How far does $100 go?

Is AliExpress all homage brands with unpronounceable names, or are there hidden reserves of originality on the platform? For less than one hundred U.S. dollars, I was willing to try and find out for myself.

Enter the Merkur Classic Cross Line Dial... originally recommended by @StNobody as a cheap, possibly the cheapest, way to fill that "rose dial" slot in the collection. Have you ever struggled to pick a watch for Gaudete Sunday and/or a breast cancer fundraiser? Yes?

Let's start with the first thing that makes this watch stand out on social media... in a Europhilic industry, Merkur spells its own name in hanzi. It's classy, it's traditional, and it gives an extremely necessary image of authenticity to a sub-$100 product. I have no doubt that the bold Chinese dial text is why this is so many people's first AliExpress purchase. Own what you are!

But we should also talk about all the things that aren't immediately apparent from any WRUW picture...

The unboxing.

Normal watch box: made in China, can't be repurposed, takes up space in your drawers but you'd feel bad throwing it away.

Unbranded plastic case: made in China, lightweight and incredibly versatile, will probably still be in your house in 2035.

Advantage: Merkur.

The free spring bar tool and microfiber cloth aren't bad either! My Seiko 5 didn't come with either of those things! The manual text is a little incomprehensible, but the print quality is the same as a Seiko manual.

Surprise, the case back is fully engraved, and the Great Wall design is just cool. For the price, all of these design elements are impressively original and self-consistent. Thinking out loud, I wonder if there's a younger generation of professionals in the P.R.C. who are starting to be a little more nationalistically-minded when it comes to luxury purchases like this.

UPDATE: My husband's university Mandarin has come in handy once again...

FANG SHUI = Waterproof

ZHONG GUO = China (easy)

FAN ZHI = Merkur (as with many Chinese brands the characters appear to bear no phonetic resemblance to the Latin name)

QUAN GANG = All Steel

FANG ZHEN = Shockproof

JI XIE BIAO = Mechanical Watch

SHOU DONG = Manual

Might as well talk about the movement because we're not going to actually get to see it today: hand-winding only, beats slow, quite loud. You get what you pay for. I think a Seiko automatic is probably still a better choice for a first mechanical watch... for a collector. (Throw this Merkur on a leather strap and it'll work perfectly fine at a fancy dress event that a non-collector would need a watch for.)

Biggest disappointment: the bold pink dial is actually kind of dark and dingy! The sunburst looks incredible in direct sunlight, but under indoor lighting conditions, I was surprised how dim it gets - certainly not helped by a cheap crystal with no anti-reflective properties whatsoever. This unflattering photo is a fairly accurate illustration of what you see when you look at this thing.

Oh yeah, and the canvas strap is nothing special, but they literally gave you a free spring bar tool to change it out.

But other than the low-lighting performance... I'm impressed! The hands have a nice two-texture polish on them, and their subtle downwards curve sets off the crystal really well. I'm not the best judge of the finishing on the case, but I've seen $50 Timexes where the finishing looks visibly bad, and this is not that. Many AliExpress factories seem to really excel here, as they generally did other kinds of precision machining before they got into watchmaking.

Oh yeah: this sub-$100 watch also has a signed crown. You know, like my Seiko 5 doesn't. Well done.

But you know what this thing really reminds me of in its price point?

Maybe this is heretical... but the domed retro shape and surprisingly large size actually put me in mind of the few Swatch New Gents I own. And then it all comes together. If you acknowledge that the low price point means that both of these watches just make a very specific fashion statement and will never be worth servicing... then the colourful-but-classy Merkur is miles ahead. (And the other colours and dial patterns available from Merkur are also super appealing!)

So should the Merkur be your first watch, or your first mechanical watch? Ehh, I think there are still some reasons to avoid that - AliExpress is a bit of a Wild West experience and the buyer protection is not great. But I hope this shines a bit of light on how much fun you can have in the affordable world, even if you have no taste for homages.