Author: Bob

Black Submariner Homage Review: Cronos L6015 vs San Martin SN0017 vs Steeldive SD1953

Post author By Bob
Post date August 20, 2023
No Comments on Black Submariner Homage Review: Cronos L6015 vs San Martin SN0017 vs Steeldive SD1953

Currently I only talks about Chinese watches on my blog, the three watches discussed in this article, including Cronos, San Martin and Steeldive, are exactly made in China. In one of my posts, I said I will create some big projects, now here it is one. This is a big project, it is a comparison review on three watches, Cronos L6015, San Martin SN0017 and Steeldive SD1953. Why do I select these three watches to make a comparison review? Because these three models have some popularity on the forums and reddit, they are quality homage watches of black Submariner, today, let’s me make a detailed review about each of them, you can also learn some advice from this article first if need to buy any one of them in future. Let’s start.

Box and Accessories:

The three pictures above show Crono L6015 and its accessories. They are in a cloth box with brand name and logo printed. Inside the box, the Crono watch is wrapped with plastic bubble bag, fixed with the help of an elastic band, above and under the watch, it is under the protection of soft pads. The accessories coming with the watch are two screwdrivers and one card.

Next, let’s see the package of San Martin SN0017. Inside the package, there is a watch inside a green leather box, two screwdrivers, one tag, one warranty card and one user manual. On the warranty card, it is hand written with the purchasing date and the number of watch model.

Third, let’s see the package and accessories of Steeldive SD1953. Once you open the package, you will find the watch and all accessories are inside a black platic box. The watch with a plasitc bubble bag and protected by two soft pads contained in the box. There is a warranty card and one instructions book inside.

After checking the box and accessories of the three watches, each has their own features. Each box gives enough protection for the watch, which type of box do you like? If you want me to choose, I like the green leather box of San Martin. By the way, the Cronos does not offer a user manual for the watch.

Case:

Let’s check the case and finish of them. First, it is Cronos.

First, the Cronos L6015 is made with 316L stainless steel, I measured its case, it is about 40.3mm in diameter, and the case thickness is 13.5mm, the watch has a weight of about 157.5 grams. Actually there is no big difference with the case specification which Cronos has claimed on their official website. Besides, the case size is also very close to that of Rolex Submariner.

Next, it comes with some pictures of San Martin SN0017.

SN0017 is also made with 316L stainless steel, the case is measured to be 40.5mm in diameter and 13mm in thickness. The watch weighs about 156.7 grams.

At last, let us see some pictures of Steeldive SD1953.

The Steeldive SD1953 is made with 316L stainless steel, the case is measured to be 41.1mm in diameter and 14mm in thickness. The watch has a weight of 183 grams. SD1953 is an exception, because it is a watch with 41mm diameter, I already knew this before buying this watch, however, Steeldive does not produce a Submariner homage watch in 40mm. So, you see the Steeldive is more than 20 grams heavier than the other two watches.

Let’s make a summary of the case of these three watches. They use the same grade of stainless steel, the case thickness of the actual watch should be thinner because I did not remove the plastic wrapped around the watch when I doing the measurement. About the finish, three watches all have very good finish on the case, lugs and crown guards. The first link on the bracelet that connects with the case, I think it is correctly made on the Cronos L6015 if you take Submariner 116610LN as a reference, because the first link is slightly ached in the middle and looks a bit higher above the level. Perhaps you can not spot this point from the pictures above, I can find this difference when holding them in hands.

Bezel:

Three watches have ceramic bezel. Compare the bezel and you can see big differences. First, about the markers. The Cronos L6015 has the deepest markers’ engraving on the bezel, you can see obvious deepth. The San Martin SN0017 also has a certain engraved depth on these markers, but not obvious. However on the Steeldive SD1953, it seems like there is no depth, the bezel markers looks like being printed. About the thickness, on Cronos L6015, the numbers 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 are too thin. The numbers on San Martin SN0017 have the correct thickness. About the bezel pear, it is domed on the Cronos L6015, while it has a flat roof on the San Martin SN0017, that depends on which type of bezel pearl you like. However, there is only a big triangle marker without bezel pearl on the Steeldive watch.

Lume:

The first picture shows the dial lume of the Cronos L6015, the second is the dial lume of the San Martin, the third is the lume of the Steeldive. They all blue and look strong, while the Steeldive SD1953 has lume light emitting from the bezel markers.

Bracelet:

Cronos L6015 Clasp — Cronos bracelet and clasp

San Martin SN0017 Clasp — San Martin bracelet and clasp

Check the pictures of bracelet and clasp, only the Cronos L6015 does not have a brand logo on the buckle, by the way, the Cronos has a correct clasp system like Submariner 116610LN with diver’s extension.

Movement:

The three watches are equipped with Japan NH35 automatic movement, it has two big features, which are cheap and durable. NH35 has 24 jewels, 21,600 BPH and 40-hour power reserve, the daily inaccuracy of the movement ranges from -20 seconds to +40 seconds. San Martin sent the watch out at 19:00PM yesterday, the watch still worked when I received it today in the morning and it kept an accurate time, and when I checked the San Martin at 18:00PM, the watch still works great, I did not compare it with standard time, but I think it only runs several seconds slower or faster.

By the way, about the Cronos L6015, the company also offers SW200 and PT5000 movement options, if with SW200, the price is much higher.

Conclusion:

Three watches have good quality and are good homage watches of the black Submariner. Among them, the Cronos L6015 has the designs that are closest to Submariner 116610LN, if you like it, please buy on their official website. Well, the other two have their own designs which you may like more, so I can not tell you which watch is better, you like the Cronos, maybe the other people like the San Martin, that depends on everyone’s taste. Each of them has a Japanese NH35 automatic movement, so I can tell you they are reliable and durable watches.

In price, both Cronos L6015 and San Martin SN0017 have a very similar price, which is around $200, the Steeldive SD1953 is much cheaper, which is less than $90. If you do not have enough budget and just consider to buy your first Chinese watch, the Steeldive SD1953 will be a good start. If you are looking for a top quality homage with high-end logo design on the dial and buckle, then I recommend the San Martin, be sure to buy the latest V3 edition on their website.

Videos of the three watches:

Tags Ceramic, Cronos, L6015, San Martin, SD1953, SN0017, STEELDIVE, Submariner

Mysterious Code

Mysterious Code Submariner Guan Yu Watch

Post author By Bob
Post date August 18, 2023
No Comments on Mysterious Code Submariner Guan Yu Watch

Perhaps you do not remember this brand now, Mysterious Code was a popular watch when homage watches just entered into the market, that’s the period of Parnis. Now few people talk about this watch, but I still think some of you guys will be interested in this brand because their watches are really cheap, besides, when browsing the website of Mysterious Code, you will find some watches that have unique designs, which are very interesting, just like this watch I am showing here, it has an unique face.

The watch is very interesting, seeing from its case shape, it does not look like Rolex Submariner, but on its face, it is printed ‘SUBMARINER’. That is strange, now this word ‘SUBMARINER’ is being misused among those homage watches made in China. What this watch really impresses me is its low price and the character image on the dial. Do you know him? His name is Guan Yu, which is 关羽 in Chinese, the weapon he uses is Guandao, Guan Yu is a very famous person in Chinese history, he represents loyalty and righteousness. I did not imagine that he will appear on the face of a watch. This will be a very special watch for people who like him.

The watch looks very big, it is 40mm in case diameter and 13mm in thickness, this is also a correct size for a Submariner watch, but the bezel is totally different, this Mysterious Code watch has a stronger bezel, the case and bezel are more roughly finished. What another thing makes me excited on this watch is the strong blue lume on the bezel. Actually I like this bezel design. There is a dragon relief on the solid case back.

This is really a nice watch if you can accept its dial, the watch also has a high configuration including Titanium case and Seiko NH35 automatic movement, many other Chinese homages with the same configuration are being sold much higher prices.

Tags Guan Yu, Mysterious Code, NH35, Submariner

Berny

Berny 200m Yellow Diver’s Watch

Post author By Bob
Post date August 17, 2023
No Comments on Berny 200m Yellow Diver’s Watch

Have you ever known this brand? Berny, there are a lot of other brands in China making the similar watches, affordable price, acceptable quality and sports outlook. I made some searches about this brand on the internet, and found Berny is registered by a company in Shenzhen of China, the company name is Shenzhen Berny Industrial Co., Ltd, which was founded in 1995, but this watch brand was created in 2013. Well, I checked the website of Berny, and have found they make a lot of watches in different styles, not only the homages. About this Berny watch, it is claimed to be 200m water resistant on their website, I do not know if it can resist that deep pressure under water, and why they did not print “200m” on the dial.

This Berny watch has classic features of a diver’s watch, big case, highly-readable dial design and rubber band. Berny offers black, white, blue, green and yellow dial color options for this watch, I like the one with yellow dial, it has a brighter color and will easily catch the others’ attention in the crowd when playing on the beach. Checking the appearance, it just looks like a professional diver’s watch, and the watch company indeed claims that this watch is 200m water resistant on their website. The watch has a big case that is 42mm in diameter and 14mm in thickness, a bit thick, but I usually would like such a thick case for a diver’s watch. The two crowns on the case are big, the purpose to make them big may be for easy operation when the diver needs to wear gloves under water.

Everything on the yellow dial looks reasonable. Hour markers, hour hand and minute hand have a wide design so that they can be applied with enough lume material, when under water or in any other dark conditions, the dial can emit considerable lume light from the dial. The central second hand is in red, which enhances the dial readability of the watch. There is a white triangle mark on the slopy inner bezel, you can rotate the inner bezel by adjusting the crown at 2 o’clock, the white triangle mark will also move when you rotating the crown to help you fix the diving time. The big crown at 4 o’clock is used to adjust time, day and date.

The watch comes with a see-through crystal back, well, I do not know what movement inside, the watch company said the movement is from Japan. This black rubber band looks well on the watch, and it is more suitable to be worn outside your diving suit.

Buying advice:

The black rubber band looks better on the Berny watch than the stainless steel bracelet, and it seems to be more in line with the diving style. This is one of the best-selling diver’s watches from Berny, also the first watch I suggest you buy if you want a watch from Berny. It has a simple dial design but highly recognizable, the Japanese Miyota movement guarantees durability and high stability. Besides the yellow dial, there are choices of black dial and white dial.

Tags Berny

Octopus

Octopus Vintage Pilot’s Watch

Post author By Bob
Post date August 16, 2023
No Comments on Octopus Vintage Pilot’s Watch

I have introduced three Octopus watches on my blog, actually I do not like this brand just because it has this name, while the Tudor Pelagos homage watch made by them is the most favorite one for many people. There are only several pieces on the website of Octopus, but they are all quality timepieces, especially the Tudor homages they make, why they do not make more watches like San Martin and Steeldive? What is the real reputation of Octopus among watch fans? Actually I heard few people talking about this watch in the forums and reddit, most people are talking San Martin and Steeldive, a lot of them show hands-on pictures, I am not sure if these are real orders, but San Martin and Steeldive are indeed more popular than other Chinese homage watches.

Today, I want to show you a pilot-style Octopus watch, actually I do not like this watch very much, there are a lot of other pilot watches in the market that look cool, but some people may like this style, its bezel and band have somewhat vintage flavor, but the blue dial looks a little bright and does not blend well with the vintage bezel and strap.

The case is big and is completely brushed with fat lugs, the bezel is unique, it is the so-called coin bezel, the big crown has flutes that is in line with the style of coin bezel, the big crown is screwed down and also very easy to rotate to adjust time. If including the bubble sapphire crystal, the entire watch is about 12.5mm in thickness.

The dial is highly readability, not only because the sapphire crystal features an anti-reflective coating, but the dial has a high-contrast color combination, which is blue and white. The central hour hand and minute hand are classic style of the hand on vintage pilot’s watches, the track-style minute scales is also an obvious feature of some pilot’s watches. By the way, Octopus also offers a grey dial option for this watch, but it was sold out when I selected.

The watch is equipped with a vintage style brown leather band, now few watches use adopt this type of leahter band except some vintage models. Because made of genuine Italian leather material, the band feels very comfortable and soft. The inside machine is a NH35 automatic movement, which has been micro adjusted by the watch company to ensure a higher accuracy.

Tags NH35, Octopus

Cronos

Cronos L6019 Explorer 1 124270 Homage Watch Review

Post author By Bob
Post date August 15, 2023
No Comments on Cronos L6019 Explorer 1 124270 Homage Watch Review

Cronos, it is the first time for me to introduce this watch here, I heard this brand on some watch forms, a lot of people like the Submariner homage watch and GMT-Master Pepsi homage watch made by Cronos, they think the Submariner 116610LN homage watch made by Cronos is one of the best Submariner homage watches in this field, well, I do not know too much about Cronos, I will get more watches from Cronos to give a complete review of them, absolutely I checked some information of this brand and found it is a niche brand registered in Dongguan city, Guangdong, China, like many other homage watches from China, most of them are made in Dongguan, and their quality is very acceptable. After reviewing so many Chinese watches, I found good quality homage watches are mostly coming from Dongguan, so I suppose almost all watch parts factories are in Dongguan.

This Cronos watch is a high quality homage watch of a Rolex watch, do you know which Rolex it is? I know it copies the design of the latest Rolex Explorer 1 124270, which has a 36mm case diameter. Was this Rolex watch published in 2022? I do not remember now. This Cronos watch looks exactly the same as the Explorer 124270, except the different brand logo and dial printings. I have not seen the similar watch from other Chinese homage watches. This Cronos watch is made with solid 316L stainless steel, it is completely brushed, the matt finish on the case feels very delicate, while the round smooth bezel is polished, there is a special Cronos logo on the crown, it is the most unique and connotive brand logo which I have seen on all homage watches in China.

The black dial is a very iconic Explorer’s dial that features 3-6-9 numeral hour markers, the central hands and all hour markers are applied with Swiss lume material that will emit a strong blue lume light in the darkness. The central second hand has a small round dot on, which is also an obvious feature on Rolex Explorer. It is said to be 100m water resistant on the dial, but I think this watch can only dive to 30m depth under water.

The watch has a solid case back, I think the watch will be more popular if a crystal back used on it, this watch has a very low price, if the watch company adopts a see-through crystal back on this watch, then it will be more competitive among those similar homage watches. Inside the case, the movement is NH35A automatic that is imported from Japan, well, many watches reviewed on my blog use this movement, it is widely used because of its low cost and high reliability. This Cronos watch is 36mm, which is also very suitable for women, and fortunately Cronos also offers a tiffany blue dial version for women.

Tags 124270, Cronos, Explorer

Borman

Borman Sun-Moon Dual Time Watch

Post author By Bob
Post date August 14, 2023
No Comments on Borman Sun-Moon Dual Time Watch

Among these Chinese watches reviewed on my blog, actually I like Borman more than Sea-gull, however, this brand only makes models in one style, which is Glashutte style. The watch company that registers this brand claims it is made in Germany, but is is certainly a Chinese brand. I have introduced several Borman watches, they look like complications, each of them has an unique or multiple functions, most importantly, their appearance is really elegant, which has learned the design essence of German or Swiss watches. Today, I will show you another Borman watch you may be interested in, it looks like and has a dial design which I think most watch fans can not resist its charm, even though it has a false moon phase.

The watch is big, which has a case diameter up to 42mm and is measured to be 11mm in thickness, the case has arched lugs that will fit your hand in a more comfortable way, the lugs seem to be integrated with the case seamlessly, a little round shape that is in line with the smooth round bezel, but they are brushed rather than polishing on the bezel. Through the see-through crystal back, you can see an automatic movement inside that has golden rotor and movement plates, no brand logo on the auto rotor, not sure where this movement comes from, but the accuracy is acceptable.

The dial has special patterns, one indicator at 12 o’clock and one opening at 6 o’clock, they are symmetrical, while the two rosy jewels have broken this symmetrical beauty on the dial. The printing ‘DUAL TIME’ means the indicator at 12 o’clock offers a time display in 24-hour format, this indicator also offers Sun and Moon imaging, not moon phase. Sword-shaped hour hand and minute hand on the center, you can see a blue small second hand above the opening at 6 o’clock, it moves along with the working balance wheel. The dial completely presents the design concept of Borman.

The watch is equipped with a black leather band that comes with a deployant clasp, the band is made with genuine calfskin leather, which is soft and durable. By the way, do not wear it when swimming, even the watch has a good water resistance due to its screwed down crown and back.

Tags Borman, Dual Time

Sea-gull

Sea-gull 819.316 Day Date Review

Post author By Bob
Post date August 11, 2023
No Comments on Sea-gull 819.316 Day Date Review

Very tired recently, one of my family members got cancer, bad news, feel so sad, what is the real meaning of living in this world? Hope you guys always keep healthy. However, I need to work, otherwise there is no money to pay hospital cost. I like writing blogs about watches, in next months, I will write more articles and do some experiments on them, so that you will not consider too much things when need to buy a China made watch. Today, I will introduce another Sea-gull watch, Sea-gull is my most favorite Chinese watch brand, this watch is the type a lot of people will consider to buy especially it has an opening window on the dial, this is very popular in the past. Now there are still a large part of people like this dial layout.

The watch copies the design of Breguet? I do not know, while I like this style very much. The watch is 42mm in diameter and 13mm in thickness, the size and thickness are acceptable for most watch fans. The case frame is big enough and it has a thin round bezel, so the dial won’t look so crowd even so many functions displayed on the dial. The big onion-shaped crown is very convenient for you to operate.

The white dial looks very classic, one big window opened at 6 o’clock with two ends fixed on the dial to enhance the stability. Two fan-shaped indicators show date and week, all hands are in classic blue, the lancet-style hour hand and minute hand will catch the attention of many people I think. The date and week can be adjusted through the buttons on the case. Check the dial carefully, you will see delicate patterns on different parts of the dial.

The watch is powered by a ST2505 automatic movement by Sea-gull, another reason why I like this watch is it has a crystal back, you can see beautiful fish-scale patterns on the auto rotor and movement plate, and there is a golden Sea-gull logo on the rotor. Many homage watches use Sea-gull movements, Parnis likes to use very much. This is an old model published by Sea-gull in 2014, now you could not find it on official website of Sea-gull.

Tags Sea-gull, ST2505

San Martin

San Martin SN0125 Review

What does this watch look like? This watch seems to be a homage of a Panerai, is it really a homage watch of a certain Panerai model? I know a lot of Panerai watches but have not seen a model that looks like this one. San Martin rarely made Panerai homages, most of them are usually Rolex homage watches, while I like the style on this watch, it looks more fashionable and luxury than those PAMs made in the past.

The watch uses three different materials, titanium, bronze and rubber, now more watches are likely to adopt several types of materials, this has been a trend for years. This San Martin has a 42mm case, which has the same size as the Submersible Panerai has published in recent two years, by the way, the case is only about 13mm in thickness, for a diver’s watch, this is a very proper case size suitable for men who can not hold very large watches. The titanium case has a special finish that is sand treated, which looks greatly different from the bronze bezel. The brushed bezel finish forms a high contrast with the sand-finished case, which gives the wearer a strong visual impression.

The gradient dial also has a sanded face that features tridimensional hour markers that is filled with cyan Swiss luminous material. The lume light on the hour markers and hands is strong green, the sword-shaped hour hand and minute hand also have lume on the center, the central second hand is its own feature of this San Martin watch, actually I think they can use a sundial to display the seconds.

The movement is powered by a NH35 automatic movement, which is the mostly widely used movement among these homage watches made in China. The black rubber band is made with natural soft rubber material, the buckle is not titanium but stainless steel, it is also sanded finish. By the way, besides the rubber band, a nylon strap will also fit this watch well.

Tags Bronze, NH35, Rubber, San Martin, Titanium

Cronusart

Cronusart CM06 Crystal Watch

Post author By Bob
Post date August 9, 2023
No Comments on Cronusart CM06 Crystal Watch

Cronusart, do you know this brand, perhaps this is the first time for you guys to hear it like me, I just did a simple search and found it was registered by a company in Shenzhen, China. Well, judging by its design, it is a watch that is well in line with the regional characteristics. I saw few companies in Shenzhen making traditional mechanical watches, most of them are led watches and smart watches, and for this Cronusart watch, I do not like it very much, it looks like a toy, I think few people more than 30 years old will buy it, this watch is more suitable for young people.

I have seen several Chinese brands making watches that have similar appearance to Richard Mille, Geya is the most famous one here, while this Cronusart has a similar case shape, but the dial designs are new to watch fans, which is the main attractive element on the watch. The dial is skeleton, the supports and frames on the dial form an unique pattern that looks like bow and arrow, the central second hand has a small arrow-shaped tip in yellow color. Through the skeleton dial and crystal back, you can see the working machine inside. The dial is indeed an unique place that attracts me to buy this watch, does it copy the design of a certain Richard Mille watch? I have no idea.

The case has a size of 42mm*50mm, it is about 13.4mm in thickness, the case is made with crystal and completely transparent, the frames on the top and bottom are crystal, the case between the two crystal layers is stainless steel, including the stainless steel crown that has a white rubber cap. The white rubber straps are also transparent that is exactly in line with the crystal case. The movement inside is automatic and has a blacken auto rotor with “CRONUS ART” engraving. The watch is not cheap, it is almost 600 USD, which you can spend on a super clone Swiss watch. By the way, besides this white color, there are other options of blue, green, red, orange, the dial patterns also have several choices.

Tags CM06, Cronusart

Merkur

Merkur World Time Watch Review

Post author By Bob
Post date August 8, 2023
No Comments on Merkur World Time Watch Review

I am a loyal fan of Merkur, this watch company always adhere to their own principles and offers us good timepieces that look different from other homage watches, you must have seen a lot of homage watches made in China, but most of them just simply copied the designs of Swiss watches, while Merkur has their own designs on most watches, perhaps they are also homages of some watches which I am not familiar with, the development of Chinese watch industry is still very slow, now a lot of homage brands have caused a false prosperity, this is a wrong road they are on, we need to see what important achievements these big three can make, they are the leaders.

In the past, I have reviewed some Merkur watches, I like them, one or two of them are even my favorites, today, I was just attracted by another watch designed by Merkur team, please check the pictures, this colorful timepiece has an unique feature, which is a world time, you can see different time in different cities on the dial.

There are a lot of watches with GMT function here, but few have this design that shows time of different cities on one dial, yes, the biggest selling point of this watch lies in its dial, which has a great look, on the center of the dial, it is the Earth but only shows the Africa continent in front of your eyes, the time in different cities can be adjusted through the button at 10 o’clock on the case. So, you can obtain the time in different cities, this is a very practical timepiece a business man who often travels around the world. By the way, the color combination on the dial is amazing, it makes the Earth on the center look very vivid.

The watch has a hand-winding mechanical movement inside, I do not know where this movement comes from, in most cases it is made by a movement factory in China, it beats 21,600 times per hour and has a 42-hour power reserve. The black leather band looks great on the watch. By the way, for its hand-wound movement, I only suggest you give the watch a 20 rotations when winding.

Tags Merkur

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives

Categories