Budget Homage of a Budget Watch? The Skmei World Time

Skmei Stainless Steel Top Brand Luxury Countdown Time Zone Waterproof LED Electronic Digital Watch (that is the listing on AliExpress, but Skmei calls it World Time in the pictures)

Dimensions: 33mm wide, 15mm thick, 18mm lug, Case: resin, Case Back: steel with battery door, Strap: stainless steel, Crystal: acrylic, Movement: quartz, Water Resistance: 30m, Chronograph, Alarm, 12/24 Hour, EL Light, Date, Month, Countdown, Multiple Time Zone

I have been curious about Skmei for a while now, as I have heard their watches described as the budget homages of Casio budget watches. So, I ordered several watches from Skmei on AliExpress. This World Time homage was the first to arrive.

The watch looks good and has the same display layout as a Casio A500. However, the keeper on the bracelet broke while I was adjusting the size and I had to replace it with a strap. Also, the stopwatch was running when I received the watch, and it would not reset initially. I did manage to get it to reset, but I think there is a problem with that pusher. I had to push it hard to get the stopwatch to reset.

 The first thing I noticed about it after putting it on is how damned thick this watch is! 15mm is way too thick for a digital watch; that is as thick as a large number of 200M diver’s watches.

Skmei World Time in between Citizen Promaster Diver and Orient Mako II.

The other thing that was initially brought to my attention is how hard I had to push a couple of the buttons to actually get them to work.

On the plus side, the El backlight is pretty much as good as Casio’s Illuminator EL, and the display of the Skmei World Time is also the same as the display on the Casio, at least from what I see in pictures. I don’t have a Casio A500, but I do have an AE1200, which I am using to compare functions, as it has the same functions as the A500. The only real differences are the single alarm rather than five daily alarms for the Skmei, and the lack of an auto-calendar. Other than that, the functions are similar between the two World Time watches.

The finishing on the Skmei is much worse than on any of my Casio watches and reflects the lower production costs of this watch. Corners are going to have to be cut to produce a budget homage of a budget watch. While this watch does have its problems, for less than $12, it is hard to go wrong. If you are looking for a much less expensive alternative to the Casio A500 and don’t mind the few flaws, the Skmei World Time is an acceptable option.