Categories
Cronos Heimdallr Hruodland Lige Mysterious Code Pagani Design San Martin STEELDIVE Sugess Vakuy Rigas

Top Ten Best Submariner Hulk Homage Made in China

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.

Sugess Seaman Green

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

San Martin SN0017 Green

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.

Cronos L6015

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

STEELDIVE SD1953 Green

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

Categories
Heimdallr Hruodland

Hulk Submariner Homage Review: Hruodland vs Heimdallr

In the past, I made a comparison review about black Submariner homage watch between Cronos, San Martin and STEELDIVE, many readers love my reviews, some sent emails to me and hope I can continue to share such type of reviews, because a majority of them often buy products from China, absolutely including the watches, so, sometimes such type of buying guide reviews are very helpful to them. On my blog, except the big three companies, I mean Shanghai Watch, Beijing Watch and Sea-gull, most other Chinese brands are actually making homage watches, a lof of watch fans like homages, so in future, I will share reviews on other homage watches made in China. Today, I want to give an introduction on the green Submariner made by Hruodland and Heimdallr, I will show you the difference between them objectively.

Hruodland, a very strange watch name that is difficult to pronounce, this watch company is located in Changping Town of Dongguan City of China, I have discovered that a lot of Chinese homage watches reviewed here are coming from this town in Dongguan City, you guys must know this city, which was more famous 15 year ago than today because of its sexual services. And about Heimdallr, whose watches are also made in the same town as Hruodland, but they are two different companies, the exact address is different, Hruodland has some quality Rolex homages, while Heimadllr is more famous for manufacturing Seiko Diver’s homage watches. In this article, I posted some pictures to compare the hulk Submariner homage between the two brands.

Hruodland Box
Hruodland in Box
Hruodland Watch with Accessories
Heimdallr Box
Heimdallr Watch in Box

Box and Accessories

Both come with a black box that is made with hard paper sheet, the Hruodland comes in a cube, the Heimadllr’s box is rectangular, Hruodland box seems to be better and it has a card and an instructions book inside, while Heimadllr does not offer a card and a user manual.

Case

Both watches have a case that is in similar size, the Hruodland has a case diameter of 40.7mm and case thickness of 12.4mm, while the Heimadllr watch is measured to be 40.9mm in case diameter and 13.5mm in case thickness, the Heimadllr is a little thicker, perhaps the higher rehaut increases the thickness of the Heimadllr watch, you can check the comparison photos of the inner bezel in the end of the article, the engraved rehaut of the Heimadllr is much higher.

Bezel

The bezel on both watches is made with real green ceramic, while we can see different bezel markers and the bezel pearl, the green color on the bezel also looks a little dark. On the bezel of the Heimdallr, we can notice the engraving depth, which is more obvious than that on the bezel of the Hruodland. The bezel markers are also thinner on the Heimdallr, but they look too white on the Hruodland, because Hruodland applies white lume material on each bezel marker. Two watches have a wrong bezel pearl if comparing them with genuine hulk Submariner, the lume pearl on the Heimdallr looks larger and a little yellow, the bezel pearl on the Hruodland is actually just a lume dot, which is totally in white. By the way, all these bezel markers on the Hruodland can emit a blue lume light in the darkness, while on the Heimdallr, only the bezel pearl is luminous.

Hruodland Submersible
Hruodland Submersible Crown
Hruodland Submersible Case
Hruodland Submersible Case Diameter
Hruodland Submersible Case Thickness
Heimdallr Green Submariner
Heimdallr Submariner Crown
Heimdallr Submariner Case
Heimdallr Submariner Case Diameter
Heimdallr Submariner Case Thickness
Hruodland Bezel Teeth
Heimdallr Bezel Teeth

Crystal

Both watches use sapphire crystal, which is highly scratch resistant and also has a good transparancy, the crystal on each watch stands a little high above, the date magnifier on both watches has been applied with anti-reflective coating.

Dial

I like the green color of the dial on both watches, not too green, which looks very close to the green color on genuine Submariner watch. The hour markers on the Heimdallr look a little larger than that of the Hruodland, each watch has a sunburst finish on the dial, I like the anchor logo on Hruodland’s dial, there is a word “SUBMERSIBLE” on the dial of the Hruodland. On the dial of the Heimdallr, it is printed “300M”, while it is “200M” on the Hruodland, well, I think both watches can not dive to that depth, the Heimdallr looks stronger and perhaps has a deeper water resistance. The inner bezel, both watches have engravings on the rehaut, while on the Heimdallr, the rehaut is higher and the engravings are more noticeable.

Hruodland Submersible Green
Heimdallr Green Dial
Hruodland lume
Heimdallr Dial Lume
Heimdallr lume

Bracelet

Put the two watches on the table, you will find the Heimdallr has a longer stainless steel bracelet, for people who have a large wrist, I think this Heimdallr is more suitable. The entire Heimdallr watch is also heavier, which is 165.4 grams, while the Hruodland is about 159.9 grams. Both watches have a similar clasp structure, I like the bracelet of the Hruodland more because the buckle has a more exquisite anchor logo.

Hruodland Case Back
Hruodland Bracelet
Hruodland Clasp
Heimdallr Case Back
Heimdallr Bracelet
Heimdallr Clasp
Hruodland Weight
Heimdallr Weight

Movement

At last, I want to talk about the movement. The Hruodland uses a PT5000, which is an automatic movement developed in China, this movement has a 28,800bph, 25 jewels and 38 hours power reserve. The Heimdallr is equipped with a NH35A automatic movement that is developed in Japan. NH35A beats 21,600 times per hour, it has 24 jewels and 41 hours of power reserve. Actually both movements are widely used by these homage watches made in China. By the way, Hruodland also offers a higher end Swiss SW200 movement option for this watch.

Price

This Hruodland has a higher price than the Heimdallr because of the more expensive PT5000 movement, no need to upgrade it with a better SW200 movement, that will cost a lot of money.

Conclusion

Among Hruodland and Heimdallr, there is no need to tell which watch is closer to hulk Submariner, in my opinion, every watch has their own selling points, for example, perhaps a lot of people like the fully luminous bezel on the Hruodland, some people may like the engraved rehaut more on the Heimdallr, I can not tell you which watch is better, but in appearance, the Heimdallr has a closer outlook to hulk Submariner. You can decide by yourself, the Heimdallr is sold at $165 on their official site, while the Hruodland is sold at $259 on its site.

More pictures comparison between them.

Hruodland and Heimdallr
Categories
San Martin

San Martin Sub-style SN0111T Titanium Watch Review

San Martin TC4

Last time, I introduced the background of San Martin, it is absolutely a Chinese watch brand, it seems like such type of homage brands created in China are using the watch parts made by some factories in Dongguan city, however, there are still some things not clear about these watches, I will give you more information about them when reviewing their watches in future. In the past, I reviewed several San Martin watches, one of them is a green Submariner 116610LV homage, which is a hot watch widely discussed in Chinese Watch Forum in reddit. When people opened thread saying want to buy a Submariner homage, many members in reddit will suggest San Martin, I have several San Martin watches, they indeed have higher quality than other Chinese homage watches.

San Martin Black Dial

Today, the San Martin watch I am going to review is another Sub-style homage, but it is not totally a homage of black Submariner, the watch material is different and the watch dial looks slightly different. This San Martin is a custom-made diver’s watch. The case is made with solid Titanium, it is completely brushed, but the edge of the case is well processed with drawing, now many homage watches made in China have this finish but few of them have been done so delicate like San Martin. On the middle of the left case, there is a helium valve, not sure if it has a real function when you take a deep dive. Because of the titanium case, titanium back and titanium bracelet, the watch is only about 105 grams. The black bezel insert is made with ceramic, the lume pearl seems to have a flat top, not domed.

San Martin Black Submariner Homage

The black dial is under the protection of a sapphire crystal face that features anti-reflective coating on the inside, the sapphire crystal is correctly set and it does not have too much exposed above the bezel. I do not like the metal San Martin logo at 12 o’clock, I would rather it have a simple “SAN MARTIN” white printing, the red “TC4”, do you know its meaning? By the way, the hour hand has two types, one is benz hand, the other is sword-shaped hand, and I chose the latter. It seems like San Martin has claimed this watch is 300m waterproof, which has not been proven, but I think you can absolutely wear it in a swimming pool.

San Martin Helium Valve
San Martin Buckle Engraving

The watch is equipped with a PT5000 automatic movement, while San Martin also offers Swiss SW200 option but at a much higher price, PT5000 is good and is very reliable even though it is a Chinese movement. PT5000 is good enough for this homage, if with a SW200, the price is too high and I am afraid not many people will buy the watch. It is said that the PT5000, which was developed by a watch company in Chongqing, has passed the test of The German Offical Chronometer Control, I do not know if this is a fake news.

San Martin Dial Lume
San Martin TC4 Wrist Shot
Categories
Octopus

Octopus Omega Seamaster 007 Homage Watch Review

Octopus Watch Box

Omega has published several beautiful Seamaster watches for 007 James Bond, they are selling very well, especially their replicas, are very popular. It is my first time to buy a homage watch of Omega Seamaster 007, this Octopus looks like a homage watch of the Seamaster No Time to Die 007 watch, the watch has a stainless steel case not titanium made, also with a very nato band that is very similar to the one on Seamaster No Time to Die, I like this watch, its case shape, the color on the bezel and dial exactly matches that on the nato band. I received the watch in a small Octopus box, which is a cloth box with sponge inside protecting the watch, I think Octopus could design and make a more high-end wooden box. I see many homage watches coming from Octopus have high prices than the watches made by other homage brands, so a better brand wooden box will make your brand more popular.

Octopus in Box

The case of the watch is made with 316L stainless steel, it has a 42mm diameter and is measured to be 11mm in thickness, while 13.5mm if the crystal included. The case is a classic Seamaster shape of Omega, I can not say it is exactly the same, but you will immediately recognize when see it. I found the tortile lugs have been brushed on the face and polished on the other side, this detailed finish brings the wearer a high contrast visual effect. The bezel uses a black ceramic insert with engraved markers in the same depth, those markers are also applied with lume material like the hour markers and hands.

Octopus Watch Homage Seamaster

I love the dial, the lume material used on the hour markers and hands has the same color as the dial lettering “AUTOMATIC” and brand logo. The dial has a good readability under a clear sapphire crystal, each hour marker is big and the central sword-shaped hands are wide, so they can be applied with more lume to guarantee a strong and long-lasting lume light in the dark. The second hand has a red tip and a Octopus logo on the other end. This is a very classic diver’s watch dial, men love diving watches can not refuse its beauty.

Octopus Watch Nato Strap

The black/gray nylon band, I love this band, and this style of nato band is also used on another Omega 007 watch, that is Seamaster Spectre. Octopus also offers the stainless steel mesh bracelet for this watch, but the nato band looks better on the watch I think. At last, the watch is equipped with a PT5000 automatic movement, this movement has a good reputation in Chinese watch industry, its accuracy and stability are acceptable.

Categories
Octopus

Octopus Tudor Pelagos Black Homage Watch Review

Octopus Tudor Pelagos Wrist Shot

Have you heard about Octopus watch? I did not know this micro brand before, there are too many niche watch brands in China, some I have tried and are very nice, some I still want to buy even my Chinese homage watches collection is already very huge. The development of Chinese watch industry is rapid, especially these niche brands in recent years, although most of them copied the Swiss watches designs, they do offer many cheap options for us who love watches. The Octopus, like the Steeldive, Proxima and San Martin, makes outstanding diving-style homage watches, perhaps these four brands are operated by one team, one thing I am very sure that they are made and assembled in a city of Guangdong, perhaps in Dongguan, I know there are many factories in Guangdong that make watch parts. The Octopus watch I will review today is a Tudor Pelagos homage, I bought the black one, the watch company also offers blue model.

The watch has a case that is fully brushed, it has a diameter of 39mm, not very thick, only 11.4mm, including the crystal. My friend bought it for me from Taobao.com in China, it is said to be made with Titanium, but I found it seems not Titanium but stainless steel when I received it three days ago, I am a little disappointed. Well, perhaps they offer two versions, I found the Titanium model has a higher price. The bezel has a black insert with white lume markers, the black bezel insert is indeed ceramic made like they said, that’s good, and the lume is very strong, the bezel and dial have the same blue lume light in the dark. The screw-in crown has a Octopus sculpture on the face.

Octopus Tudor Pelagos Crown

The black dial is completely an immitation of the dial of Tudor Pelagos, the wide hands and big square hour markers are classic designs on Tudor Pelagos, these two elements use wide and big design to enhance readability and also can be applied with enough lume material to offer a stronger lume light in the dark. The middle letter “O” in the word “OCTOPUS” is changed to brand’s logo, while I think the German word “KRAKEN” is no needed. By the way, the white minute markers are on an oblique inner bezel, this enhances the three-dimensional effect of the entire dial.

Octopus Tudor Pelagos Bracelet

The Octopus Pelagos homage is equipped with a PT5000 automatic movement, while a better SW200 movement is also offered, I chose the cheaper PT5000, it is enough use for me, I won’t choose a Swiss movement for a Chinese homage watch, not worth it, but I will choose a Swiss movement for a replica Rolex, haha. With this PT5000, now the watch gains 5 seconds per day, well, this accuracy is acceptable til now.

Octopus Tudor Pelagos Case Back
Octopus Pelagos Lume
Categories
San Martin

San Martin Explorer Tiffany Blue Homage Review

San Martin Tiffany Blue

The watches made by San Martin are selling very well, San Martin has also accumulated a high reputation among watch fans, everybody knows the solid quality of their watches and unique box, it is really a good custom-made brand coming from China. I made a research online and found San Martin is more popular among so many custom-made watch brands, San Martin is one of my most favorite Chinese watches, perhaps it is not as famous as other big traditional Chinese brands like Sea-gull, but the homages from San Martin seem to be more welcomed among watch fans.

San Martin Blue Dial

The watch is full stainless steel made, it is a homage of the old Rolex Explorer watch, but with a Tiffany blue dial, which looks like the style of modern Oyster Perpetual. Besides the Tiffany blue dial, the watch also has a black dial option.

San Martin Tiffany Blue Wrist Shot

The case is made with solid 316L stainless steel, its diameter is about 36mm, I think it is a little small for men, while a very suitable size for ladies, the case thickness is 11.3mm, including the crystal. The case is brushed, while the sides and bezel are polished. Seeing from the sides, the case has a beautiful arched shape to make sure it can fit your wrist more comfortably. The crown has “SAN MARTIN” carving inside a hexagon.

San Martin Bracelet Logo

The dial is the soul of this watch, many people like the tiffany blue color, the SAN MARTIN shield logo at 12 o’clock is three-dimensional, take a close look at the logo, it is delicately completed in a sanded background. All hour markers, including the numbers 3, 6 and 9, are applied with white luminous material, so are hour hand and minute hand, they will emit a strong blue lume light in dark conditions. The dial has some similarity to that of Rolex Explorer, the 3-6-9 dial design is an iconic feature, the central hands have a solid axis, many women choose this watch due to its Tiffany blue dial, while you can also buy a black dial version for your boyfriend. By the way, the dial is under protection of a domed sapphire crystal.

San Martin Dial Lume

The watch is powered by a PT5000 automatic movement, I did not hear this movement before, but it is said that PT5000 is cloned from ETA 2824. The movement beats at 28,800VPH, it has 25 jewels and 38-hour power reserve. The movement is manufactured in China, by H.K. Precision Technology. San Martin also offers a SW200 automatic movement option for this watch, yes, I admit that SW200 is better, but the cost is also very higher. By the way, I have had this watch for almost three weeks, the watch is about 18 seconds faster each day, it is ok for me.