@@TheGearPeddler thanks m8. Unfortunately it appears that the 55 sale price has officially ended and it’s back to the regular price of 84, but still a good deal for this and one can always wait for another sale which is never long in coming on Ali haha
I’m not a huge Sub fan, but the color on this SD is awesome. And at this price, the SD is the winner all day over the PD. Looking forward to the full comparison!
Yeah, unfortunately, the sale price of 55 USD is no longer available, but I am sure it will come back at another near distance sale. They have sales all of the time. Still a great watch for 84 USD regular price.
@@CoolWatchesOnly absolutely the sale price of 55 was bonkers, regular price of 84 dollars is still bloody good! Unfortunately mine had that bezel issue but seems to be the exception not the norm for Steeldive so there’s that
I have the Steeldive 300M GMT Master. I have taken it snorkeling in the ocean in Japan with no problem. Great Lume (probably better than your subbie) and huge bang for buck! Great review!
Ha Chris, never noticed the spelling of the specktrometre, that's golden. Also never really had this click in my head before. But am I am the only guy that likes to fully connect the extra links removed from the bracelet till they form a cycle? There are two more things which are a bit off on this watch. The back of the clasp seems to form a 'thicc' gap to the actual links and there is quite a bit of a color difference between the lume on the hands and that on the indices, which would probably also go some way to explaining the difference in staying power of the lume. On a more subjective matter, I don't know why exactly, but in my eyes the only dial color for a sub (original or 'homage') is the lacquered black. I think this tone of blue, especially if its sunburst, would look a lot nicer on other styles of watches.
That is a good catch regarding the clasp it is a tad sticker then I would like it to be, but on this particular style of watch with the case thickness, I think it isn’t as offputting as it would be on a thinner case sport watch and I do think that they didn’t apply as much loom to the indices and Bezel l markings as they did on the hands which would likely explain the colour difference as I am sure it is the same loom used on both
I find that clasps ride better and lower if you have the adjustment holes in the most rearward position with as many links in the bracelet as possible, preferably centering the clasp. Works well on my smallish wrist.
@@bigriceburner def a great point friend! The scissor clasp on this is a little bit too long which contributes to the bulkiness on the one side of the clasp/bracelet
@@bluecollarwatches7048 wait for it to come on for 55 again it’s back up by 30 bucks but still a good deal for that, and my understanding is that Steeldive usually has good bezels so I got a dud in that regard
These SD1953's are great watches but QC does vary between them. I picked up a Hulk, a Smurf and a Black Sub with the Hulk being the best out of the three having no issues. The others either had misaligned bezels / date windows or clasps that were hard to close. Great review.
@@st4ndaman thanks for the info my friend! I am getting a few more addies dive watches in, so far I think they are the value for dollar spent winner on aliexpress, I haven’t had any issues with addies dive…..yet, we shall see how the next ones fair.
M , I’ve got 2 of these . The grey which has the misaligned bezel (which rotates ok ) and cyclops , which I bought first . I saw this blue one and a very good price , liked it and based on all the good reviews and despite my original experience , went for it . The blue has perfectly aligned bezel and cyclops , unlike yours but the bezel is much tighter than my grey one so for the reasons you state , is difficult to rotate . It seems that they are knocking them out at such a rate that QC suffers but some of us get lucky . Lume is very good , I’ve never had a PD watch that has a remotely decent lume.
@@ccampbell1117 absolutely correct, pagani design sucks at their lume game it’s the one thing I wish they would listen us and do! I otherwise love the brand. The misaligned bezel on this Steeldive was a surprise I’ve had a few steel dives and have never seen this issue with them yet, but as you say they knock them out so fast that if you buy enough watches from Ali it’s not if but when you will get a qc issue like this, only matter of time (ha see what I did there!) In most cases as with this one the qc issues are mostly forgivable for the price, but I do hate this bezel, the dial helps to take attention away from it though. Thanks for watching
I have 2 of both watches and agree the Steeldive is a better watch. I didn't have alignment issues with either one and I find that the cyclops is overmagnified on both, especially when compared to more expensive watches. I plan to keep the Steeldive's and donate the PD's...there is no secondary market for these inexpensive watches. I really like the blue dial on yours...great review!!
@@danschlacks7188 hey Dan! Thanks so much for watching. I started my Ali journey re collecting from there with mostly pagani design and they do make some great incredible dollar for value watches with some common hiccups, particularly I have found their bezels to be wishy washy, they can be good and terrible. This is the first example from Steeldive (or addies dive too) that I have had an issue with the bezel. At end of day, par for the course when buying from aliexpress, most of the qc issues on watches that are sub 100 usd are forgiveable but imo. Thanks for the comment and please subscribe if you haven’t done so yet :)
Great review Chris like usual,I own several pagani design watches so from steeldive ,I have to say that all steeldives are better in overall quality especially at the lume department.can you add a link for the strap of yours pagani design ?
For sure seems to be the case for a good number of brands on AliExpress most of the time the issues are forgivable, and in this case of the steel dive for the price completely forgivable even at the regular price, but especially at the sale price this was on for
Holy cow, thats a lot of spec for the price of a cheaper timex quartz. Quality control seem to be the limiting factor in these watches however. If these Chinese factories can offer sapphire crystals and ceramic bezels at this price point, how long before Seiko and some of the other giants have to follow suit? BTW the bezel texture is very much like the Orient Mako, almost useless. Great review as always
@@whit107 that is just the thing the quality control on any piece that you buy from AliExpress is a gamble and the fact that the returns procedure is somewhat of a nightmare speak to the low price. Some of these watches are now on Amazon for the regular price (no Ali sale price) so it is advisable to buy from there because of the seamless return if necessary. I don’t think you will see any of the other brands that you mentioned their watches less expensive because of Ali unless of course they correct the issues mentioned above. Unfortunately, the 55 USD price is now not available. It’s back up to the regular price of around 84 USD.
I am definitely not a Submariner fan. I think they are ugly. They are very good, no doubt. A friend of mine wears his every day and loves it. He has a Rolex of course. BUT I am a sucker for Steeldive and Addiesdive. Great quality for the price! I wonder why they misaligned the bezel on your watch. They aren’t so bad at quality control usually. Chris, you definitely need a light engineering specialist. The contre-jour while filming yourself in this video is really hard to bear. :P 🕐⚙️🍸
Hey pal, thank you I am as well surprised by the misalignment, which is more apt to happen on the PD, and regarding the lighting issue, I am not at home as per my last video with the same intro the lighting in my dad‘s basement where I can film is definitely not ideal after this week it will be back to my normal intro with the green screen effect
@@ulig12 that’s true…..I bought it specifically for the colour as well as to finally do a proper comparison to the pagani design. But as you say nothing new to the table here thanks for watching m8
Amazing stelldive
@@brain9287 I agree this one is quite nice except for that cyclops
You were right. That’s one beautiful watch. 🙂
@@FiremanFrach it really is, some hiccups with it esp that cyclops but
The dial is really really something
@@MirrlyonTime My older eyes appreciate the cyclops. 😂
@@FiremanFrach lol, well then it’s perfect for ya haha
Congrats!🙌🏆
There’s a reason that’s that color has taken the world by storm!👍
@@mauricesoulis1590 yeah its stunning thanks for watching
Nice job reviewing this piece. For $55 a real value find.
@@TheGearPeddler thanks m8. Unfortunately it appears that the 55 sale price has officially ended and it’s back to the regular price of 84, but still a good deal for this and one can always wait for another sale which is never long in coming on Ali haha
@@MirrlyonTime Still a good deal just not “stupid good “😆.
I reviewed this piece a little while ago and it certainly offers great value for money. Great job as ever mate 👍👍
@@WatchtheTime thanks Simon! Remind me, as I can’t recall, any bezel issues with yours?
I’m not a huge Sub fan, but the color on this SD is awesome. And at this price, the SD is the winner all day over the PD. Looking forward to the full comparison!
Yeah, unfortunately, the sale price of 55 USD is no longer available, but I am sure it will come back at another near distance sale. They have sales all of the time. Still a great watch for 84 USD regular price.
Beautiful watch, love that dial color, just incredible value for the money
@@CoolWatchesOnly absolutely the sale price of 55 was bonkers, regular price of 84 dollars is still bloody good! Unfortunately mine had that bezel issue but seems to be the exception not the norm for Steeldive so there’s that
Nice
Thanks scatter
If I got this one in, my wife would take it. Cheers!!!
hahaha, definitely a gorgeous dial on this one, unfortunately a couple of qc issues, but to be expected to be fair
I have the Steeldive 300M GMT Master. I have taken it snorkeling in the ocean in Japan with no problem. Great Lume (probably better than your subbie) and huge bang for buck! Great review!
@@wingi7722 that’s good to know thanks for sharing that wingi please subscribe as well :)
Great review! 👏
@@Skyler.Santana thanks Skyler just subscribed to your channel as well, will check out some vids tomorrow :)
Ha Chris, never noticed the spelling of the specktrometre, that's golden. Also never really had this click in my head before. But am I am the only guy that likes to fully connect the extra links removed from the bracelet till they form a cycle?
There are two more things which are a bit off on this watch. The back of the clasp seems to form a 'thicc' gap to the actual links and there is quite a bit of a color difference between the lume on the hands and that on the indices, which would probably also go some way to explaining the difference in staying power of the lume. On a more subjective matter, I don't know why exactly, but in my eyes the only dial color for a sub (original or 'homage') is the lacquered black. I think this tone of blue, especially if its sunburst, would look a lot nicer on other styles of watches.
That is a good catch regarding the clasp it is a tad sticker then I would like it to be, but on this particular style of watch with the case thickness, I think it isn’t as offputting as it would be on a thinner case sport watch and I do think that they didn’t apply as much loom to the indices and Bezel l markings as they did on the hands which would likely explain the colour difference as I am sure it is the same loom used on both
I find that clasps ride better and lower if you have the adjustment holes in the most rearward position with as many links in the bracelet as possible, preferably centering the clasp. Works well on my smallish wrist.
@@bigriceburner def a great point friend! The scissor clasp on this is a little bit too long which contributes to the bulkiness on the one side of the clasp/bracelet
I have way to many watches, but that dial makes me want this one that dial color is my favorite.
@@bluecollarwatches7048 wait for it to come on for 55 again it’s back up by 30 bucks but still a good deal for that, and my understanding is that Steeldive usually has good bezels so I got a dud in that regard
@@bluecollarwatches7048 yeah at 55 sale price this was a great deal even with bezel misalignment which isn’t the norm for Steeldive
@@MirrlyonTime I'm a fan of steeldive/addiesdive
@@bluecollarwatches7048 yes me too
These SD1953's are great watches but QC does vary between them. I picked up a Hulk, a Smurf and a Black Sub with the Hulk being the best out of the three having no issues. The others either had misaligned bezels / date windows or clasps that were hard to close. Great review.
@@st4ndaman thanks for the info my friend! I am getting a few more addies dive watches in, so far I think they are the value for dollar spent winner on aliexpress, I haven’t had any issues with addies dive…..yet, we shall see how the next ones fair.
M , I’ve got 2 of these . The grey which has the misaligned bezel (which rotates ok ) and cyclops , which I bought first . I saw this blue one and a very good price , liked it and based on all the good reviews and despite my original experience , went for it . The blue has perfectly aligned bezel and cyclops , unlike yours but the bezel is much tighter than my grey one so for the reasons you state , is difficult to rotate .
It seems that they are knocking them out at such a rate that QC suffers but some of us get lucky . Lume is very good , I’ve never had a PD watch that has a remotely decent lume.
@@ccampbell1117 absolutely correct, pagani design sucks at their lume game it’s the one thing I wish they would listen us and do! I otherwise love the brand. The misaligned bezel on this Steeldive was a surprise I’ve had a few steel dives and have never seen this issue with them yet, but as you say they knock them out so fast that if you buy enough watches from Ali it’s not if but when you will get a qc issue like this, only matter of time (ha see what I did there!) In most cases as with this one the qc issues are mostly forgivable for the price, but I do hate this bezel, the dial helps to take attention away from it though. Thanks for watching
I have 2 of both watches and agree the Steeldive is a better watch. I didn't have alignment issues with either one and I find that the cyclops is overmagnified on both, especially when compared to more expensive watches. I plan to keep the Steeldive's and donate the PD's...there is no secondary market for these inexpensive watches. I really like the blue dial on yours...great review!!
@@danschlacks7188 hey Dan! Thanks so much for watching. I started my Ali journey re collecting from there with mostly pagani design and they do make some great incredible dollar for value watches with some common hiccups, particularly I have found their bezels to be wishy washy, they can be good and terrible. This is the first example from Steeldive (or addies dive too) that I have had an issue with the bezel. At end of day, par for the course when buying from aliexpress, most of the qc issues on watches that are sub 100 usd are forgiveable but imo. Thanks for the comment and please subscribe if you haven’t done so yet :)
Thanks for responding...already a subscriber!
Great review Chris like usual,I own several pagani design watches so from steeldive ,I have to say that all steeldives are better in overall quality especially at the lume department.can you add a link for the strap of yours pagani design ?
@@seanwidezki hello m8 sure thing, and stay tuned for a video on these straps as well:
s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_mqTo6uy
@@MirrlyonTime Thanks for the link Chris ,I am waiting for your strap review ,keep the wonderful work you do
It looks like steeldive is making improvement on their homage watches. Like you said, some room for it to be better
For sure seems to be the case for a good number of brands on AliExpress most of the time the issues are forgivable, and in this case of the steel dive for the price completely forgivable even at the regular price, but especially at the sale price this was on for
$117.34 Canadian dollars
Yep, the watch was on sale for about 85 CAD or 55 USD but it must have just ended. Was 55USD at the time I filmed this
Today is sept 9, $83.58 USD.
@@billsomerset238 yep that seems to be the regular price so it may very well drop to under 60 again during one of Ali many sales :) thanks m8
Holy cow, thats a lot of spec for the price of a cheaper timex quartz. Quality control seem to be the limiting factor in these watches however. If these Chinese factories can offer sapphire crystals and ceramic bezels at this price point, how long before Seiko and some of the other giants have to follow suit? BTW the bezel texture is very much like the Orient Mako, almost useless.
Great review as always
@@whit107 that is just the thing the quality control on any piece that you buy from AliExpress is a gamble and the fact that the returns procedure is somewhat of a nightmare speak to the low price. Some of these watches are now on Amazon for the regular price (no Ali sale price) so it is advisable to buy from there because of the seamless return if necessary. I don’t think you will see any of the other brands that you mentioned their watches less expensive because of Ali unless of course they correct the issues mentioned above. Unfortunately, the 55 USD price is now not available. It’s back up to the regular price of around 84 USD.
I am definitely not a Submariner fan. I think they are ugly. They are very good, no doubt. A friend of mine wears his every day and loves it. He has a Rolex of course. BUT I am a sucker for Steeldive and Addiesdive. Great quality for the price! I wonder why they misaligned the bezel on your watch. They aren’t so bad at quality control usually. Chris, you definitely need a light engineering specialist. The contre-jour while filming yourself in this video is really hard to bear. :P 🕐⚙️🍸
Hey pal, thank you I am as well surprised by the misalignment, which is more apt to happen on the PD, and regarding the lighting issue, I am not at home as per my last video with the same intro the lighting in my dad‘s basement where I can film is definitely not ideal after this week it will be back to my normal intro with the green screen effect
@@MirrlyonTime Oh yeah, that explains it. I forgot you were at your dad’s place. :)
The finishing looks very rough. You’re paying for the sunburst dial.😲😜🤔
@@bernardbarroga1497 finishing on the watch is good m8, sunburst dial is great
Apart from the nice color this piece brings nothing new to the table. So maybe as a summer watch, if I hadn’t already enough.
@@ulig12 that’s true…..I bought it specifically for the colour as well as to finally do a proper comparison to the pagani design. But as you say nothing new to the table here thanks for watching m8