Higher end Chinese watches?

It wouldn’t be your only watch for sure

I like what they are doing, but will need more time for reliability. Their Joker collab is great, but do I want to drop $9k on a watch that potentially no one can service?

That’s what holds me back from seriously considering watches like this one and the Ciga Blue Planet. They’re neat watches and blow the claim that all Chinese watches are poor quality out of the water, but what happens in a few years when you need to service it? It’s not just Chinese watches, either. Take Bulova. They’re still alive and kicking, but even with the kind of heritage they have it’s hard to find anyone who can service a vintage Spaceview.

I've heard they have a large service team eager and ready to help.

I’ve been eyeing the behrens navigraph, only thing holding me back is the service and also the price point… so many cool watches not enough money lol.

$2.5k on a Behrens navigraph vs $2.5k for a used tudor gmt or pro….

Wait til a few thousand are out there in the field via reviews. My position on Chinese watches is that I would prefer a casio ,seiko, ETA , Selita , Kinesi , Omega , Lamania , Rolex , Springdrive in that order roughly . Porsche or Lada ? Which would you drive ? Watches to me are the same . Buy the best you can afford. A Casio over any Chinese watch to my mind is a no brainer . ( Opinion )

No thanks. It's not my taste at all. But mainly it's Chinese ( CCP) so that's a hard No!

Supporting the CCP isn’t part of my modus operandi . I am ethically opposed to spending a single satoshi on anything from mainland China 🇨🇳. If it’s from Taiwan 🇹🇼 I will reserve the above ethical stance for mainland China only .

That’s fine, but let’s talk watches not politics.

True, so much to choose from

Rare complications

But not for me

Fair point , but you can’t ignore fealties & loyalties , we are after all flawed human beings:)

Yes, it influences the buying decision, but the watch can be cool regardless

I hope you didn’t have one of those cheap ass iPhones. You know they are all made in China.

Jokes aside, the iPhone is a great example of how China is capable of manufacturing the highest quality products, if that’s what the company paying them wants. Because they are so good at manufacturing, they can also make the lowest quality crap for the least amount of money, and sadly, that’s what most consumers want. So the issue is not that Chinese stuff is crap, is that crap is all we usually ask them to make.

I had a Cachimba Classical guitar in the 80s made in China for the Sydney Spanish school of guitar and it was top quality. Mine isnt an issue with build quality but with supply chains and ethical human behaviour:) good point about iPhone’s to bring up re human working conditions:)

Lol, true. China is pretty bad when it comes to human rights. However if your gay, transgender, or a woman, the US is definitely moving in the wrong direction with respect to your rights.. so… glass houses and all.

Edit: No clue if you are American :)

Agreed 👍🏼 I am Australian , we aren’t on a social credit score quite yet , but It’s coming soon to the complacent:) Will get off my soap box 📦 sorry for ruffling any feathers, lets enjoy the watches :)

It looks interesting, and that Ciga Blue Planet thing was quite cool. But I don't think I'll ever spend my hard-begged-for/hard-earned money on one. The Seagull 1963 is as close as I'm willing to go, and I don't plan on getting one soon. The moral implications of supporting the CCP also weigh on me. I don't know if they're reliable enough or have enough support once you've bought it, so one may spend a hefty brick of money and find out that they have no one to contact to fulfill a warranty or to service it.

They are cool watches, designs similar to MB&F or Greubel at a fraction of the cost. I know probably very insulting statement to those two, but that’s what I thought when I first saw them.

Would I buy it? maybe, when 3.5k becomes pocket change for me, which will never happen. 😊

I am pretty certain that just about the only people who could service a https://jacobandco.com/timepieces Astronomia would be the ones who created it.

First of all, I can admire the complications of these watches, but find them unattractive. I would never buy one. That said, Chinese watchmaking is really coming on, and why not? Watchmaking is not rocket science, though the Chinese certainly know all about rockets. Why would anyone doubt their ability to make a fine watch? A first requirement is the commitment to make a world class product, which demands a degree of quality control that has not been shown yet. Once a track record for quality has been established, the focus should be on developing an original design that has the potential to become iconic. Marketing can help there. The analogy given in the video regarding Korean cars 30 years ago, and today, is right on. I expect Chinese watchmaking will follow a similar path.