[Arguy]

I am new to the watch scene, stating off with affordable <$100 dollar watches such as Pulsar. Honestly, having a great time siphoning through all these different watches. Anyways, I ran into a brand called Burei.

They have nice looking watches and are decently priced, but I cannot find anything about them, from sources other than the Burei company themselves.

this watch for example can be found for around the $80 dollar mark but claims things such as a sapphire dial window and what not.

Has anyone had experience with them in terms of quality and reliability? Or should they be avoided?

 

[Bodyblue]

Have not heard of them but there are so many brands out there it is difficult to stay on top of them. One thing, you cant ever go wrong Pulsar or Lorus, they are a Seiko brand and very well made. If you stick with them (and there are lots of cool ones) you wont have any doubts about quality.

 

[OvrSteer]

They're Chinese and most of their stuff are perhaps a little close for comfort to being a knockoff with a different name. The Swiss part is 100% nonsense.

I have to admit I'm curious and they do come up with some novel combinations that the originals don't feel like doing... That said, I'd be curious with "throwaway money" and not look at it as a long-lasting investment in a watch.

The quality is probably on par with an $80 Chinese watch-- IOW not likely to fall apart when you look at it as an $8 watch might, but all sorts of corners are cut and there's probably near zero water resistance despite whatever claims they want to make.

As Bodyblue noted, Pulsar, Seiko, and especially Casio/Casio Edifice will be a lot more reliable for the money. Other entry level watches from a number of other known-good brands are probably safer as well. Lorus cuts corners more along the lines of a Timex, but the better Timex and Lorus watches are decent for the money.

 

[Chascomm]

Another one of those "Swiss Since..." brands direct from Shenzhen?

 

[OvrSteer]

Another one of those "Swiss Since..." brands direct from Shenzhen?

Since the year of the sheep ;-)

Seriously, they may be quite decent for the money, but I'm not sure I want to front my money to find out.

 

[Arguy]

Well you guys helped me make my decision. I am going to skip on this watch unless I find it for a really cheap price.

Just like the Calibre watch, I knew nothing about it, but amazon had a lightning deal on it for $33 and for that price I quite enjoy it

with that being said, I am choosing to use my money to purchase a Seiko SNDC89P2

or maybe the one with the white dial =) not sure yet

also looking into the Invicta 8928OB Pro Diver, it is a beautiful watch

 

[goody2141]

For Seiko, I would highly recommend SPC, SNN, SNDF, SNDD, SNDA, SSC and SSB series watches. The SNDC will probably be nice as well, but haven't really seen any that I like the aesthetics of. I would search Google for "Seiko" plus any of the model prefixes. Such as "Seiko SPC". Look at pics and see what ones you like.

That Calibre watch, not sure what's going on with it. I'm thinking that some of the subdials won't work. It looks like some of the subdials are marked like a chronograph, while others look like multifunction.

For an inexpensive chronograph, sub 100 look at Casio. For example Casio EF503. Then over 100, look at Seiko as I mentioned above.

Fossil has been coming out with some good looking chronographs as well. They seem to have been using better movements lately. Fossil has a great warranty and will fix the watch for the price of shipping on most occasions.

 

[Bodyblue]

They're Chinese and most of their stuff are perhaps a little close for comfort to being a knockoff with a different name. The Swiss part is 100% nonsense.

I have to admit I'm curious and they do come up with some novel combinations that the originals don't feel like doing... That said, I'd be curious with "throwaway money" and not look at it as a long-lasting investment in a watch.

The quality is probably on par with an $80 Chinese watch-- IOW not likely to fall apart when you look at it as an $8 watch might, but all sorts of corners are cut and there's probably near zero water resistance despite whatever claims they want to make.

As Bodyblue noted, Pulsar, Seiko, and especially Casio/Casio Edifice will be a lot more reliable for the money. Other entry level watches from a number of other known-good brands are probably safer as well. Lorus cuts corners more along the lines of a Timex, but the better Timex and Lorus watches are decent for the money.

Or Caravelle or Bulova, anything with a real record of making excellent watches. Why take a chance with a no-name watch?

 

[Arguy]

You guys definitely persuaded me to go with something else for the money. Thank You for all the great suggestions. I have a good amount of thinking to do now

 

[OvrSteer]

You guys definitely persuaded me to go with something else for the money. Thank You for all the great suggestions. I have a good amount of thinking to do now

Yeah, Chinese watches can be quite hit-or-miss in terms of a value proposition. I think we're all in a holding pattern until someone breaks down and buys one.

It's probably about 50/50 between "great watch for the price" and "overpriced and not so good." It could be a really great bargain-- there are some great Chinese watches out there-- but with no history and none being sent to reviewers, it's a crap shoot.

 

[Jason504]

I have a Burei watch Yes it is cheap but for the money you can't beat it. Yes it does have a real sapphire glass. It's not bad for a inexpensive watch. I think the build quality is up on par with citizen or Fossil. For 80 dollars give it a try. It's not like your spending a grip on it. I was really shocked at how nice it was. I do have some other watches also. So I do know a quality watch when I see one. Now I would not spend over 100 on one. Look on amazon I got mine for 65 bucks. Good luck

 

[Jason504]

Actually I would put money on it... That you can not find a better quality watch for the same price.

 

[RossiRules]

Actually I would put money on it... That you can not find a better quality watch for the same price.

I disagree, I see many watch snobs on this site and having to do business in Shanghai and Hong Kong I disagree. I own watches priced from $10 quartz novelties to to 7k Swiss models from Omega & Rolex. However I still purchased the BUREI® Men's BM-5006-01A Gulliver Day and Date Automatic Calfskin Leather Watch (White Dial) it in Shanghai for about $40 US dollars. I thinkou ca uyit on Amazon for btwee $100 and $130.

Here is what I can say the case is extremely well made, and the fit and finish is fantastic. I know as I went to the factory where they will be producing partial polishing for a part that my company irobot will making during the factory's night shifts. Hweer, the band that came with watch was not leather, it was plastic and was advertised as genuine leather so I put a $20 band on it form Hadley Roma. I would rate the power reserve at about 25 to 30 hours as this particular model has a Miyota 8215 from Citizen's. This watch can be found for about $100 if you look around here in the States and you will be hard pressed to find an Automatic of this fit and finish for this price. I would say it is a light-year ahead of some popular Quartz based brands like Caravelle New York and likely better quality than many of the Parnis watches I have seen. It is a far better choice than a vast majority of Dept Store Quartz watches I have seen made by a ton of well known brands. Is it on line with the Entry level automatics of Seiko, Orient and Citizen's generally not. However if you are looking to buy your 1[SUP]st[/SUP] automatic and don't have the $300 or $400 to grab an entry level Tissot or Hamilton and you also don't have the $100 to 300 for any of the Seiko's, or Orients that you might want, this is a darn good place to start your automatic collection if you have your heart set on a new watch.

 

[RossiRules]

I put it on par with J Springs watches !

 

[Larry Berg]

I am new to the watch scene, stating off with affordable <$100 dollar watches such as Pulsar. Honestly, having a great time siphoning through all these different watches. Anyways, I ran into a brand called Burei.

They have nice looking watches and are decently priced, but I cannot find anything about them, from sources other than the Burei company themselves.

this watch for example can be found for around the $80 dollar mark but claims things such as a sapphire dial window and what not.

Has anyone had experience with them in terms of quality and reliability? Or should they be avoided?

Yes, I have. I am SO happy with my Burei model 17003-P52EG. It looks a LOT like a Citizen, feels great, is a perfect weight, and is just beautiful. I am SO glad I bought it, and I look forward to purchasing more Burei watches. Plus, the unique flush band clasp is interesting, works great, and really looks superb.

 

[HoustonReal]

I just checked Ali Express and you can get this watch for $54.40 or even a bit less if you use the AliX app.

http://www..........s.com/item/BURE...stal-shock-resistant-watches/32548335498.html

I did notice that they only rate this watch at 30M WR. There are DOM watches from Hong Kong in this price range with sapphire and 200M WR.

 

[HoustonReal]

... It is a far better choice than a vast majority of Dept Store Quartz watches I have seen made by a ton of well known brands. Is it on line with the Entry level automatics of Seiko, Orient and Citizen's generally not. However if you are looking to buy your 1[SUP]st[/SUP] automatic and don't have the $300 or $400 to grab an entry level Tissot or Hamilton and you also don't have the $100 to 300 for any of the Seiko's, or Orients that you might want, this is a darn good place to start your automatic collection if you have your heart set on a new watch.

The Burei 7006 shown by the OP is a quartz chronograph, not automatic. I would worry it's like my Megir, with a PE902 or VD53 type movement, that only runs the 6:00 sub-dial for the stopwatch seconds, and that the large seconds hand is continuous sweep seconds only.

 

[Monsta_AU]

Lots of low count posters in this thread.... just saying.

 

[Unikagen]

Yes, I have. I am SO happy with my Burei model 17003-P52EG. It looks a LOT like a Citizen, feels great, is a perfect weight, and is just beautiful. I am SO glad I bought it, and I look forward to purchasing more Burei watches. Plus, the unique flush band clasp is interesting, works great, and really looks superb.

Oh come on.

 

[MrBacon]

I've been thinking about Burei for some time. I've seen the amazon reviews and YouTube videos. Everyone makes very positive statements about the watch size, weight, and overall build quality.

Howevet, in my mind, I still cannot get over the fact that it's a Chinese manufacturer. I've been comparing the watches against the pulsar chronographs, and I just feel better about getting a Seiko brand...mind games?

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