Thanks for all the replies! @AsAnAtheist @mike120I looked on eBay for a Tissot PR50, but couldn't find any autos in my price range (there weren't many at all). Anywhere else to check? Or, anyone on this forum looking to sell one?
Keep your eyes out for it here on the forum or on ebay, I tend to see one every few months.
Last time I caught one it was selling for $120 on ebay.
I don't really find the whole swiss made to be a hype, or at least with Tissot, Hamilton, Omega, Tag Heuer (In-house movements are excquisite) it doesn't seem to be hype.
I started with affordable watches but quickly turned to slightly more expensive but still low end pieces (tissot for example).
I've bought then returned 2x $200 seikos (Seiko SKX007/Orange monster) also bought: an Orient Ray, Orient Chicane (sister's husband, turned out to be utter crap), King Seiko 36000 bph (didn't do the deal, store was likely selling a franken seiko), Beijing Zungu, Several Parnis Portuguese (5?),sterile submariner (2x), alphas submariner, Invicta 8926C (NH35A), a couple citizens, Kenneth cole/fossil (automatics). I am sure I am missing some...
All my watches are taken under a loupe, then microscope (up to 100x, anything higher is not doable with the crystals, and case backs). What I find is rather puzzling to be perfectly honest. This will be a bit of a long post.
All of them, without exception have or had QC issues, and the "Swiss made" Tissots however have been the best, by far:
Orient Ray: Lume uneven and bulged out on one of the hands visible with the naked eye, specks of dirt on hands/indices. Other than that, good stuff. Very nice watch tbh, some things bugged me about it thus it got flipped.
Orient Chicane: Crooked hour markers, specks of dirt on some hands, possible scratch marks or maybe finger oils on indices.
Beijing Zungu: Dirt in dial (thought it was a scratch on logo, turned out to be a flake of something), scratch makes on hands, and indices, movement has burr left and a little dirt left, wasn't much dirt at all. Indices are left very rough on the sides, almost as if someone took a file to it.
Alpha Submariner: Probably one of the worst ones. Dirt/lume in dial. Some scratches on indices. Movement was dirty, and mechanically challenged. Minutes and hour hands would get stuck, or jump. (1-2 hours off, or 20-40 minutes off). Very poor assembly.
Parnis ranged: 2 were flawless on the dials. Others had dirt, one had excess glue (noticeable by loupe only). All movements had dirt in them, 2 were oiled, 2 were not. One was trashed. Great little movements though, incredibly accurate. All of them except the trashed one ended around 5 s/ day.
Out of all them: The Tissot Le Locle, and Tissot Visodate had the least flaws... by far.
Tissot Le Locle: Face is flawless. The date wheel had about maybe .0001mm paint chip on the number 19 or 29 iirc. Barely visible with the loupe impossible to see with the eye. Caseback, flawless, movement looked clean/oiled/well finished.
Tissot Visodate: 2 specks of dirt in the dial after checking every mm of the dial with a microscope, the fine line in the middle of the minute hand is crooked, hardly noticeable. Movement is fairly clean, microscopic specks here and there. Many times better than any other non tissot watch I've seen.
Anyways that's my short experience in watches.
