What do you think of San Martin?

It's a great watch value for money. All depending you are in the world if you order it through AliExpress it can take up to 4 weeks to arrive. The finishing and materials used are good and some people say are comparable to higher end Swiss and Japanese watches. The movement they use can range from Seiko NH movements to PT and ETA movements. Good luck with your search. Stay Thirsty My Man 🍻👊🏽

I really like mine, I ordered from their web site and it took a couple weeks to USA. Mine has the seko movement and its running a new seconds a day fast.

There is a great search feature here.

https://www.watchcrunch.com/search?q=san+martin+watches

Good watches for your money. Quality I would say is around the mid range micros like Zelos and entry-mid Swatch group offerings.

If you want a caller GMT on a budget, you can't go wrong. The finish on San Martin is excellent, better than entry level Swiss or Japanese watches. And their watches with the NH34 movements are rock solid. Those movements don't really fail.

There is a slightly higher risk of QC issues, like a misaligned bezel, but it's no worse than what you'd get from Seiko.

So they are considered a Ali express brand. But they are probably the best quality for sure in that space. They sale a lot of homage watches but they do have original designs. Most of them have the the option for PT or ETA movement which both are good. I have a submersible homage and it's a tank. Great lume, bezel action, finishing and its not just a flat out copy. They have an original design gmt that I would have no issues ordering and want too based off of the quality of the one I have. Pics below are of mine and the gmt mentioned.

San Martin is like the Olive Garden. It's good for the money. I snagged mine off ebay for 1/2 price barely used. It's has the best bezel action out of all my divers.

Just because they are available on AE I wouldn't call them an AE brand as I feel that cheapens them. There are 2 stand alone sites that deal with SM only and offer great pricing and timely delivery. None of my SM came from AE

I actually agree with you 100%. That's just how I have heard them described a lot. Your supposed to do the air quotes with your hands when reading it 🤣

I’ve heard so many great things about San Martin, but I refuse to spend more than $100 on anything on AliExpress. Been burned enough times by sellers and/or their dispute process on even $5 items.

I just buy the occasional Pagani on sale and if there’s a problem with it, nbd.

Big fan of San Martin, especially now that they're doing more and more original designs. I have 4 SMs, I think. Amazing finishing and some of the best value-for-money watches at the pricepoint.

This one, while more of a Grand Seiko homage, looks absolutely incredible. The lapis lazuli and marble dials are total stunners!!!!

It depends where you're at in your collecting. If you're satisfied at the lower end and exploring different kinds of watches - maybe you've never even had a GMT before? - San Martin is a brand that will deliver 'enough' that you're not blowing your money in any way. Let's get that upfront. But if you've been around watches, and have more established heritage brands in the mix and are wondering if this will sit beside them... to some degree it will, but on other levels it won't. At the end of the day, it's an 'AliExpress Special', albeit one that named itself a bit better than some of the really tragically named brands, and has managed to get a bit of a following. You will always find people who encourage you to buy San Martin. But it really just depends on where you're at personally, and what you want.

Personally, I'd send you more towards Long Island Watch and its Islander home brand.

Never had or handled one, but sounds like the build quality and finish is super good, and not just for the money, they give much more expensive brands a run in the finishing category.

There is a lot of love for SM on WC. If you do a search you'll see many great reviews and examples of their watches. I've had 4 and I've never had a dud. One even runs within cosc standards.

Hi’ Did you need to pay any taxes/Customs when the Watch arrived .. or you had to pay only what is mentioned on the site ? Thanks

They do have an online store separate from AliExpress at https://sanmartinwatches.com

I have ordered from both as the pricing can differ between the two - sometimes models are cheaper on one than on the other.

I believe there is a big AliExpress sale due at the end of March (28th) when many (but not all) of their watches will be further discounted.

Thank you for the info.. so will put a reminder for 28th March…

Thank you

Yes that is a great looking watch! 👌💯

I like it

Excellent build no soul watches for me

Don't like their modus operandi, selling other people's designs, but must admit they're outstanding value and quality for the price 👍🏻👍🏻

Nope I had to pay the price of watch and tax at purchase time and that was it. It sat in customs for a few days but no other charges.

I think I have actually seen them posting here from time to time.

The two best watches you can buy through AliExpress are Sea-Gull and San Martin watches.

San Martin started out a few years ago making homage and highly derivative watches of a high standard - relative to others on AliExpress. Over the last few years they have steadily become even better from a quality perspective (from a high base) and have also released more original designs (while continuing with homages).

I have a couple and have had several of their watches with no problems to report in delivery or quality.

In the early days their branding was a bit changeable and inconsistent but they seem to have settled down and it is a bit more stable and focused.

Their watches have ticked up in price recently and some of their pricing can seem a bit ambitious but there are regular sales on AliExpress and they usually find a fair level. The headline “RRPs” are pretty meaningless as I have never seen the watches selling for those prices. Not unique to San Martin but someone somewhere obviously thinks it’s an amazing marketing ruse to make us feel like we’re getting a deal. I think the RRPs are pretty much ignored by everyone since they seem pretty meaningless, even to San Martin.

As noted above you can buy from them direct too and that has worked fine for me.

Sorry just checked and it’s 18th March when the sale starts - so Monday.

Can u pls share the link to login and order ..thanks

Ah!? - AliExpress is a whole new very weird shopping experience. There are whole videos about how to shop on AliExpress.

Below is the link to the San Martin store - but there are other stores on AliExpress that sell San Martin watches (sometimes at keener prices with no loss of service, sometimes beware …). So you have to look at store reviews and in particular look for reviewers from your location.

https://sanmartin.aliexpress.com/store/5039187/pages/all-items.html?sortType=bestmatch_sort&shop_sortType=bestmatch_sort

You need to create a login to start putting things in your basket and you can do this and they will remain there and then you can come back and buy, if stock remains.

But … a big but … once you have a login then there are “coupons” to collect that may further reduce the price you pay.

Before checking out - and while logged in - I always go to the store landing page and “collect” ALL the available coupons. Any that apply will be automatically applied at checkout.

There are also coins to collect but I haven’t really figured those out.

It is a slightly surreal experiences - sort of as if a Super Mario Bros gamer has created a shopping platform.

You might not thank us for the introduction!

Thank you so much 😊🙏

Great value copy cats with good build quality. Happy to see them do more of their own design work now. You can find these used occasionally for real bargains.

Love mine. Have more on the list.