Hello from China, with a recently exploded collection
Hi! I was sort of into watches but only recently I begun purchasing an awful lot of them and really got further down the rabbit hole. That IWC was my first watch (lol) but as my taste began to grow I found myself inclining towards the more colourful and 'jumpy' ones, thus the overwhelming amount of Citizens and Casios. I'm really happy to be here and I'd love to share with you some special pieces that I've got, those which are easy to find in China (or east asia) but are kind of foreign to people outside of that region.
The G-Shock is a collaboration between Casio and Bilibili, the YouTube inside the wall.
The green dial citizen is from their XC lineup. Being a Christmas special edition it features tree-like triangles on the dial. I couldn't find much information in the English world so I assume it's east asia only.
The seagull is interesting. Basically seagull, being a state owned enterprise, does not sell their watches themselves (I'm sorry but I've seen so many fake 1963's on YouTube) and rely on 4 major distributors. Seagull does not want them to clash with each other too much so those 4 all get exclusive models, designed and manufactured by seagull. Some love 'borrowing' design cues from major swiss brands and from my perspective only one prefers more in-house designs. The seagull in the picture is from the latter, with the st21 caliber and retails for around $550. Also seagull is going to release an enlarged 1963 with sapphire crystal but sadly the replicas already flood the market... I guess the acrylic crystal put a lot of people off on that model.
My profile picture is a Gucci. I knew I was being ripped off hard on that one but as a year of the rabbit special it's just so cute that I couldn't resist...
Hello! Welcome to the site!
Welcome to WC! This happens to a lot of us…we become interested in watches for one reason or another, then quickly start buying watches.
Welcome to WC. Love the collection!
Also thanks for the insight on Seagull. I’ve wanted to add one to my collection but have never pulled the trigger because of so many fakes about. Would love to hear more about your thoughts on trustworthy sources and your experience with the watch.
Welcome to wc my friend. Damn thats a lot of collection you got there. And thx for the story and enlightmen, i didnt know back then people would sell seagull replica, there are many price variation in any site
Welcome to wc my friend. Damn thats a lot of collection you got there. And thx for the story and enlightmen, i didnt know back then people would sell seagull replica, there are many price variation in any site
Thanks! It's really difficult to stay sober when you get into such I hobby...
Honestly speaking most seagull 1963's I see outside the wall are replicas. Seagull sells their calibers directly to manufacturers therefore it's very easy to get hold of st21s and case them.
Welcome to WC. Love the collection!
Also thanks for the insight on Seagull. I’ve wanted to add one to my collection but have never pulled the trigger because of so many fakes about. Would love to hear more about your thoughts on trustworthy sources and your experience with the watch.
Thanks! I'm curious if there's any interesting Aussie watches on the market?
Seagulls... I think you best bet is to import them straightly from China, like going to taobao.com, then find the watch you like and find a way to import it. There are so many Chinese students in Australia and there must be someone who's willing to help. It's a little bit head scratching even for the Chinese-speaking because of the exclusivity thing I mentioned before, i.e. different retailers having different models. I bought mine from https://m.tb.cn/h.UofRsl6, the distributor that prefers more original designs.
As for my experience with the watch, it runs ±5s a day and the chronograph works fine. It's actually more about the looks though, as reviews of the st21 caliber are easy to find on YouTube. What's interesting is that ehen seagull cases their own st21s they'll always be engraved with “中国空军” (PLAAF). Therefore when you see an st21 without the engraving it's most probably not cased by seagull.
You got some really cool watches! That Gucci watch is great, it's so fun!
Welcome! My oh my! That’s really a lot of watches 😄
Welcome to WC. Nice collection, I have the Seagull 1963 with acrylic crystal.
Starting with an IWC is seriously insane.😮 Plenty of other nutcases here on watchcrunch though.
Love to hear those stories about the ins and outs of the Chinese watch market. I buy a bunch of watches via AliExpress (I also used AliBaba directly). Is there an advantage to go via taobao instead? [There is a bit of a language barrier TBH.]
Thanks! I'm curious if there's any interesting Aussie watches on the market?
Seagulls... I think you best bet is to import them straightly from China, like going to taobao.com, then find the watch you like and find a way to import it. There are so many Chinese students in Australia and there must be someone who's willing to help. It's a little bit head scratching even for the Chinese-speaking because of the exclusivity thing I mentioned before, i.e. different retailers having different models. I bought mine from https://m.tb.cn/h.UofRsl6, the distributor that prefers more original designs.
As for my experience with the watch, it runs ±5s a day and the chronograph works fine. It's actually more about the looks though, as reviews of the st21 caliber are easy to find on YouTube. What's interesting is that ehen seagull cases their own st21s they'll always be engraved with “中国空军” (PLAAF). Therefore when you see an st21 without the engraving it's most probably not cased by seagull.
Thanks mate, appreciate this. I will do some digging and see how I go with importing one.
As for Aussie watches there’s a few brands down here making good watches. My favourite local brand is Panzera, but the Melbourne Watch Company and Bausele are also making some good pieces.
Creux Automatiq are placing themselves into a higher price point but are developing a pretty big following.
Haigh & Hastings are a Perth based brand, not really to my taste but have been doing well.
Just over the ditch there’s a good New Zealand brand worth checking out in Draken Watches.
Cheers 🍻
Starting with an IWC is seriously insane.😮 Plenty of other nutcases here on watchcrunch though.
Love to hear those stories about the ins and outs of the Chinese watch market. I buy a bunch of watches via AliExpress (I also used AliBaba directly). Is there an advantage to go via taobao instead? [There is a bit of a language barrier TBH.]
Things on taobao from my experience are better regulated and those customer reviews do count a lot. Most sellers are willing to ship overseas also, if you can navigate through the language barrier
Thanks mate, appreciate this. I will do some digging and see how I go with importing one.
As for Aussie watches there’s a few brands down here making good watches. My favourite local brand is Panzera, but the Melbourne Watch Company and Bausele are also making some good pieces.
Creux Automatiq are placing themselves into a higher price point but are developing a pretty big following.
Haigh & Hastings are a Perth based brand, not really to my taste but have been doing well.
Just over the ditch there’s a good New Zealand brand worth checking out in Draken Watches.
Cheers 🍻
Cheers, will check them out!