Hulk – China Watches Review, Chinese Homage Watches Guide

If you are a fan of my blog, you may have noticed that I have introduced a lot of Rolex Submariner homage watches produced in China, I bought most of them, took pictures and made comparison reviews, actually most of them have a good quality, and I more hope these reviews can help you a lot when deciding to buy your first watch in China or picking some homage watches to rich your collection. Today, I will make a summary of the top ten best Submariner hulk homage watches made in China, from this list and by reading my previous reviews, you will easily tell which one is the best.

1.Sugess Seaman SP116610LV

Seeing from its model number, Sugess Seaman is a classic homage watch of Submariner hulk 116610LV. I made some searches about Sugess, and found this is a watch company coming from Shenzhen of China, now they have become one of the most popular homage watch brands. In many watch forums and Reddit, a lot of watch fans have admitted that this is the best homage of Submariner hulk. It has a case measured to be 40mm in diameter and 12.5mm in thickness, which is closest to the case size of the Rolex Submariner 116610LV, the Seaman SP116610LV has a green ceramic bezel, its green color on the bezel and dial looks very close to that on hulk Submariner. By the way, the Sugess Seaman uses a Japanese NH35A automatic movement inside, which is very reliable.

Advantages: correct case shape and size, genuine green ceramic bezel insert, Japanese NH35A movement, correct lume color
Shortcoming: high price, almost 190 USD on their official site

2.San Martin SN0017

SN0017 is a famous model from San Martin, it has black and green color options, I introduced the green SN0017 on my blog at https://www.bobswatchstore.com/2023/05/31/san-martin-submariner-116610lv-homage-review/, and I also have given a comparison review about the black one between it and the Cronos L6015 as well as the Steeldive SD1953, please check my review at https://www.bobswatchstore.com/2023/08/20/black-submariner-homage-review-cronos-l6015-vs-san-martin-sn0017-vs-steeldive-sd1953/. The SN0017 deserves the second position because it really has a very good finish on the case, dial and bracelet like the Sugess. Among all homage watches created in China, the ones made by San Martin all have good finish, their case finish should be among the best. The case of the SN0017 is 40.5mm in diameter and 13mm in thickness, the bezel also uses real green ceramic. The watch is equipped with a Japanese NH35A automatic movement.

Advantages: good case finish, sunburst dial finish, correct bezel engravings, strong and correct blue lume, stable NH35A movement.
Shortcoming: Bracelet structure is not as good as the Sugess Seaman, the top of the bezel pearl is not domed, high price, almost 190 USD.

3.Pagani Design 1639

Why does this watch have such a high position in the list? We know Pagani Design is famous for making cheap homage watches, their Speedmaster, Tiffany Blue Rolex and Daytona homage watches are popular in watch industry, it is the hottest Chinese brand that is being discussed in Reddit. After receiving a Pagani Design watch, you will find its quality exceeds your expecation because you only paid tens of US Dollars, that’s the reason why Pagani Design should rank so high in this list. The Pagani Design 1639, I talked about it in a comparison review here at https://www.bobswatchstore.com/2023/12/12/hulk-submariner-homage-reviewpart-3-pagani-design-1639-vs-vakuy-rigas-v-003-vs-tevise-t801/.

Advantages: good finish on the case and bezel, bezel pearl looks nice, nice sunburst finish on green dial, very reasonable price.
Shortcoming: big case over 43mm, weak lume light on the bezel pearl and dial markers.

4.Cronos L6015

I firstly knew Cronos because it makes a good quality Pepsi GMT-Master homage watch, the L6015 is a Submariner homage model of Cronos, which has black and green color choices. The Cronos L6015 hulk Submariner homage has a correct case size and a green ceramic bezel, the bracelet and clasp are nice and have the similar structure to Submariner. The watch uses a NH35A automatic movement.

Advantages: good finish on the case, green ceramic bezel and Japanese NH35A movement. Bezel pearl is slightly dome-shaped, strong blue lume.
Shortcoming: Arabic number markers on the bezel are bit thinner, surburst finish on the dial not obvious, too green on the dial.

5.Heimdallr HMSR01

Heimdallr is also a great homage watch brand that has been in this field for years. I have introduced its background information in the first article review about a Heimdallr diver’s watch at https://www.bobswatchstore.com/2022/04/09/heimdallr-divers-200m-black-the-big-monster-in-deep-ocean/. Heimdallr is mainly famous for making these homages of Seiko diver’s watches. This green hulk Submariner homage watch HMSR01 from Heimdallr has a great quality, it deserves the fifth position in this list, I like its sunburst finish on the green dial, which is very close to that of green Submariner 116610LV.

Advantages: green dial with sunburst finish, engraved inner bezel, strong lume, Japanese movement
Shortcoming: inner bezel is a little high, wrong lume on the bezel pearl, thin bezel markers

6.STEELDIVE SD1953

STEELDIVE is a Chinese brand that is loved by a lot of people, they do make high quality watches and sell them at reasonable prices, when selecting a homage watch from China, STEELDIVE may become the first choice. Among watches made by STEELDIVE, SD1953 is one of the most popular models. STEELDIVE offers a hard plastic box that gives the watch a full protection, there are some accessories coming with the watch such as card, user manual and screwdriver. As far as I know, STEELDIVE does not make a 40mm Submariner homage, the SD1953 has a 41mm case that is measured to be 14mm in thickness, which is much thicker than other Submariner homage watches I saw. The finish on the case and bracelet is very good. The dial has nice printings. With a low price, the quality of the STEELDIVE SD1953 absolutely meets your expectation.

Advantages: good case finish, very nice dial details, strong lume on the bezel and dial, Japanese movement, cheap price.
Shortcomings: no bezel pearl, the green color is a little dark on the dial

7.Hruodland F-015

This brand has a strange name, which is hard to pronounce. I knew Hruodland because the Explorer homage watch really caught my attention. I made a comparison review between it and the Heimdallr, both watches are very nice. The Hruodland has a stainless steel case that is measured to be 40.7mm in diameter and 12.4mm in thickness. The bezel uses genuine green ceramic, there are engravings on the inner bezel, the green dial looks great but sunburst finish is not obvious. The watch uses a PT5000 movement made in China, the brand also offers a SW200 movement option for this watch.

Advantages: good finish, strong lume, real ceramic bezel, PT5000 movement
Shortcoming: no bezel pearl, the sunburst finish on the dial not too obvious

8.Mysterious Code Submariner

It is one of my most favorite green Submariner homage watches, now it is hard to find this watch on the aliexpress, maybe because of the “SUBMARINER” printing on the dial, it violates the intellectual property right. Now if you want to buy this watch, perhaps need to search it on Taobao and ask one of your friends in China to buy for you. The Mysterious Code Submariner uses real green ceramic on the bezel insert, the dial color also looks great, you can read the review between this watch and the Lige on my blog at https://www.bobswatchstore.com/2023/11/30/hulk-submariner-homage-reviewpart-2-lige-vs-mysterious-code/.

Advantages: ceramic bezel, correct case size, good bezel pearl, correct lume, Miyota 8215 movement
Shortcoming: lume not last

9.Lige 6801

About Lige, actually I know little about this watch company, I also do not suggest you buy watches from Lige watch company, because their watches are overpriced in China, while sold at very cheap prices abroad, so I do not think they are trusted. However, this Lige green Submariner homage watch looks nice, especially its green color, better than some watches I mentioned above. I love its tridimensional brand logo on the dial and the see-through design on the back.

Advantages: good finish on the case, good bezel pearl with similar shape to hulk, strong lume, good dial color and details,
Shortcoming: wrong lume color, a low-end Chinese movement with short power reserve

10.Vakuy Rigas V-003

There is little information about the background of Vakuy Rigas, actually I know something about this brand, do you know Parnis? It is the earliest homage watch manufacturer in China, now Vakuy Rigas is owned by the same team as Parnis, you can think Vakuy Rigas is a sub-branch of Parnis. The hottest Vakuy Rigas watch being discussed on the internet is the Daytona Paul Newman homage model. This green Submariner homage watch is also in good quality.

Advantages: acceptable quality with very cheap price, good bezel pearl with similar shape to real Submariner, real ceramic bezel(claimed by the dealer), Miyota 8215 movement
Shortcoming: the green color on the dial not good, smooth dial without surburst finish

I have written two articles about the comparison between hulk Submariner homages made in China, today, this is the third part of this series, hope these three articles can help you to get one good homage watch of green Submariner. Homage watches occupy a large part of the market here in China, a lot of companies make them, even the big three such as Sea-gull and Shanghai Watch Factory also make the homage watch of the hulk Submariner. Absolutely the quality varies, price also different, some are over 200 USD, some are even under 50 USD, you can choose the right one according to your budget. As a homage watch, they have shortcomings when being compared with the genuine watch, but low price is their big advantage, I have been dong watch reviews for more than 20 years, I only give you guys my most honest opinions on these homages.

Box and Accessories

Both Pagani Design and Tevise come with a black square box, there is a blue cloth inside the box of Pagani Design, while Tevise offers one pair of black leather band for free. About the Vakuy Rigas watch, it comes in an orange plastic box, inside, there is a card, one screw driver and one green nylon strap. In my opinion, the hard plastic box of Vakuy Rigas will give the watch a better protection.

Pagani Design 1639 Case Diameter — The case diameter of the Pagani

Pagani Design 1639 Case Thickness — The thickness measurement of the Pagani

Pagani Design 1639 Weight — The weight of the Pagani Design

Tevise T801 Case Diameter — Case diameter measurement of the Tevise

Tevise T801 Case Thickness — Case thickness of the Tevise

Tevise T801 Weight — The weight of the Tevise

Case

Among them, the Pagani Design has the largest case size, which is measured to be 43.3mm in diameter, but its case is not too thick, which is only 12.8mm in thickness. The Tevise watch is also 42.3mm in diameter, while only the Vakuy Rigas watch has a correct case size that is very close to that of Rolex Submariner hulk, which is about 40.8mm. I do not know why Pagani Design adopts such a large size on this green Submariner homage watch, it almost reaches up to the size of the Rolex Sea-Dweller. The Pagani Design and the Vakuy Rigas have a similar case shape and good case finish, while I do not like the case of the Tevise, it is polished to be too bright, especially the bright polishing on the lugs and the bezel teeth, Rolex hulk Submariner does not use this finish. By the way, the middle case of the Tevise looks weird, there is one extra piece of metal on the top, just like the bottom of the bowl.

Bezel

The bezel of the three watches has a color difference with the one on real Rolex hulk Submariner. The finish of the bezel on the Tevise watch is the worst among them, the bezel teeth on the Tevise has a rough finish, they are even a bit scratchy when you touch them by hands. The pearl has a too arched face, I mean the too round face, and these markers on the bezel are not engraved but printed.

Vakuy Rigas claims that they use a real green ceramic bezel insert on this watch, the green color on the bezel of this Vakuy Rigas watch is closest to the green on Rolex 116610LV, the Pagani Design has a darker green, while the green on the bezel of the Tevise watch is too bright, which looks more like the color on the vintage 16610LV.

The Pagani Design watch should have the best quality finish on the bezel, its markers have a deeper engraving than than the Vakuy Rigas, which look more tridimensional. The bezel pearl on both Pagani Design and Vakuy Rigas has a similar shape.

Crystal

The Pagani Design and the Vakuy Rigas use sapphire crystal, the Tevise uses a mineral crystal face. The magnifier on the crystal of the Pagani Design has an obvious magnifying effect, while on the Vakuy Rigas and Tevise, the date font is not obviously enlarged through the magnifier.

Dial

Among the three watches, the Pagani Design has the best green color and dial finish. On the dial of both Pagani Design and Tevise, we can see the sunburst finish, while on the dial of the Vakuy Rigas, its green color is a bit dark, and there is no sunburst effect, just smooth green.

By the way, the round hour markers on the dial of the Tevise watch look weird, they have a too arched face, too round on the top, that’s not correct. The triangular hour marker on the Vakuy Rigas is a little larger than that on the Pagani Design.

Lume

Both on the Pagani Design and Vakuy Rigas, the lume of the bezel pearl and dial is blue, but too weak. The Tevise has a stronger green lume light.

Vakuy Rigas Deployant Clasp — The clasp of the Vakuy Rigas

Bracelet

Both the Pagani Design and Vakuy Rigas have a good finish on the bracelet, which is much better than the finish on the Tevise. The clasp of the Vakuy Rigas has a closer structure than the other two watches.

Vakuy Rigas Solid Case Back — Vakuy Rigas solid case back

Movement

Through the crystal back, we can see it is a NH35A automatic movement inside the Pagani Design. The Tevise watch also has a crystal back, I do not know what movement it is, perhaps the movement is made in China. The Vakuy Rigas has a solid case back, they use a Miyota 8215 automatic movement made in Japan. I have tested the three watches, once being fully winded, the Vakuy Rigas has a longer working time than the other two.

Water Resistance

Both the Pagani Design and Vakuy Rigas are claimed to be 100m water resistant, the Tevise is 30m water resistant, but the crown of the Tevise watch is not screwed down, I do not think its water resistance can be up to 30m.

Conclusion

Among the three watches, I think the Pagani Design 1639 is the best, it has a much better finish on the case and bracelet, and its dial has a great green color, besides, the movement inside the Pagani Design is made in Japan, which is considered to be more reliable than the Chinese movement used in the Tevise. The Pagani Design 1639 should be your first choice among the three, and its price around 80 USD can be also accepted by most people.

The Vakuy Rigas should be the second choice, if they have a better green color on the dial like its bezel, then this watch will be a very good homage of green Submariner. Considering its Japanese Miyota movement and the power reserve I have tested, I still think the Vakuy Rigas is a good watch.

The Tevise watch has the worst finish on the case and bracelet among the three, but considering its price under 30 USD, it is still a good option for those people who have a low budget.

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives

Categories