So I bought the cheapest DHgate rep I could find. So cheap, if you google the serial number on the watch you get "submariner" fake/counterfeit/etc. I bought it as a test. I haven't worn a watch in at least 10 years then out of the blue I decided I wanted a nice watch, probably a Rolex. So I got something that would approximate the weight and feel and if after a month of wearing it I still wanted a real one I would buy one. Which I now think I will.
The thing is this. It's a surprisingly decent watch. It has a few "tells". The crown on the dial face isn't quite right and the font on "feet" as in "1000 ft" is too large for this particular model (114060). Probably a few others. It runs about 30 seconds fast a day but exactly 30 seconds fast... So the movement is... decent? It is an automatic. It could be adjusted to run well. I can tell it has a clone of a 3135 movement since it has a stop for the date wheel function that is absent on the face. But it also has a lot of details like an inscribed rehaut, the little etched crown on the crystal and so on. It's also tough. I have treated it like shit for a month and neither the case or the crystal is scratched at all. The fake rubber b strap it came with is perfect.
It does have a gasketed, screw down crown that doesn't feel too bad. There is this perception that everything cheap and Chinese is garbage but that hasn't been my experience. I have bought swords that were inexpensive but were hand forged and obviously there was quite a bit of care and dare I say, pride, in their finishing and assembly. Why would people who make stuff feel any different about their products there than we do here. They need repeat buyers too. Maybe I just don't get it/smoking crack/whatever.
So my inquiry is whether people have actually water tested these cheap reps. Making something waterproof isn't rocket science with only a few points of entry. Once you are past 1 atm it's mostly about deformation of hardward around the gaskets.
The thing is this. It's a surprisingly decent watch. It has a few "tells". The crown on the dial face isn't quite right and the font on "feet" as in "1000 ft" is too large for this particular model (114060). Probably a few others. It runs about 30 seconds fast a day but exactly 30 seconds fast... So the movement is... decent? It is an automatic. It could be adjusted to run well. I can tell it has a clone of a 3135 movement since it has a stop for the date wheel function that is absent on the face. But it also has a lot of details like an inscribed rehaut, the little etched crown on the crystal and so on. It's also tough. I have treated it like shit for a month and neither the case or the crystal is scratched at all. The fake rubber b strap it came with is perfect.
It does have a gasketed, screw down crown that doesn't feel too bad. There is this perception that everything cheap and Chinese is garbage but that hasn't been my experience. I have bought swords that were inexpensive but were hand forged and obviously there was quite a bit of care and dare I say, pride, in their finishing and assembly. Why would people who make stuff feel any different about their products there than we do here. They need repeat buyers too. Maybe I just don't get it/smoking crack/whatever.
So my inquiry is whether people have actually water tested these cheap reps. Making something waterproof isn't rocket science with only a few points of entry. Once you are past 1 atm it's mostly about deformation of hardward around the gaskets.
