Value watches

[ilikegunspdx]

…Rolex. A couple parents leaned in to admire the smooth perpetual sweep of the second hand.

I peeked too, jamming my left hand into my jacket pocket so no one would notice that my identical looking $30 knock-off went tick, tick, tick.

FYI many of the newer quartz watches "sweep" now. Here's the $11 Omega replica/homage for example:

IMG_1900.mov

• ilikegunspdx
• Mar 8, 2026

I still prefer an actual automatic movement but these are better than the tick tick I think in terms of looks.

 

[thekingoftroy]

I've got a thing for watches and have around twelve of them. I wear a different one everyday. I have a couple Citizen Eco-drives, three different with automatic movement, a trusty Timex, Luminox Navy Seal, Glock watch, Apple Watch, Garmin and a cheap one off Amazon. I have a watch winder that I keep the automatics in so they keep time. I like them all but if I could only have one it would probably be one of my Eco-drives.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

FYI many of the newer quartz watches "sweep" now. Here's the $11 Omega replica/homage for example:

IMG_1900.mov

• ilikegunspdx
• Mar 8, 2026

I still prefer an actual automatic movement but these are better than the tick tick I think in terms of looks.

Fyi here is the number on that fast ticking quart movement. Zp25, I assume that's the movement number but don't know.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Seems to me buying these cheap watches is kind of like buying single cigars. You find out "I love/hate that brand" or I love/hate that country's tobacco (or watch style). Buying cheap lets you experiment. I suppose a person could return ones that you aren't happy with or sell on eBay. For the price of some of these though it's not worth the trouble. Sort of like experimenting with guns too I suppose but 1/10-1/20th the price. Pre-identifying the junk is the key it seems to me. Many YouTube reviews out there.

From what little I know so far cheapest ($10-$15 shipped) uses alloy case, mineral crystal, quartz movement. Suprisingly good quality watch band on the one I got (clasp feels cheap though).

Next tier is $22-$30. Alloy case, mineral crystal, automatic or quartz. Very happy with the jaragar automatic one. Happy with 1 zepellin, not happy with the other (junk).

Next tier is $50-$70ish. Some really excellent ones for this price point from what I can tell.

$100ish - no clue on these cuz I'm too cheap to buy one. When it gets above $100 I'll probably be looking more towards standard brands not micro brands or whatever they are called.

No clue on long term reliability of any of them. All the above subject to change. Just what I've seen so far. I'll update with my take on junk vs good as these trickle in.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Well so much for an inexpensive tritium watch. Got it today and no tritium, only lume. I guess they discovered they can make more money by eliminating tritium. The video shows tritium (see tubes in screenshot below) but the photos show it being flat where the tubes should be. So this one is going back. At least they make it easy to return. Print out prepaid label and give to postman.

This is what the old version that has tritium tubes looks like. New one looks identical except no tubes.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Got the 2 $27ish automatics today. The blue one is huge. Not for those that don't like big watches. Love that one.

Planet ocean homage is nice but not really my color. Bought it to have different than the orange one. Same strap as orange one. Thicker than orange one and heavier. Very happy with both for that $. Both have rotating bezels which I like.

IMG_2029.mov

• ilikegunspdx
• Mar 9, 2026

IMG_2031.mov

• ilikegunspdx
• Mar 9, 2026

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Got tired of looking at the garish red straps so I dyed them black. Looks much better now but still seems like too much red. Lume was still visible this morning. Seems to be super bright at first then fades pretty fast, but don't fade completely overnight. Good for $27 shipped anyway. I like that the dial markers are little 3d prisms and numbers are 3 d rather than printed. This one does have brush marks on outside of case (in contrast to the $11 one). Edge of bezel is still too shiny compared to stainless steel but no biggie.

 

[Tarawa86]

Got this $22 automatic last week. Huge watch, I think it is 49mm at the bezel. Looks to be a replica of the Breitling navitimer. Would love to have the real thing but boku bucks so not gonna do that.

Alloy not steel so it feels lighter than it should for that size. Movement is pretty darn accurate for an el cheapo. Sweep second hand. Little dials are day, date, 24 hour. Might be worth getting the black dial version if the movement holds up. Outside bezel rotates smoothly (no clicks) but no clue what all those numbers are for.
View attachment 2262052

I think the numbers are a used as a slide rule. Some pilot type watches have this setup

 

[ilikegunspdx]

@Ducati_Meister i have a Q for you. Got this watch and big second hand ticks continuously normal seconds (quartz).

Pushing the top pusher the top small dial makes 1/2 revolution per second, bottom small dial ticks seconds. After 1 minute top dial stops. Then if you push top pusher again it shows tenths of a second I think. Bottom dial stops.

My question is where are the minutes? Maybe I'm just supposed to just remember minutes? When you push bottom pusher (after it's stopped by pushing top pusher) the bottom dial returns to zero going backwards. For example if it was 4 minutes it would make 4 revolutions back to zero. Top small dial just goes forward to zero.

Let me know if you have any ideas on where to read minutes.

If stopwatch is running and you press bottom pusher then both small hands stop. If you push bottom pusher again the top dial goes very fast to catch up then runs normal. Bottom dial jumps to correct second mark and continues. I guess that's the lap timer function. Hope this makes sense hard to explain in words.

 

[Ducati_Meister]

@Ducati_Meister i have a Q for you. Got this watch and big second hand ticks continuously normal seconds (quartz).

Pushing the top pusher the top small dial makes 1/2 revolution per second, bottom small dial ticks seconds. After 1 minute top dial stops. Then if you push top pusher again it shows tenths of a second I think. Bottom dial stops.

My question is where are the minutes? Maybe I'm just supposed to just remember minutes? When you push bottom pusher (after it's stopped by pushing top pusher) the bottom dial returns to zero going backwards. For example if it was 4 minutes it would make 4 revolutions back to zero. Top small dial just goes forward to zero.

Let me know if you have any ideas on where to read minutes.

If stopwatch is running and you press bottom pusher then both small hands stop. If you push bottom pusher again the top dial goes very fast to catch up then runs normal. Bottom dial jumps to correct second mark and continues. I guess that's the lap timer function. Hope this makes sense hard to explain in words.
View attachment 2265817

Had to do a bit of research as I'm more familiar with mechanical chrono watches including flybacks and rattrapante pieces.

A flyback chronograph is a function that allows the user to reset and restart the timing function with a single press of a button, without needing to stop the chronograph first.

A Rattrapante chronograph, also known as a split-seconds chronograph, is a type of watch that can measure two separate time intervals that start at the same time but end at different times. It features an additional seconds hand that can be stopped independently. A mechanical lap timer in a way.

With your watch, these pics might help. The regular time keeping minutes look like it's read on the outer part of the dial where it shows 60 at the 12:00 position, then the graduations where it goes to 5, 10 and so forth. Hope this helps.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Had to do a bit of research as I'm more familiar with mechanical chrono watches including flybacks and rattrapante pieces.

A flyback chronograph is a function that allows the user to reset and restart the timing function with a single press of a button, without needing to stop the chronograph first.

A Rattrapante chronograph, also known as a split-seconds chronograph, is a type of watch that can measure two separate time intervals that start at the same time but end at different times. It features an additional seconds hand that can be stopped independently. A mechanical lap timer in a way.

With your watch, these pics might help. The regular time keeping minutes look like it's read on the outer part of the dial where it shows 60 at the 12:00 position, then the graduations where it goes to 5, 10 and so forth. Hope this helps.

View attachment 2265963 View attachment 2265964

That does help. Thx a lot!

 

[Jim Horn]

I like having a watch that keeps very accurate time. I also like having one that doesn't need batteries, if possible. Automatic watches provide the latter. Quartz movements provide the former. My Seiko Kinentic happens to do both. $45 from Goodwill for a "non working" because the early ones used a energy storage device with a short lifetime. Bought and installed a $20 new supercap to replace it and it's good for about 1 second drift every 5.5 days. Waterproof to 100M/328 feet. Sapphire like crystal. Has worked great for six years now.

I hate to see good devices thrown away when they can be easily restored to use!

 

[SSloan]

The word Value is subjective. Going noun, useful, this time.
Privileged to have presented a few useful watches/knives over the years.
I have always appreciated a good timepiece that tolerated stuff.
First 3, I utilize a preset hacking node of 2209, old habits die hard.

 

[DizzyJ]

The word Value is subjective. Going noun, useful, this time.
Privileged to have presented a few useful watches/knives over the years.
I have always appreciated a good timepiece that tolerated stuff.
First 3, I utilize a preset hacking node of 2209, old habits die hard.

View attachment 2266067 View attachment 2266068 View attachment 2266069 View attachment 2266070

You're talking my style right there!

 

[Medic!]

The word Value is subjective. Going noun, useful, this time.
Privileged to have presented a few useful watches/knives over the years.
I have always appreciated a good timepiece that tolerated stuff.
First 3, I utilize a preset hacking node of 2209, old habits die hard.

I always wanted a Marathon automatic. Think they use a Swiss sellita sw200 movement. ETA 2824-2 clone?
But the tariffs hit them hard and now I'll have to wait. Or give up?

Their 41mm GSAR was $1200 and went on sale at just over $1000.
Now they want $2400 with bracelet.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

I'm finding trying to find good watches for cheap pretty fun. Like someone said above it's the Wild West for sure. Here are 2 $16 (shipped) ones that came in yesterday:

Omega seamaster homage/replica

Tick tick quartz. Pros: very nice precise bezel rotation, really neat lume, band is actually good for what it is - lightweight of course but solid, raised 3d dial markers, nice background, no dust under crystal that I can see

Cons: pretty thick, shinier than if it were stainless, no brushed look on case, hands are kind of too shiny , mineral crystal as expected for $16

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Second $16 one, submariner type homage. Pros and cons similar to the one just above unless noted:

Pros: Fast tick wuartz. About 5 ticks per second I guess.

Cons: a) fairly stiff bezel - I think less clicks than the other one? - not as precise, b) smaller diameter. Proba same as most of the other submariner type watches from most brands like seiko etc but it's a minor "con" for me. C) band feels hollow and a bit noisy, feels pretty cheap. Pribabky avaialable with different bands for same price.

Both are keepers for $16 but I'll probably change band on the black one.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Just a heads up that Ali express has a big sale today. Couldn't resist another automatic watch for $14

Also what looks like pretty nice watch bands. I'm sure the clasp quality values as you go up in price but here is a basic $4.30 example

 

[ilikegunspdx]

I'm kind of liking this $9 one I got the other day. Just tick tick quarts but it's super thin. It looks like for the black watch bands they fire blue them cuz inside the clasp you can see subtle burn marks if you look hard for them. Kind of pilot type look with the arrow on top. I like the color. Can't find anything to complain about with it cuz so simple I guess is why. Printed dial markers. My kid got a burger meal at burgerville and it was flippin' $17! So looks good for half that price ha ha.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Impressed with the Paulareis planet ocean homage automatic (shown in post #107) so far. Have been wearing it a lot when working on house and car. So far it's been dropped on tile floor and vibrations from buffer, drill, impact driver (it's in my off hand wrist so vibrations are from what I'm holding -other than buffer which is 2 handed) and keeps excellent time. For $23 I'm gonna order one in blue. Only negatives I have on it is outside edge of bezel is too shiny, strap clasp feels too light (but works well), and bezel has some back play which is ok for me cuz so inexpensive.