The Breitling Top Time Deus ("Co-designed with Australian lifestyle brand Deus Ex Machina") does indeed feature a lightning second hand and semi-perforated leather strap
The Lightning seconds hand is all wrong though. The sugges one is just a milgauss seconds hand whilst the Deus Breitling is barely jagged at the start and is more shaped like a "wand" I'd say, you can barely notice it's a lightning. The real Breitling Deus ex machina looks really quite good imo, unlike the homage. Google the original and see how much better looking it is.
Great watch for an amazing price. How are they able to sell this awesome watch with good spec for this price ? The blue sticker can be remove on the crown and pusher. The breitling time deus have the lightning second hand but a softer one. Fun fact the original top time in the 60 had a Venus 178, and the st1901 is based on the venus 175.
I bought the 600T with the blue dial and bezel with the orange minute hand. The lume on mine lasts all night. My only complaint is that the back of the case is completely flat. This makes the end links of the bracelet sit about 3/16 of an inch above your wrist. I know that the original is just like that but I would have preferred some contour to the case back to eliminate the gap. It’s still a really nice watch.
Problems with these seem to centre around the chronograph. Use the watch as a time keeper only and you'll be fine. Having said that, the more microbrands start using this movement, the better the chances of the factory improving on build quality and reliability, although I am told that the original Venus movement it's based on was also quite fragile
Was really tempted to get that Seestern as a holiday watch, but ended up going mad and buying the original Doxa! Doesn't have the lumed date wheel of the Seestern though
This Seagull movement is the one you want, without the swan neck regulator. With the latter, you have to take the movement out of the case to regulate it. The strap is true to the original Breitling Top TIme. The color is probably an homage to the Ford Gulf racing livery.
The Top Time Deus actually has pretty simliar colours to this one. As well as the lightning bolt hand too... Although it is a little more subtle though. I found that out when I reviewed this Sugess (different colour) myself a while back. The lumed date window on the Seestern is pretty nice. Not something you see often on AliExpress watches.
@@JustOneMoreWatch Sorry, I meant I reviewed the Sugess. Not the Breitling. SirWatchGeek has a review of the Top Time Deus though. Someone pointed out in my comments section that the Breitling actually did have the lightning bolt hand. As I initially missed it too.
I have recently returned the 600T V3, the reason being it has been silently cheapened. I have previously been given a V3 with screws in the bracelet and strong and even lume. It is a nice watch after ironing out the kinks such as replacing the clasp. Thus, I decided to order another colour way. What I recently received was a watch with the bracelet sized with push pins and the lume on the dial being much worse than the previous one, with the triangle on the bezel, the date disc and the hands glowing brighter than the indices. My gripe is it's no longer what it used to be and is still being marketed as V3.
Yes, same with mine. I believe they possibly did away with the screw link bracelet as I don't remember it being mentioned as a v3 upgrade (I could be wrong). I think the head of the watch is more like a "v4" , because it has the larger indices but I did notice the lume is a little spotty. It's still tremendous lume, but slightly unevenly applied
@@hattyfarbuckleI received a prepaid return label, posted the package, waited a couple of days for it to be delivered to a local warehouse and inspected. After the package was flagged as a valid return, I was informed about it and had to wait few days for money to appear in my account. They also promised to give me a coupon (with a long list of exclusions), but I can't seem to find it (so probably exclusions apply). Not sure if the same experience will apply in your case...
Buyer beware! Mine came with a defective chronograph, shipped it back at own expense for repair, the returned watch did not work either. Never again for me.
I ordered the teal seestern and they cancelled it saying it’s out of stock but it never looked out of stock… kinda bummed now I’d have to pay more to get it
Presumably the lumed date wheel is only so until midnight when it flips over, unless you're still up at that time and charge up the new date. But at least it will appear the same colour during the day even if the usefulness is limited.
Good point which I never even considered myself! So that's why not many manufacturers do lumed date wheels? Anyways, it's rare that I'm not still up way past midnight, so it wouldn't be much of an issue for me.
It's NH35, so the date does not flip instantaneously. You'll have a mix of glowing and not glowing parts of the date disc visible between 10pm and midnight. The original has an SW200, so the date flips instantaneously at midnight, but it doesn't have a lumed date disc.
A lot of Aliexpress watches, like Steeldive and Pagani, always have this one thing I can complain about. The clasp is not great. The bracelet. The lume. The best watches I've gotten from Alie so far are the 2 Seesterns, the SUB300T and the SUB600T. Everything is just right. The SUB300T with the military dial is sweet.
Could you please tell us what the true lug to log distance is, including the male end links. It may be slightly too wide for my small to average wrist. Thanks.
@LesterLovesWatches it's tough to tell with the male end link, but I get about 53mm. However, I feel it definitely wears smaller as the links drop straight down from the little male piece. I only have like a 6 3/4 inch wrist, and it fits perfectly on me.
I agree sizing wise for these Chronos. I have a 7.5” wrist and opted for the 40mm 1963 with the sapphire glass and it’s about perfect. For that style of watch I could certainly wear the 38, but the 42 would seem just too large for the overall aesthetic. Great pickups! I also have my eye on the Seestern 600T in that exact colour way :) Already have the teal dial 300T homage so orange HAS to be my choice for this one 😊
Thanks for the review Jody. Picked up the Doxa homage in Tiffany blue, great looking especially for $110USD. Ten times less than an original Doxa, hard to complain, it's become my daily go to.
It's maybe the small font on the Seestern being offset, but the empty space at the top right and bottom left look too empty when the hands aren't in that location. I had the blue version but just didn't like the look, perhaps the matt dial didn't help either.
I have three watches with the Seagull movement, and, indeed, one of them fails from time to time. It gets jammed and requires a bit of a smack to free it up again. The two that work properly both have the swan's neck, for which I paid a bit more. I like its look, and I reasoned, probably incorrectly, that maybe the movements with the swan's neck get a bit more attention from the assembler (I won't say watchmaker) or perhaps are assembled by those with more experience.
I've heard stories that the machines are so old and beat up that they can't keep to required tolerances and you get a large percentage of lemons. That's why microbrands which decided to adopt ST19 had to introduce additional QC steps. Also, the pushers have to be of different length, perhaps the person who was assembling it picked one from the other bucket? That's what happened to one of YT watchmakers.
It's true, the bracelet is good and adds a lot of visual interest to the watch - provided that you splash another $5 on a decent clasp. BTW, the most recent release replaces screws in the bracelet with push pins, buyers beware!
Doxa did it, Seestern only copied and borked it in the process - the knurled part sticks above the flank and causes me to catch on things when wearing it.
@@hattyfarbuckle It's ever so slight, but you can feel it under your finger. It's a sharp edge, maybe that's why it catches so eagerly. But that's the reality of clomages, they seem to ruin things for no particular reason. In this case they also made the seconds hand 1 mm too short. Why? Nobody knows.
@@vatazhka Glad to speak to someone equally picky about hand length - I'm wearing a watch today that I didnt realise had a minute hand less than 1mm too long until it arrived .
@@hattyfarbuckle I'm not THAT concerned, but their only job is to run the photocopier and they got it wrong. The overall result is not bad for the money, but still - would it cost that more to have the seconds hand aligned with the minute track as in the original? Or have the top crown sitting within the flank?
I consistently look at both of these, they seem really nice. Thing is I don't need another diver or ST1901 piece. I want but I can't really justify either
Gosh, Jody! The illuminated sign is in focus! Should I be flattered that my raising the question got you to reconsider? Regardless, I think it looks great. As to the watches, I like your choices. I share your affection for orange watches and that Seestern is a great example at a good price. The Sugess chronograph has been a favorite of mine since I got it in the last 11/11 sale. I enjoy the colorful dial and the full-width view of that movement is endlessly fascinating.
Two good watches for the price !! Doxa was one of my first dive watches when I started doing scuba ! I don't have it now, and I'm embarrassed to say, the lume on the Seestern and the Tactical Frog versions is far better than the original.
I love my Seestern, always love seeing the lumed date, woulda loved to pay an extra $15 for better lume, but I'd say it reaches the bare minimum level where it's still useful
I have the previous release (V3 with screws in the bracelet) and the lume is great. I also bought a newer one (V3 with push pins in the bracelet) and the lume on the dial was much worse, I ended up returning it.
The Seestern has no business being that good for that cheap. I've got the 600T in teal blue. I almost exclusively wear watches that are 43mm diameter and higher. The Seestern is the only 40mm watch I own, and it wears just fine.
I have the Seestern 62MAS that uses a lumed date wheel too. It, along with its proportions was the reason I picked it up over one of the many others. They make great watches, albeit not very original. I actually really like the starfish on the back and their use of it on the crown. The Doxa lookalike is a bit too in-your-face for me but from all the footage I've seen, is a solid watch.
I have the Tiffany blue dial Seestern 600T, I paid $120 for mine and I thought that was a steal! I would be interested in That Sugess chrono if it was less colorful and had a standard chrono seconds hand instead of the lightning bolt. I guess I just have boring tastes as I like a splash of color and not an explosion of color on my watches.
Just try getting it serviced in Australia without taking out a bank loan to pay for it! However cheap enough so WHEN it does fail, you just buy another and say a prayer to the patron saint of watch repairers it does not bugger up straight away!
A great combo for a quirky person, I like both of them. Nothing weird about the brand Seestern though. It's German, translates literally to Seastar and the meaning is of course Starfish. Quite appropriate for a dive watch and much better than Pagrne or Fngeen.
I am looking for cheap watches for summer because of looks. I don't care about price. Thanks jody for start off our summer in canada and you're going to have " winter ". After you have a good base for a collection. I buy on looks alone. 😊
I paid 160 for my Seestern sub 600 it's the only nh that hasn't ever worked properly and they don't seem to care. It's all good cause a replacement movement is cheap, but they really don't seem to care about customer service. What would you expect lol
@@polmacliam2444 it is actually a 'nodeco' scale. This means 'no decompression' needed. You decide how many feet down you are going to dive, and the scale tells you how many minutes you can stay at that depth without needing to decompress. I had to look this up on the Doxa sure because I couldn't work it out. This is a great watch -Is have the orange one on a black and orange rubber strap and it looks amazing. I one of my favourites
These are outdated 1957 US Navy decompression tables for divers - to tell you how long a fit young male was thought to be able to remain at a given depth without the need for decompression ("no-stop bottom times").
I've got the Doxa 600T in orange, and that homage looks incredible, for 1/10th the price! And to be honest, the lume on the stock 600T is already poor, so you can't fault the Seestern. Great find!
In fact, the previous releases of V3 clomage had better lume! I bought another copy and couldn't believe how they cheapened on the lume, which is the highlight of my V3 which I had been gifted a year ago. Also, the bracelet now has push pins instead of screws.
I didn't have a good experience with sugess. 1 of the counters, when I start the stopwatch, it doesn't work. That's why I decided not to buy their watches anymore
Did you get a refund? I got one, but it cost me a few hairs. I was lucky AliExpress intervened in my favor. I do not recommend the Sugess Official Store, dishonest company. Never again.
I have watched most of the watch reviewers and in my opinion you are the best. I love Aussies reviewers in general and you are at the top. One question I have .Watchdives is a store (online anyway), but they sell Watchdives watches along with dozens of other brands. Who makes Watchdives watches? Do they contract with various other factories? Do they have their own?
So Is it in your opinin Jody to buy segulls pilot watche ? Hearing that the pilot watches stop working and the such. Been looking at them. But am a poor American. It would be a big purchase in my house. Food is great , but is it worth it to tighten the hatches Brother on a purchase ?
I have exactly those same two watches! Great value. The Seestern is simply amazing! Can you imagine how much Seiko would charge for a watch with such a case back? Timex are going for twice the money in my neck of the woods.
Wanted to congratulate you on the recent reveal of the ascent, you absolutely nailed it! I saw a grand Seiko in the thumbnail of another video the other day and mistook it for an ascent, shows the quality range you guys are targeting
I bought the 600T homage based off your recommendation on the ALIX sale. I’ve popped it on a black diver strap with orange stitching and it wears like a dream!
I'd been eyeing it for awhile, and Jody's recommendation pushed me over the top; total price was $110, including tax! Seestern is my favorite brand, I have 3, and each of them blow me away for their price/quality/value. I replaced this one's bracelet with an orange sailcloth strap, and it indeed wears great! (Though it was a bitch to get the strap installed, thanks to the short, tight lugs that make the bracelet look pseudo-integrated.)
Another Ali Express purchase I can 'blame' you for, Jody 😂 Bought the 600t (in orange) and very happy with it. £85 in a recent sale, so I cab let the slightly wonky bezel alignment slide...
Love that Doxstern. Love 70s-style watches in general but 168g? A bit chunky for me. Maybe time to reassess today's general hatred of folded links. They sure do reduce the overall mass.
This watch is top-heavy, the solid link bracelet (and a good clasp, it's best to swap the one which has been provided with a $5 one) actually helps to stabilize it on the wrist.
@@vatazhka Point taken, and if that works for you, then good news. For me, total mass is more important than balance. It's a comfort thing and perhaps I'm a statistical outlier. I'd be interested to know the head-only mass, but hard to ask reviewers to go into that level of detail.
I don't know if you've noticed this, but if you press the chronograph start hand and then the reset button, nothing happens till you press the chronograph stop button, upon which the watch resets. to zero.
How do you balance buying Chinese watches with IP infringement vs. starting your own watch co and hoping it remains original? It seems contradictory but I’m probably missing the obvious. Anyway keep up the great work!
Currently waiting on one of those Sugess Chronographs getting through UK Customs - I was able to get the "Deus" colour scheme one.... The original Brietling of which also had the lightning bolt second hand (though not quite as on this one).
I bought the same watch during the last sale...only the cream/black version. Great watch but those blue plastic protectors on the pushers were an absolute PITA to remove! Had to break out the rubbing alcohol to get it all off! But great watch!
@timgenter1264 No, they are super simple to remove. Just take a piece of scotch tape and press it against the pushers. When you remove the tape the blue protectors come right off stuck to the tape.
Bravo Jordi 🎉 your videos are always fun and cheerful. But I'm curious. Considering communist china being communist china, does any alie watch last longer than 6 months?
There seems to be a lot of really low priced Chinese watches lately. Are they now competing with each other, and in a race to the bottom? Or maybe are stratifying, and the low sales/lower quality guys are fighting for more with price? Must admit my only dive into the Aliexpress world was a Baltany, so don't have much experience with the wider range of options....
The Sugess is a homage of a Breitling Top Time, which does indeed have a lightning bolt chronograph hand on the original. It's astonishing how little research some TH-camrs do, but not everyone is a watch expert I guess. 🤪🤷🏻♂️
Been tempted by that colourway chrono several times. But ended up with the sand dial addiesdive this sale. Any thoughts on Specht and sohne? I've got the 222 knock off in my sights
Bro 😅 I ordered the sand dial automatic also 3 weeks ago , I got Specht and sohne prx quartz version , that brand is all about looks , not durability or insane quality. They focused everything on luxury looks , that doesn't mean it's a band brand at all , means is not balanced like the others . P.s. check Berny ⌚
You don't want to know how the sausage is made. Yeah, I am also guilty of brushing off the thoughts about low wages of the workers and not minding blatant IP theft. But haven't the Swiss profited off the low paid Chinese workers in the first place?
Great pair and nice video :P. Very nice quality and spec. I've decided I don't like the recessed case back and thickness of the 600T, and how it sits on 6.5" wrist (and don't need more autos). That style sit's too far out on wrist, and those quick release bartons aren't easy to use with it (curved spring bars help fit the silicone straps, which I've made with two spoons :P). I think a mate will take it if he sees it on the orange strap (I got the black with black bezel). Cheers
Beware with Sugess, a lot of buyers were left stranded during the last Spring sale. I had ordered the chrono, but my order was cancelled after two weeks without shipping. I've since been refunded, and being a little bit mad, I decided to order again - which was delivered this morning. Nonetheless, the whole deal left a sour aftertaste : - Sugess accepts orders without stock. (See first page of comments, the number of people complaining) - Then they update the status to "picked up by courier", which means nothing except you can't go back and cancel after this point ! - So you wait two weeks, and only then *they* cancel and you are at Ali's mercy for the refund - Luckily in my case it was rather fast (1 week), but it can take up to over a month - You can order again, but forget the original discount, it will be at whatever the price is at that moment - Smile ! You've earned a $2 coupon for your troubles. I've seen buyers on reddit whom orders were cancelled twice already. I wouldn't buy again at the moment, until they get their ducks in a row.
I can attest to Sugess/Seestern almost immediately switching the status to Picked Up By Courier to prevent buyers from cancelling the order. My watch had finally arrived, but it sat without a tracking ID (read: it hadn't been despatched) for a week!
I ordered the Sugess at a ridiculous price (about $100) from the official store but it was never dispatched and a month later I got my money back. They clearly have stock but didn’t want to honour the price. Needless to sayI won’t be rushing back. Disappointing for a brand i was keen to engage with.
Just received a Seestern 600t V3 in aquamarine which I've put on a matching neoprene strap. Couldn't be happier, looks every bit as good as the £1,450 Doxa equivalent for less than a 100 quid. Quality is amazing for the price - can't believe the real Doxa can be built any better than this.
The Breitling Top Time Deus ("Co-designed with Australian lifestyle brand Deus Ex Machina") does indeed feature a lightning second hand and semi-perforated leather strap
Wow. I guess I can relax about Sugess design choices and start being critical of Breitlings! Cheers.
Yes, this is a very faithful homage to the original.
The Lightning seconds hand is all wrong though. The sugges one is just a milgauss seconds hand whilst the Deus Breitling is barely jagged at the start and is more shaped like a "wand" I'd say, you can barely notice it's a lightning. The real Breitling Deus ex machina looks really quite good imo, unlike the homage. Google the original and see how much better looking it is.
Precisely!👌 I also noticed that.
@@sinjinadams2862 Clomage
I have both too. Another bargain is the Seestern 300T with aventurine dial for the same price!
Great watch for an amazing price. How are they able to sell this awesome watch with good spec for this price ? The blue sticker can be remove on the crown and pusher. The breitling time deus have the lightning second hand but a softer one. Fun fact the original top time in the 60 had a Venus 178, and the st1901 is based on the venus 175.
I bought the 600T with the blue dial and bezel with the orange minute hand. The lume on mine lasts all night. My only complaint is that the back of the case is completely flat. This makes the end links of the bracelet sit about 3/16 of an inch above your wrist. I know that the original is just like that but I would have preferred some contour to the case back to eliminate the gap. It’s still a really nice watch.
Just got the same seestern. Great watch, the quality is there in all aspects of the watch. Great finish, great bracelet, really happy with it.
Nice watches! I wish the Seastern logo's print was a little bit larger. It looks too small.
Problems with these seem to centre around the chronograph. Use the watch as a time keeper only and you'll be fine. Having said that, the more microbrands start using this movement, the better the chances of the factory improving on build quality and reliability, although I am told that the original Venus movement it's based on was also quite fragile
Was really tempted to get that Seestern as a holiday watch, but ended up going mad and buying the original Doxa! Doesn't have the lumed date wheel of the Seestern though
Thx for this. I do not like the choice of the Sugess font on the caseback. It has something, well, inadequate for the style
I love the Sugess Top Time! I'm wearing mine today. The lightning bolt second hand is what drew me to it.
This Seagull movement is the one you want, without the swan neck regulator. With the latter, you have to take the movement out of the case to regulate it. The strap is true to the original Breitling Top TIme. The color is probably an homage to the Ford Gulf racing livery.
Good to know about the swan neck regulator it was the version I was eyeing up. Thanks.
@@karlsenula9495
That's not true. You can get a straight shot to the swan neck without taking the movement out of the case
The Top Time Deus actually has pretty simliar colours to this one. As well as the lightning bolt hand too... Although it is a little more subtle though. I found that out when I reviewed this Sugess (different colour) myself a while back.
The lumed date window on the Seestern is pretty nice. Not something you see often on AliExpress watches.
Does it? A bit weird. I'll have a good look for the full review! Thanks mate.
@@JustOneMoreWatch Sorry, I meant I reviewed the Sugess. Not the Breitling. SirWatchGeek has a review of the Top Time Deus though.
Someone pointed out in my comments section that the Breitling actually did have the lightning bolt hand. As I initially missed it too.
I have recently returned the 600T V3, the reason being it has been silently cheapened.
I have previously been given a V3 with screws in the bracelet and strong and even lume. It is a nice watch after ironing out the kinks such as replacing the clasp. Thus, I decided to order another colour way. What I recently received was a watch with the bracelet sized with push pins and the lume on the dial being much worse than the previous one, with the triangle on the bezel, the date disc and the hands glowing brighter than the indices.
My gripe is it's no longer what it used to be and is still being marketed as V3.
What was the return experience like ? - my biggest worry stopping me spending too much on a AliExpress watch
@@hattyfarbuckleGood question.😊
@@hattyfarbuckle it's actually really good.
Aliexpress in my opinion has been great with refunds
Yes, same with mine. I believe they possibly did away with the screw link bracelet as I don't remember it being mentioned as a v3 upgrade (I could be wrong).
I think the head of the watch is more like a "v4" , because it has the larger indices but I did notice the lume is a little spotty. It's still tremendous lume, but slightly unevenly applied
@@hattyfarbuckleI received a prepaid return label, posted the package, waited a couple of days for it to be delivered to a local warehouse and inspected. After the package was flagged as a valid return, I was informed about it and had to wait few days for money to appear in my account. They also promised to give me a coupon (with a long list of exclusions), but I can't seem to find it (so probably exclusions apply). Not sure if the same experience will apply in your case...
I'm wearing the Sugess today and it is a lovely watch.
Good luck, my Seagull 1963 stopped working after a minor bump
I bought a Breitling Top Time Deus copy back in September, it died after a month of on off usage, lovely looking watch but now it just sits in its box
The Sugess chronograph is so nice looking. I might find myself having a hard time picking the dial to look at or the back mechanism.
Buyer beware! Mine came with a defective chronograph, shipped it back at own expense for repair, the returned watch did not work either. Never again for me.
@@mangopatch1872 I have heard a few issues with the movement before. Thanks for sharing.
I ordered the teal seestern and they cancelled it saying it’s out of stock but it never looked out of stock… kinda bummed now I’d have to pay more to get it
Presumably the lumed date wheel is only so until midnight when it flips over, unless you're still up at that time and charge up the new date. But at least it will appear the same colour during the day even if the usefulness is limited.
Good point which I never even considered myself! So that's why not many manufacturers do lumed date wheels? Anyways, it's rare that I'm not still up way past midnight, so it wouldn't be much of an issue for me.
It's NH35, so the date does not flip instantaneously. You'll have a mix of glowing and not glowing parts of the date disc visible between 10pm and midnight.
The original has an SW200, so the date flips instantaneously at midnight, but it doesn't have a lumed date disc.
Some of the real Breitling Top Time editions do indeed have a lightning bolt hand. You have to look close, it's more of a subtle design.
A lot of Aliexpress watches, like Steeldive and Pagani, always have this one thing I can complain about. The clasp is not great. The bracelet. The lume. The best watches I've gotten from Alie so far are the 2 Seesterns, the SUB300T and the SUB600T. Everything is just right. The SUB300T with the military dial is sweet.
The 600t is one of my favorite watches in my collection. It's the cheapest watch, but it's damn near my favorite.
Could you please tell us what the true lug to log distance is, including the male end links. It may be slightly too wide for my small to average wrist. Thanks.
Me too - got a blue on a blue tropic strap - love it 😁👍
Agree completely. I have the Seestern in blue/orange, and it's just fantastic.
@@LesterLovesWatches I'll measure for you right now :)
@LesterLovesWatches it's tough to tell with the male end link, but I get about 53mm.
However, I feel it definitely wears smaller as the links drop straight down from the little male piece. I only have like a 6 3/4 inch wrist, and it fits perfectly on me.
It would be nice if they offered an Elabore version of the ST19. Better finishing, better reliability. It's such a pretty little movement.
I agree sizing wise for these Chronos. I have a 7.5” wrist and opted for the 40mm 1963 with the sapphire glass and it’s about perfect. For that style of watch I could certainly wear the 38, but the 42 would seem just too large for the overall aesthetic. Great pickups! I also have my eye on the Seestern 600T in that exact colour way :) Already have the teal dial 300T homage so orange HAS to be my choice for this one 😊
Thanks for the review Jody. Picked up the Doxa homage in Tiffany blue, great looking especially for $110USD. Ten times less than an original Doxa, hard to complain, it's become my daily go to.
It's maybe the small font on the Seestern being offset, but the empty space at the top right and bottom left look too empty when the hands aren't in that location. I had the blue version but just didn't like the look, perhaps the matt dial didn't help either.
I have three watches with the Seagull movement, and, indeed, one of them fails from time to time. It gets jammed and requires a bit of a smack to free it up again. The two that work properly both have the swan's neck, for which I paid a bit more. I like its look, and I reasoned, probably incorrectly, that maybe the movements with the swan's neck get a bit more attention from the assembler (I won't say watchmaker) or perhaps are assembled by those with more experience.
I've heard stories that the machines are so old and beat up that they can't keep to required tolerances and you get a large percentage of lemons. That's why microbrands which decided to adopt ST19 had to introduce additional QC steps.
Also, the pushers have to be of different length, perhaps the person who was assembling it picked one from the other bucket? That's what happened to one of YT watchmakers.
I have the 600T in blue, great watch indeed!! When I see the orange now... I sort of regret my decision😂
Really tempted to go with the teal blue 600t but I also have zero orange watches in my collection so I'm a bit torn
I had that Sugess Breitling homage, but it had debris stuck to the underside of the crystal which was unfortunate. Stunning movement though.
I love my 600t, could be my most worn watch. About the only watch in my collection that stays on the bracelet.
It's true, the bracelet is good and adds a lot of visual interest to the watch - provided that you splash another $5 on a decent clasp.
BTW, the most recent release replaces screws in the bracelet with push pins, buyers beware!
Love the crown integration on the Doxish
Doxa did it, Seestern only copied and borked it in the process - the knurled part sticks above the flank and causes me to catch on things when wearing it.
@@vatazhka Wow - thats not obvious from photography and such a shame. Great idea ruined
@@hattyfarbuckle It's ever so slight, but you can feel it under your finger. It's a sharp edge, maybe that's why it catches so eagerly. But that's the reality of clomages, they seem to ruin things for no particular reason. In this case they also made the seconds hand 1 mm too short. Why? Nobody knows.
@@vatazhka Glad to speak to someone equally picky about hand length - I'm wearing a watch today that I didnt realise had a minute hand less than 1mm too long until it arrived .
@@hattyfarbuckle I'm not THAT concerned, but their only job is to run the photocopier and they got it wrong. The overall result is not bad for the money, but still - would it cost that more to have the seconds hand aligned with the minute track as in the original? Or have the top crown sitting within the flank?
I consistently look at both of these, they seem really nice. Thing is I don't need another diver or ST1901 piece. I want but I can't really justify either
Gosh, Jody! The illuminated sign is in focus! Should I be flattered that my raising the question got you to reconsider? Regardless, I think it looks great.
As to the watches, I like your choices.
I share your affection for orange watches and that Seestern is a great example at a good price.
The Sugess chronograph has been a favorite of mine since I got it in the last 11/11 sale. I enjoy the colorful dial and the full-width view of that movement is endlessly fascinating.
Great looking watches (from the thumbnail), but I’d rather have my Erebus Ascent! Still enjoying the video though. Thanks for fun content, Jody.
My st1901is 9 yrs old now...still running and keeping good time.
its a case of some are good and some are shi..
I just picked up these same exact watches for $85 USD each shipped. Should be in the mailbox in 3 days.
Two good watches for the price !! Doxa was one of my first dive watches when I started doing scuba ! I don't have it now, and I'm embarrassed to say, the lume on the Seestern and the Tactical Frog versions is far better than the original.
I love my Seestern, always love seeing the lumed date, woulda loved to pay an extra $15 for better lume, but I'd say it reaches the bare minimum level where it's still useful
I have the previous release (V3 with screws in the bracelet) and the lume is great. I also bought a newer one (V3 with push pins in the bracelet) and the lume on the dial was much worse, I ended up returning it.
The Seestern has no business being that good for that cheap. I've got the 600T in teal blue. I almost exclusively wear watches that are 43mm diameter and higher. The Seestern is the only 40mm watch I own, and it wears just fine.
I know right? Dollar for dollar one of the best. Cheers!
I have the Seestern 62MAS that uses a lumed date wheel too. It, along with its proportions was the reason I picked it up over one of the many others. They make great watches, albeit not very original. I actually really like the starfish on the back and their use of it on the crown. The Doxa lookalike is a bit too in-your-face for me but from all the footage I've seen, is a solid watch.
alson is great! i know sugess and seestern are the same company but i think seestern has a edge in quality
The crown on the diver is really cool, never seen something like that before. I doubt it's Seesterns innovation at play somehow though :)
I have both of these in my wishlist. I like cool and interesting watches.
I have the Tiffany blue dial Seestern 600T, I paid $120 for mine and I thought that was a steal! I would be interested in That Sugess chrono if it was less colorful and had a standard chrono seconds hand instead of the lightning bolt. I guess I just have boring tastes as I like a splash of color and not an explosion of color on my watches.
Nice reviews Jody.
Good to see some solid cheapies now and again.
🙂👍🇬🇧
Just try getting it serviced in Australia without taking out a bank loan to pay for it! However cheap enough so WHEN it does fail, you just buy another and say a prayer to the patron saint of watch repairers it does not bugger up straight away!
A great combo for a quirky person, I like both of them.
Nothing weird about the brand Seestern though. It's German, translates literally to Seastar and the meaning is of course Starfish. Quite appropriate for a dive watch and much better than Pagrne or Fngeen.
I am looking for cheap watches for summer because of looks.
I don't care about price.
Thanks jody for start off our summer in canada and you're going to have " winter ".
After you have a good base for a collection. I buy on looks alone. 😊
As with the Doxa, the Seestern would look SOOOOOOO much better with white indices instead of the dirty creme colored ones.
Love the new background, looks so good
I paid 160 for my Seestern sub 600 it's the only nh that hasn't ever worked properly and they don't seem to care. It's all good cause a replacement movement is cheap, but they really don't seem to care about customer service. What would you expect lol
Yes I pulled the Trigger on the Sugess with the Blue Dial the Brietling " Cobra" homage. I got it for $200 au. Bargain.
What's the point of the feet scale on the bezel?
It's a decompression scale for divers.
@@polmacliam2444 it is actually a 'nodeco' scale. This means 'no decompression' needed. You decide how many feet down you are going to dive, and the scale tells you how many minutes you can stay at that depth without needing to decompress. I had to look this up on the Doxa sure because I couldn't work it out. This is a great watch -Is have the orange one on a black and orange rubber strap and it looks amazing. I one of my favourites
These are outdated 1957 US Navy decompression tables for divers - to tell you how long a fit young male was thought to be able to remain at a given depth without the need for decompression ("no-stop bottom times").
the late coupons cant be stacked so kinda useless, my recent order had items very late and got many coupons and found that out...
I've got the Doxa 600T in orange, and that homage looks incredible, for 1/10th the price! And to be honest, the lume on the stock 600T is already poor, so you can't fault the Seestern. Great find!
In fact, the previous releases of V3 clomage had better lume! I bought another copy and couldn't believe how they cheapened on the lume, which is the highlight of my V3 which I had been gifted a year ago. Also, the bracelet now has push pins instead of screws.
I didn't have a good experience with sugess. 1 of the counters, when I start the stopwatch, it doesn't work. That's why I decided not to buy their watches anymore
Did you get a refund? I got one, but it cost me a few hairs. I was lucky AliExpress intervened in my favor. I do not recommend the Sugess Official Store, dishonest company. Never again.
Obviously both look great (as not original designs) , I would have picked up the Sugess long ago if the lug to lug length wasn't so long
I have watched most of the watch reviewers and in my opinion you are the best. I love Aussies reviewers in general and you are at the top. One question I have .Watchdives is a store (online anyway), but they sell Watchdives watches along with dozens of other brands. Who makes Watchdives watches? Do they contract with various other factories? Do they have their own?
So Is it in your opinin Jody to buy segulls pilot watche ? Hearing that the pilot watches stop working and the such. Been looking at them. But am a poor American. It would be a big purchase in my house. Food is great , but is it worth it to tighten the hatches Brother on a purchase ?
I have exactly those same two watches! Great value. The Seestern is simply amazing! Can you imagine how much Seiko would charge for a watch with such a case back? Timex are going for twice the money in my neck of the woods.
Wanted to congratulate you on the recent reveal of the ascent, you absolutely nailed it! I saw a grand Seiko in the thumbnail of another video the other day and mistook it for an ascent, shows the quality range you guys are targeting
I bought the 600T homage based off your recommendation on the ALIX sale.
I’ve popped it on a black diver strap with orange stitching and it wears like a dream!
I'd been eyeing it for awhile, and Jody's recommendation pushed me over the top; total price was $110, including tax! Seestern is my favorite brand, I have 3, and each of them blow me away for their price/quality/value. I replaced this one's bracelet with an orange sailcloth strap, and it indeed wears great! (Though it was a bitch to get the strap installed, thanks to the short, tight lugs that make the bracelet look pseudo-integrated.)
Things seestern or the san Martin orange doxa homage?
Lume and legibility for that Seestern is better than I would have expected from Doxa themselves.
Hi there Jody, happy to pick up the seestern if you would like to move😊
Another Ali Express purchase I can 'blame' you for, Jody 😂
Bought the 600t (in orange) and very happy with it. £85 in a recent sale, so I cab let the slightly wonky bezel alignment slide...
Love that Doxstern. Love 70s-style watches in general but 168g? A bit chunky for me. Maybe time to reassess today's general hatred of folded links. They sure do reduce the overall mass.
This watch is top-heavy, the solid link bracelet (and a good clasp, it's best to swap the one which has been provided with a $5 one) actually helps to stabilize it on the wrist.
@@vatazhka Point taken, and if that works for you, then good news. For me, total mass is more important than balance. It's a comfort thing and perhaps I'm a statistical outlier. I'd be interested to know the head-only mass, but hard to ask reviewers to go into that level of detail.
Another great video! Do you have a link for the lights in the background on your shelves?
Bought the seestern from your last AliExpress video. Loving it so far and makes me want to get the Doxa 600T now.
A pair of beauties ...I wished I had seen this review before the March sales , I would of picked up the Seestern ...nice watch !
I don't know if you've noticed this, but if you press the chronograph start hand and then the reset button, nothing happens till you press the chronograph stop button, upon which the watch resets. to zero.
😎🦈Wow Jody 1st time Ever hearing Seagull being Dissed..!
Wow, that Seestern has the most microadjust I think I've ever seen! Thanks Jody.
Sticky tape to remove the blue crown & pusher stickers, apparently !!
How do you balance buying Chinese watches with IP infringement vs. starting your own watch co and hoping it remains original? It seems contradictory but I’m probably missing the obvious. Anyway keep up the great work!
I would love to see a Seagull powered watch with an enamel black dial and Arabic numerals. I think it would a stunning affordable dress watch
Currently waiting on one of those Sugess Chronographs getting through UK Customs - I was able to get the "Deus" colour scheme one.... The original Brietling of which also had the lightning bolt second hand (though not quite as on this one).
I'm really impressed with Sugess.. gotta get me on of their chronographs at some point soon!.
I bought the same watch during the last sale...only the cream/black version. Great watch but those blue plastic protectors on the pushers were an absolute PITA to remove! Had to break out the rubbing alcohol to get it all off! But great watch!
Scotch tape usually gets them off for me.
@timgenter1264 No, they are super simple to remove. Just take a piece of scotch tape and press it against the pushers. When you remove the tape the blue protectors come right off stuck to the tape.
Bezel insert is ceramic, not sapphire.
Was looking for this comment. And wonder that i managed to find only one of this and he even said it 2 times that it is sapphire.
şu saatin aliexpress linkini ve adını kodunu düzgün yazsanız çok mu zor
ohh yes, i love my sugess (with orange silicon strap)
would be better if it would be a flyback chronograph, but don’t be greedy… 😀
Bravo Jordi 🎉 your videos are always fun and cheerful. But I'm curious. Considering communist china being communist china, does any alie watch last longer than 6 months?
I like a loud dial
Two loud dials!
There seems to be a lot of really low priced Chinese watches lately. Are they now competing with each other, and in a race to the bottom? Or maybe are stratifying, and the low sales/lower quality guys are fighting for more with price?
Must admit my only dive into the Aliexpress world was a Baltany, so don't have much experience with the wider range of options....
The Sugess is a homage of a Breitling Top Time, which does indeed have a lightning bolt chronograph hand on the original. It's astonishing how little research some TH-camrs do, but not everyone is a watch expert I guess. 🤪🤷🏻♂️
Ha! Very good.
These are the exact same two watches that I ordered from AliExpress on their 11.11 Sale.
Been tempted by that colourway chrono several times. But ended up with the sand dial addiesdive this sale. Any thoughts on Specht and sohne? I've got the 222 knock off in my sights
Bro 😅 I ordered the sand dial automatic also 3 weeks ago , I got Specht and sohne prx quartz version , that brand is all about looks , not durability or insane quality. They focused everything on luxury looks , that doesn't mean it's a band brand at all , means is not balanced like the others . P.s. check Berny ⌚
Two very nice watches especially for the price. I don't know how they make any money. Their profit margins must be incredibly small.
You don't want to know how the sausage is made. Yeah, I am also guilty of brushing off the thoughts about low wages of the workers and not minding blatant IP theft. But haven't the Swiss profited off the low paid Chinese workers in the first place?
Too bad both the link you share don't deliver to South east Asia.
Had to send my Sugess Chrono back..the chrono seconds hand was very erratic
Honestly don't see a lot of Breitling in the Sugess. I see a lot of 1963 in it, because that is essentially what it is.
isn't cadisen is the cheapest seagull st1901
Great pair and nice video :P. Very nice quality and spec. I've decided I don't like the recessed case back and thickness of the 600T, and how it sits on 6.5" wrist (and don't need more autos). That style sit's too far out on wrist, and those quick release bartons aren't easy to use with it (curved spring bars help fit the silicone straps, which I've made with two spoons :P). I think a mate will take it if he sees it on the orange strap (I got the black with black bezel). Cheers
I was born in 1973, where can i get one of those t-shirts? Thanks Jody
Beware with Sugess, a lot of buyers were left stranded during the last Spring sale. I had ordered the chrono, but my order was cancelled after two weeks without shipping. I've since been refunded, and being a little bit mad, I decided to order again - which was delivered this morning. Nonetheless, the whole deal left a sour aftertaste :
- Sugess accepts orders without stock. (See first page of comments, the number of people complaining)
- Then they update the status to "picked up by courier", which means nothing except you can't go back and cancel after this point !
- So you wait two weeks, and only then *they* cancel and you are at Ali's mercy for the refund
- Luckily in my case it was rather fast (1 week), but it can take up to over a month
- You can order again, but forget the original discount, it will be at whatever the price is at that moment
- Smile ! You've earned a $2 coupon for your troubles.
I've seen buyers on reddit whom orders were cancelled twice already.
I wouldn't buy again at the moment, until they get their ducks in a row.
Happened to me too, and for some reason since they cancelled the order I haven't been able to make any further purchases on Aliexpress at all.
I can attest to Sugess/Seestern almost immediately switching the status to Picked Up By Courier to prevent buyers from cancelling the order. My watch had finally arrived, but it sat without a tracking ID (read: it hadn't been despatched) for a week!
Wow this happened too I was so excited then super bummed now it’s like $20 more
@@gfeast4518 The price went down again. It's the neverending cycle of AliExpress promos...
I ordered the Sugess at a ridiculous price (about $100) from the official store but it was never dispatched and a month later I got my money back. They clearly have stock but didn’t want to honour the price. Needless to sayI won’t be rushing back. Disappointing for a brand i was keen to engage with.
No goose neck no a problem do looks beautiful
Personally love the seagull movements
Just received a Seestern 600t V3 in aquamarine which I've put on a matching neoprene strap. Couldn't be happier, looks every bit as good as the £1,450 Doxa equivalent for less than a 100 quid. Quality is amazing for the price - can't believe the real Doxa can be built any better than this.