Month: June 2025

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