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Best of Ali-Xpress?

7102119 Views 39033 Replies 1528 Participants Last post by  JojX
Hey guys,

So I have been reading up and I know a lot of you guys are sourcing Ali-Xpress for cheap/affordable watches, either homage watches or just something out of the ordinary but with an OK building quality.

I have been looking around on Express but I really don't know where to start looking just because of the sheer amount of watches they offer.

So, please share with us your best founds or purchases on Express so we know where to start looking for a nice, very affordable watch on Express.
Everything is allowed, quartz, mechanical, analog, digital you name it. It just has to be a good watch for an average WUS'er.

Looking forward to your treasure finds!!

Cheers!
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Hi guys,

I'm looking for an affordable dress watch on ali, there are a couple of candidates, curious to hear your opinions:
-Cadisen with the NH36 -As far as I know this one has amazing specs, sapphire crystal, stainless steel, solid movement, extra leather strap
-Starking AM0184 - Also sapphire, and a nice butterfly clasp bracelet, but I would still go for the leather, I've heard this one is kind of a gamble, whether you get a good movement or not
-And then there are the Nomos Lambda homages, some of them advertised with sapphire, but I've heard that's not true, there's Nesun, Quanquin and Cadisen all with the same design

I'm looking for some on-hand experience, maybe someone that has these for a longer time, do the movements keep on ticking? Which one would be the best option in your opinions guys.
[SUB][/SUB]
The Cadisen diamond with the 9015 is currently on sale at about £88. It's a great watch for the money.
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The Cadisen diamond with the 9015 is currently on sale at about £88. It's a great watch for the money.
I don't fancy the diamond, if Cadisen, I'd definitely go for the cheaper one without the diamond, although the Arabic 12 o'clock is also kind of offputing for me.
I don't fancy the diamond, if Cadisen, I'd definitely go for the cheaper one without the diamond, although the Arabic 12 o'clock is also kind of offputing for me.
The diamond is a lot less noticeable in real life than the photos would suggest but I can totally understand your concern.
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Fiyta chronographs use a "slightly modified" version of the Shanghai 3LZF2 movement. My guess would be they don't do any modifications beyond adding a custom rotor, just enough so they can claim an in-house movement.
No idea about other chronos they sell, but the astronaut chronos were changed in two notable ways for the requirements of the Chinese manned space program.

  1. On the original version (both the real one and the one released to the civilian market), the date is changed to an AM/PM indicator alternating every 12 hours. On the "day/date" version, the day is changed to the AM/PM indicator, and the date is retained.
  2. On all versions, the 30-minute accumulator is changed to a 45 minute accumulator to match what are evidently standard 45-minute mission segments for the Chinese astronauts. So far as I know, the half-hour accumulator continues to display half hours. If so the chronograph can still be read correctly for a longer duration than 45 minutes, though not easily.
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Hi, I have had the Cadisen with NH36a for one year now. I'm really pleased with it, I end up wearing it even if not in a dress because of its good timekeeping, it's around +0 s/d. When in the long term loses two or three seconds I leave it dial up overnight and it gains them back. Overall it is a very equilibrated watch, bracelet, solid endlinks, 316L steel, saphire, display back, NH36a, day date and an elegant dial. I do not own the other two but sure this won't let you down. I cannot comment on the leather strap, I got it with the steel bracelet only.
4
Hi guys,

I'm looking for an affordable dress watch on ali, there are a couple of candidates, curious to hear your opinions:
-Cadisen with the NH36 -As far as I know this one has amazing specs, sapphire crystal, stainless steel, solid movement, extra leather strap
-Starking AM0184 - Also sapphire, and a nice butterfly clasp bracelet, but I would still go for the leather, I've heard this one is kind of a gamble, whether you get a good movement or not
-And then there are the Nomos Lambda homages, some of them advertised with sapphire, but I've heard that's not true, there's Nesun, Quanquin and Cadisen all with the same design

I'm looking for some on-hand experience, maybe someone that has these for a longer time, do the movements keep on ticking? Which one would be the best option in your opinions guys.
There are other dress watches that are also worth considering in the low segment.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33004262385.html
Watch Analog watch Watch accessory Fashion accessory Product

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32909571513.html
Watch Analog watch Watch accessory Fashion accessory Jewellery

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32935970135.html
Watch Analog watch Watch accessory Fashion accessory Jewellery


https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32825379190.html

Watch Analog watch Watch accessory Blue Fashion accessory


Or if you prefer 36mm and do not mind hand-wound:
https://www.good-stuffs.com/Black-Shanghai-8120-designer-wristwatch-_p_329.html
https://www.good-stuffs.com/Classic...l-wrist-watch-manual-hand-winding-_p_196.html
https://www.good-stuffs.com/Rare-bl...-hand-wound-mechanical-wristwatch-_p_219.html
https://www.good-stuffs.com/Classic...-dial-hand-wound-mechanical-watch-_p_499.html
https://www.good-stuffs.com/Classic...ny-ray-hand-wound-mechanical-watch_p_484.html
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The Sanda 293 and 294 (called female models) are the same size as a genuine DW5xxx. Mine below, they're well made but don't expect accuracy.

View attachment 13666065
Is the module of black one interchangeable with the denim one ???
Because i am thinking to buy the blue sanda 293 and change its module with denim sanda watch

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I don't fancy the diamond,
I'm going to mirror others in saying that diamond is a non-issue. in videos you may see a lot of sparkle from the 12 index, but it's not from the diamond. it's a multi-faceted index, so all the sparkle is coming from the index and not the diamond.
Watch Watch accessory Analog watch Material property Clock

I wish I had more use for the dress watches...I would have kept this one if I did. it really was pretty awesome for the $108 I spent on it.
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There is a rumor that the 2-dial Parnis is meant to "pay homage" to the B&R, which is itself a ripoff of something else probably.
it's actually an homage of the B&R Bellytanker....nearly identical
Watch Watch accessory Fashion accessory Analog watch Brown
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Hi guys,

I'm looking for an affordable dress watch on ali, there are a couple of candidates, curious to hear your opinions:
-Cadisen with the NH36 -As far as I know this one has amazing specs, sapphire crystal, stainless steel, solid movement, extra leather strap
-Starking AM0184 - Also sapphire, and a nice butterfly clasp bracelet, but I would still go for the leather, I've heard this one is kind of a gamble, whether you get a good movement or not
-And then there are the Nomos Lambda homages, some of them advertised with sapphire, but I've heard that's not true, there's Nesun, Quanquin and Cadisen all with the same design

I'm looking for some on-hand experience, maybe someone that has these for a longer time, do the movements keep on ticking? Which one would be the best option in your opinions guys.
[SUB][/SUB]
I've got/had all of these. You can't really go won't with any of them. They're all great watches.

I ended up selling my Cadisen C1032, and now have two Cadisen C8097. Which are absolutely beautiful and fantastic value. I can't seem to find the pictures of the Cadisen C1032. They'll be on this thread somewhere if you use the search though.

With the Starking, I've had quite a few of them. Both the white and black versions. I've even bought some for friends and family. Never had any issues, with any of them. I still have a black dial version now. For me it's the best value watch on AliExpress. Your getting a high beat movement, stainless bracelet with sold end links and sapphire crystal, all for £35!

As for the Nomos Lambda homages. I've had a few of them too. I had the white a blue dial versions of the Quanqin. I also had white and black dial versions of the Cadisens too. They're nice watches, but I'd say the quality isn't as good as the Starking or the other Cadisens mentioned above though.


https://www.instagram.com/no1viperwatchreviews

www.youtube.com/user/No1Viper?sub_confirmation=1
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I can't seem to find the pictures of the Cadisen C1032. They'll be on this thread somewhere if you use the search though.
Here's mine:

Watch Analog watch Watch accessory Fashion accessory Silver


Hour to minute hand alignment isn't perfect, but it's close enough I've not bothered taking it apart to correct (some accounts say the case back is a bear to get back on). I've bought a number of these for people I thought might be interested in a mechanical watch (I give them a winder to go with it too). Great watch for the price.
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Is the module of black one interchangeable with the denim one ???
Because i am thinking to buy the blue sanda 293 and change its module with denim sanda watch

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Pretty sure they're interchangeable but best thing to do would be to ask the seller IMO.

Nicolas
I received my Glashütte Sixties homage from Mizums: some meh and some wow.

Pros:

  • * real embossed dial, I honestly didn't expect it for a sub-€10 watch
    * applied indices, yup o_O
    * crisp index numbers and excellent sunburst effect on the dial
    * nicely domed crystal
    * movement actually looks like a Miyota (? Japan No Jewels Unadjusted)

Cons:

  • * the atrocious logo on the dial, looks impossible/very hard to remove
    * almost 42 mm diameter case, that's too big for me
    * lumed dots above the applied indices, but no lumed hands --> stupid
    * seconds hand is not aligned
    * crown is stiff and setting the movement uneasy
    * movement a little noisy
    * 'genuine leather' printed on the plastic strap + they didn't even bother to add the fake leather smell...
    * unstamped 'warranty' card (notice the ironic quotes)

If someone in Europe wants it, it's all yours give me your address by PM!

Nicolas



Creator of the Digi Watch widget: mougino.free.fr/digiwatch
Thanks for the review. A real Glashutte Sixties in green is my grail, but just so far from realistic for me in price, I am going to take the plunge on this one, as I've never seen a homage to the Sixties before. At the price, what could go wrong?

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Thanks for the review. A real Glashutte Sixties in green is my grail, but just so far from realistic for me in price, I am going to take the plunge on this one, as I've never seen a homage to the Sixties before. At the price, what could go wrong?

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Or you could ask this seller if he could ship it to you (Sample).
https://astarwatch.en.alibaba.com/p..._mechanical_automatic_watch_men_for_sale.html
Seeing as it is a Sterile Feice, it is definitely higher quality than the Mizums
Hour to minute hand alignment isn't perfect, but it's close enough I've not bothered taking it apart to correct (some accounts say the case back is a bear to get back on). I've bought a number of these for people I thought might be interested in a mechanical watch (I give them a winder to go with it too). Great watch for the price.
The dial is only accessible through the front by taking the bezel/crystal off and it's an absolute nightmare to get on and off. It's a super tight fit so it takes a lot of force to get back on - I even tried putting the bezel on mine in the freezer for a while to try and shrink it a bit which seemed to help.
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Does anyone have any hands-on experience with these? I've been keeping my eye out for a hand-wind that isn't too loud. My current 'dress' watch is an HMT which I can't leave running in the bedroom at night or else my wife can't sleep!
Parnis makes several watches with Sea-gull ST36 series movements. I haven't tried one, but they look tempting.

https://parnis.aliexpress.com/store/group/Parnis-Hand-Wind-Watch/2215122_511604264.html
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