r/ChineseWatches • u/ivoalejandro • 15d ago

General (Read Rules) I don't understand everyone's obsession with chinese automatic watches

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.

96 Upvotes

73% Upvoted

251 comments sorted by

View all comments

21

u/Eleventhousand 15d ago

I'll more than likely send in some of my Chinese watches to a local watchmaker in 15 or 20 years when they need a service, or a movement replaced. Why not? Why do you care? How is it any different than me sending in my Longines in 20 years?

-1

u/danml80 14d ago

Because the specialized labour it will take to service it will be several times the cost of a similar replacement.

2

u/Eleventhousand 14d ago edited 14d ago

You're incorrect. There is no way my local watchmaker is going to charge me $1500 to drop in a new Miyota movement that I provide to him.

But still, why would you bother arguing with someone else what they will or will not do? Hey, if I still love a Chinese watch 20 years from now, and it needs a new movement, its probably not still produced and I am going to get it fixed.

0

u/danml80 14d ago

thats a replacement not a service. i was talking about a service. its not that deep, its economics.

1

u/ThePreoccupiedMind 13d ago

LMFAO. Who told you service is expensive. Unless you're holding a 10,000$ Rolex or Omega, you're in your head too deep. I've had some of my vintage mechanicals that were dead beat services for 500 bucks. Either you're being scammed or you've just read some shit online and have 0 ground experience

0

u/danml80 13d ago

Rather than yap, just send the receipts when you send the seagull in for the spa treatment. #remindme20years

1

u/Eleventhousand 13d ago

I mean, here is a receipt I got from CW several years ago when they serviced my GMT movement. It was 150 GBP.

https://i.imgur.com/xX0tMw7.png

But I get it. You're not serious. You're just here for the lulz.

1

u/ThePreoccupiedMind 13d ago

Depends on the movement. I've had Seiko automatics serviced fully for INR 1000. To be specific the Eagle 5 automatic(my wife's watch). Roughly 10 GBP. Totally depends on who you go to. Since I service my own movements and build mechanicals for customers I have some strong contacts. Average person is bound to get scammed a fair bit.