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Caluola

Hands-on Review of Caluola Date Black Watch

Caluola Black Watch with Leather Band
Caluola Black in Box

Caluola, a Chinese brand whose watches are for low-end market, their marketing strategy is very successful, I have seen their most watches, very common, no watches have very impressive designs that will surprise you immediately once at a glance, not like Sea-gull or Fiyta or other Chinese brands, Caluola do not make diver’s watches and pilot’s watches, so their product line is very simple, men’s watches and women’s watches, mechanical watches and quartz watches. I found one common feature among these Caluola watches, that’s the low cost, which just in line with the finish and function of each watch.

Caluola Black Watch

I bought this Caluola watch one week ago and just received it today, the shipping is ok, not too long, the watch comes in a green Caluola brand box, with one pair of extra black leather straps inside. The watch looks nice and when I opened the box, I even had a feeling that the watch has a good finish as my Sea-gull or Fiyta. Its all black look is certainly the most important reason why I chose the watch at that time, full stainless steel made, and the black outlook makes this dress watch look more masculine.

Caluola Date Black

The all black is absolutely not ceramic made, it is black pvd coating on the stainless steel, the watch has a big size, which is 42mm in diameter and is measured to be 13mm in thickness. Both case and bracelet are solid 316L stainless steel made, the entire watch has a heavy weight that is up to 166 grams. I do not want to change the black leather band on, the black stainless steel bracelet is a better fit for this watch. The case back is stainless steel, it looks silver instead of black, that is weird, that’s the only thing I am not satisfied with on this cheap automatic watch. The crystal on the center of the back shows the engine inside, which has black “Caluola” engravin on the decorated auto rotor.

Caluola See-through Back
Caluola Black Clasp

Black dial has a layered structure, the beveled inner bezel with white numeral minute markers enhances the tridimensional visual effect of the entire dial. There is an Arabic number besides each bar-shaped hour marker, which is applied with white lume material, there are three small dials and two windows, but the dial does not look crowded. The small dial at 9 o’clock is useless, it does not have a function but its small hand can be moved by pressing the button on the case at 4 o’clock. Other two small dials, the top one at 12 o’clock is for month display, which can be controlled with the button at 2 o’clock, the button at 6 o’clock is for hour display in 24-hour format. I am surprised that the date and week shown at 3 o’clock can be adjusted through the crown.

I am very happy with the styling of the watch, at the price point, its finish and functions has also exceeded my expectations.

Caluola Watch Wrist Shot
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Caluola

Caluola “Tourbillon Moon Phase” Rose Gold Watch Review

Caluola Rose Gold Watch

I knew Caluola several years ago, at that time, I worked in a watch company, they sold a lot of Chinese brand watches as well as replica watches, Caluola is one of the brands they were dealing with. I do not know the background of Caluola, but it is mostly likely from Guangzhou, there are a lot of micro brands like Caluola made in Guangzhou, perhaps the development of fake watch industry also gave birth to these types of Chinese brands. Caluola is not a homage and also does not make any models with sports styles, most of their watches are dress watches that looks elegant, some ladies watches have diamonds that look luxury.

Caluola Tourbillon in Box

Caluola does not copy the designs of Swiss brands, at most one or two elements of Cartier are used on some ladies models. Today, I want to introduce an interesting Caluola watch, why I describe a watch “interesting”? You will know the answer after seeing its dial. I have bought dozens of Chinese watches, some are like this Caluola, they really like to use subdials design and open a window on the dial. Take this Caluola watch for example, does the subdial at 9:00 really add extra function to the watch? I do not think so, it is just another hour hand, I even think it is redundant. The window opened at 6 o’clock, Caluola claims it is a tourbillon, that’s ridiculous, it is just an opening to show the working of balance wheel and gears. I do not know why they do these, maybe the purpose is simple, just to let the watch look more complicated than it is, so that they can sell it at a higher price than it worth in Chinese market, after all, most Chinese buyers know little about watches. But Caluola will never sell at such high prices in foreign markets. The subdial at 3 o’clock is displaying day and night, it is a false moon phase, but it is the only subdial that is useful to the wearer, because the small seconds hand is moving on.

Caluola White Dial

I still like the watch although I complained a lot above, I choose the rose gold model with brown leather strap, the watch has a very uniform coloring, wearing it can both show your identity and luxury taste. The watch will be a perfect timepiece for men who usually need to wear suits to attend some formal occasions. The watch has a case diameter of 43mm and 12mm in thickness, it is completely polished with curved lugs to fit your hand in a more comfortable way, by the way, the straight lugs are polished smoothly with round edge to guarantee your wearing comfort.

Caluola Crown

About the dial, its finish is good, even better than the other dress watches in my collection. The functions on the dial I complained above are not big deal for most people, after all it’s a rule in the watch-making industry. The good craftsmanship is reflected through its two hands and hour markers, both sword hands are not flat, but a little ridgy because of their multiple cutting faces. The center of each hand is applied with white lume material.

Caluola Automatic Movement

I like the movement displayed through the transparent sapphire crystal back, it has a decorated auto rotor with brand name “Caluola” engraving in black. There are very simple striped polishings on the auto rotor and movement plates. For its price offered for Chinese customers, I think Caluola should choose an automatic movement with date feature for this watch, to show the date at 6 o’clock instead of a false tourbillon device there. Considering all aspects, this Caluola is a watch that can show the elegance of a dress watch to the maximum.

Caluola Wrist Shot
Caluola Rose Gold Buckle