Cheap Chinese Watch (part 1)

I recently picked up this watch with the intention of taking it apart. Since it'll be my first watch teardown, I did not want to risk damaging a watch I care about, and it was hard to beat the price (https://m.alibaba.com/product/60552100389/FORSINING-Automatic-Watches-Men-Automatic-watch.html).

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First impressions: even though it's easy to say "you get what you pay for" it's still surprising that me you can get an automatic watch for less than $20. No doubt it's inaccurate and has many other issues, but it's still a complicated mechanism. 

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Beyond that, you do get what you pay for. At first I thought the band was made of aluminum, but it is stamped "stainless steel". As you can hopefully see in the photo, the links are folded steel, not solid links. The clasp is the crunchiest thing this side of a bag of Doritos, and if you even bother putting this on your arm, forget having any hair.

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The skeletonized dial isn't done too bad, but lacks finishing. There are two "pushers" for.... Something, certainly not a chronograph. The crown pushes and pulls with a dissatisfying "chunk", making you wonder if you actually broke something by changing the time.

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And lastly, there is an exhibition case back; nothing exceptional here, and again, a distinct lack of finishing on the movement - not unexpected at this price point.

I will try to share photos as I take this apart, but in the meantime, let me know what you think!

Reply
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Sure, share the progress of your tear down. Like to see your progress.  I'll follow you to check it out.

Cheers!

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sigh

Everyones an expert

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My main thought is “why wouldn’t they just put a quartz movement on it, at least that might work”. Are people buying $20 watches really looking for a mechanical movement? 
 

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I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to see a movement less, and this from someone who’s mantra is “pop the back”. If it’s what I think it is you’ll probably find the rotor struggles to wind the watch, but hey… strip it if you like, maybe it’ll benefit from a rebuild.

Buys new $20 watch, complains about quality.

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Porthole

I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to see a movement less, and this from someone who’s mantra is “pop the back”. If it’s what I think it is you’ll probably find the rotor struggles to wind the watch, but hey… strip it if you like, maybe it’ll benefit from a rebuild.

Buys new $20 watch, complains about quality.

Oh, I'm not complaining, I knew this wasn't going to be a quality product. Just wanted something cheap to tinker with.