The Rolex of China Part II: My Grandfather's Shanghai Watch

In this video, I show you a genuine, authentic Shanghai Watch that my grandfather purchased in China back in the 1980's. How does it compare to the Shanghai Watch that I purchased from AliExpress?

[@igorzarenko4693]

Fang Zhen is the Hanyu pinyin, romanisation, of the Chinese word for Anti-shock 防震, not antimagnetic. There are a lot of different cases and types of the Shanghai watch and a lot of retro watches online. Safest way to ensure its vintage, get a beaten up watch and fix it. Btw, there were Swiss watches already in China in the 50s and early 60s, coming in via Hong Kong.

[@thehistoryprof6750]

Thank you for introducing me to this brand and your story. Very well narrated.

[@NorthernWatchClub]

Thank you for sharing this gem of a watch!

[@caseydarrah]

The Ali one simply feels fake. The Chinese on the back translates to Shanghai Watch Factory, but the whole presentation feels like a modern reproduction.

[@davidpremeji9694]

I’m happy for you. You should be proud of your heritage 👏🏼

[@1thirty887]

I bought one of these on Aliexpress. Looks really nice for 30 USD!
When winding my Hamilton Khaki mechanical, the crown also slowly rolls back. Not as quickly as the Shanghai watch. I've never noticed it on any of my automatics.

[@MichaelFonseka-qv9bv]

The crown roll back is "normal" in a manual wind watch.The click is returning to its starting position, hence the roll back.

[@antoniomaltese607]

I love the history you introduced…. Makes it very and quite unique. The most priceless watches aren’t necessarily the most expensive ones as you’ve pointed out. Totally agree 😊

[@gamerdaddy8597]

You speak well. Thanks for the honest review and history lesson. Hope your channel grows.

[@faalbmusic]

Some soviet and swiss movements also "kicks back" in the same way. I think this might be some kind of error.

[@CCPwillfall01]

The way you can tell if its fake is if it is high quality

[@nathanielalarzar1771]

it safe to say that it is a refurbish watch..

[@lanky-x782]

My HMT pilot will also snap back when winding. The movement is stamped HMT. I think it is based on a citizen movement. Unless this movement is using a Chinese made fake HMT movement.

[@megamega362]

HMT handwind is a citizen homer movement from 1961

[@Panzerfaust9161]

Well the thing about fake Chinese watches is that they’re made in China. Are they really considered fake?

[@AChannelAboutWatches]

I would compare it to having an independent swiss watchmaker create a watch using some genuine Rolex parts and some reproduction Rolex parts and putting "Rolex" on the dial. Even though it says Rolex, some parts are genuine, and it looks like a Rolex, I would not consider that to be a true Rolex.

[@ramdas363]

Nice joke @richfranks9161
I would love to own a genuine vintage Shanghai watch but will stay away because there are just to many fakes in China. It's not really about which country it's made in, it's about the history and having a real one, not a replication.

[@asdfasdf8904]

i get the same kickback from my king seiko and the seagull 1963

[@kengachira]

That crown kickback effect makes it kinda worth it

[@brianfromireland]

Great review