Skmei 9288 PRX Review
If you don't want to spend the ridiculous amount of money which Tissot wants for its admittedly £60 watch with a 5x markup (according to Nico Leonard), Skmei has you covered with actually a much better value proposition for only £11.
As you can see, I chose the black grained dial with rose gold hands, indices, and bezel. My wife bought it for me as a Christmas present long after I'd forgotten that I ever mentioned it to her.
Apart from the fluted bezel on the top of the range 40mm Tissot PRX Powermatic 80, and of course, the Skmei having a cheap but very accurate Miyota quartz movement with a day-date complication, the watches look almost identical even close-up. The Tissot's case is brushed steel rather than polished chrome, which is the biggest giveaway if you want to pretend to be one of the "exclusive PRX owners club" (which doesn't actually exist).
The bracelets are pretty much the same too with a butterfly clasp and links which include no possible micro-adjustment. If you don't get a good fit, it'll be too loose or too tight, and there's nothing you can do about it other than swap to an expensive Tissot PRX (or cheaper AliExpress) leather or rubber strap. It fitted me perfectly and is very comfortable.
As far as quality goes, having tried on the Tissot PRX with a view to buying one, I'd say there's not much in it. The Tissot bracelet feels like a cheap AliExpress bracelet too, and it even has the same sharp bits. A quick rub over with Brasso or a fancier Cape Cod polishing cloth (not the potato chips) will probably improve the finish in both cases.
The domed crystal on the Skmei makes it even more vintage looking than the Tissot if you like that sort of thing. It still won't look exactly like the cheap and nasty original from the 1970s though. Both the Skmei and the Tissot suffer from having no anti-reflective coating on the mineral crystals (because plastic would have been better and more accurate), and both bracelets will nip your arm hairs depending on how hirsute you are.
The Skmei isn't some luxury timepiece, but it certainly isn't an overpriced everyday watch either. The case is alloy rather than stainless steel, obviously, but it's done very well. There's nothing else to say really. It's just a cheap fashion watch which has no right to be as good at it is for the money. If you don't like the PRX design, it won't matter which one you buy anyway because they don't get any better.
Skmei 9288 PRX Review
Yes
No
- It's really cheap
- It looks like the more expensive PRX
- The seconds hand hits every marker
- It's quartz
- The finishing isn't the best it could have been
- Very reflective outside
- The bracelet has no micro-adjustment
- Lume on the hands is negligible
I'm pretty much done with collecting now, but I've certainly got a good variety of affordable watches. As an occasional YouTuber, I'm a comedian not an influencer. Skmei is the new Casio!
Does the first link have any articulation or is it fixed like the Tissot? That’s a gripe I have about the Tissot in that the non-articulation makes the watch wear big and sit high on my 6.5” wrist. Swapping it out for a rubber strap made it better but then it loses its integrated bracelet vibes.
Does the first link have any articulation or is it fixed like the Tissot? That’s a gripe I have about the Tissot in that the non-articulation makes the watch wear big and sit high on my 6.5” wrist. Swapping it out for a rubber strap made it better but then it loses its integrated bracelet vibes.
Lots of articulation. In fact, maybe too much because it will actually fold back over the watch case itself if you aren't careful and could leave a mark in the chrome (yeah, I nearly did that). There's a noticeable gap when the watch is at rest, but not when it's on your wrist because the links fold down.
I also had the AliExpress rubber strap for Christmas, but I haven't swapped it yet because the bracelet is actually surprisingly decent.
I went to check the original quartz PRX it at a local AD when it was launched and seeing it in the flesh I was not very impressed. This feeling of indifference mixed with a bit of negativity persisted as time went by and Tissot released more models to flesh up the line. To me the PRX is simply not an interesting watch, which is why I would not bother with the SKMEI. It's good that you did because it made for an entertaining read.
So the markup on the PRX is X5 according to this guy?
I'm glad he finally found the missing seat on his bicycle and had the time to comment on the PRX.
I went to check the original quartz PRX it at a local AD when it was launched and seeing it in the flesh I was not very impressed. This feeling of indifference mixed with a bit of negativity persisted as time went by and Tissot released more models to flesh up the line. To me the PRX is simply not an interesting watch, which is why I would not bother with the SKMEI. It's good that you did because it made for an entertaining read.
So the markup on the PRX is X5 according to this guy?
I'm glad he finally found the missing seat on his bicycle and had the time to comment on the PRX.
I tried the £660 Powermatic PRX on only a few months back and was very disappointed by the quality and legibility. Getting one of these is the logical choice for the sake of having one because paying more money is just polishing a turd. I swear that if you put either one on in the dark, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
This is going to steal wrist time from the Scametti.
😆
This is going to steal wrist time from the Scametti.
😆
Yeah, I've had it on most of the day. I love it!
If you want to pay even less, Curren do a version of the PRX. £12-16.
The design is beautiful, it’s a watch it tells time just like the real one. For 1/3 the price or more.
Enjoy
The Skmei 9288 is a good watch to try out, heavy bracelet with a little bit sharp edges. For the money it's a steal.
After the Skmei, i bought the Poedegar 930 from Aliexpress to try the gold version and that one has a way worser bracelet than the Skmei, it rattles and feels cheap, but a very nice dial. But also good to try it out before buying a PRX.
7 days later i bought the real Tissot PRX 40mm gold 😂, loving it and wearing it a lot. Gold gives me the 70s vibes. Here are some images to compare them.