China Watches Review, Chinese Homage Watches Guide

Pagani Design Blue/Red Pepsi GMT Homage Review

Post author By Bob
Post date July 22, 2022
No Comments on Pagani Design Blue/Red Pepsi GMT Homage Review

You may know little about this brand, but Pagani Design has become one of the best-selling niche brand watches and has a good reputation. There are a lot of choices on its site, what I appreciate more is that Pagani Design can always release their homages in time when Rolex publishes new models, such as the GMT-Master II Sprite and Root Beer, you can find their homages on Pagani Design website. I have a lot of homage watches bought from China, my most favorite ones are San Martin and Heimdallr, but I have a special feeling about Pagani Design that drives me to buy their watches continuously, Pagani Design watches’ prices are not expensive, very reasonable, but they do not lower the quality to reduce the cost, you will find a perfect homage from Pagani Design with acceptable quality.

This Pagani Design has a blue and red bezel, which is not ceramic made, it’s a pity. There is a red GMT hand on the dial, and the watch features a jubilee-style bracelet. The case back is see-through and we can see movement inside. I can not say this is a perfect homage, if it uses a ceramic bezel and solid case back, that will be better. Because the aluminum bezel is in blue and red color, people call such Rolex GMT-Master II “Pepsi”.

I received this watch in a Pagani Design box, which is small, with a watch, a screwdriver and a cloth inside. Its case is absolutely not made with 904L stainless steel, but 316L stainless steel, the case has a diameter of 40mm and 14mm in thickness, the case is brushed. The bezel is not ceramic, but is ok for me, after all the price of the watch is not high, and the color transition in number “6” and “18” looks ok. The screw-in crown features a Pagani Design logo. This is the most cost-effective GMT Pepsi homage watch I have ever seen.

I love the dial, first, hand set and hour markers are imitations of the GMT-Master Pepsi, including the GMT hand with a red stem and triangle tip. There will be a blue lume light in dark conditions, on this homage, only elements on the dial have been applied with luminous material, not like some other homages from San Martin or Heimdallr, whose bezel markers are also with lume material, that’s not good. However, the lume on the dial of this Pepsi GMT won’t last long, well, I was prepared for that at this price point. I am happy the cyclops on the sapphire crystal is aligned, perhaps the seller did a good QC and select a good one.

The watch is equipped with a Jubilee-style bracelet, it can also be fitted with an Oyster bracelet. The middle three-section links are polished, while the links at both sides are brushed, the gap between each link is a little big, before wearing the watch, I suggest you check each screw on the bracelet to secure them. By the way, the edge of the bracelet is a little sharp, well, at such a price point under 100 US Dollar, I did not expect too much. I have had this watch for five days, its accuracy is ok, a bit fast, but only 8 seconds faster each day, that’s ok. By the way, the red GMT hand works in a 24-hour format, it is pointing at the hour marker on the bi-color bezel.

Tags GMT, Pagani Design, Pepsi

Naviforce

A Naviforce black watch for student

Post author By Bob
Post date July 21, 2022
No Comments on A Naviforce black watch for student

Naviforce, you may not know this brand before, because almost all watches from them are quartz watches, like me and most of you guys, we usually focus more on mechanical watches. Naviforce, the name is nice, it is created in China, their watches are selling very well on aliexpress, one of the best-selling quartz watches. I do not know this brand too much, there are too many brands like this in China, with quartz movement, Naviforce can sell their watches at very reasonable prices, I think this is the main reason why people choose it. For such watch like Naviforce, which is sold at a cheap price, the main customer group must be those young people like fashion items, or students who can not spend too much.

The Naviforce has a cool full black outlook, the case and bracelet have pvd black coating on stainless steel material, the multiple functions displayed on the dial is the core design of the entire watch, while the Naviforce logo on the right enhances the temperament of the watch.

The case has a big size, which is up to 46mm in diameter, this is the biggest watch among all my China watches collection, it is also much bigger than most mechanical watches I have seen. The case has a thickness of 15mm, I think it is a little thick for such a quartz watch. Both case and bracelet are brushed, the watch does not feel heavy even it has a big size, the three buttons, including the middle crown, have a glossy finish that contrasts with the matte black finish on case. On the front face of the crown, there is a well-finished Naviforce logo.

The dial has an unique texture, there are three subdials in gear-shaped, each has a black circle inside with markers, each small dial has a specific purpose, the date is displayed through the window at 6 o’clock, you can adjust it through the button at 4 o’clock. The week is shown on the subdial at 12 o’clock, you can adjust through the button at 2 o’clock, the 24-hour displays at 9 o’clock, it can be adjusted through the crown. There is a Naviforce logo at 3 o’clock, the central second hand is in bright red color that is eye-catching. Three small hands, hour markers, hour hand and minute hand are all applied with luminous material. The three vertical lines in different colors light up the entire dial.

The watch has a Seiko battery inside that is imported from Japan, its service lift is 2 or 3 years. Naviforce also offers rose gold, blue, yellow gold, stainless steel options for this watch. It is really a very good choice for colledge students, the watch is also very convenient to read and practical.

Tags Naviforce, PVD, Seiko

Pagani Design

Pagani Design Daytona Paul Newman Quartz Homage Review

Post author By Bob
Post date July 18, 2022
1 Comment on Pagani Design Daytona Paul Newman Quartz Homage Review

I like vintage Rolex, it is one of my favorite watches, Daytona Paul Newman is a very famous vintage Rolex model, I have one, absolutely it is not a genuine, I bought it in the watch market of Guangzhou, most of you guys know this place, yes, there are many fake watches, from low to high quality. Pagani Design has made a lot of homages, most of them are from Rolex and with quartz movement, from the sales record, we can see they are very popular on the webiste of Pagani Design, many people like such homages with a higly similar outlook and cheap price.

This Pagani Design is a beautiful homage of Daytona Paul Newman, it is exactly the quartz movement that has reduced the cost of the watch, every function of the watch is real, that’s the reason why I choose it. The watch has a case diameter of 40mm and is 13mm thick, a very suitable size for all men’s wrist, the chronograph function works very well.

The case is made with solid 316L stainless steel, some people doubt about this, but I tell you, now few watches use hollow stainless steel, except those very cheap ones under 20 or 30 US Dollars. The case is brushed, it is a little bigger than the original Daytona Paul Newman model, there are two pushers with locking screws to operate the chronograph function. Pagani Design claims the black bezel uses ceramic material, but I do not think it is like real ceramic.

The dial is a classic Paul Newman’s style, it is in off-white color, three small dials feature match-head markers, there are red minute scales on the edge of the dial. The small-second subdial is at 6 o’clock, the small hand works a ticking way because of the quartz battery inside, the 60-minute chronograph is diaplayed on the subdial at 9 o’clock, there is a 24-hour display on the small dial at 3 o’clock. All small dials have real function, when you press the button at 2 o’clock, the central second-chronograph hand will start to work, all functions on the dial are real, that’s the reason I choose this homage watch.

The watch arrived to me in a Pagani Design box, inside the package, there is also one nylon band, a cloth and a screw driver. By the way, the quartz movement inside the watch is coming from Japan, it is a Seiko VK63, which is very reliable and can last for years.

Tags Daytona, Pagani Design, Paul Newman

Pagani Design

Pagani Design GMT Explorer Steve McQueen Homage Review

Post author By Bob
Post date July 15, 2022
No Comments on Pagani Design GMT Explorer Steve McQueen Homage Review

I know you probably have not heard of this person, Steve McQueen, a very popular actor and racer in the 1960s and 1970s, but you must know the Steve McQueen Explorer watch Rolex made for him, it is a very old model, hard to find in the second-hand market, if there is one, the owner must sell it a sky high price, we all know these vintage Rolex watches such as Paul Newman Daytona and Steve McQueen Explorer made in old times are very popular, while impossible to get one even you have money. So, some people turn to buy a replica or choosing its homage from Chinese niche brands. Pagani Design is such a niche brand that produces a lot of Rolex homages in China, from modern models to vintage Rolex, you can always find one homage on their website, the most two popular vintage Rolex homages are Paul Newman Daytona and this Steve McQueen Explorer.

The Pagani Design watch has a very similar bezel and dial to Steve McQueen, basically it is a homage of Explorer Steve McQueen even there is slight difference in case size and hand set. The case is made with 316L stainless steel, it has a diameter of 42mm and is 14mm in thickness, which is a little thicker I think, the case thickness does not meet my expectation. The entire case and bracelet are brushed, except two sides of the case, which are polished like a mirror. The bezel markers have a very close finish to Explorer Steve McQueen, shallow engraving with black coating, not sure if the black will fade after a long-time wear.

Everything on the dial looks fine except the hour hand and minute hand, which do not go well with other elements, they are not the design belonged to Explorer Steve McQueen, the Benz hands should not be here installed on this watch if Pagani Design really wants to bring us a true homage of Steve McQueen watch. Other designs such as the yellowish hour markers and orange GMT hand, they are all perfect.

The watch is driven by an automatic movement made in China, perhaps some people will say that the movement is not good because the watch is very cheap, however, I received the watch two weeks ago and it still works very accurate, now it is only 10 to 15 seconds faster each day. I think Pagani Design watch company can install a Japan movement if you insist, after all, it is very convenient to find a Japanese Miyota or Seiko automatic movement in Guangzhou watch market.

Tags GMT, Pagani Design, Steve McQueen

Pagani Design

Pagani Design Black “Moon Watch” Homage Review

Post author By Bob
Post date July 14, 2022
No Comments on Pagani Design Black “Moon Watch” Homage Review

Omega Speedmaster Moon Watch is very popular and is also very rare, it is hard to find an Omega moon watch in the market, a lot of people turn to buy a replica of it, I think it is a good idea, and here is another option, that’s the homage, a lot Chinese brands are now making homage watches, some have gained a good reputation. Guess what? Today, I saw my friend wearing a beautiful watch, I thought it is an Omega, but when I get a closer look, I recognized it is a Pagani Design watch, which looks very similar to a classic Omega Speedmaster moon watch I remembered, actually it is a cheap homage watch of that Omega moon watch. I also have two timepieces from Pagani Design, what about my evaluation on this brand? Pagani Design has gathered a lot of homages of Swiss brands, they are sold at cheap prices, but well finished, quality is acceptable.

The watch is fully made with 316L stainless steel, my friend said there is also a free nylon band. Stainless steel made with black bezel and black dial, a classic combination. Both case and bracelet are well finished, some parts of the bracelet are brushed, some links are polished, so there will be a high contrast you will see. The case side has a beautiful streamlined shape that is polished, we can see Pagani Design has done a good job on the finish of the entire case. Unfortunately the watch is powered by a quartz movement, I do not mind, it is still a good homage of the moon watch in outlook.

Under the acrylic glass, it is a black dial, there are three small dials, each has a different purpose. The small-second subdial is positioned at 6 o’clock, the white small hand is ticking step by step, the subdial at 9 o’clock also has a real function, it is for minute-chronograph display, the third small dial at 3 o’clock is for 24-hour display, not GMT, it is just the hour display in 24-hour format. Although the functions you see on the dial are different from the moon watch from Omega, but I am glad to see every small dial has a real function. By the way, the second-chronograph hand on the center will work when you push the button at 2 o’clock. One last thing, the watch has a quartz movement that is imported from Japan, the words “JAPAN MOVT” on the dial tells you this. I like this watch and I am going to buy one for myself, on Pagani Design website, there are several colors options, I have not decided which one to choose.

Tags Moon Watch, Pagani Design, Quartz

Pagani Design

Pagani Design GMT Root Beer Homage Review

Post author By Bob
Post date July 13, 2022
No Comments on Pagani Design GMT Root Beer Homage Review

Now, Pagani Design is the most active homage brand in China, once there are new models of Rolex, they will immediately publish the new homages of these new Rolex models, so on the webiste of Pagani Design, you will find most popular models are homages of Rolex Daytona and GMT-Master II, I do not know if there will be an infringement problem doing this, but many people have had positive feedback about this brand, the overall evaluation they give on Pagani Design is good quality with cheap price. At such a low price, you can get a very beautiful timepiece from Pagani Design that will exceed your expectations.

Today, I want to share a review on a new Pagani Design watch, it is a GMT-Master II Root Beer homage, Rolex published this watch in last year, now this homage on Pagani Design website is highly welcomed. Pagani Design has produced a lot of Rolex homages like this, each of them is popular, it looks like many people like such watch, which features a very similar outlook to a specific Rolex, while sold at a very cheap price.

Rolex has a very important position in the watch world, everyone wants to get one when they publish a new watch, so I think that’s the reason why most Rolex homages are so popular online. This Pagani Design GMT Root Beer homage watch has a black/brown bezel, it is the first time for me to see a ceramic bezel with such a color combination. The rose gold tone on the case and bracelet also matches well with the brown color of the bezel, in color, the watch looks more harmonious than other GMT models.

The Pagani Design is made with 316L stainless steel, with rose gold plating on the bezel tooth and middle links of the bracelet, the watch is in classic two tone style. The case is 40mm in diameter and has 14mm thickness. Well, the bezel is rotatable like Rolex GMT, Pagani Design claims the bezel is ceramic made, but I do not think it is ceramic, usually it is impossible to buy a ceramic watch at less than 100 US Dollars. However, the bezel has a perfect color delimitation at the level of 6 and 18, the triangle marker on the bezel is aligned with the 12 hour marker on the dial.

The black dial has white printings of “PAGANI DESIGN” and its logo, the “GMT” is in brown color, all hour markers and hands have the same rose gold tone as bezel. About night illumination, it is blue, not too strong, just above average in this category. There are no engravings on the inner bezel.

Actually I am a bit shocked when I see its case back, it is totally see-through. It is a bold idea for Pagani Design to copy the outlook of a Rolex but leave a hole on the back, we know Rolex never used a crystal back. However, from the crystal back, we can see a well finished movement with a custom Pagani Design rotor, it looks good, much better than the movement decoration than most other niche brands created in China.

Tags Pagani Design, Root Beer, Rose Gold

Sea-gull

Sea-gull Multi-function Rose Gold Watch Review

Post author By Bob
Post date July 12, 2022
No Comments on Sea-gull Multi-function Rose Gold Watch Review

I am very glad to share my new watch with you guys, two days ago, it was my birthday, I received this special gift from my wife, it is a really beautiful watch, I love it very much. Actually I was looking for such a watch before with multi functions like month, date and week, I bought a Guanqin watch that also features a lot of functions, but after receiving this watch, I realized that Sea-gull has a much better quality than some other niche brands from China. Sea-gull is a traditional big watch factory in China, it is the most famous Chinese watch brand because of their movement and watch-making technology, Sea-gull is always my first choice when I am considering a watch made in China.

The Sea-gull watch has a black pvd case with a rose gold bezel, it looks nice, I like this color combination, black and gold, it looks better than the one with black case and stainless steel bezel. The case has a big diameter, which is up to 44mm, it is measured to be 13mm in thickness. The crown is black with a “S” logo in sanded finish. The case back has a see-through crystal on the center, the rim features a 12 holes, I do not know what purpose these hole are used for, maybe for a special tool to open the back.

The black dial shows each function clearly, I think you has noticed the window opened at 6 o’clock, it is not a tourbillon device, we can see a working balance wheel inside, the entire is fixed by two blue steel screws on the dial, so that the movement can have a better stability. Each hour marker and all hands on the black dial are in rose gold tone, which is exactly in line with the rose gold bezel. The month is displayed on the small dial at 9 o’clock, the week from MON to SUN is shown on the subdial at 3 o’clock, the date is displayed in two separate windows set at 12 o’clock, with black font in white background, very easy to read.

The movement inside is a ST2625 that is developed by Sea-gull themselves. The movement beats 21,600 times per hour, it has 29 jewels and 45 hours power reserve. About accuracy, still needs to be tested, because I only got this watch two days ago, and it is only about 5 seconds faster. By the way, ST2625 has a hacking mechanism.

About the buttons on the case, each of them has different purpose. The pusher at 10 o’clock is for date adjustment, the pusher at 8 o’clock can be used to adjust month, the button at 4 o’clock is for week adjustment.

Tags Rose Gold, Sea-gull, ST2625

Merkur

Merkur Pilot Manual Winding Watch Review

Post author By Bob
Post date July 11, 2022
No Comments on Merkur Pilot Manual Winding Watch Review

Merkur, I like this brand more, many watches coming from this brand not only have creative design ideas, but also feature some characteristics of old Chinese military watches. This is a very young watch brand created in China, perhaps few of you guys have heard of it, in fourms, Merkur may not be as popular as some diving-style brands such as STEELDIVE and Proxima, but it is the brand you will be immediately attracted once see one watch from them, because there are a lot of new designs you did not see before, just like this watch I am going to talk about today, it is completely new.

The watch has a lot Chinese elements, that’s my first impression with it. About the dial, you will never think this is a pilot watch’s style, yes, besides its big dial, is there any design on the watch related with a pilot’s watch, that’s my first thought if you have to say it is a pilot watch. But after analyzing each element on the dial, it is indeed a pilot’s watch based on Chinese elements, so you guys may not understand. There is a Chinese word “鲛” on the small dial at 6 o’clock, it has a special meaning in China, it is an old animal, which is called crocodile dragon or shark dragon. The black dial has cloud patterns decoration, usually in Chinese cartoons, such cloud will appear when a dragon flying in the sky, so seeing from these two traditional Chinese elements, this Merkur is indeed a pilot watch. By the way, the track-style hour hand and minute hand are applied with luminous material, so are Arabic numeral hour markers.

The Merkur watch is equipped with a manual winding movement, you may ask why Merkur did not choose an automatic movement, but you know an automatic movement will increase the cost of the watch, so, sometimes a manual winding movement will be a good option for such a watch with creative designs. By the way, when winding, do not rotate it too tight, it will affect the servicing life of the watch. The last is the specification of the watch.

Movement: Manual Winding
Case Material: 316L stainless steel
Case Diameter: 38mm
Case Thickness: 12mm
Crystal: Acrylic
Dial: Black, Lumed hour markers and hands
Band: Nylon
Water Resistant: 30m

Tags Merkur

STEELDIVE

STEELDIVE Green Marine 200m Review

Post author By Bob
Post date July 8, 2022
No Comments on STEELDIVE Green Marine 200m Review

Now, STEELDIVE has become my first choice when considering to buy a diver’s watch, it is the Chinese brand that has the most authentic diving watch genes, I have seen a lot of STEELDIVE watches, this is my fifth piece I bought from STEELDIVE, each of them has a strong case design, the dial is regular diver’s watch dial style, strong lume and big markers to increase readability, everyone likes such type of diving watch, wearing it is also a way to show your personality. When you are thinking of a diving watch to buy and do not want to spend too much, then a watch made in China is a great choice, do not consider these big traditional Chinese brands like Sea-gull, Beijing, Shanghai or Fiyta, because they do not have homage watches that have a more popular outlook and design, so sometimes that’s the reason why you see niche brands such as STEELDIVE and Parnis are more popular among watch fans in forums.

This is a classic diver’s watch from Green Marine series of STEELDIVE, the watch is full stainless steel made, there is also rubber band option to choose, STEELDIVE offers several colors, black, blue and green, I choose the black one, it is the most classic, just like the Submariner 116610LN from Rolex.

The watch is made with solid 316L stainless steel, both case and bracelet are brushed, the case has a diameter of 41mm, not including the crown, it is a little thick, which is up to 13.5mm. The lugs have a short design, the end link of the bracelet is also bent well with the curved lugs, seeing from the side, the case side has polished face, there is a STEELDIVE logo on the crown, it is the oxygen tanks and mask for diving. The bezel stands high above the middle case with a black ceramic insert, which features blue lumed bezel markers.

The dial is a hot spot of the watch, the hour markers seem to be bigger than those of other diver’s watches I have seen, the hour hand and minute hand have a much wider design, they are all applied with cyan luminous material, the lume light is green and so strong. The dial has white minute markers printed on an beveled inner bezel, which brings a three-dimensional layered effect to the entire dial. From the red printings above the marker at 6 o’clock, we can know the series and water resistant depth of the watch.

The watch is powered by a NH35 automatic movement that comes from Japan. Almost all diving watches from STEELDIVE use this movement. It is one of the most affordable automatic movements in the market, also with considerable accuracy and stability, its accuracy is claimed to be -20 to +40 seconds per day, now I have had this watch for three weeks, it is about 35 seconds faster each day. For the Chinese watches with the same price level, I would rather choose the one with a Japanese movement.

Conclusion:

This watch is more suitable for your daily wearing than other STEELDIVE diver’s watches. Made with solid stainless steel and uses Japanese automatic movement, the watch can be used for more than five years.

Tags Ceramic, Green Marine, NH35, STEELDIVE

STEELDIVE

STEELDIVE Marine Master 300m – a moster in the deep sea

Post author By Bob
Post date July 7, 2022
No Comments on STEELDIVE Marine Master 300m – a moster in the deep sea

For a diver’s watch, people often do not wear it in their daily life, but there must be one in their collection, the watch should be big, strong and has an unique outlook so that I can show in front of my friends, STEELDIVE is a brand that offers such type of diver’s watches, many watches from them are homages of old Seiko diver’s watches, they are solid made with robust design like this one. STEELDIVE is not a new custom-made watch brand, it appeared in the market several years ago, some watches of STEELDIVE are even more popular than those of traditional Chinese brands like Sea-gull, one of the most popular diver’s watches that is being widely discussed in various forums is STEELDIVE, so, that’s the reason why I usually browse STEELDIVE’s website when need a diver’s watch.

This STEELDIVE watch is very big, its case is solid 316L stainless steel made, it looks strong and robust, the case has an unique construction that is different from that of other diving watches, the case head is surrounded by a piece of thick steel sheet, I did not see such case structure before, I searched online, some people said that the special models made by Seiko in the past used such case, people call these watches “Seiko Can”. The surrounded bezel has a black ceramic bezel insert, the bezel is uni-directional rotating, the crown screwed in the case at 4 o’clock is also very big. Any way, seeing from the case structure and spare parts on the case, this is the most robust and strong case I have ever seen, like a mechanical toy.

The dial is a classic diver’s watch dial, big hour markers, wide hands and superlume, these three are necessary for almost every diving watch. Each hour marker, hour hand and minute hand are applied with cyan luminous material, they will emit a strong green lume light in dark conditions, which is different from the blue lume light emitting from bezel markers. The hour marker at 6, 9 and 12 has a small tail, both hour hand and minute hand are brushed, there is a small round luminous dot on the end of the second hand. The STEELDIVE logo under the triangle marker looks like an image of oxygen tanks and masks for diving, this logo also appears on the case back.

The watch is driven by a NH35 automatic movement that is made in Japan, the movement not only offers timing, it also has date function, NH35 beats at 21,600VPH, it has 24 jewels and 40-hour power reserve. I received the watch four weeks ago, now its daily error is about 20 seconds faster. The watch has two band options, stainless steel and rubber, the stainless steel bracelet has three-section and five-section options. Besides this black, STEELDIVE also offers green, blue, red and orange dial colors for this watch.

Tags NH35, STEELDIVE

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