Categories
Vager Hauers

Vager Hauers Paranoia Small Seconds – not bad but too conventional

I have always been attracted by the small seconds watch, just as the name implies, this type of watches does not have a central second hand, while its second hand is set on a subdial that is usually positioned at 6 o’clock on the main dial. I like such watches, and I have already had several pieces, the most favorite one is the Sea-gull ultra thin which I have shared a review in the past, sometimes such watch has a simple and fresh design that brings me a sense of calm and comfort. I know there are a lot of small seconds watches made in the Switzerland that look more classic, but with more expensive prices, I can not afford, so, sometimes I like browsing on Taobao to seek for the watches I like, in most cases I will get some results and make decision between several good ones. Chinese watches are good alternatives to those Swiss watches, they have similar designs, but the prices are much more affordable, I did not mean fakes here. For Vager Hauers, I knew this brand months ago and have found they made excellent watches, at least their watches have good designs and more creative than most other Chinese watches. I posted reviews on two watches from Vager Hauers, one is the Yuan Heng Li Zhen that has a strong Chinese culture, the other is a clown tourbillon watch, today, the Vager Hauers watch I am going to share here is a small seconds watch that looks more formal and suitable for most men.

Do you like this watch? I think most of you guys will say yes, but I do not like as much as I firstly saw it, the watch looks great, especially the beautiful blued steel hands, which is part of the reasons for many people to buy this watch at their first glance. Honestly, I am starting to feel a bit tired of this watch’s design, too many circles on the dial, after wearing it for several weeks, I feel it does not look as classic as my Sea-gull ultra thin watch, I admit the black and white color combination is always a secret code to make a successful small seconds watch. I am not familiar with Swiss watches, but the circles design on this watch’s dial looks familiar, do any Swiss watches use the same design, Patek Philippe?

Do not go deep into the area of homage field, this is the advice for Vager Hauers. They did very well before, integrated the Chinese culture into the watch designs, hope they can stay on this path, now no Chinese watches have made success in this field, this is a great opportunity for them. If they truly want to position the brand in this direction, they should probably avoid producing this type of watch.

Vager Hauers Small Seconds
Vager Hauers White
Vager Hauers Movement
Vager Hauers Wrist Shot

Categories
Giveaway

Eutour Watch Giveaway

I almost forget it, now the giveaway for July comes, this time, one Eutour watch will be sent as a prize.

I thought many of you guys may not know this brand, but there have been a hot discussion and many reviews about Eutour on the internet when I did a search. Before introducing the gift watch today, I want to give a short introduction about the brand Eutour.

Absolutely Eutour is a Chinese brand, and it is registered by a company in Guangzhou. When I firstly saw this watch, I thought it was a toy for children, after the second look at the watches on their website, I think some model are worthy of a try. I am not surprised by how high quality the watch is because it does not have, choosing this Eutour watch as a giveaway and give its introduction just because its fresh and simple magnetic design. To be honest, I did not figure out how it work when firstly saw the watch in last month, so today back to this watch again for the second look, I think I figure it out. The watch is powered by a quartz movement inside, which controls the movement of the two balls by two magnetic disks, am I right? For the first time, I read a wrong time, now I know the inner ball tracks minutes, the outer ball tracks hours. In the video below, now the time is 3:00, not 12:15. When you shake the watch, the outer ball moves but will be back to its position after you stop shaking.

The watch has a case diameter of 40mm, it is measured to be 12mm in thickness. The entire watch has a weight of 79 grams. The movement is a Miyota quartz, which is very durable. By the way, there is no crystal on the top. The engraved bezel is fixed, not rotatable.

Now, back to the giveaway, I will send this watch in video for free if you guys do the following things.

1.Leave your comments here and invite three of your friends to leave comments.

2.Share my blog address https://www.bobswatchstore.com/ to watch forums(at least two) and reddit.

This giveaway will end on July 30. One winner will be chosen on July 30, he will get this watch, no need to pay any fee.

Categories
Sea-gull

Sea-gull 70th Anniversary 3415 Green Watch

Tianjin Watch Factory, which is the precursor of Sea-gull Watch Company, was founded in 1955, now it is the 70th anniversary of this big watch factory in China, Sea-gull has published some watches to celebrate this special event, among all models, I like this one with green dial, this model 3415 also has the azure dial color that also looks great.

I like this watch for two things, first, its manual winding movement. I am a big fan of this movement, whenever a watch with it pops up online, I always click to take a closer look, and now Sea-gull rarely makes the watches with manual winding movement, most of the watches they produce are with automatic movement. This Sea-gull watch has a ST2680 movement, I did not find too much information about this movement on the internet, it is claimed to have 18 jewels and beats 21,600 times per hour, it does not have a regulator, there are weights on the balance wheel. Through the crystal back, we can see a big plate that features golden engravings of Sea-gull logo, a movement with simple designs and decoration, the base plate has fish-scale finish, and the plates on top have Geneva Stripes.

The second thing I like on this watch is its dial, which has an aqua color and unique snow patterns. The sword-shaped hour hand and minute hand are polished very well and have a tri-dimensional look, on the end of the central second hand, there is a Sea-gull logo. Do you like the blue or green below? The green one also looks very good on the matching green nylon band. By the way, the watch has a diameter of 41mm and is measured to be 9.9mm thick. The green one with hand-winding movement also has a vintage feel.

Sea-gull with Nylon Band
Sea-gull Green Watch
Sea-gull 3415 Wrist Shot
ST2680
Sea-gull 3415 Blue
Categories
Specht & Sohne

Specht & Sohne Tag Heuer Monaco Homage Review

I have been looking for a good homage watch of Tag Heuer Monaco in the market for some time, but it is hard to find because none of these micro brands I reviewed have made this square watch. Several days ago, when I did searches of watches on Taobao, I found Specht & Sohne, I did some background research on this brand, it is a watch company whose registered address is in Shenzhen, but the watches are shipped from Guangzhou. Almost all their watches are powered by quartz, most are Patek Philippe homage watches.

Tag Heuer Monaco is my dream watch and I think it is the most classic square watch in the world. If there is a super clone of this Tag Heuer watch, I will buy one, but in replica watch industry, no factories are making a super clone of this watch. Before Specht & Sohne, I found another Chinese brand is making a homage watch of this Tag Heuer, it is Prototype, but they make that watch at a very high price, I can not afford. This Specht & Sohne with a quartz movement is perfect to cure my obsession.

When I received the watch, the first impression is it is heavy. Its big case is made with solid stainless steel. The case is thick, with a quartz movement, I do not know why its case is so thick, which is about 15mm. From left to right, if the crown included, the case is 43.3mm. From top to bottom, it is 39.6mm. The case is brushed, with polishing finish on the edge, the two chronograph pushers have the same finish. One big reason to explain the heavy weight of the watch is that the stainless steel case back is very thick.

The dial looks great, its quality is beyond my expectation, the watch is less than $70, and I can see a great sunburst finish on the dial. The color usage on the dial is also like that of the Tag Heuer Monaco. There are two vertical stripes in blue and orange on the right half of the dial. The orange color on the dial is exactly in line with the color of the stitching on the blue leather band. The two small dials have real functions, the one at 9 o’clock is 60-minute chrono counter, the other at 3 o’clock is for 24-hour display. Both central hour hand and minute hand have sharp edges.

My conclusion:

Few choices of Tag Heuer Monaco homage models, around $60 or $70, this Specht & Sohne should be the best one. To compare with Pagani Design watches, and I do admit that Pagani Design watches have better case finish. But they did not make this watch.

Specht Sohne Tag Heuer
Specht Sohne Tag Heuer Monaco
Specht Sohne Tag Heuer Homage
Specht Sohne Case
Specht Sohne Case Back
Specht Sohne Chrono Button
Specht Sohne Crystal
Specht Sohne Diameter
Specht Sohne Height
Specht Sohne Thickness
Categories
Prototype

Prototype Zeta Starmaker Watch Review

I did not know there was such a brand watch before, but many years ago I have learned this word from Panerai because they made outstanding prototype watches in its history. Yesterday, when I did searches about if there are any good homage watches of Tag Heuer Monaco made in China, I found this brand Prototype, on their website, they claimed this is a brand whose headquarters is in Germany, I feel this is a fake claim, just like some brands in China created a false story about their Swiss watch background. Does anyone know the background of Prototype? I found it is just a brand registered by somebody in Guangzhou of China, the watches are also shipped out from Guangzhou.

The watches from Prototype look more high-end than the other homage watches, the quality is at the same level as Farasute, even better than the latter. Most watches from them refer to the design of Rolex, Patek Philippe and Omega, take this watch as an example, its design is similar to that of Omega Speedmaster. I guess Prototype is just a watch brand operated by somebody in a private customization workshop.

The biggest selling point on this watch is its movement, which is a SL4510. This movement was developed by Liaoning Watch Factory, now it is called Peacock, this should be the best chrono movement made in China. Most of you guys may know this movement because it has been popular all over the world because this movement is being widely used in high-end fakes, it has another name, which is Dandong 4130, so you know what I am talking about. Both Farasute and Prototype customize high-end watches, but the movement of Farasute is not as good as the SL4510 used by Prototype. This SL4510 has a power reserve of nearly 60 hours and is extremely stable. However, the movement does not have decoration on the plate and auto rotor, it does not look beautiful, if you care, tell them to use a solid case back when they make the watch for you.

The finish of the watch is super, especially its case and bracelet that have been well polished on the edge, it feels very comfortable to wear, with a working chrono feature, but the watch is not thick, which is only around 12.3mm. By the way, one extra pair of rubber band with buckle will be shipped with the watch.

Prototype Watch
Prototype Chrono Watch
Prototype Speedmaster Homage
Prototype Starmaker
Prototype Wrist Shot
Categories
Sugess

Sugess S451 Jump Hour Review

Having written reviews about Chinese watches for some time, I have also done their reserches at the same time, now I have a basic analysis about these brands, they can be divided into four groups, one, traditional watch makers that can also develop movements independently, including Sea-gull, Shanghai, Beijing and Peacock. Second, Tianwang, Fiyta, Rossini, Rarone, Lobinni, these brands are usually more liked by young people, and are listed on top ten watches made in China. Third, micro brands, including San Martin, Steeldive, Sugess, Farasute, Baltany, Pagani Design, Octopus, etc., too many, some are high quality, some just position their watches in low-end market, some have walked out the homage field and published watches with their own designs such as San Martin, so in this group, you may see various brands with different quality, if you want to buy a quality one, please follow my guide. The fourth group has very special watches that have integrated traditional Chinese culture into watch designs, currently I found two brands, they are Vager Hauers and Huasuo, such brands will have a bright future.

Today, I will bring you another Sugess watch, I have reviewed several timepieces from them on my blog, I like their quality, among so many homage watches made in China, Sugess should have a quality that can rank top three. And most people think their Submariner hulk homage is the best one. In the past, I did a review on a Day-Date Rolex homage watch made by Sugess, and my opinion about Sugess is that their quality is worth the price.

Is this watch shown below the cheapest one from Sugess, I found it is being sold at less than $90, with a Sea-gull automatic movement, considering the finish that is better than most watches at this price level, it is a very good watch for people who like this type of watch with only one central hand, the watch also has a little vintage flavor. There are three dial colors for this watch, blue, grey and salmon, every color will work perfectly. Besides its design, I am also attracted by its dial finish, especially the finish on the center of the dial, it is a turbine-pattern finishing, which stands in high contrast with the circled brushing around with minute numbers on. Both small seconds hand and central minute hand are made of steel in blue color. Where is the hour hand? It is displayed in the window set under “SUGESS”, it is a Jump Hour design.

The movement inside is a ST1721 from Sea-gull watch company, it beats 21,600 times per hour, the power reserve is about 40 hours, a very basic movement, the accuracy is acceptable. Well, there is a disadvantage on the watch, the case lacks proper chamfering, edges feel sharp and uncomfortable.

Sugess S451
Sugess Jump Hour
Sugess Jump Hour Wrist Shot
Categories
Peacock

Hong Qi Vintage Watch

I do not have too much knowledge about these vintage watches made in China, in old times, every watch, whether made by Shanghai, Beijing or Liaoning, there is a specific story behind, some are military-related. Today, I will show you a vintage watch made by Peacock, actually it was called Liaoning Watch Factory at that time, the watch is Hong Qi, which has been discontinued in production for many years, but I found it is being sold on taobao, I do not know if this is a real Hong Qi watch or just re-produced by somebody, if it is a real Hong Qi watch produced at that time, the watch absolutely has a certain collectible value.

When I firstly see the watch, I was attracted by the unique design of its second hand. It is an airplane second hand, there is a story about the second behind the watch. In 1970, the successful launch of the Dongfanghong-1 satellite made China the fifth country in the world capable of independently developing and launching satellites, in the same year, Liaoning Watch Factory published a Hong Qi special edition watch to commemorate this event, the watch has a large-diameter curved seconds hand with an airplane tip that looks distinctive. The design inspiration for the seconds hand comes from the shape of spacecraft, it symbolizes humanity’s exploration and pursuit of the vast universe.

This watch has a cushion-shaped case that is 40mm in diameter, the case is polished, it does not look old, just like a new watch, but the wine red dial will give you a vintage feel, hour markers and hands look old, a better match for this burgundy dial. I can even see the sharp edge on the markers and hands, there is also burr if you check carefully, so I guess the manufacturer just used the old dial that left from that time, and then reproduced a new case for it. The case looks a little weird if being compared with this dial. I do not know what type of movement inside, it is said to be a manual winding movement made in China, on the dial, it saying SZLIA 21600, but I could not find any information about it online.

Hong Qi Red Watch
Hong Qi Watch
Hong Qi Airplane
Hong Qi Dial
Hong Qi Vintage
Hong Qi Bracelet
Categories
Peacock

Peacock PCG0201 1950 Chrono Watch Review

In my post that introduced the first Peacock watch, I did gave a short introduction of Peacock, which is a very famous watch brand in China, its predecessor is Liaoning Watch Factory that was established in 1957 in Dandong City, Peacock is one of the China’s earliest important watch manufacturers that could research and develop movements by themselves, the other threes are Shanghai, Sea-gull and Beijing. In all Chinese watches, Peacock watches are much more expensive because Peacock only makes high-end mechanical watches, you may know little about Peacock watches, but I guess a lot of watch fans have worn the watches with the movements made by Peacock, you know what I am saying.

This Peacock watch looks similar to one Sea-gull watch I introduced before, it is D304 Pilot watch, both watches’ design has paid a tribute to the Chinese military watches made in the 50s. This Peacock watch comes from the Perfection Classic 1950 series, the official chose the number 1950 because it is a highly significant year in China’s military history, in 1950, The Chinese People’s Volunteers crossed the Yalu River to participate in the “War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea”, so this Peacock watch paid a tribute to this military activity.

There are two models, one has a white dial, the other has a salmon color dial, both watches are powered by Peacock PAX8610 movement, which is a hand-winding mechanical movement.

The watch comes with a green box, which is the most high-end watch box I have ever seen in all China watches. Its watch case is made with 316L stainless steel, it is measured to be only in 38.5mm in diameter, not big, but the thin polished bezel just accentuates the big dial, which is covered by a sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating.

On the white dial, the Arabic hour markers are engraved, there is a certain depth you can see, very impressive, it is said that each number is hand-engraved by a watch master. All hands are stainless steel and are maintained in the same blue color. There are two sunken small dials, one is at 3 o’clock acting as a 30-minute chronograph counter, the other is at 9 o’clock, which displays the smooth moving of a small second hand. The dial contains two parts, the outermost tachymeter and center white dial.

Through the crystal back, we can see the hand-winding movement, which epitomizes horological artistry in its purest mechanical form. A man should have at least one watch with such a movement in his collection. The movement beats 21,600 times per hous and has a power reserve of 38 hours.

Peacock watch and box
Peacock Perfection Classic 1950
Peacock 1950 Wrist Shot
Peacock 1950 Movement
Peacock Salmon Dial
Categories
Giveaway

June free watch giveaway

Rules, still very simple:

1.Please comment at my article https://www.bobswatchstore.com/2024/05/11/farasute-watch-review/ and share this post on two watch forums including Reddit.

2.Tell three of your friends about this giveaway and comment at the article mentioned above.

Prize:

One winner will be chosen, he will get a vintage Kongque watch, please check pictures below.

Time:

This giveaway will end on June 15th.

Kongque Watch
Categories
Sea-gull

Sea-gull Dragon Diver’s Watch

In China, the dragon is regardes as a mystical and sacred creature, there are many legendary tales surrounding it. And we can see a lot of products like clothes being printed with dragon, some companies are using dragon-related stories to promote their products and usually receive a positive response. Today, I will introduce a dragon-related watch coming from the biggest watch company in China, which is Sea-gull. It is a good-looking watch, the entire design is good, I think it meets most people’s aesthetic preferences, but it won’t be sold well in Chinese market, there are two reasons, first, it is too big for most Chinese persons’ wrist, second, there are no other dragon elements on the watch except the dragon engraving on the case back.

This is a very good-looking diver’s watch, I love it more than the other Sea-gull watches I have. It has a big case, simple dial design and multiple band choices, all these can make it a very classic diver’s watch. There are two color options, black/red and black/blue.

The case is made with 316L stainless steel, the black coating is evenly applied on the case, the black bezel insert is metal made with big white markers, there is also an eye-catching diving scales in red from 0 to 15 minutes. Different from other Sea-gull Ocean Star watches, this one has a cushion-shaped case that features a dragon carving on the back.

On the dial, the markers, hour hand and minute hand are wide and are applied with enough luminous material that could last very long.

Anyway, I want make a conclusion on this watch, the following are about its advantages.

Big-size case with simple dial design, which is also highly readable.
Uniform color usage, classic black and red, the red stitching and red circle perfectly match the red color on the bezel.
ST2130 movement, which is the mostly widely used movement among all Sea-gull movements, its accuracy and stability have been tested for many years.

Sea-gull Dragon Diver's Watch
Sea-gull Black Red
Sea-gull Dragon Watch
Dragon on the case back
Sea-gull Dragon Wrist Shot