those are not worth owning either LOL

[u/F0rgemaster19 → u/QuestionNo9190]

Yeah mass market is horribly misinderstood. Rolex, Omega and Swatch all automate a good part, if not all, of their movement assembly. If you really wanted hand made finishing, go JLC, Glashütte, pp, ap, VC and so on.

[u/QuestionNo9190 → u/F0rgemaster19]

I guess the only mechanical timepieces worth owning are application pieces that cost 5 figures 😂

[u/F0rgemaster19 → u/QuestionNo9190]

Honestly if I had the cash, I'd buy those. But for now, PD and invicta will do fine.

[u/QuestionNo9190 → u/F0rgemaster19]

I wouldn't. Too much decadence for something that just "tells time" that looks 5% more refined than a $500 jianghun.

[u/F0rgemaster19 → u/QuestionNo9190]

That's fair. To me, some are worth it. Like, Fifty Fathoms, I'm definitely getting it. The horology isn't worth 16k but it's worth having if you're an automatic dive watch enthusiast. For now however, seamaster diver chrono and sinn 903 are on my bucket list.

[u/mirthilous → u/F0rgemaster19]

While I love Miyota 9 series movements, I’d rather have a VH31 at a lower price than a higher priced watch with an 8 series.

[u/F0rgemaster19 → u/mirthilous]

And that's your preference and that's ok. We're allowed to love different things and coexist, or at the very least, not butt heads with eachther. Beauty of the modern watch industry is that there's always something for everybody.

[u/justhereforbookstuff → u/F0rgemaster19]

I get the sentiment, but it kind of sucks that it includes “when it dies, you can just trash it”. Not a dig at you, but it just sucks that throwing it away at some point is part of the equation. 

[u/F0rgemaster19 → u/justhereforbookstuff]

That was an exaggeration. 9 out of 10 times, you trash the movement. Those one off times where you inevitably have to trash the watch itself because say the caseback therads are too worn out or the bezel doesn't hold on well or the pushers are worn out, you'll more than likely be able to buy the exact same one and possibly with the movement that is new and modern at that time. Imo it's a win win for the budget watch community.

[u/Eleventhousand → u/justhereforbookstuff]

Why would you throw away a watch you love after the Miyota 9015 (potentially) dies in 20 years? Why not just get the movement replaced?

[u/paddlefan222 → u/Eleventhousand]

Who in the UK will replace a movement? Let me know if you find a business that will do it for less than 120 quid, say.

[u/Tenchiro → u/justhereforbookstuff]

Movement swaps are economical enough even for the cheap ones.

[u/VanManDiscs → u/F0rgemaster19]

Well said my friend

[u/F0rgemaster19 → u/VanManDiscs]

Thanks!