This thread is for the discussion of affordable watches, vintage, clomage, replicas, straps, and modifications.Old sticky: https://imgur.com/a/NFMXDuKLast thread: >>18594081
>>18608752Dinner plate
>>18608752Post your office/work shitters
any DIY anon here? someone that built a watch from parts from various websites? how's the general quality?
>>18608752that looks like festering shit swirling down a toilet
>>18608765why do japs make such fuckhuge monstrosities
>>18608806Aiming for the sumo wrestler market
>>18608798My experience is a single watch, but sure. Hands are good (for like 5 bucks), dials are good (for like 30 bucks), movements are good (for like 40 bucks), the cases are decent (for like 30 bucks). If you're expecting great flat mirror polishes or nice brushed finishes you're not going to get them, maybe the dropshipper sites give you slightly higher quality for 2-3x the price of alix. The hardest thing is finding what you want, at least on ali, because their search tool is hot dogshit.
I don't understand buying alibaba crap. If you want a cheap watch, there are plenty of reputable companies selling extremely cheap watches. Casio and Timex can give you any style you want at any price point (if you're a quartzpleb)
I just bought the Seiko and now I'm done. Put this together showing all the watches I bought in the last 24 hours. A lot of you guys gave me good advice about what to get and what to avoid. I appreciate it. I'm sure some of you will tell me what starter watch I could have gotten with the money. I'm happy with this selection. This is a real splurge for me.
>>18608859I think this is a mostly fine collection. your bad purchases are cheap. the $220 chinese thing looks decent, it has a vintage omega vibe, I wonder if it holds up
>>18608887The $3 bling one is a joke. I put one up in a previous thread. REAL fucking ridiculous. And when I went to buy I couldn't track it down. Just look at it. Obviously it's a gag, a goof and a spoof. The Berny seems like the real pointless purchase. Maybe I can cancel it before it ships. Or maybe I'll like it. Who knows.
>>18608898>>18608859Post pics when you get everything
>>18608898well I mean at 3 dollars I couldn't even blame you wasting it on shiny paperweight. As for the BERNY thing, I almost want to tell you to keep your order and report back to us how bad it is. I see them come up on Amazon too and it's one of those random chinese thing that floods the market. I'm a sucker whenever I see a reflective dial. what's that 220 chinese thing about? a rising brand? I've only looked at your picture about it, no further research, but the polishing and layout looks more quality than I expect from a fly-by-night clomage shop. I'm excited to know more about it.and the 60 dollar pastel thing. is that quartz? I'd say it's too much for a no name quartz, too little for a non name automatic, so idk what ot make of it.
>>18608900For sure. My stupid MVMT 47mm (I didn't even think about measurements or even see it on a wrist before impulse buying it) showed up yesterday but I'm leaving it in the box and shipping it back tomorrow. I'm going to try and forget I was so stupid.
>>18608902The Chinese one is the same as those Seagull 1963 watches and the Sugess ones everyone was going on and on about on youtube. Has a full window in the back and fancy gooseneck guts. Good sapphire dome. I spent more than I wanted to get a 38mm I liked the design of. So many panda chronos from $150 to $250 with the good Japanese movements apparently. I just saw a lot of video reviews where the guys said it had stuff only $2,000 watches usually have, and how the Chinese are really blowing everyone away with them. Just too shiny and cool to ignore.The $60 one got some good reviews, like it's great for the price. I don't care that much about names. I got those couple but they don't even have as good of crystal as the Chinese do.
>>18608904When you get the 220 chinamen, check if its buttons are tactile or slippery. Check if the steel feels as solid as the seiko's steel. Check if the tick is jittery. Check if the seconds hands bounces up and down. And check if the strap is pleather. Those are the things it looks like might be getting corner cut here. Cut corners isn't bad if the watch still works what you want it for. Like, I wouldn't even use a chronograph function really. And you can just put on your own strap. I have an old soviet watch with a flimsy seconds hand, but it only bounces around if you're moving your wrist around while looking at the watch.
>>18608859>$765 totalYou could have had etiher a Hamilton (Khaki field or murph), or a Seiko Prospex, a Junghans Max Bill, maybe a second hand Grand Seiko.But instead you got 7 SHIIIIIITTTTTTTTTERRRRSS!!!
>>18608915Impressive how the kind of people who post shit like this always have the worst fucking taste in watches.
>>18608859Kinda funny how you started wanting one single watch and ended up buying 7. I like the Seiko, the Citizen and the Chronograph, solid choices
>>18608915at least he got 7 shitters instead of your suggestion to get just 1 shitter
>>18608915Is this NOT the "poorfag shitters" thread? lolAs I predicted, someone thinks I should have gotten ONE watch for that price.I'm not a watch guy. I'm still not a watch guy even though I've now got like 10 watches to my name. They aren't shitters. Maybe the Berny. Definitely the bling thing for $3. But they're solid watches from what I know and I wouldn't have ever been able to decide on or be happy with one $750 watch. That's your thing. I did get a Seiko. I'm sure it's fine. I'd not have appreciated a $750 Seiko like you would. Seems like a huge waste of money to me. This whole thing kind of feels like a waste of money. But I've been working my ass off for years with no reward. Now I'm going to be a normal and frugal person once again. >>18608916Taste is subjective. Out of all of those watches you can't possibly think they're all ugly or useless. Maybe you want the foppish dandy watch snob thread. I saw one with some cunt like you showing off his $5,000 gold watch and telling everyone else they're gay for not being on his level. This thread is not that thread.
>>18608915>>18608859>>18608921Here's the watch tiers in USD or EUR:Under 50: Digital Casio classics, no frills50-100: Respectable quartz from Casio, maybe a few "respectable" Timex300: Decent enthusiast entry level automatics (Seiko, Citizen, Orient).300-600: nicer versions of 300 dollar watches 600-1000: 300 dollar watches pretending to be something the aren't1000-2000: indie watches pretending to be more creative than they are2000-3000: compromised luxury watches3000: quality beginsThere's no real value improvement from 300 to 3000, you're just paying for different marketing stories.
>>18608928I'm not saying your shitters are bad man, I'm saying his recommendations for buying one watch instead are terrible.
>>18608919Yeah, it's funny but concerning. I've become pretty impulsive lately.Glad you don't think I'm a complete fucking idiot. I feel the same way about those three. Everything else is just gravy if they work at all. I must say I'm a lot more confident in the Cit and the Seiko just because I got them from Jomashop which is at least a legit business. All the others are Aliexpress and I don't know what to expect. I think I got some stuff from them a few years ago and it took weeks to arrive. And the reviews can be hit or miss. I didn't read anything concerning about the watches I bought. That whole style of chrono had about 1 in 6 reviews saying they got something slightly different from what they expected, but no one was really disappointed. I spend the most time choosing that one. I really don't like navigating that site at all. Good to be done with all this.
>>18608934This is what you should do, buy a a box for your watches, one with 6-8 slots and impose yourself to just fill the box with ones you like and never get one again (unless you get rid of ones you don't like).
>>18608930Oh. See I don't even know what bad taste is. I assume I'm the one with the bad taste. If you know that a bunch of $600 - $700 watches suck you're an expert compared to me.
>>18608929>$3,000.00 - quality beginsThat's fucking bleak. That's why I don't want to be a watch person. I'd be interested to know if you have that mindset because you have and can afford the "good" watches or because you aspire to? That's really crazy taste you have. I'm not sure what's supposed to be so great about watches over $3,000. That's almost like saying all cars suck until you get to Rolls-Royce.
>>18608915>Junghans Max BillI just looked that up. Are you kidding? I don't think I would want a watch with such a minimalist style for $50. I just don't like the look of it at all. And all the ones I saw were like $1,200. Insane.
>>18608928>I saw one with some cunt like you showing off his $5,000 gold watchYou're talking about the Patek Philippe in gold? That's a 40k watch, if you melted it down it'd probably still be worth more than 5k. It'd look better too.
>>18608940Yes when I first got into watches I decided let me just get "the one" so I'll stop looking into it. I got a 5500 vintage rolex. It's older so it's cheaper than modern stuff, not waterproof, but besides that it's beautiful in every way, all original with papers, box, and chrono24 authentication, etc. I have had it for a while, but I treated the crown poorly for a while and so needed to get it repaired, and I decided to get a full service so it's been at Rolex HQ for 2 months and will still be there for another month. Therefore I've gone back into the weeds searching for a good substitute to hold me over for its few months of service. This is how I started exploring the lower end, and how I found that you don't really get much watch above 300 dollars until you finally reach the luxury tier around 3000 dollars. There's all sorts of design gimmicks and "historical lineage" pieces alone the way, but under the hood and all specs included they're mostly off the shelf parts under different artistic design hoods until you get to the true luxury tier.
>>18608940>>18608969 (continued)>I'm not sure what's supposed to be so great about watches over $3,000. Obviously, they all just tell time and a 25 dollar casio tells time more accurately than anything mechanical. But if you want to talk about feel, weight, legibility, movement, joy, that's where you need to go into the mid 4 figures and up territory. If you can, stop by a store that sells Rolex and ask to see an oyster perpetual, they're "entry" level rolex, and put it on your wrist, read it from all angles, watch the seconds hand sweep, and *enjoy* reading the time. It's another world. But of course, you pay, and heroin is cheaper, so you'll have to make a choice.If I went on with the tiers, there would even be tiers above, around 30000 is when you start to see luxury innovation and complications, like A Longe and Sohn Jump Time, or Patek Phillipe Perpetual Calendar, or Ressence's Oil Filled mechanical watches. 300000+ will get you minute repeaters and other watches that chime.
>>18608966>you ned something that tells the timeLet's be real, watches are not for telling the time anymore they are more akin to having a fancy bracelet on your wrist.
>>18608972Not all of us carry phones around everywhere we go. And if you do I pity you. My watch is absolutely to tell me the time.
>>18608940>>18608969 (continued)>>18608971 (continued)>That's almost like saying all cars suck until you get to Rolls-Royce.Rolex is not the Rolls-Royce of cars. Rolex is the Mercedes Benz of cars. Pricey, but reliable, well respected, and not unheard of. Many people will never see a Rolls Royce despite most people owning cars. Yet despite most people *not* owning watches, you probably pass several Rolexes on people you walk by every day.
>>18608972>>18608973I think we can agree not everyone should be expected to have their phone out to tell the time always, so watches do serve a purpose in telling time. Yet at the same time we have to admit that a 25 casio tells time just as well or better than anything more expensive than it, so looks, aesthetics, feel, and legibility are definitely drivers of any watch more expensive than that.
>>1860892910 years ago maybe, a $100 chink watch will rape a $300 seiko/citizen/orient watch
For a vintage style watch, Baltany or Kuoe?
>>18609043>a $100 chink watch will rape a $300 seiko/citizen/orient watchmaybe, at twice the weight and with jagged edges, if you don't get a dud
>>18608929>3000: quality beginslol no it doesn't, it begins at 6.5k now
Let me guess. You NEED more
>>18609138You can get to 3k if you’re willing to go vintage,But I get your point. Anything new and lux has to be 6.5k at least
>>18609153>You can get to 3k if you’re willing to go vintage,Examples? Watches were really shitty until 2015 or so. A higher tier luxury watch from I don't know 1999 looks and feels like a shittier tier Seiko now.
>>18609158
>>18609172Yeah this looks like a flimsy tin women's watch. Everything on it is shittier than on a modern Orient.
>>18609174You know NOTHING. How did you even get in the internet. Get your EYES checked and your BRAIN checked
>>18608929>watch tiersdestroys your retarded tiers.inb4 mah heritage. both swiss and japan were originally just seen as just shitty cheap watch producers without heritage/"feels", there's nothing magical about them. you've just been marketed to like a retarded women who demands a diamond ring because "feels".https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcHbNCTipJo
>>18609176>posts random alibaba crap his favorite eceleb was shilling on youtube History is not just a fancy marketing story,It’s a proven reputation for delivering on promises. Nothing that the entire continent of China has done yet
>>18609175The reddit check-list>SOLID end-links>SAPPHIRE crystal>SCREW LINKED bracelet
>>186091782/3rds wrongVintage Rolex mastered hollowed steel. That’s why vintage Rolex steel bracelets are even lighter than titanium bracelets today and sell for 700 dollars MINIMUM.Vintage Rolex does not use Sapphire. This is using Acrylic.>Screw linked braceletYeah but so what? As opposed to pin linked? Watch screwdriver sets are dirt cheap on Amazon
>>18609177So like when you buy something that looks exactly like a GS you get something that doesn't? What promise lmfao?
>>18609099>jagged edgesthis is just retarded FUD. a $300 jap watch most likely has a made in china case at a standard lower than a $100 chinese watch. those japs gotta make a profit and pay for marketing somehow.
>>18609190You're just in love with that fucking video. Jeez. It better be as great as you claim when it gets here.
>>18609179I was talking about your dream-shitter you defensive ass-hat
>>18609184>get something that looks like a Grand Seiko from one angle>low quality steel >unfinished>jittery movement>movement doesn’t actually meet the spec of the Japanese movement it’s a “clone” of (no hacking, no manual winding) >movement breaks in 1 month>case is just a heavy slab of cheap steel because no one hollowed out unnecessary material>bracelet pulls at your hairs>bracelet is unfinished so it cuts at your skin>no one on the secondary market will dare buy your mistake off you>metal finishing rubs off on your skin>base metal underneath oxidizes with your sweatEnjoy your chinkomatic for 20 dollars cheaper than the Seiko it was copying
>>18609199I was talking about 3k vintage luxury
>>18609200>>base metal underneath oxidizes with your sweatmore retard FUD.i get it. anyone who profits from or has attached their personality to watches "needing to" cost more than a few hundred dollars must be seething, kvetching, coping and dilating right now.
Strange how there is always someone glazing ether chinkshit or rolex yet nether of them gets posted on the wrist, always auction photos or something grabbed from reddit.
>>18609226I'll post my chinkshit on my wrist when it arrives.
>>18608765shit strap
>>18609226feast your eyes on my chinkshit before it oxidized into dust
>>18609242Dust, huh? How long did that take to happen?
>>18609200What a bizarre level of cope. I love this idea that Chang somehow can't make a watch for 100 bucks because you're retarded and don't understand what things actually cost. I built my own watch with Chinese parts a few years back. The bezel and caseback are 100% stainless, because I filed them down. The body is almost certainly stainless, after 2 years of daily use there isn't any corrosion. This hands were polished, not just stamped, and the movement was clearly OEM.
>>18609256>How long did that take to happen?2 more weeks
>>18609263Building something yourself is obviously going to give you something better than a chopshop pre-built because you are doing QC by your own hands
>>18608806Building bigger is cheaper because it leaves space for more off the shelf parts. Building small is the biggest challenge in watch manufacturing
>>18609334The parts I bought are literally the parts the chinks use. The 37mm Tandorio diver uses the same set of hands (mine have a hole because they were packaged poorly and I got a refund on them), and the exact same case and bezel. All that differs is the dial.
>>18609200>mfw there are people in this board willingly putting themselves in the line of fire to defend soiko's honor
>>18609343What’s your issue with Seiko?
>>18609190Just because they polished the piece they sent to your favorite eceleb doesn’t mean they will polish yours
>>18609361Can I polish my own? I ordered one of those Militados. I have access to a guy who does metal machining and makes his own custom parts for stuff he works on. If there's any problem whatsoever with sharp edges I'm kind of looking forward to it. I can really round them off or customize them. I may buy some under $10 watches in fact just to do that. Cut cool designs and etchings into them. Also, I think I'm going to take all my watches and engrave my initials into them like people do with tools. Maybe it won't keep them from getting stolen but it'd make them worthless to anyone forever. Or maybe just come up with my own little signature to scratch in. Like branding cattle.
>>18609200>unfinished>jittery movement>movement breaks in 1 month>metal finishing rubs off on your skin>base metal underneath oxidizes with your sweatNone of these are true for the watch I bought for 18€. I didn't list the bracelet stuff because it has a leather one so it's not really applicable.Point is, my absolutely bottom of the barrel chink watch beats many of your assumptions about much more expensive chink watches, so you're completely out of your depth
>>18609396Good for you. I'm kind of excited for my chink watches and having them be good working timepieces. Can you post yours? I want to see what you consider 'bottom of the barrel'.
>>18609408Pic related. It's got a very basic undetailed design, a hand wound movement, acrylic glass, a cheap movement I had to tune to be even vaguely accurate, and I'm pretty sure it's made of lower quality steel. But even with all that in mind, it's still a mechanical watch with some amount of detail, like applied markers and not completely flat hour and minute hands and a lightly embossed logo, and a case that I'm pretty sure is steel of some kind, given that it has some weight to it and I have yet to see any signs of a different metal underneath, even from scratches, and all for less than I'd have to pay for even an f91w.
>>18609416I like it. How much did it cost total in USD? Is it 40mm?
>>1860942518€ is about $21, that's shipping included. Although that was with a discount of some kind, regular price is probably closer to $25. The size is 36mm iirc
>>18608915>>18608859LMAO you could have got an Omega Constellation
>>18609570Yuck. I wouldn't buy that if I had a billion dollars. I'm happy with the now 8 watches I got instead.
>>18609570Could have got a real jap-made Seiko movement put into an Italian made artistic case with money to spare
>>18609574>Yuck. I wouldn't buy anything good if I had a billion dollars. I only want watches shilled to me by desperate "watch youtubers" being paid by the CCP
>>18609574This is also for you by the way >>18609575Or at least, it would have been if you hadn't sperged out on chinese crap. Thank god you accidentily bought a seiko and a citizen during your manic ordeal
>watch>watch, japan!
>>18609586Watch maker tiers:>Ubermensch: Swiss>Untermensch: Germans, French, Italians>Auslanders: Japanese>Juden: Chinese
>>18609576>>18609585I explained to you snobby assholes many times that I'm not like you. You only care about brand names and expensive shit. You tried to get me to buy watches with shittier crystal and even movements in favor of some name brand watch. You are all diseased. Some of the Chinese "crap" I bought has better shit in it than the Seiko and the Citizen. You're dumb. And you have very different goals. And I bet if you didn't have any watches and you had $800 to blow, you wouldn't buy ONE watch -a used antique- either. So fuck you.
>>18609594KYS, edgy Nazi faggot.
>>18609575I'm being insulted by a wop.
>>18609416it's nice
>>18609613you are rubber and I am glue, whatever you say doesn't matter because I have a rolex and you're buying watches off alibaba
>>18609625I don't respect Rolex. I think you're a retard. I have more watches. I win.
>>18609634>>18609608omg it feels so GOOD to be white
>>18609647You're italian. I'M white. I don't know what you're posting or why you're still responding. I don't speak greaseball and I can't read it either.
>>18609652Having a temporary work permit in sweden doesn't make you white, Wakambe Chang
>>18609647Poorfags will never know the feeling of sporting a datejust while my AD fucks my wife unprotected
>>18609669You wouldn't know what having an AD is like, mine was really cool he even called me during the watch repair and said "hey I know you requested we tighten the water proof but that's just going to double the cost and you don't really need it" total bro. Also my wife doesn't know about my AD because she doesn't like that I bought a Rolex so we don't talk about it
>>18609672 "tightening the water proof"
>>18609679nah I just wanted to make sure it could handle a little rain or that I didn't have to take it off my wrist while washing my hands.
>>18609672Double the cost? It's 3 parts, none of which cost more than a dollar to manufacture, and maybe an hour worth of work. Crystal gasket, crown gasket, caseback gasket. Oh, sorry, these are "Rolex" parts, obviously they're much more complicated and totally worth whatever they're gouging you for.
>>18609684First of all, yes they are Rolex parts and so they're not kung fu chopped out of rusty tin sitting in a swamp on the Yangtze river.Secondly, the reason it would have cost more than usual waterproofing is that new gaskets aren't made for the vintage case, so they would have had to replace the entire case in addition to the gaskets. The AD advised me against it not just because of the extra cost but also because I still have the original paperwork for the watch, the paperwork's serial number corresponds to the case. Breaking the case would lose that connection which is very valuable on the collector market.
>>18609690>new gaskets aren't made for the vintage caseYeah, rubber rings are deeply complex.
>>18609692Rolex service guarantees its service for many years, they're not going to guarantee something is waterproof for a one off job, so they're only going to offer waterproof guarantees on their newer cases still in production. But as you said, I'm not going diving, it's enough to resist rain and hand washing
I didn't ask
>>18609703I was in BJs last week, the only two watches they had for sale were Invictas. one male and one female version
>>18609361>Just because they polished the piece they sent to your favorite eceleb doesn’t mean they will polish yoursthis is how it's gonna go now.anon buys his first watch. a $100 aliexpress chinkshitter, just to test the waters.it arrives and looks great. anon can’t find a single flawhe visits a big watch shop to see what he’s ‘missing’he sees zero difference between his $100 watch and the $10,000 one anon realizes anything over a few hundred bucks is just profit for big watch and imaginary superiority feelsbig watch seething and kvetching
>>18609710How about you post one on the your wrist and not in renders.
>>18609716
>>18609200>>jittery movementwearing my $50 chinkshitter. vh31. ticking smoothly at 4 times per second, just like it should. running 3 seconds slow since i set it 5 months ago.>>metal finishing rubs off on your skin>>base metal underneath oxidizes with your sweatthis literally never happens. go to reddit chinesewatches. no reports. your favourite swiss, german or japanese watch probably has a chink case made with chink steel too.
>>18609716>How about you post one on the your wristalready did: >>18609242
browsing chinese watches and saw this. i like their little octopus logo thing but "octopus kraken" is a bit retarded. "octopus" or "kraken" alone and i'd be more interested. much more interested if it came with no text except for the little octopus logo
>>18609242>quartzI hope you didn't spend more than 10 dollars on this.
>>18609808>Seiko VH31 quartzunc is afraid and confused by electricityhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYzpTocxmTg
>>18608806Yes.
>>18609679I'm not sure who this is making fun of. They both look like fucking idiots. Neither looks cool.
>>18609813Wait is this your excuse for spending more than 10 dollars on a quartz watch?
80 bucks gold plated Casio. These guys do an amazing job on the finishing for such a cheap price
