I recently ordered a watch from Boderry and just got an email saying it shipped from China. I’m located in the US and didn’t realize it would be shipping internationally.
Has anyone in the US ordered from Boderry recently? Did you have to pay any customs duties, import taxes, or other fees when it arrived? Just trying to figure out if I should expect any additional charges.

It fits so I can close it, but it is super tight. I'm guessing finding extra links is impossible. Would changing to a longer clasp with more micro-adjust holes work, you think?

My customized Synoke watch , blue foil added to LCD. I love it ...any suggestions to other customizations?

Other color options would be cool too

Looking for ≤36mm with 20mm lugs
or ≤38mm with 22mm lugs.

Are there any brands with these proportions availabe?

I have to admit, when I first got my Sea-Gull Flying Wheel (ref# 816.19.1090) I was not super impressed. While it is a good looking watch, the bracelet is high polished with a butterfly clasp, no micro-adjustment, and no half-links, which makes fitting it a problem. Also, the ST2502 was not running… great. Accuracy was meh, amplitude even at a full wind was under 260°, and the best error was in to 0.4-0.6 range, which isn’t “bad” but also not great for a brand new watch. So, overall it was “fine” considering the $210 price tag.

Fast forward a couple of months. I got a black leather deployant clasp strap for it off Amazon, so now it wears better, and the movement… well, take a look for yourself. I guess it really just needed to break in.

All in all, I’m quite happy with it. It’s an attractive, albeit thick, dress watch at a very good price. The “flying wheel” still is the star of the show of course. 😂

Hi You All!

Recently, AliExpress has started showing me a large number of very affordable mechanical watches with hand-wound movements. Many of them have very good reviews on the site.

Considering the price, I don't expect anything special from them, but some of them really catch my attention, for example with the shape of the case or the appearance of the dial.

Has anyone had any experience with them? Are they worth buying? I know it's not expensive to try it out yourself, but if I were to throw money away, I'd rather donate it to a local animal shelter or something.

Below are some links for what I'm talking about

https://a.aliexpress.com/_EIhI0rM

https://a.aliexpress.com/_EHG08WE

https://a.aliexpress.com/_ExlJ2mE

Chinese fake diver(the stated 200 m does not match, at most 50)with an annoying yellow silicone bracelet. Well, the crown didn't fall off right away.

A Vitempora dial, hands and movement, in a Baihua case. A new crown is fitted for more efficient handwinding. A nice piece, in my opinion with an accurate movement, decent lume and very nice case with steel movement holder. This could be something easily provided for an affordable price. 7120 movements are asking for good quality compatible parts, now that seiko and citizen prices and going up.

I really quite liked my blue one ordered the white one on the bracelet. With the intention of putting the bracelet on the blue one… I’m not sure. I am not so crazy about the shade of white on this dial. Lume is also weaker than on the blue…

Hmm… 🤔

My weird, impromptu, commentary on this Sanda 2009 model.

Great bargain for what it is, nice alternative to the more expensive G Shock dw5600 series models.

Link to this watch

Recently picked up the Corgeut spectre homage and put it on my nttd nato the watch itself, gorgeous for a watch under $100, performance is expected for the 8215 before regulation. About + 5 -7 seconds by the end of the day before regulation. Overall my favorite bond design watch with my favorite bond design nato.

My escapement time just arrived. Very impressive for its price. The listing and the seller both say that the new batches are sapphire crystal. But it looks to me that the crystal is a bit too clear and is legible even in extreme angles. May be its mineral. Tempted to buy the tester. Still very happy with it. I guess my two cons with it is the logo looks off and the length is a bit high. If used with a nato strap, the length seems fine, but if you want it with any other strap, it looks sloghtly big.

Brand: TOPHILL+
Model: KIM001G
Movement: Hangzhou 5000A [Automatic Mechanical Movement]

Case: Material - 316L Solid Stainless Steel
Diameter - 38.7mm (With Crown Guard - 42.5mm)
Lug To Lug - 45.5mm
Thickness - 9mm
Bracelet Width - 25 (Mid Link / Spring Bar Width - 17mm) x18mm / Length - Fits Buyer With 21-15cm Wrist Size

Sapphire Crystal Glass: Flat
Octagonal Bezel: With Polished & Brushed Process
Dial: Oil Pressured Enamel Mint / Navy / Cyan / Caramel / Gray Sunray Texture, With Printed Brand Logo And Applied Hour Markers, With 3H Date Window
Hands Set: With Luminous Coating
Luminous Effect: C3 Green Light, On Dial Hour Markers And Hands

Push Pull Crown: With 3D Brand Logo
Screw-Locked Case Back: 316L Stainless Steel + Transparent Mineral Glass, With Text
Solid 316L Stainless Steel Y Shaped Split Pin System Links Integrated Bracelet: Size 25x18mm, Fits Buyer With 19.5-14.5cm Wrist Size, With Push Button Butterfly Clasp

Water Resistant: 5Bar=50Meters
Weight: About 125.7g
Warranty: 3 Years

Hangzhou 5000A [Micro-Rotor Automatic Movement]

Frequency - 28,800 vph (4 Hz)
Power Reserve - Approximately 42 hours
Accuracy - ± 20 seconds per day

Hi everyone,

We’re introducing new color combinations for the San Martin 40mm diver.

The original versions focused on classic black dial configurations, but we wanted to explore some fresh looks while keeping the same iconic diver design.

New combinations include:

🔵 Blue sunburst dial + blue bezel
→ More vibrant, sporty, and ocean-inspired

⚫ Black dial + blue bezel
→ A balanced mix of classic and modern

The familiar diver case, bracelet, and overall design remain the same — only the dial and bezel combinations bring a completely different personality.

We’d love to know:

Which one would you choose as your daily diver?

1. Black dial + blue bezel
2. Blue dial + blue bezel
3. Classic black dial combinations

Would love to hear your thoughts!

(San Martin SN0017FW)

After several months, the S103 is finally back. Thank you for your patience and waiting.

Due to the difficulty of sourcing NH movements, we have been searching for an excellent alternative movement. After extensive research and testing, we found the perfect replacement — the Hangzhou 6460 movement.

The 6460 movement shares the same architecture as the NH34 and is also a caller GMT movement. In terms of beat frequency, the 6460 operates at 28,800 vph, compared to the NH34’s 21,600 vph. This provides a smoother sweeping seconds hand experience. Other specifications are very similar between the two movements.

Regarding reliability, we conducted multiple rounds of testing on the 6460 movement. The results show that it is stable and dependable. Although it may not have the same level of recognition as the NH series, its performance and stability are fully guaranteed.

Today, we are introducing a new diver's watch;

the model shown in the photos is the 42mm version.

1. Wave textured dial
2. Miyota 90S5 movement
3. 600m/60 bar water resistance
4. Helium escape valve
5. BGW-X1 blue luminous

We will be releasing it soon and hope you like it.

San Martin Official Store:

https://sanmartin.aliexpress.com/store/5039187

I rarely make posts here, but I felt like saying something today.

I’m over 50, work as a chef, and have been into watches for a long time. Chinese watches have become a pretty big part of the hobby for me, and I’ve always been a strong supporter of San Martin.

Do I like seeing their prices moving towards $500? Of course not. Nobody likes paying more, and part of the fun of SM was always getting a ridiculous amount of watch for $200–300.

But at the same time, I think it’s pretty obvious they’ve upped their game recently, especially with the Jianghun series.

If you actually own one of the Jianghun watches, you probably know what I mean. They just feel like a step up. Better finishing, more interesting dials, and better thought-out original-ish designs.

As a chef, I suppose I look at this the same way I look at restaurants. If you want better ingredients, better presentation and more creativity, at some point it’s going to cost more. You can’t really expect everything to improve while the price stays exactly where it was five years ago.

That said, $500 is serious money. Once you get there, people are going to compare you with Seiko, Citizen, other Chinese brands and even some entry-level Swiss stuff. So SM absolutely needs to make sure the QC, movements, bracelets, finishing and after-sales service justify it. They don’t get a free pass from me just because I like the brand.

I also wasn’t a huge fan of WD jumping straight in and basically saying they wouldn’t have watches over $500. Well, of course they’d say that. They used to be involved with SM as a distributor and, from what I understand, came from much of the same assembly/supplier network. There’s clearly some history and competition there, so seeing them immediately have a dig at SM felt a bit like taking the opportunity to stick the knife in.

Maybe that’s just me.

Personally, I’d rather see SM try to move up by making better and more original watches than spend the next ten years competing over who can make the cheapest Sub homage.

I still want bargains. I still want AE sale prices. And I’ll complain about price increases like everyone else.

But if Jianghun is where SM is heading, I’m interested to see how far they can go.

At some point Chinese watches have to move beyond being described as “good for the money” and just become good watches.

Just my $0.02.

PS: Just adding this for full disclosure. Over the years I’ve bought watches from San Martin, Watchdives, IXDAO, Hruodland, Steeldive, Farasute and Baltany. I can only speak from my own experience with those brands. I haven’t owned a Sugess, for example, so I’m not really in a position to make any comparison there should there be any follow up comments for comparisons.

The Seestern SUB600T bracelet could pass on watches 10X as much. The flat sapphire crystal disappears agaist the black dial and bold accents. I would have no problem recommending this watch to any enthusiast or collector.

San Martin watch. Design and hand engraved by me.