[john_marston]

Anybody know some good genuine leather strap sellers on Aliexpress?

I know UTHAI sells good value (like ~$4) cheap ones.

I'm thinking of upgrading to genuine crocodile leather though. Seen some for around $30..

 

[john_marston]

I recently ordered the cheapest genuine Croc skin strap I could find on Ali. Was only £13.11 at the time after coupons. We'll see how it turns out.
Link:
https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/32858354741.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.10224c4ddDcYgS

I also bought a ~$4 Daniel Wellington clone on Ali one time for the lols, to see how much watch you can get for so little money. And yeah it's crap, never worn it. I think you need to be in the $10+ range for quartz if you want something actually wearable.

Also might pick up that Cadisen C1032...whenever I forget about it and I think I don't need it, it pops up again and I think hmm it's such a good deal. Like £40 atm. Might get it for someone as a Christmas present.

 

[john_marston]

Bit of an offtopic question but what other stuff do you guys buy off Ali?

I mainly stick to watches and straps, which has been great. Other than that, ordered a few pieces of clothing–not such a success..

 

[john_marston]

iPod parts
made to measure suits
car accessories
kitchen accessories as bakeware
phone covers
wallets
pens
home deko

but mainly watches, straps, watch parts, watch tools...

How were the suits? Any specific sellers/suits that had good ones?

 

[john_marston]

I'm a bit confused at the 11.11 sale. I could buy the Cadisen for £34.72 (with coupons) like a week ago. Now it is listed for the low £40s, and the 11.11 sale listed as being only marginally cheaper. i.e. buying it a week ago was cheaper than at 11.11 ?

 

[john_marston]

I've been considering picking up one of those Corgeut Black Bay homages, too.

I wanted the blue bezel one. It was listed as having a Seiko NH36 (on the 'official Corgeut store') a while ago, but now it just says self-winding, and the other variants say it has a Seagull movement. Might actually pass after all. Not a fan of random seagull movements.

 

[john_marston]

Last time I ordered one there was a Miyota 8215 in it. And the GMT version uses a Shanghai movement of sorts which isn't that bad actually, but not great either. The GMT had some serious case issues though, but I can only judge that on the one specimen I ordered. The non GMT were a bit hit and miss, with the bronze PVD ones being the best and most consistent. None come even close to the Parnis with 9015 though.

Yeah I meant Miyota 8215, not NH36!

This is the one I wanted. Are you sure there was/is an 8215 in the one you ordered? They now list 'Seagull'

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32980420107.html?spm=2114.12010610.8148356.7.19585763pnM2H2

Also really annoying they write ''200m'' on the dial, when the listing says 100m. And knowing it's garbage Chinese QC, I even have doubts at 100m...

It is a pretty Black Bay homage at ~$80 tho

 

[john_marston]

I wouldn't apply Casio's water resistance to Ali watches. As stated, it kinda depends on the QC of the brand and to what extent they're over/understating.

Casio's are known to be good in water, YouTube vids of people diving with their 30m F91. And I've gotten a 30m Casio very wet dozens of times. No issues.
Whereas a 50m Fossil I had broke from mere rain/moist. With the QC of AliExpress, I trust their ratings even less.

 

[john_marston]

Here is my First, but maybe not my last 11/11 quandary.

I am on an outside project and thought I would buy myself a watch to wear, so needs to be water resistant up to a sort of 50m level, i.e. hands in water, splashes and heavy rain maybe, but manly incidental water exposure and fairly tough as could get dinged but under heavy clothing, so shirt, jumper, heavy Wax Coat, so not directly exposed. I was thinking of getting a Pagani Design Diver Homage watch, but then I got an offer of a Orient Mako II for a little over twice the price of the Pagani, which is a full blown 200M watch, with a well known reputation for a little over the price, which is still affordable, but potentially a better option?

Hmm, which offer would you consider best Value for Money?

Although the Pagani has a Seiko Movement, I am leaning towards the Orient...............

Best regards,
Jim

The Orient has a great in-house movement too. I have a Ray II myself (practically the same watch).

Yes, it's a little more expensive than Ali's China watches. But you're getting a reputable Japanese brand that has a high chance of lasting you a long time. With the Chinese Pagani's and such, it's a gamble.

Only thing I don't like about it is the bezel. It's very stiff, and I find the design of the bezel a bit generic (I prefer coin bezels). But if you don't care about a stiff bezel: Orient all the way!

 

[john_marston]

Regarding disputes

I also find that contacting the seller has little effect. They'll say whatever to not refund. Most recently, I ordered a (dark-ish) blue leather strap for about $8. Arrived: it was green/turquoise rather than blue. Contacted the seller: they sent a picture of a chart as to what defines ''blue'', with like 100 colours ranging from purple to green lmao.

I opened up a dispute, after which the seller messaged 'please close the dispute it's only a few dollars'. A day later Ali issued a full refund. So I have this turquoise strap now lol, it's nice but not a colour I like.

 

[john_marston]

IIRC, in Japanese there traditionally is no distinction between blue and green, they're all just different shades of the same colour. Perhaps the situation is similar in Chinese?

Hm idk, could have played a role, though I have doubts.

Though the blue strap on their advertisement had an image that was certainly very 'blue'. Holding up the one I got next to their image showed a clear difference, hence why I won the dispute so quickly I think. (it was this one FYI https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33049455300.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.1c8c4c4d5awR21)

Main point was that contacting the seller has never solved anything for me on Ali (unlike on eBay; my UK sellers have been great!). If you want a (partial) refund, just open the dispute.

 

[john_marston]

So that's the sale done. Honestly, wasn't quite as low as I thought, but the coupons + random codes did make it pretty cheap (Honey saved me about £5 at checkout).

Bought only a few things (leather bag, watch travel case, strap). Only watch I got was this Cadisen 1033G (I like this case a lot more than the more popular 1032) with extra leather strap for £31.43.

If it arrives in time for Christmas, I'll give it to someone as a gift. If it doesn't, well....I guess it's mine hahah

 

[john_marston]

Looks good! Glad I got blue haha. Was even opting for green, but thought that might be a bit too much spice for what I'd consider an 'office watch'

 

[john_marston]

Was very close to getting the Corgeut Black Bay homage, but glad I didn't. I already have an Orient Ray II, would probably just be an 'instant gratification' thing getting a Chinese BB homage, but I'd feel silly down the line for having bought a similar (arguably lesser) dive watch in stead of saving up for an actual upgrade.

 

[john_marston]

And as a bonus it sort of tells the time!

 

[john_marston]

Anybody know if Corgeut / Parnis are linked to replicas? I'm thinking of buying a Corgeut 'Black Bay'. But if it uses parts also used on illegal replicas, I don't think I want it.

 

[john_marston]

Is Reef Tiger a good brand? I think I've heard some bad things..

I like this Blancpain homage. Though it's a little pricey for an Ali watch
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/400...3.0&pvid=8ea17767-696f-4dae-9cf3-16a2dee0d8c9

 

[john_marston]

In the sub $150 range (Steeldive SD1952 on Alibaba)

That Steeldive is a really nice Blancpain homage! Something about the Corgeut Fifty Fathoms just looks off and cheap to me, idk what it is. But I've been itching for a vintage classy diver for ages (that doesn't break the bank). I figured I'd go with the $90 Corgeut Black Bay, but this $150 Steeldive looks good. I'd rather pay a little more and have a solid NH35 and a bit more of a robust watch (300m in stead of the Corgeut Fifty Fathom's pathetic 50 haha). Also this Steeldive doesn't look like an exact ripoff of an exact Blancpain model, though I don't know for sure.

Just when I thought I had found all the decent vintage style divers on Ali, you guys come with something great

My other options were a Steinhart Ocean One Vintage for €500 or a Lorier Neptune for €400 (when it's back in stock). Really nice watches though a little bit pricier.

I prefer it with the brand name on the dial

 

[john_marston]

If anybody else knows of some budget classy divers (like Black Bay / Fifty Fathoms style), recommendations would be super helpful. Looking for a Christmas treat haha.

 

[john_marston]

Anybody had to pay import tax to Europe on Aliexpress watches? I haven't on the few sub-£50 watches I've bought, but I might pick up that £135 watch, and an extra ~40% (tax plus fees) on top of that would be a bit of a turnoff. I'd probably get a Spinnaker from the UK in stead if it's gonna be close to £200. But it seems on Google that people usually don't get hit with tax