San Martin SN020 Limited Edition Review

San Martin has built quite the reputation in the watch community for offering quality watches (usually homages) at very reasonable prices. I stumbled upon this piece when I was searching for a brown dial watch to add to the collection. This is my first experience with San Martin, so lets see how it’s going so far.

CASE:

The case measures at 39mm, 12.5mm thick, 47.5mm lug to lug, and 20mm lug width. All Goldilocks dimensions IMO. The case finishing is very good. The transition between the brushing on the top and the polishing on the side is crisp and clean. I absolutely love the sapphire box crystal. It adds warmth and distortion giving it a vintage look.

DIAL:

The dial is the main reason why I purchased this watch. The sunburst effect looks richer and deeper compared to other affordable brown dial watches. It almost gives off a tiger eye effect in certain lighting conditions. The gilt hands and indices compliment the dial perfectly.

BRACELET:

The bracelet is very comfortable. All the links are solid with screw pins which is pretty much the standard for San Martin. I like that the links are completely brushed on top with polishing only on the sides. I would’ve preferred their glide lock micro adjust clasp over the typical micro adjust holes but at this price point I don’t mind.

MOVEMENT:

One of the only complaints I have for this watch is the movement. The movement is listed as a YN55 which is an unbranded version Orient caliber F6922 (according to calibercorner.com). The winding feels rougher/grittier compared to a seiko NH35. It is however keeping accurate time which is a testament to San Martin’s good quality control.

WEARABILITY:

This watch fits my smaller 6.25 in wrist very well. It’s not a heavy watch making it easy to wear the throughout day. The explorer style layout and BGW9 lume makes this watch easy to read day and night. Overall I am very pleased with this watch and will probably consider other San Martin models in the future.