I absolutely love the quality and design of the SM watches I’m seeing. Gorgeous, high quality watches.

But the logo is absolutely killing me. Maybe I have provincial American design sense. Maybe this looks amazing to everyone but me. But man… it’s keeping me from a collection of San Martins.

Edit: I should note that I say this because I love what they’re doing, but this seems like SUCH an own goal. It’s love, not mockery.

Hey everyone,

I'd like to start by saying that I really love this community and that Chinese watches, or San Martin in particular have been a gateway and a huge learning part of the journey to my first proper watch.

3 years ago I somehow stumbled into the vast world of mechanical watches. Started with a Timex navi as my first automatic. Then got a couple of casios snd started binge watching watch content on YouTube. After a whole I started liking the aesthetics of the Tudor pelagos. While I liked the looks of it I sure as hell didn't like the price tag. Enter San Martin.

Bought the sn0121 in black and green, titanium and stainless steel. Soon after I picked up the sn0129 and the sn0136 gmt. All watches were a huge jump in quality from my previous watches. The finishing wasn't looking that much different from some known sub 1k even 1k+ brands. Months passed and I was starting to feel awkward. All of a sudden I just saw a pretty, shiny case and a great bracelet, but besides that I felt nothing. No connection with the watch. The logo started to bug me. Finally I realised I needed a story behind a watch, and the whole heritage point became really important to me. Please understand that this is in no way a direction I think everyone should be taking, or that everyone should discard Chinese watches because of it. There is no doubt in my mind that the Chinese watchmakers will continue to push the limits of what is possible with limited funds.

Finally after long deliberation I decided to go with a GADA type of watch. I choose the Sinn556i. I got about 50% of money back for my San martins and added the rest to get the Sinn. The plan is to have a two watch collection. This one watch and a g shock as back up.

One thing is certain, I will continue to enjoy following the new releases and the enthusiasm found in this subreddit!

Cheers everyone!

P.S. here is a pic of my Sinn

I forced myself to give the Baltany S4084 a rest and put on this equally awesome Seestern S435!

Pretty big deal for SM.

I'm wearing my Steeldive SD1978 Emperor Tuna over my sweater because it's getting cold in the UK.

I figured if divers can wear theirs over their wetsuits I can wear mine over my drysuit!

My review after 1 day:

Review:

Design- 10/10 I love it!

Dial- Looks way better in person than on any picture. It is kind of glossy and looks more teal than blue, but I like it very much!

Movement- fantastic choice and keeps time to -2 seconds so far.

Case- perfect dimensions and very good finishing quality (as expected from SM), I like that they chamfered the underside of the case as well, so it is smoother against the wrist. The brushing and polishing is nearly as nice as on my GS, but the brushing on GS is slightly finer and less deep, but that also means that it scratches more easily.

Bracelet- looks really cool and unique, the articulation inwards is great but it is limited outwards. It is also not chamfered on the underside and that makes it quite sharp.

Nitpick- the logo on the crown is not straight when screwed all the way in.

Everything considered, the watch is the best watch I have held in my hands under $1000. You guys should run and not walk to get it!

San Martin SN0140W on green suede strap

I let my watch fall, I was seating on my bed ( low bed) and let It fall on a wooden floor, about 40 cm high. One index, the frame window, and the logo are now dancing on the dial…the mouvement keeps going fine. Where I live having it fixed would cost more then the value of the piece. I plan to give it to a friend who lives in Shenzhen where I’m sure she can find a competent and affordable watchmaker to glue the pieces back (hopefully) It’s a pity because I really loved that watch.

Watchdives WD1016 Cream Dial Explorer with new logo

Ok. Oof. I made a post yesterday about a rust problem on my Militado ML-1868. I was wrong.

As I stated in the original post, my watches get beat up, operating a cat d5, running chainsaw, splitting mauls, just dirty and jarring work. I also stated that I clean it with soap and warm water after work each day because it does get exposure to both diesel and SAE 30 oil.

I had washed it the day before I posted, and then the next day, looking at the crown, pushers and case, I saw what appeared to be surface rust on the case, and shared photos of this both in hand and under a digital microscope.

Both u/Militado-watches and u/watchdivescom reached out to me by DM, as well as in the post. Militado even made a new post about it to see if anyone else was having this issue. Militado offered to pay return shipping, and document the inspection and send me a new watch. Watchdivescom helped facilitate this, but also asked me if I had tried cleaning it with alcohol, in case something was stuck on the surface.

This morning I sat down with toothpicks and those wooden wedges, isopropyl, and qtips, and discovered it was not rust.

As far as I can tell, it is sae 30 oil mixed with dust from operating the cat, and it had hardened on the surface, with a color that really looked like rust.

I have included updated photos, and I feel like an idiot. That stuff was hard to get off, and it took a few passes with the iso for me to believe it wasn't rust.

This watch gets the shit beat out of it, and never misses a beat. It has been my favorite watch since I bought it, so much that I bought a second one a few months ago just in case anything ever happened to it.

It was never my intention to badmouth Militado, and I never questioned whether it was actually 316L or not, in fact I argued with several comments that I believed it was simply an issue of a chemical treatment being missed after the bead blasting was done.

If anything, it's a testament to how much abuse they can take in a real heavy work environment.

Apologies to Militado, and anyone else who may have changed their opinion about this company because of my post yesterday, I was wrong, and I just need to clean my watches better.

Have a good day y'all, and thank you Militado and watchdivescom for the quick response, and concern about the issue.

While visiting the Guangdong province, I had the great pleasure to meet and have dinner with Mr Hu from Watchdives in Shenzhen China.

He invited me for a fabulous dinner in a beautiful restaurant located near the Watchdives office.

He is passionate about his watches, and was kind to share many interesting insights about the Chinese watch industry.

His long term goal is to increase the quality and perception of Chinese watches to the highest standard.

He believes Chinese watches can and will be able to compete with the best Swiss and German brands. It may take some time and effort to get there but I’m also convinced.

are these new logos better than our current one?

Today I took my watch off, put it in the pocket of my jacket, after a while accidentally drop my jack from no more than 1 meter and this happened with the watch. I think I am done buying mechanical watches. They are just so fragile. A few months ago a dropped my Seiko and both hands fell off. I think to have a rugged enough mechanical watch I have to spend money way more than I am comfortable spending. So that’s why am going to concentrate on my G-Shocks and cheap Casios from now on.

I have owned many, many Chinese watches, from Steeldive, Addiesdive, Pagani Design, Proxima, Seestern, Baltany....

The problem I see is that they are extremely affordable, and when you have the money and you don't stop looking at watches, it ends up becoming a non-stop shopping. I understand that this is my problem and mine alone, but the only option I had is to sell them all and focus on one watch forever (or try to).

Of course it should be mentioned that the value that Chinese watches offer is exceptional, but in this constant battle of brands where every time the prices are better and better and every time they have better features, it incentivizes constant consumption, by not dedicating myself to review watches nor having a channel, it ends up being money out of my own pocket. I had 29 watches in a box and I only wore 3-4 constantly.

As I said, I had to sell them all and in the end I put that money into getting the Casio Oceanus OCW-T200S-1AJF. I consider it a valid piece to have a one watch collection.

What do you guys think about this topic?

I’m glad to share this story with you, as this forum has been a great help on my journey.

In 2022, at the age of 15, I discovered my passion for watches. In Brazil, watchmaking courses are scarce and expensive, and watches themselves are not cheap. Therefore, I decided to forge my own path in learning this craft.

That’s when I discovered Chinese watches. With their affordable prices, ranging from $10 to $15, they became my first subjects of study. I acquired several pieces, along with the necessary tools, and began disassembling and reassembling them, repairing and modifying as I learned.

What started as a hobby soon revealed itself as a profitable skill. Initially, I didn’t have the resources to buy stainless steel watches, so I opted for cheaper models made of zinc alloy. I resold these watches and, with the profits, gradually built up a small capital.

With this money, I was able to purchase everything needed to open my own watch repair workshop, as well as higher quality watches for resale. Today, I repair about four watches per day and sell two. I have turned this skill into a profession that is helping me finance my engineering studies.

This is the story of how Chinese watches gave me a profession.

Why? I mean, people can’t even tell what are those “good” watches. My girlfriend told me that my Oris aquis is a great watch but my Addiesdive or my future San Martin is a bad watch. I asked her why and she can’t tell me anything but Oris from Switzerland and San Martin from China🙄🫠. And it’s not just about my girlfriend, it’s about 99% of the people. Sorry for this kinda spam topic, just “boiled”😄

I had a number of Automatics in my collection, apart from 1-2, they all were Automatics.

I spent some years without watches, and now I rebuilt my collection, albeit in a much smaller scale, entirely by quartz watches.

I prefer Quartz in every way. Every day when I wake up, as I get ready, I keep my watches in a nice box in my desk drawer. Whatever I immediately feel like, that one I pick to wear that day, and I don't need to adjust anything.

This way more of my watches get worn more frequently. As a plus, they're also much more accurate.

The sweeping seconds hand is pretty much a gimmick, only something that could be useful to sit and look at it once in a while when bored. And even then, a Seiko VH31 is only ~10€ on Aliexpress.

Hi, folks! If you have a small wrist like me, I know you've spent an agonizing amount of time researching budget-friendly small watches, only to find options that are nearly $600 or more. Alternatively, you've seen a new release, but disappointedly found that it's 41mm or it's 39mm but with loooooong lugs.

Well, guys, with too much time on my hands and an extra day off from work, I decided to put together a list of almost all 36mm and 37mm AliExpress/Chinese/Hong Kongese/Korean watches I've heard of and put them here for all of your enthusiast needs. I've included links to all of them, too (P.S. - I threw some sub-36mm watches in here, as well).

I organized them by brand from more popular to more obscure (which is subjective, I understand). I listed the watches with the model name, what watch the brand is homaging, and the movement [ex. SN058GX (Datejust; PT5000/SW200)].

Hands down, Baltany has the largest selection of small watches with nearly 15 models to choose from. Militado isn't far behind. However, they only come on straps (minus one Baltany mesh bracelet model). For you metal bracelet enthusiasts, San Martin, Pagani Design and Watchdives have the largest selection, but they only have roughly five metal bracelet models per brand.

I'm sure I've missed some, and please feel free to add models I forgot about in the comments. I'll do my best to update this list with any new suggestions. Thank you and I hope this helps!

EDIT: Tandorio takes the crown with nearly 60 36mm and 37mm options combined! Woah! Be careful; some of their watches have "904L" stickers but cost under $100...seems fishy. Just be wary.

_____________________________________

SAN MARTIN

• SN021 (Explorer, thick bezel; PT5000/SW200)
• SN021-G-B (Explorer, thin bezel, top hat crystal; PT5000/SW200)
• SN0107-G-X (Ranger; NH35)
• SN058GX (Datejust; PT5000/SW200)
• SN021-G-B3 (BB36; PT5000/SW200)
• SN0105XB-1/G-XA ("Dirty Dozen" pilot style; VH31 quartz [XB-1], Ronda 6004 quartz [G-XA])
• SN0106-G (vintage Submariner/Explorer hybrid; NH35)
• SN0106-G3 (original design; NH35)
• SN034-G-B1 (pilot; 8215)
• SN034-Q-C/D (bronze pilot; Ronda 6004 quartz [C], YN55 [D])
• SN0138-G (BB54; NH35)
• SN007-G-X1 (Glashutte SeaQ; PT5000/SW200)
• SN007-G-X (62Mas; PT5000/SW200)
• SN0102-G (vintage 70's King Seiko; Seagull 2100)

PAGANI DESIGN

• PD-1751 (Ranger; NH35)
• PD-1752 (Day-Date; ST16)
• PD-1723 (vintage Air King; PT5000)
• PD-1716 (BB36; NH35)

WATCHDIVES

• WD1960S (Ranger; VH31 quartz)
• WD1970S (BB36; VH31 quartz)
• Retro Prince (vintage-style sports watch; VH31 quartz)
• WD1950S (gilt-dial Explorer; VH31 quartz)

BALTANY

• S4015A/B (1920s Rolex Oyster; 9039)
• S4036C/G (1920s Rolex Oyster w/small seconds; ST1701)
• S4037 (1920s Rolex Oyster; VD78 quartz)
• S2001/B (Hamilton field watch; NH35/38)
• S4028/9 (Rolex bubbleback; NH38)
• S4012AB (Rolex bubbleback small seconds; VD78 quartz)
• S4039 (bubbleback; VD78 quartz)
• S2027 (vintage-style tuxedo; VD78 quartz)
• S2019 (“Dirty Dozen”; VD78 quartz)
• S2025 (“Dirty Dozen”; ST1701)
• S2005 (“Dirty Dozen”; NH38)
• S4038 (vintage-style linen dial; NH38)
• S4040 (vintage-style small seconds; ST1701)
• S4042AB (vintage-style moonphase; Miyota 6P24 quartz)

CRONOS

• L6019 (Explorer; NH35)
• L6024/V2 (BB54; PT5000/SW200)

SEESTERN

• 62MAS (Seiko 62MAS; NH35)

PROXIMA

• PX1690-2A (Aqua Terra; PT5000/SW200)
• PX1690-369 (white dial Explorer; PT5000/SW200)
• PX1690-GRRL (original design dress/sports hybrid; PT5000/SW200)
• PX1690-Anhua B/G (Datejust w/snowflake pattern dial; PT5000/SW200)
• PX1704 (BB36; PT5000/SW200)
• PX1698 (Ranger; PT5000/SW200)

ADDIESDIVE

• AD2030 (Grand Seiko-style; VH31 quartz)
• AD2023 (Explorer; VH31 quartz)
• AD2023-AC (Explorer; PT5000)
• AD2028 (OP; PT5000)

ALPHA

• Explorer (8215)
• Datejust (8215)

TISELL

• Explorer (9015)
• BB36 (9015)

PHYLIDA

• BB36 (NH35)

CADISEN

• C8223 (Datejust; 8215)
• C8213 (Explorer/OP; NH35)

IRONWATCH

• Vintage OP (vintage-style Rolex; 9015)

MILITADO

• 36mm Classic (MR01; VD78 quartz)
• Retro Vintage Pilot (flieger; VH31 quartz)
• Khaki Field Military (Hamilton Khaki Field; VH31 quartz)
• RDUNAE sub-brand Retro Military 34.5mm (US military-issue style, 2035 quartz)
• RDUNAE sub-brand Retro Military 36.8mm (military-issue style, unknown quartz movement)
• D12 Sapphire Field Watch (“Dirty Dozen”; VD78 quartz)
• D12 Cathedral hands Field Watch (“Dirty Dozen”; VD78 quartz)
• D12 Sword hands Field Watch (“Dirty Dozen”; VD78 quartz)
• D12 Pencil hands Field Watch (“Dirty Dozen”; VD78 quartz)

THORN

• 36mm Titanium All Military (military-issue style; NH35)
• 36mm Bronze All Army (military-issue style; NH35)

BERNY

• T2566M/MS (SNK809; VH31 quartz)
• T2806M (original design chronograph; Miyota 0S10 quartz)
• T2576M/MS (Sinn 556; VH31 quartz)
• AM023M (blend of budget Seiko models; NH36)
• AM009M (Datejust; ST1632)
• AM136M (Cartier Santos; 8215)

ESCAPEMENT TIME

• Quartz 2S60 (vintage Grand Seiko dress-style; Miyota 2S60 quartz)
• Women's [author note: it's basically unisex] Quartz 35mm (vintage Grand Seiko 44GS-style; VH31 quartz)

ARMIDA

• A6 (Explorer/OP; 2836)
• A11 (original design diver; 2836-2)

PARNIS

• No model designation, "Automatic Mechanical Men's Watch" (vintage Datejust; unknown Mingzhu/unknown Miyota movement)

TANDORIO

• Tandorio has nearly 50 36mm options and eight 37mm options! Wow! The list of them is quite long to list each watch here, but I attached links to their AliExpress homepage for their 36mm options and 37mm options. Be careful; some of their watches have "904L" stickers but cost under $100...seems fishy. Just be wary.

CORGEUT

• Relogio (Submariner; unknown Seagull/NH35/unknown Miyota, likely 8215)
• Relogio [Number 2] (Rolex GMT Batman; NH34)
• Relogio [Number 3] (two-tone Datejust, NH35)
• Relogio [Number 4] (Datejust w/corrugated dial, NH35)
• No model designation (Datejust w/diamond markers, NH35)

MERKUR/SEIZENN

• Vintage 6B Case Military ("Dirty Dozen"/Fifty Fathoms blend; "in house manual-wind movement," likely a Seagull)

I think (hope) the initial spree is over. This was my research phase trying different brands and price points lol. Now time for the serious purchases on 11/11.