Frankenwatches

I have a Hmt Janata. I got it as part of a £15 challenge but when I started reading the whole story of Hmt I was sold. It is undoubtedly Hmt parts cobbled together but it works and I like it (and the story of Hmt). So they are the reasons I got one. I paid about £10 and it took about 3 weeks to arrive in the UK. Hope that helps.

My opinion varies depending on what you are buying. If you are looking at an HMT then I say "go for it". It is likely a redialed HMT with a Citizen based movement. It may not be a true Janata, Sona, or Sherpa (in my case) but it will be colorful and fun.

I would say to avoid Camy, Sandoz, Oris, and the rest from India. In those cases you are getting something that is not as advertised. It is a low quality fake. Those Citizens or Seiko never looked like that or had those movements.

So, spend $15 or $17 USD on a redialed HMT. Don't expect much. It will be a cheap mechanical watch that will keep decent enough time.

After a year or so I moved on from mine. Every now and then I look for one in decent condition that has not been reimagined. I suspect that I will keep one of those a bit longer.

I have one that I wear on occasion.

For $30 or thereabouts, it's a fun watch that helped me understand what an automatic is and why people like them.

It obviously won't impress anyone, but it can be used as a litmus test. Anyone that hates on them just because they are franken/modded/cobbled, is likely someone you probably shouldn't spend a lot of time with.

I gotta say, HMT have some really nice dials. I bought this pilot for cheap on eBay a while back. While it’s too small for me to wear everyday, I love it and I think it’s an incredible value. I can’t speak about the accuracy because I don’t have a timeographer.

Horrible, sorry, I think you can better spend this money on a good steak 😅

As long as you understand what you are buying then go for it. I've always just bought what I like, and what I will wear.

A mate of mine asked me to "service" a frankenwatch he bought for £20 "from a bloke in the pub"... 🙄

Here's the top of the balance through my microscope. 😬

It's an absolute turd and the rest of it wasn't much better.

If you want my advice... steer clear

I'm sharing my experience not to be unnecessarily negative but rather because I wish someone had schooled me. It's often not just the watches from India that are sketchy but also many of the sellers. Some adjust and crop pictures to hide defects and use terminology that is vague but gives them cover. Rather than say redialed they will say "refurbished" or use "recently serviced" instead of revealing that they swapped in an ill fitting inferior movement. If the bracelet clasp isn't shown it's often because it's not signed or signed by a different maker altogether. Photo color and contrast are adjusted to enrich colors and minimize dents and scratches. Cultures where haggling is customary and the focus is on a single sale to a non-local sets up a seller vs buyer dynamic where the seller hopes to get the most money from a buyer he/she will most likely never engage with again and therefore the seller presents the item in the best light even if that means not being completely honest. Telling a fib is often viewed more as great salesmanship rather than an ethical lapse. When caught in a deception the eBay seller will often offer a partial refund to preserve their feedback rating. Some Indian eBay sellers reship through other countries knowing that savvy eBay watch buyers often filter out India as a seller location. I've purchased a Seiko on eBay from "New York" wherein the packaging upon arrival clearly reveals India as the origin country though it did transit through a NY intermediary. After a steep and irritating learning curve I've developed a few Indian sellers who concentrate on original condition watches and clearly describe what's what. For every one of those though there are a hundred shady ones. Your best luck, though still risky AF imo, will be with an HMT rather than any watch produced outside of India. As someone else mentioned buying Seiko, Camy, Oris, Citizen etc from India is notoriously risky and a I would say a non-starter for the average collector. Having said all this it's your wrist, your rules. Happy hunting!

That's a good looking dial.

#hmt is good option 😁👍