Tudor Black Bay, a DHGate experiment

[Dallasdude77]

Let me start off by saying this was an experiment. In the 7 months I have been on RWI, I have purchased 6 reps from RWI TDs (addiction runs in my family lol)...that being said, I am not looking for judgement here. I've read all the horror stories and know you get what you pay for. I just want to share my experience.

So red is my favorite color...I don't know why. I hated it as a kid, but now that I'm older, I can't get enough of it. So much so, that I paid an extra $3,000 to have the black leather seats removed from my car and replaced with red leather...don't judge.

I have been in lust with the Tudor Black Bay in red ever since I discovered it here on the forum, but I have been apprehensive to purchase it because I am a very big guy and smaller watches usually look weird on me...almost like I'm wearing a woman's watch...so I didn't want to spend close to $300 on a watch I may not ever wear.

I heard about DHGate from a post here and I check it out from time to time and have always been tempted due to their CHEAP prices, but I've never followed through due to the horror stories I've heard on here...until now. I came across this Black Bay in red for $107 with free DHL shipping. The seller had tons of positive feedback and this particular watch had 5 star reviews with pics posted from 2 of the purchasers so I decided to give it a shot.

I ordered it Saturday and received it today (Wednesday)...it was coming from China so I was greatly surprised to receive it in just 4 days. Upon opening it, I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised. There are some obvious callouts, but for just over $100usd, I really can't complain.

The watch itself looks and feels good. The lume is insane, the movement seems solid and the second hand has a nice sweep. The bracelet and buckle leave much to be desired, but I'm planning to add a leather strap, so that is irrelevent. The most notable callouts are that the bezel seems to be a fraction of a mm off from the numbers, the pearl looks a little off compared to pics of gen and higher end reps, and the branding on the buckle is slightly different. Overall, I can't complain for the price.

Sorry for the novel, but I tend to get chatty after a few drinks. Now for the pics:

 

[RepPossessed]

An aliexpress thread was opened about 2 years ago with the same watch.

 

[federico1203]

Let me start off by saying this was an experiment. In the 7 months I have been on RWI, I have purchased 6 reps from RWI TDs (addiction runs in my family lol)...that being said, I am not looking for judgement here. I've read all the horror stories and know you get what you pay for. I just want to share my experience.

So red is my favorite color...I don't know why. I hated it as a kid, but now that I'm older, I can't get enough of it. So much so, that I paid an extra $3,000 to have the black leather seats removed from my car and replaced with red leather...don't judge.

I have been in lust with the Tudor Black Bay in red ever since I discovered it here on the forum, but I have been apprehensive to purchase it because I am a very big guy and smaller watches usually look weird on me...almost like I'm wearing a woman's watch...so I didn't want to spend close to $300 on a watch I may not ever wear.

I heard about DHGate from a post here and I check it out from time to time and have always been tempted due to their CHEAP prices, but I've never followed through due to the horror stories I've heard on here...until now. I came across this Black Bay in red for $107 with free DHL shipping. The seller had tons of positive feedback and this particular watch had 5 star reviews with pics posted from 2 of the purchasers so I decided to give it a shot.

I ordered it Saturday and received it today (Wednesday)...it was coming from China so I was greatly surprised to receive it in just 4 days. Upon opening it, I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised. There are some obvious callouts, but for just over $100usd, I really can't complain.

The watch itself looks and feels good. The lume is insane, the movement seems solid and the second hand has a nice sweep. The bracelet and buckle leave much to be desired, but I'm planning to add a leather strap, so that is irrelevent. The most notable callouts are that the bezel seems to be a fraction of a mm off from the numbers, the pearl looks a little off compared to pics of gen and higher end reps, and the branding on the buckle is slightly different. Overall, I can't complain for the price.

Sorry for the novel, but I tend to get chatty after a few drinks. Now for the pics:

Sometimes is good to go ahead and test if the paradigms are true or not. Thanks for your note [emoji5]

Enviado desde mi SM-T810 mediante Tapatalk

 

[ArtyPoof]

I like the bronze and red tudor I think those colors fit the best I was going to pick one up from a TD on here after I got another watch that I really wanted first. I may just get this one honestly. What's the case diameter?

 

[Dallasdude77]

I like the bronze and red tudor I think those colors fit the best I was going to pick one up from a TD on here after I got another watch that I really wanted first. I may just get this one honestly. What's the case diameter?

The red and bronze are my favorites as well. Case diameter is 41mm.

 

[JeffSpicoli]

Looks like a pretty good bang for the buck. What did you end up thinking about the fit? How big is your wrist that a 41mm looks like a ladies watch?

 

[chronomate]

I don't blame anybody for buying from Ali or DHG - but I would never pay 100 bucks for a rep that is totally off. And I would also never pay 100 $ when I know I can get ten times better quality for twice or three times the money only.

The crown is wrong, the hands are also (especially the hour hand), the rehaut polishing looks ugly, probably it has mineral glass, the dial printing looks terrible etc... does it at least have a domed dial?

I don't want to be harsh on you. It's your money and you decide what to do with that. But I really don't recommend anyone to buy such watches from DHG or Ali. For just a little more than what you paid, the ZF V2 is available. Also with mineral crystal and a 23j movement only. But still much better in look and probably feel than the trash DHG sellers ship.

This is a decent BB rep for little money, far from perfect but okay for what it costs: http://www.intime01.co/tudor/1736-heritage-black-bay-zf-1-1-best-edition-on-bracelet-a23j-v2.html

So, if you only bought the DH Gate watch as an experiment or test, that's fine. But you should not advertise here how good it is. Because it isn't. Also not for less than 100$. And someone new here on RWI might even fall for it when reading such "review".

 

[2fake4u]

Well now ive seen it all. People getting upset at others for buying cheap fakes instead of expensive fakes...

If this works for him, who cares? you linked him a very similar version, with all its tells, with the same movement for double the price once you factor in shipping...

 

[chronomate]

Well now ive seen it all. People getting upset at others for buying cheap fakes instead of expensive fakes...

If this works for him, who cares? you linked him a very similar version, with all its tells, with the same movement for double the price once you factor in shipping...

I'm not upset at all, just stated my opinion. Read my post again and then it hopefully is okay with you

And no, the version I linked has far less obvious tells comparing the rep the OP posted, tho it's far from perfect.

 

[Dallasdude77]

I don't blame anybody for buying from Ali or DHG - but I would never pay 100 bucks for a rep that is totally off. And I would also never pay 100 $ when I know I can get ten times better quality for twice or three times the money only.

The crown is wrong, the hands are also (especially the hour hand), the rehaut polishing looks ugly, probably it has mineral glass, the dial printing looks terrible etc... does it at least have a domed dial?

I don't want to be harsh on you. It's your money and you decide what to do with that. But I really don't recommend anyone to buy such watches from DHG or Ali. For just a little more than what you paid, the ZF V2 is available. Also with mineral crystal and a 23j movement only. But still much better in look and probably feel than the trash DHG sellers ship.

This is a decent BB rep for little money, far from perfect but okay for what it costs: http://www.intime01.co/tudor/1736-heritage-black-bay-zf-1-1-best-edition-on-bracelet-a23j-v2.html

So, if you only bought the DH Gate watch as an experiment or test, that's fine. But you should not advertise here how good it is. Because it isn't. Also not for less than 100$. And someone new here on RWI might even fall for it when reading such "review".

First of all, I'm honored that you took the time to chime in on my post. Your Black Bay pic collage post is to blame for my love of this watch!!!

Yes, this was an experiment. I've been curious to actually see first hand what you get from sites like Alli and DHgate, and I had some extra Christmas money, so I figured $100 lost wasn't a big deal. Like I said in my original post, I am a very big guy and tend to stick to watches in the 44-47mm range so I did not want to spend $300+ dollars on a watch that I would never wear if it was just too small. I have several gen and rep watches in the 39-40mm range that get no wrist time for that very reason.

I'm sorry if I made this sound like a raving review for a subpar watch. I noted just as many flaws as I did good points. I'm still pretty much an idiot when it comes to all the additional flaws you pointed out...but my knowledge is growing daily thanks to this forum and awesome posters such as yourself. But for my limited knowledge, I'd still say this isn't a terrible watch for the price. Is it the same quality as the reps I've purchased from RWI TDs? F@#K no!!! But it runs well and still gets compliments.

It has served its purpose as I now know that the size is perfect and when it dies on me, I will definitely be purchasing a much better version! I'd honestly love your recommendation on which version/dealer to purchase from

 

[preppyr6]

Oddly enough (and also a couple drinks in), I almost feel paying the extra $$$ is a badge of honor. Admittedly, some of the reps on the TDs sites aren't worth it by any stretch...but, the reps that are reviewed in epic detail on RWI and nitpicked, at times so extensively that they result in V2s and V3s, those are the reps that I feel comfortable wearing.

The ones on Ali and DHG, tbh, I dont know if Im getting a 1/10 quality or a 8/10 quality. And after buying off Ali and DHG for well over a year, I've learned that in a most cases, the old adage holds...you get what you pay for.

My personal preference is to 1) stick to the reps heavily reviewed on RWI and 2) stick to RWIs TDs...thats how I employ quality control beyond what my limited-experienced eyes can see. When enough gen-owners are saying the reps are nearly 1:1...thats when I feel confident in what Im buying.

Just my .02

 

[britain4]

Well now ive seen it all. People getting upset at others for buying cheap fakes instead of expensive fakes...

If this works for him, who cares? you linked him a very similar version, with all its tells, with the same movement for double the price once you factor in shipping...

Don't think I've seen anyone getting upset here, I would just echo what chronomate said in that I'd rather spend $300 on one nice watch I'd be happy with than 3 from AliExpress which I'd always be a bit disappointed in.

More to the point though if someone is looking for a cheap Black Bay I have no idea why they wouldn't just buy this: http://watchstation01.com/watches/t...y-zf-11-best-edition-on-bracelet-a23j-v2.html - works out at $108 plus postage

 

[chronomate]

First of all, I'm honored that you took the time to chime in on my post. Your Black Bay pic collage post is to blame for my love of this watch!!!

Yes, this was an experiment. I've been curious to actually see first hand what you get from sites like Alli and DHgate, and I had some extra Christmas money, so I figured $100 lost wasn't a big deal. Like I said in my original post, I am a very big guy and tend to stick to watches in the 44-47mm range so I did not want to spend $300+ dollars on a watch that I would never wear if it was just too small. I have several gen and rep watches in the 39-40mm range that get no wrist time for that very reason.

I'm sorry if I made this sound like a raving review for a subpar watch. I noted just as many flaws as I did good points. I'm still pretty much an idiot when it comes to all the additional flaws you pointed out...but my knowledge is growing daily thanks to this forum and awesome posters such as yourself. But for my limited knowledge, I'd still say this isn't a terrible watch for the price. Is it the same quality as the reps I've purchased from RWI TDs? F@#K no!!! But it runs well and still gets compliments.

It has served its purpose as I now know that the size is perfect and when it dies on me, I will definitely be purchasing a much better version! I'd honestly love your recommendation on which version/dealer to purchase from

No worries, you're good. I just wanted to extend the information on reps like that to the full picture :wink:

 

[RepPossessed]

Well now ive seen it all. People getting upset at others for buying cheap fakes instead of expensive fakes...

If this works for him, who cares? you linked him a very similar version, with all its tells, with the same movement for double the price once you factor in shipping...

I tend to agree... too many people are too quick to roast other members for their lesser quality reps just as i did in another post.

I think considering this is off DH it is acceptable and presentable for $100 shipped


but britain 4 makes a good point there... shop around on td's and you can still get great deals