Are San Martin watches any good

Are they just hype

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There's an extensive thread in this forum, just search for San Martin.

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They're basically positioning themselves like the old Seiko.

Mind you, with most of their lineup being homages they don't have to spend money on R&D. Or marketing since Youtubers do it for them.

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If you are looking for reasonably priced and reliable watches then you could do far worse than choose a San Martin. Here is the link to the unboxing of my San Martin Type B Flieger

Incoming! | WatchCrunch

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Really good. Wearing one right now actually.

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Well worth the money paid.

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The phrase you're going to hear is that they are "good for what they are."

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They are a Chinese brand selling Seiko powered watches that are only worth more than other brands there because they have better quality control. They all use the same Seiko/Miyota combinations paired with unbranded fake Seiko/Rolex cases and their own dials. If you take any of the cheaper brands and put a better bracelet on them you end up with the same thing.

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If you are looking for something that reliably tells the time, doesn't break the bank and doesn't look ugly, then San Martin fits the bill. If you expect something that is close to the original, you might be disappointed. (There are a few exceptions to that.)

There are also other Ali-Brands that I would take a look at, meaning that San Martin has increased in both price and quality that you may compare it to a grey market Certina.

I disagree that San Martin is the new Seiko. Seiko was, and is, still far more creative than San Martin.

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Arambula

Really good. Wearing one right now actually.

ditto!

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OldSnafu

They are a Chinese brand selling Seiko powered watches that are only worth more than other brands there because they have better quality control. They all use the same Seiko/Miyota combinations paired with unbranded fake Seiko/Rolex cases and their own dials. If you take any of the cheaper brands and put a better bracelet on them you end up with the same thing.

My San Martin flieger has a YN55a movement. And lets be 100% honest here, the exact same could be said for just about every single brand in the $100 - $500 range.

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only heard good things from the people who bought them

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I have no experience of the brand so can't really comment. However I am unlikely to ever have experience of them either as I can't support anything from the PRC and consequently CCP.

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SM keeps regularly testing the waters with non-homages as well. Having owned a business myself I can't fault them for producing what the collective we is buying. It's like blaming the baker for most of his customers wanting sourdough instead of rye. One of their riffs was a what if Seiko had made a 62mas chrono? If Seiko had I'm doubtful they would've sold it for $240. I own two SM's and have handled many. My experience with QC and customer service exceeds that of several other well known brands I've purchased. As far as the politics I always advocate for you doing you.

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Some of their models are meh, some are good and some are truly excellent. My SN007-G-X 37mm 62MAS is excellent and in many way it's also a much better 62MAS than Seiko own SPBX models.

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My other San Martin is their 37mm Explorer look-alike and it's OK. It's not a fantastic watch or incredible deal but it does the job for me of being a 369 dial watch that I can wear without drawing too much attention.

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Both watches are powered by the PT5000 ETA clone and TBH there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.

They do have other models that are not copies or homaging other watches but they are less popular.