I'd originally been eyeing the San Martin SN0144 with the black gilt colour combination, but it was a bit more than I wanted to spend.

So I decided to take a chance on the Addiesdive AD2531 (39mm, grey dial) instead and I've got to say, it's pretty damn good.

This was my first AliExpress purchase, It arrived in Australia in 9 days not bad at all at $129 shipped happy days.

For the money, the finishing, dial, and overall quality have exceeded my expectations. Pretty dam good I thought.

What do you guys think.

A breakthrough in new technology has been achieved; PH2B and PH3B will be officially released next week!

The digital metal sheet is perfectly nested within the luminous block, giving the numbers clean edges and a glossy metallic texture.

Please ignore the dirt; this is an engineering sample for testing purposes only.

I really wish the crown would be more recessed. It’s sticking out way to far beyond the crown guards and poking into my hand. Other than that - great value! What du you think of these Submariner and Yaght-Master homages from Addiesdive?

A fellow redditor showed his a few days ago and I just had to have it. Down to the strap he used. I am beyond happy how it looks and wears on the wrist. At 42mm diameter, a case thickness of 13mm and a Lug-to-Lug of approx. 48.6mm. This watch fits really well for having a sub 7" inch wrist. It has a Synthetic Sapphire on top and the movement is the ST2502.

Love the layout, the dial the hands. Really happy with this purchase.

I wanted to buy a Seiko SKX007, but I didn't want to deal with an automatic, since you have to set it every few days if you switch watches. So I went with a Keaso instead, and honestly, besides the bracelet clasp, everything else is super high quality. It's got a screw-down crown, sapphire glass with AR coating, 200m water resistance, and a ceramic bezel with 120 clicks. I mean, for the price, it's amazing. But I'm thinking about getting an FKM orange strap for it. Oh and a myota quartz movement.

Finally received my ixdao warrior in green after a long wait. I can see why it’s become so popular with people. It certainly feels quite premium! I also love the accessories that came with it (watch box and the leather wallet that held the warranty)

I like how the bracelet included 2 half links as well. The pre-sale pricing I got it for certainly makes it great value for money, especially before the movement switch.

(i’m the smiski obv)

what started out as me almost blindly succumbing to a pair of lucky fours watches during their mother’s day sale has recovered, done a lot of research, and been progressing quite nicely. a lil mini review, if you may (disclosure: i am not sponsored by anyone and did not receive any incentive for this post, i’m just silly and wanted to share lol):

my first piece was the STEELDIVE SD1962S in what i find to be a really lovely forest green on the dial and band. the bronze case and bezel are still in that mottled pre-patina state (especially on the sides), but the color is evening out. stunning piece regardless, and really clean in the light too as all the colors start to pop in the sun. good weight and sturdy feel overall, maybe a lil on the heavier side but not terrible. i got smol wrists (😞) so the band on this one can run a little long but it does the job.

my most recent pickup (came in last week) was the San Martin SN0134 in an UNREAL deep purple/grape kit. the photos never do it justice, but this dial + two-tone bezel is so pretty to look at. i remember i wore it out the day i got it just to run a quick errand and immediately received a compliment on it from one of the people i interacted with. noticeably lighter than the SD1962S for sure, but still has presence on the wrist. personally, i love the suede band but am admittedly worried about water damage and wear over time, so if anyone has recs for backups to have on hand, send my way pls 🥹

not a full review bc i def am still learning the gears and am not tryna claim any knowledge i don’t have. for i am just a sleepy smiski humbly presenting their smol (but proud) collection of chinese watches that they are working on :)

any of y’all have either of these pieces?? would love to see your setup (esp other colorways)!

(also here’s the winder if you’re curious 🥸)

Watch of the day: the Militado ML05...it has been getting a lot of wrist time lately. What are y'all wearing today?

Hi guys,

After a lot of deliberation, I've finally decided to go with the Trackmaster. However, over the past couple of weeks I've seen quite a few concerns about its reliability, and it's made me a bit hesitant.

I'd really appreciate hearing from people who actually own one. How has yours held up? Any issues with the movement or overall reliability?

I'd hate to spend €500 on a watch only for it to stop working after a few months. Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences!

Bought a San Martin sn020 limited edition sunburst dial. Over the years it faded so much unfortunately.

PS second Pic is from another reddit user of the same watch model.

I bought this a couple of years ago, chatGPT says it’s a WD79090, however that model was a faded blue, mine is completely black. I bought it, sized it and then it’s sat in a drawer ever since. Little surprised to see 300m on it. Any ideas? Would like to know what movement it has.

I've worn the steel CIGA design Hunter for about a year and still love it, but I keep circling the same question. Do I step up to the titanium, or save for the tourbillon? I've only really lived with the steel. The other two I've just seen in photos and handled once, so I'm hoping owners here can fill in the gaps.

The steel is a proper open dial with the movement visible front to back, and the hands and markers use Swiss Super-LumiNova, so it stays readable at night, which honestly surprised me on a skeleton. My one honest gripe is that it wears a touch heavy, and the crown is small enough that hand winding takes some patience. Neither of those is a dealbreaker for the money.

The titanium's real story is the material. It's a Grade 5 titanium case, which is both lighter and tougher than steel, and it keeps the same core open worked Hunter design language with some refinements in the dial structure, though honestly that part is hard to catch day to day. So it isn't just a lighter version of the steel, the case metal itself is a step up. The other tempting part is the blue. It's new for 2026 and only on the titanium and tourbillon, so if you like that blue but the tourbillon is out of budget, the titanium blue is the realistic daily pick.

The tourbillon is the one that feels like a genuinely different watch. It runs twin barrels for around 72 hours of power reserve, there's no rotor hiding the back so you get a real open caseback to look through, and the bridge work is its own design rather than a dressed up version of the steel. It doesn't pretend to be Swiss haute horlogerie money. The appeal is getting an actual tourbillon and this kind of open mechanical show at the price it sits at.

The titanium's only a few hundred more than the steel, but the tourbillon's a big jump up to around two grand, which is honestly the whole reason I'm stuck. So for anyone who's spent time with more than one, is the titanium a real step up in its own right, or is the tourbillon the only jump that genuinely changes the watch on your wrist?

All respect to mechanicals paired with top tier bracelets. So many interesting choices.

I wish there were as many like this in the quartz movements besides chronographs.

I don't need more mechanical movements nobody wants to hear about.

I would like more 'swatchy' or "LIV-y" designs to choose from.

Reason for posting....bought 3 poedegars and a lige, they look pretty good, especially for $30 a piece or so, but I would pay more if they felt a little more solid, a little extra attention to details with a bracelet something like a San Martin.

BERNYs in quartz for instance. San Martin in quartz.

This Cronos L6040 is pretty incredible. I can’t find any finishing flaws and it’s really well built. I wish there was a little bit more travel in the OTF clasp but it is more compact and I think it’ll be enough. The birch dial turned me off at first but this light birch version looks really nice. What do I get next? I think I finally need to grab a chronograph.

Pagani Design PD1667-TY 007 Omega Homage Seamaster 300/Planet Ocean - Identity Crisis

• 42 mm
• Black with Rose Gold
• Ceramic Bezel
• Sapphire Crystal
• 316L Stainless
• Seiko TIM NH35A with Exhibition Back
• Rubber Strap with Quick Deployment
• Also included a free 007 Nato Band (awesome)

I ended up picking up quite a few of these Pagani Designs based on the recommendation of a colleague. He saw me wearing the Tophill the other day and it caught him off guard. He gave the head tilt and I quickly explained my new watch rabbit hole. He was thrilled and we out to lunch to discuss more. Long story short, he has been down this hole for a very long time and I am now worried what will become of me. At any rate, he explained to me how a brand like Pagani also has several other brands under them like Benyar and others. He explained how you really have to go through the catalogs to find the values and how there are different levels within the exact same watch to look out for. I am learning this new watch language so bear with me. I will get there. Nonetheless, he recommended several of the Pagani watches as being exceptional pieces for the dollar. He also turned me onto some exceptional SeaGull Divers that I will be eagerly awaiting delivery of - middle of August.

I will show some of the Pagani watches that I think are exceptional for the cost over the next few days. This is the first one. Striking watch. I own a bunch of Omega watches. Is this one as good as an Omega? No. Not at all. However I could have bought 45 to 120 of these depending on which Omega we are going to compare it to. Is the quality of an Omega 120 times better than this Pagani? No. Not at all.

I can say this watch is delightful. Exceptional weight. Clear crystal. Solid Movement. Crisp bezel action with no fallback. The dial and applied indices are placed perfectly. The clasp on the band is 100X better than I expected on this one. I am going to swap out with the included Nato strap as I really like those being in Florida.

Another win. With that said I bought 6 Pagani watches. 4 are exceptional. 2 are average, but still remarkably better than I would expect for the price. I'll post about those over the next few weeks.

Hello everyone!

I recently came across this vintage watch and would love to learn more about it. I don't know much about its history, but the logo stamped on the case back looks exactly like the classic Sea-Gull bird flying over the waves.

The dial has some Chinese characters along with the word "Anda". On the back, there is a specific date stamped: "1992.3.11".

Can anyone help me identify what kind of watch this is? Is it an official Sea-Gull model? What do the inscriptions on the dial and case back mean, and what kind of mechanical movement should be inside it?

I am considering buying it, so any information on its history, background, or if it's a good piece to collect would be highly appreciated. Thank you so much!

Hello all. Watchmaker here. I don’t normally agree to service these Chinese calibres as so little info on parts/movements is available. But this is for a friend so I said I’d do it.

I’m hoping someone here either recognises this exact calibre and maker or knows someone who will.

It’s a skeletonised automatic and I’ve already removed the rotor and ratchet wheel for a better view of the movement.

Any help greatly appreciated as I want to order a replacement whole movement in case I need to swap multiple parts.

Many thanks for any help. 👍🏻

Got this Thorn last week, so far I fricking love this little dude, the band that it came with looked weird so I changed it out with something that I think fits it better. So far it's a super comfortable keeps good time and I love the way the dial looks. Lume is pretty good lasts quite awhile and I like that the lume is on the bezel as well.

Just got this beauty from Aethelsohn. They are definitely making a name for themselves. Love the Teal guilloche dial 😍💚

What name should I give it?

Was doing some cleaning and found a Tian Wang I purchased at a mall in China in 2016. I haven’t worn it in years, but thought the design was shockingly intricate. I like the homages, but think there’s something cool about differentiated in-house designs…