Sea-Gull Boutique in China. Tourbillons with warranty.

I’d love to check all the sea-gulls in person some day rather than just online. I’m happy with the half dozen or so that I own. I have one of their flying tourbillions based on an ST8007 movement, and a carousel tourbillion (ST8230) on order due to arrive any day now. I’ve been logging the various tourbillion movements that Seagull makes, and am aware of at least 5, though suspect because of model numbers it’s likely closer to a dozen variations.

Thanks for sharing

They make good watches but their competitors are killing the market with their cheaply built products. Put a Sea-Gull movement in a poorly built and finished case with a cheap rolled bracelet and you get a bad name. China is where Japan was in the 60's with a lot of poor quality product. Toyota was crap in the 60's but now they are on top helping to drive the big three out of the passenger car market.

The aforementioned DongFeng (circa 1970). Sounds like a wonderful trip.

Forgive me my friend - not a fan of China (how the country conducts itself)

So I’ll suggest an alternative- a Swiss group of engineers, mathematicians and designers. For 10k, Horage makes a 100% Swiss flying tourbillon, in 904 or grade 5, silicon escapement, full warranty and you can email them anytime or phone to talk to them directly.

Crazy right?

Currently they have a Tourbillon micro rotor in a sub 9mm watch that is on pre sale 🤯 - its about 50k less than closest Swiss competitors. The bummer is that it’s at least a year from being delivered. Called Autark KTMR if interested.

(I’ve got a different tourbillion already ordered from them, so with a struggle I will resist ordering another)

They stay so inexpensive by making watches when an order is placed, and insanely low margins

My point, you can get bomb proof reliability and follow up service for 10k.

I can’t agree more 🤝

Cool visiting 👍

Of course you guys can buy online from Seagull watches official website https://seagullwatches.com/

Forgive me my friend - not a fan of China (how the country conducts itself)

I hope I’m not being tracked by the great wall of surveillance LOL. ****Turning on VPN****. AHEM. Only took one man to ruin the image of a country.

———-

That watch looks amazing

Thats awesome. Nice collection.

Yeah the staff are very friendly. I’m glad I came to the store today

I agree.

Yeah. Great trip

With the number of designs they make, one might suspect that the Swiss were secretly outsourcing some of the manufacturing to them... 🤔

Some really nice looking pieces there. Thanks for posting.

Thanks for your report, I would love to check out a botique like that in person. I think it's increasingly clear that China will be the next big player in in the high end watch space.

Loved reading this, and seeing the photos. Sea-Gull has some very nice stores in China.

Your comment "But hey, a tourbillon with warranty…. That make sense. Sorta" reminded me I'd read, back a while, Europa Star's interview with Sea-Gull's (at least at the time, I don't know if now) deputy general manager, Aries Lee.

https://www.europastar.com/magazine/features/1004084475-sea-gull-s-new-factory.html

He said this:

AL: What can we claim in the face of more than 200 years of excellence in Swiss watchmaking? We do not have the ability to confront them in the top-of-the-range segment. I know many Chinese who love Swiss watches, but not their prices. In any case, I would say that competition is always a healthy thing. Perhaps some Swiss brands will have to improve their value for money. Our tourbillons, for example, are sold at one-tenth of the price.

ES: That is true, but many claim that the precision is not comparable… Do you have some type of certification?

AL: We offer something better than a certificate, and that is a ten-year guarantee, which includes all maintenance and repairs. This is important for a tourbillon because it is a sensitive mechanism. Wearing our watches, the owner can partake in sports activities, something that is unthinkable for a Swiss tourbillon. For the latter, the owner would be advised that this type of activity is very bad for such a delicate and precise calibre.

I hope you did, or are, enjoying your time in China. I always do. 👍 Thanks for a great post. happy travels.

Hi are you ordering from AliExpress, if so from which shop on the site?

Yes, all from AliExpress. The most recent tourbillon was from the “SUGESS Official Store”

Just be careful about counterfeit Sea-Gull tourbillons, even in China.

Some watchmakers buy ST8000 movements and make their own Sea-Gull branded dials and pass them off as the real mccoy.

Sea-Gull ST8000 movements for internal use have markings, while those sold to watchmakers/manufacturers are without.

This is not Sea-Gull's official website. Instead, it is an AD's website.

Sea-Gull's only official website is in Chinese only.

The problem with Sea-Gull is that they sell movements to everyone without vetting how good the buyer is in making watches. Their watch selling department is too China market focused and pay little attention to the international market.

I agree, Sea-Gull is legit.

I have a suspicion that these Sea-Gull stores are open by their four major ADs in China. I don't believe that the Tianjin Watch Factory group sells directly to customers, with the exception of the Sea-Gull boutique mini-program on WeChat. I do know that the boutique mini-program is owned by TWF.

That explains everything. No wonder I thought the prices were higher than AliExpress

The pricing thing is actually interesting. Some Chinese products are actually more expensive in China than overseas. But that is another discussion.

I just wrote a piece about authenticating and registering your Sea-Gull. Have a read.

If a Sea-Gull has a QR code on the case back and can be registered, then it is legit.

The movement is everything in a watch and all the other parts only add the finish not the workings of it. Even a Lada with a Porsche engine will perform well. All the copycats in China have been doing it for a very long time and their quality is pretty good. Most of us would not tell the difference between 2 watches with Sea-Gull swan neck movements even if one came out of Sea-Gull.

Only if it is registered as they all are the kings of photocopying and care less of trademarks.

For sure. Which is why I wrote a piece teaching people how to register their Sea-Gulls.

The problem is that most people have no means to use the Sea-Gull mini-program to register their watches. Some vendors will take off the QR code before shipping just so their customers will not ask questions they do not want to answer. Some have lied about that Sea-Gull no longer uses QR codes. It is very confusing for everyone.

I would argue that while the movement is very important, casing and regulating are equally crucial. Imagine casing in a dusty environment?

I am an engineer myself. Making a car go fast is more than just the engine. But I see your point.

The movements are regulated at the factory and don't forget the copycats have been doing this a long time and they know we can see through the glass caseback.

This is anecdotal, but I have heard about people reporting higher failure rate of Sea-Gull movements in non Sea-Gull branded watches.

From my own experience, I have over a dozen Sea-Gull branded watches, half of them are vintage. I have never had a problem with any of them. Touch wood.

Take any Chinese watch movement and service it correctly to have a good watch. The clones that have trouble later can be serviced to become great watches. They usually have trouble around the recommended service interval.