Complications
Elliot55 shares a one-year ownership review of his Chinese-made tourbillon, offering a candid assessment of its performance and build quality. This article provides valuable long-term insights into an affordable entry into the complex world of tourbillons, sparking a discussion on the evolving landscape of Chinese horology and its potential impact on the broader watch market.
It has been almost a year since the purchase of my first Chinese-made tourbillon and I thought it’d be a good idea to revisit this rather inexpensive example of one of watch makings most difficult-to-execute mechanisms. And so, I have been wearing the watch for the past couple of weeks and I’ve got some things to share with my Purist friends.
First and foremost, the watch keeps excellent time and gains maybe a second, to a second-and-a-half in a forty-hour period. The power reserve is good for about 46 hours, which is actually quite impressive for a tourbillon running at 4Hz (28,800bph), but the manual winding system does not lend itself to the screw down crown. When fully wound the winding stem does not disengage making it difficult to screw down the crown. From a full stop one must take care not to exceed twenty “winds” so as to not damage the winding stem while screwing down the crown.
At almost 44mm the watch is actually very comfortable on the wrist, however the uninspired Panerai-like design puts me off a bit. It’s not that I dislike Panerai – in fact, I love it and own a few – but I’m not impressed with the Chinese iteration. And while it might be very easy to tell the time on this big dog during the daytime, trying to see it in the night is something different. The luminescence is mediocre at best and not all the markers are coated – better have a flashlight!
Certainly the lack of attention to detail and minimal amount of finishing is to be expected, but at the end of the day this is a solidly built timepiece that runs great. And where the Swiss are charging upwards of a hundred grand for watches with tourbillon-regulated movements, the Chinese are doing it for a whole lot less. I have seen pieces priced in the twelve hundred to thirty-four hundred dollar range, which is roughly 95% less than a Swiss-made tourbillon!
The watch came with two straps: a tan rawhide thick strap and a black leather strap with white piping. The black strap is on the watch now but it was a bee-awtch to switch. I’m not sure if the blue-ish crystal comes through on the video, but that’s okay because I am also not sure why the crystal is blue in the first place. It certainly does not make any functional sense and at times can reflect the light in a strange way.
Front View:
Back View:
Overall I am very happy with my Chinese Tourbillon and for a relatively small sum, many of us can now enjoy a watch movement traditionally reserved for a lucky few.
for the future pricing of the other brands - if the Chinese can bring up the level of originality and finishing quality while keeping their prices down, it might see the start of reduction of prices that will make watches more affordable for many of us. I'm surprised with the accuracy to be honest - it's actually pretty good. Richard
Hey Fernando - There is definitely a lot of potential here. I'd like to see some more inspired designs and attention to detail. I think we know that's coming. - Scott
... with the watch's overall accuracy. Very impressive for sure. And you are correct - if the Chinese (and others) can do the finish work up to the Swiss standards, as well as come up with some more inspired designs, then prices have to come down. - Scott
I only let it go as i honestly have no use for a tourbillon in my life. It is a real shame that yours is in a radiomir style case as that automatically makes a lot of people think 'chinese fake' which the movement certainly is not. Mine was also very accurate although it had a 50 hour power reserve according to the dial. Its good to experience these chinese brands, but better to go for a less obvious case shape. Best G
... the power reserve. I purchased the wrong design, that's for sure. Sorry you had to let yours go. I was thinking of getting another one soon. - Scott
and it does everything u described until a rainy day when it get wet and i sent it to get repaired. the watchman told me since most of its parts r stamped hence lack durability over time, can anyone confirmed that? na interesting toy nonetheless cheers, Ed
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