Forsining FS113 Review

Not too long ago I made a post about daring designs, because I got a bit bored by my overly safe watch collection. The designs were all found on Ali, weren't too dear, and I ended up getting two of them - one being the subject of this review.

For Forsining, wacky watch designs are not the exception, they are the norm. If you search for the brand on AliExpress you find something like this:

As you can see, all affordable, and only one of the first 12 finds looks "normal" - this is not too unrepresentative of their entire catalogue.

This is a big watch. The spec says 40mm dial diameter which does not sound too bad, but the case is 41.5mm on the thin side, 47mm on the thick side (it's elliptic, not a circular), 49mm lug-to-lug, and 14mm thick. The lugwidth is 24mm. For my 7 inch wrist this remains surprisingly wearable.

The main reason you (or anyone, really) may want the watch is the funky dial, and the affordable price. It's about £28 on AliExpress which is cheap for a self-winder anyway, never mind for a design that really stands out in the crowd. The rendered looks in the catalogue do not deceive - it really looks that impressive in real life. The weirdly shaped numerals are applied, and that open-heart flywheel at the bottom makes a good impersonation of a tourbillon, not that I'd actually be competent to make that judgement.

It is an automatic watch with a see-through case on the back.

The 21,600 beat movement remains anonymous, probably Chinese although it is decribed as "imported" - perhaps someone can recognise it from the picture. It is surprisingly quiet, and is not easily aggravated by a big rattle. The crystal is described as "hardlex", but probably not in the branded sense, it simply isn't Sapphire.

The watch band is actually leather, with some stiffening filling. It appears very similar to the band on my Lorus lumibrite in both looks and feel. After a day of wearing I noticed it starts to break in - this is not a band that needs urgently replacing, which is a real good sign at this price point. The 24mm lugwidth tapers down to 18mm at the buckle.

The main reason you would not want the watch is that it is not the greatest time-teller. The timegrapher gave me an error of +30s/d which is quite a lot, so this was probably never regulated. The hands can get a little lost on this dial - that they are lumed helps a little, but not much. Ultimately, this is an attention grabber doubling as a watch, not the other way around. 

Overall, I am pleasantly surprised with the apparent built-quality. This feels like a very solid watch.

Available in various dial/case colours, mine is the silver/white combination. Other colour combinations may offer better readability of time.