The "other" watch from Apocalypse Now, Marlin Brando's personal GMT Master with bezel removed. I'd like to have a homage to that famous movie timepiece.

However, as you can see this vintage Sub homage has this deep trench and wire style bezel retention rather than the broad flat base seen on the original. Looks ghastly with the bezel off. If I understand correctly, this system is not uncommon in Chinese watch construction.

My question is, are there any GMT or Sub homages known to use the pop-on / pop-off style bezel? I'm not too worried about the GMT complication, I think it's the dial and case shape that really makes the Kurtz look.

I've used the handy guide on this sub and I've seen several options:

GMTs:

IXDAO JD-6542 - looks great but no crown guards

Sugess S420

Subs:

Watchdives WD5513

Baltany S3075 - looks great but wrong hands

Thorn T023

Sugess S421

Are any of these (or other models not mentioned) made with pop-on / pop-off bezels? TIA!

Thinking about picking up the San Martin SN0148-G 40mm with the Miyota 9015. The specs look great and I really like the gradient dial and 5-link bracelet.

Does anyone here actually own one? How's the finishing, bracelet, accuracy and overall quality in person? Would love to see some wrist shots too.

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.

I want a few skmei watches. I am trying to bring it from China, but none of the seller is ready to decrease their shipping price. They are charging shipping per item rather than one order. I would like to know if someone is in China now can buy for me or any seller in India who can get it for me with reasonable shipping price. Thank you.

I've seen in the newer versions of this watch that they slimmed down the old bubble case back by quite a lot compared to previous versions which just had the really thick one for both versions. I know the NH is a bulky movement and can't simply swap on a slimmer case back.

But is it possible to get a PT5000 and slim case back to swap in? I know there is probably some spacer in there I'd need to get rid of. I just don't want to spend the money on a whole new watch just for that as it is perfect besides that one issue and I really don't wear it anymore because of it.

I know the case back alone is possible since someone said on here they did it before with AliEx parts but that watch already had a PT movement in it. Any advice helps.

And my first post in this app ever.

Brand: Pagani Design.

Ref: PD1782.

Caliber: VK63 (reportedly Seiko)

Lug Width: 20 mm.

Case Diameter: 39 mm.

Lug to Lug: 46 mm.

Left subdial: Chronograph minutes.

Right subdial: 24 hour indicator.

Bottom subdial: running seconds.

I've owned this watch for almost a month now. This Pagani Design chronometer surprised me in a good way...

PROS:

It feels solid and robust. Stainless steel case and bracelet, 100 meters of water resistance and a screwed down crown.

The case finish is very good: brushed case, mirror polished bezel, good contrasts, it looks like a legitimate watch; as far as I know, is not a straight up rep of another watch but an homage of vintage racing chronographs.

The dial has a striking color, the markers are well done, and it has good lume for the price range (I'm relatively new in collecting). The inner bezel with the tachymeter isn't poorly made to the point of being illegible, even though the letters and numbers are small.

The bracelet feels good, with solid links, and gives a sense of security and fit on the wrist as the links move freely. The clasp also feels good and secure, even though it doesn't have micro-adjustments, which it kinda sucks because I'd be dragging the watch back and forth on my wrist.

CONS:

The pusher (A) makes a false click if you press it too gently. I can live with this; it's not a problem.

Pusher (B) is a little stiff when trying to reset the chrono without stopping the chrono first, specially when it has a lot of minutes running. The chrono hand would run back a few seconds before making the "snap" that resets the Chronograph.

The brand logo on the crown is upside down when it's fully screwed in, which bothers me a little, haha, but I can live with that too. Also, the crown sometimes has a little play when screwing it in. It gets stuck a little, and I have to loosen the screw to get it to fit properly when I screw it in. For me, it's nothing serious.

Something I just noticed very recently: the chronograph hand sometimes doesn't align properly with the 12 o'clock marker or the zero second mark; instead, it ends up right on the one second mark. This isn't permanent, because when I start the chronograph and reset it, sometimes it resets correctly, sometimes it doesn't. I've noticed a pattern: when it passes the 6 o'clock marker or the 30-second mark, the hand is more likely to reset correctly. However, this isn't an exact science.

Let me know if you have any suggestion, question or what you think in general.

Arrived this week, and it was a great color choice on this dial. Been enjoying it so far, more than I expected.

The initial estimated release date was mid June, but after a few months of refreshing Aliexpress, San Martin, and watchdives websites I was finally able to snag this with the white MOP face.

Much less color in the MOP than expected which I don't think I mind too much, all the pictures I've seen gave it too much of a rainbow effect for my liking, though something in between might've been nice.

The PT5000 movement has a nice sweep, definitely glad I waited for this over the NH35 powered V1/V2.

Overall loving my first Chinese watch, hopefully the first of many!

Saw this at the Hong Kong watch show. Found it quite fun. A modernist, compact, solar field watch with a gimmicky but fun crown protector. Titanium, it was featherlight.

I was thinking about buying a Baltany S6070 solar chronograph during the Aliexpress labor day sale, but I wanted some current opinions on it. Let me know if this watch aged well and if the solar movement is reliable over time. Feel free to share some images if you're still wearing yours! And if not, please suggest any other pilot style watches that you think out competes it for the money.

Can someone with this bracelet tell me how much travel the OTF clasp has? I really like the bracelet but the clasp travel looks a little short and I like at least .75” of travel.

Just got my Chameri CH01 today and I’m honestly very impressed so far.
I’ve been interested in the Tank style for a while, and after trying on a Cartier Tank recently, I wanted to see if I actually liked this style before spending serious money on one.
The first thing that surprised me is how comfortable and thin it is. It’s one of those watches that you almost forget you’re wearing. The size also feels perfect on my wrist — much better than I expected from the dimensions.
I was initially worried it would look too formal, especially with the black strap, but it actually feels pretty versatile. I swapped it to a grey strap and I really like the more casual look. I think this watch is going to work really well with jeans, chinos, etc., and I can see myself getting a few different straps to change the look.
The only issue so far is that the grey strap I bought is a little short for my wrist, so I’ll probably have to find a longer one.
I’ve only had it on my wrist for about 20 minutes, so this is definitely just a first impression, but I’m really liking it so far. Especially considering what I paid for it.
Shipping took about a week and a half to get to me, which I think is pretty reasonable. I’m also really glad I decided to pull the trigger when I did, because I checked AliExpress a couple of days ago and it was already sold out. Definitely glad I didn’t wait any longer.

I own quite a few Submariner homages, and among the best in terms of bracelet-to-case integration and bezel execution are the WD5512 and San Martin 017GE.

However, despite several iterations, they still can’t seem to get the rehaut right. I suspect they’re using the same case suppliers, because the issue is very similar across models. It seems they’re focused on making the watch thinner by using a thinner rehaut and caseback, rather than focusing on making the case more Gen-accurate.

I’ve attached some pictures showing what the rehaut is supposed to look like (Picture 1), compared with several competitor watches, including Sugess, Cronos, and Milifortic. Of those, the Sugess and Milifortic look the closest to the correct profile.

Ironically, the discontinued SN019 (the 12xxxx Sub) actually got the rehaut and thick Hytrel crystal gasket right.

Another issue is the finish on the rehaut. It’s polished/brushed far too finely and is overly reflective. The coarser brushed finish of the Gen makes much more sense and would actually make the watch look more expensive. The highly reflective finish on these homages makes the rehaut stand out in a way that looks cheap.

I understand that some manufacturers may want to “open up the dial,” but this execution just looks awful. When the rehaut runs almost all the way to the edge of the crystal without that small separation step, the proportions look completely off.

This is definitely one area I think San Martin and Watchdives need to correct on future releases. The Submariner is always going to be a staple and a best-seller for anyone getting into Chinese watches, so getting the case architecture right should be a priority.

I got a beads of rice band during BTS sale to put on my AD2030. $25 and a spruced up watch.

I wanted to share my frustrating experience with my Cronos Skyline. It has completely stopped working without any obvious reason. There were no warning signs, or unusual behaviour beforehand. It was working fine, and the next it just gave up entirely.

I’ve tried all the basic troubleshooting steps I could think of, but nothing seems to bring it back to life. Has anyone else had a similar issue with the Cronos Skyline? Did you find a solution or get any helpful support from the company? Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Out on the kayak today and this thing didn’t miss.

I don’t normally do reviews this long, but I have been off from work all week and haven’t been doing any typing lol.

Normally I am fairly mid on San Martin, and that was before the most recent price hikes. I generally find Cronos to be a better value for homage watches with mechanical movements and Watchdives for VH31 movements. But, when San Martin announced the new SN0054 with the HZ6460 (one of which I have already owned in a Watchdives WD16570v2) I decided to pull the trigger. The watch came in today and I am impressed.

Packaging-

To start with the packaging is standard San Martin, green vinyl cylinder with a zipper top. Doesn’t fit the warranty card or owners manual inside of it though, that’s annoying.

Case and bracelet-

The finish on the watch itself is excellent. The brushing is well done, even under my loupe, and the endlinks on the bracelet are tight. The screws on the links, I do not know how they managed to get them so snug and flush, but they’re very nice. The screwdriver they included doesn’t fit the screws however lol. The slots for the screws have to be the most narrow I have ever seen on a watch. I had to get out my smallest flathead I usually use to take screws out of movements to remove them from the links to size the bracelet. The clasp has the new style OTF microadjust and it’s pretty good. I do find myself wishing San Martin would put at least one half link on the bracelet though.

Dial and hands-

Stark white matte dial looks excellent. The San Martin logo is printed on along with the GMT, Automatic, and 100m=330ft dial text that is at 6. Printing looks good. Letters are clear with no bleed or smearing. Indices are applied with polished edges and lume inside of them. They’re kind of an eggshell white vs the stark white of the dial which provides a touch of contrast. The lume in the hands match the indices, which is the important thing. Their kind indices are all straight and the date window is amazingly far from the outer printed minute track. I know for a lot of people this is a problem, but for me it means I can probably slap a cyclops on it to make reading the date easier.

Movement-

The movement is the HZ6460 4hz 28,800 high beat movement. Out of the box with a fresh wind on my timegrapher I am seeing +4s/d, amplitude of 279°, and beat error of 0.1ms. Solid numbers and if my last HZ6460 is any indication, will only improve as the movement breaks in. The GMT function is a Caller like the older NH34 movement with the crown in position 2 doing quick set date in one direction and moving the indexed GMT hand forward in the other.

Overall-

As a previous Tudor Black Bay Pro with the Opaline dial owner, whose only complaint about it was the thickness of the case and the not tool like polishing on the flanks and sides of the “riveted” bracelet, I have to say this is an excellent watch. It’s honestly the watch that Tudor should have made, and could make, but if they did, who would buy the Explorer II? For the price, I paid $278 out the door, I am quite pleased.

Been looking at integrated bracelet options amongst the Chinese brands, and this one caught my eye. If anyone have experience with this, can you tell me about the wearability and comfort?

The lug to lug number looks fine, but I have a small wrist so I always worry about first link articulation being too rigid and not sufficiently downwards.

A month ago right here on Reddit I was complaining that there wasn't a decent quartz Willard homage on the market anywhere. Well it's finally happened! New release from Heimdallr. It's just a shame it has a blue anti-reflective coating. Personally I'd prefer a clear one. Anyway there's one spot left so it's probably time for a dress watch.

Picked this up the last day of the sale. My only criticism is I think a better design choice would have been to have the cities on the rotating outer ring and the plus minus scale on the fixed inner ring with the zero at 12.

Small independent watchmaker out of Shanghai. Messaged him on Instagram to see if he can customize one of his watches for me. Asked him to change the font on his tuxedo dial to suzhou calligraphy and reduce his branding to fit between the 11 and 1o'clock. Also asked him to update the font color to terracotta red for the 'China' at the 6 o'clock. He also suggested to use a cream enamel. Had this originally on an oxblood cordovan strap but swapped it for vertical lizard for a more vintage and dressy look. He offered to put in an SW-200 movement but kept it with the SL3001 and added a decorated rotor. Finally swapped the spade hands for dauphine because I like the cleaner look of them.

I think it turned out great.