Sharing my passion for watches and horology. This channel has no brand exclusions, and will aim to present objective information as far as possible. Enjoy the videos on watch reviews, general thoughts & discussions, side-by-side comparisons, horology topics, and more! [My wrist size: 17cm]
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Hey there, I love your contents and reviews however I beg to differ on your assessment on this watch, u are really really uninformed, do let me share some knowledge on merkurs watches 1. Movement, yes it is a tongjie movement, but that dosent mean that it is not a good movement. The tongjie movement was created in the 1970s this movement was heavily inspired (or copied) from the Enicar Ar1010 movement. The tongjie movement may be cheaply available but it is by no means a bad movement. Well regulated tongjie has an accuracy +-10 seconds. Now merkur's particular tongjie movement is actually a refined tongjie with blues screws and Geneva wave finishing not to mention it is specially assembly by merkurs team. They did a couple of changes and refinement so that the stability and winding of the movement is smoother then original tongjie. 2. The case is 316l stainless steel with an all brushed finishing. Yes this is nothing to shout about but it is of high quality in watch standard. Notice the case has a Step design on the outer bezel area, this shows merkur uses it's own watch cases and not just slap on any generic case unlike other brands. The cases feels solid and is well CNC machined 3. The crystal as u said looks fantastic and it's thick and solid. 4. Mayb the inner bezel needs some refinement, but I give them points here for trying. 5. Strap. Well I don't judge straps as I have many stars my self. Overall I give this a solid 7 out of 10. Please do more research about tongjie movements and understand is importance in Chinese watch making. We should not judge things based on it's price solely. Also the reason why merkur has chosen to use a tongjie movement and took the effort to refined it, it is because to stay true to their Chinese heritage. I personally give extra credit to this. Open up the back cover look at the movement inside. Of course you can't compare it to an expensive well decorated Patek movement. But at least u should appreciate the effort that merkur has put in.
Thanks for your comment - but I am really not sure why you are accusing me of being "really, really uninformed". I've reviewed several pieces with Tongji movements over the years. Yes, cheap does not automatically mean bad, but these are certainly among the worst movements I have come across in my time, if not the worst. I don't necessarily disagree with the 5 points you have made there, but you have not said anything that actually contradicts anything that I have said myself, have you? Perhaps you should watch all the videos I have made on watches with Tongji movements before making the wrong conclusion that I am "uninformed".
@@PerthWAtch this is a refined tongji. much testing has been done to ensure the stability of this movement. the other tongji that you have tested are those rough around the edges, badly assembled tongji. furthermore as i have stated tongji is heavily based on the Enicar movement. Enicar was a well respected watch producer back then. that's why I feel that you are uninformed. Since u are Chinese, i not sure if u are able to communicate in mandarin, you should talk to the founder of merkur to understand more. anyone can just buy an NH35 and used in their watches, But to research and take time to refine a so called "shitty" movement, well i have mad respect for that.
I ask again - what did I say in the video which you disagree with? You're saying this is a "refined Tongji" movement... if that is true, then it is simply appalling that Merkur did not do anything to promote this at all on their listing. Which means it likely is not, and is simply an ebauche and cheap Tongji. You haven't felt this watch I have in hand - I can tell you it feels extremely badly made (as I said in the video). I am not going to open the watch, I do not have time for that, and I certainly do not find it useful to talk to company owners - you are likely going to get highly biased information. Much better to talk to third parties and independent consumers. It doesn't matter how much blued screws and decorating you put on a movement - if it does not perform and has poor specs, it is still going to be a poor movement. It also doesn't matter what movement it is based on. This point is simply not relevant. You could make a movement "based on" a Patek calibre, and do it very poorly.
@@PerthWAtch I guess you are just one of those guys that look down on mainland Chinese because u grew up in Australia or western country. Just too embarrassed to be associated with Chinese from China. What a shame.
@@PerthWAtch I guess you are one of those Chinese who grew up in Australia or western country who is too embarrassed to be associated with mainland China. You probably feel that things out of China are of low quality and only westerners are able to produce good products. What a shame that u totally forgot your ancestors heritage and culture. What a shame that you do not know how to appreciate the struggle that that our forefathers has faced. I feel so sorry for u.
I've not seen a Breitling I've liked and I'm not a fan of chronographs so this has no chance of appealing to me. The gold bezel just looks wrong, mixing the steel and gold looks a lot like the way that Rolex ruined the Explorer's appearance.
Thanks for the comment - curious to hear that about the two tone, it’s quite a classic combo which has been around for decades. But I guess it’s not for everyone!
have you considered that the reason it does not meet the superlative chronometer standard is that you are not holding a superlative chronometer in your hands? the date magnification on the cyclops at 12:56 looks poor compared to a genuine rolex.
Yes - didn’t you read any of the other comments? I’ve shown this to others who know their stuff, including an AD owner who knows his stuff, and they’ve indicated that it looks fine. Accuracy should be as such when fresh out of the box but does not last indefinitely.
I'm not a huge Breitling fan, but I do like this one. Gold hands and indices are easiest to read for me, even in low light. Thank you for reviewing this! Good job ....as usual.
hello Ivan. First of all, I have to say "sorry" to begin with.... because it is going to be a bit long comment. (well, my last one was so short that this might deserve a bit long one, ha ha). When I look at this watch, especially gold 2 tones, it seems like it belong to my father or grand-father watch. It just have the sort of vibes to it. However, it seems like you really really like this watch. Anyway, nothing against you and anyone else because choosing or buying a watch is A PERSONAL CHOICE. I might really loath it, but someone might just love it to death. Nothing wrong with it. That is how life is and how watch preference is. Anyway, to me, this watch looks "old". Yes, it is super well done, very nice fit and finish and functionally nothing to complain about, however, feature wise, aesthetic point of view, the trends that new watches are heading into to.... This Breitling is few decades behind. Given that the bracelet looks unique and comfortable, but it still have pin and collar. & Butter-fly clasp???? Common!!!!. Look at Cartier Santos bracelet adjustment. It is simple, elegant yet innovative (something to talk about). Look at Tudor and many other (between $2000 to $4000 range on-the-fly-adjustment clasps.... That is the trend for mid to high end watches. As for the movement, I am certain that it is TOP GRADE. That is for sure, but at the price range, it is nothing to brag about because everyone has it. As for the bezel and dial, it seems "old" again. I do not know what to tell you, Ivan. Honestly, Breitling isn't doing well... Actually doing horrible. According to Watchchart, AAGR (Average Annual Growth Rate), this is how it looks. 2 years at -1.2% 1 year at -6.2% 6month at -10.5% 3 month at -13.2% 1 month at -11.2%. it seems like they will have the worst 2024 year in many decades..... Breitling needs something innovative, something unique, something to wow their customers, like black bay to Tudor..... Ivan, I am very sorry about this negative comment, but that is how I see the Breitling and the market sales do not lie, as you can see. Thanks for this interesting review and keep it coming, Doc.
Thanks Alex!! Ah yes, that's more of a comment for sure! :) You know, you're absolutely right about the two-tone (and also all gold) type colourways... watches in this design are more suited to older gentlemen and would not have been my personal choice either. This is in fact my father's recent purchase and it suits him very well... but I have enjoyed sporting it around also. As for Breitling itself, I am actually quite sad to hear about those performance figures... they have a place in horological history and it would be a pity if they failed. Many of their designs do seem to come from another time as you say, but I think they are making a move towards being more restrained, modern if you will (just see the comparison with the previous Chronomat again, a massive difference I think). I hope they are not running too late! The BB58 for Tudor is something that quite a number of companies are trying in order to revive things, i.e. take something classic or favourite from a previous era and modernize it... this Rouleaux bracelet is one such similar thing here, but maybe it's just not quite enough...!
@@PerthWAtch your father's watch???? No wonder.... I do not blame you for a super positive watch review on this watch....since, of course, it belongs to your father. Yup. it is a perfect watch for your father who is 75 years old. (give or take 3 years, ha ha )
Never liked this Brand, always thought their designs looked cheap and tacky having sait that if I was a 30 year old world adventurer I would buy the model that has the E perb safety beacon!
Rolex... Where is the white dial?.. and for the 40mm version, please move the Explorer text back to the southern part of the dial right above the superlative chrono writing. Yes, just like the previous 39. Thanks for the vid, man.
Good points! I suspect Rolex will hold back on doing a white dial in this model for the sake of not “shooting themselves in the foot”… like not giving a rotating bezel in the Explorer II to avoid making the GMT Master II obsolete, etc. but yeah that’s a different facet. White dial with black hands and indices would look interesting for sure.
Hey, thanks for the video :) I have something similar to this on my way to me in the mail right now, the idea being to "try before I buy" the real thing. While I'm sure an actual Omega wears way better, is it at all comparable to an "homage" like this?
Most welcome - forgive me, this was made 7 years ago and things aren’t the same as it is now. I have since had this watch appear in others of my usual 1080p res videos.
This one model I am considering. The first Tag I purchased was back in 2008. It was $1,200 at that time and it was an aqua racer. I was in my early 20’s and saved two months to purchase this watch. It was my first, at that time a Swiss luxury watch I purchased. I loved it, and it has served me well for a long time. I’m thinking about purchasing this watch now but would like your insight for the dollar amount if you feel there is a better model or brand I should look into. I’m somewhat able to purchase a Rolex but I haven’t looked into them in detail and the ones I am interested in are out of my budget. Thanks
I think if you've gotten a TAG as your first watch, I would consider something else for your next significant purchase. If you're looking for a true go anywhere, do anything watch... take a look at *Omega Seamaster* (either the Professional 300m or Aqua Terra models) or perhaps *Breitling Chronomat 40mm* models. At these price levels you'd try to get a manufacture movement, rather than a generic one. It depends also on budget... for lower range can consider *Longines Conquest* or *Ball Engineer* range. However, if you really have to have a chronograph, then you'd have to be prepared to fork out more for a manufacture movement... maybe checkout *Zenith* ?
Reading a lot of the comments about the real one being overpriced because of this fake is frustrating to me. Most people seem to have a very poor understanding of why watches are priced the way they are and think because they roughly know the wholesale price of a selita movement they know how much brand are overcharging. It’s quite easy for a country like China to pump out a cheap replica of a luxury watch because their wages are a lot lower, employment protections are weak and they don’t need to handle all the stuff a brand has to deal with. Watch brands need to pay for R&D, marketing, service centres, boutiques, AD network, customer service.
Well said, thanks for putting that down. I pretty much agree with all that. It doesn’t take much to fully rip-off someone else’s idea, having spent no time at all in coming with it. If all one had to do is come up with the materials and copy the manufacturing, then just sell it online, of course it would be just a fraction of the price of the real thing.
It looks awesome. My straps are braking of after 10 years of non stop wear. Amazing watch, but i am tempted to buy Frogman, wich was my wish for long time. Its expensive so that is an big drawback :(
Thanks for sharing. I reckon choose the Frogman model you like most and just go for it - if you’ve liked the Rangeman this much, you won’t regret it :)
I just bought this watch (by “mistake”) on eBay. It’s the PRG 600-1. Poor quality photos and the description was for a PRW6600Y (which I wanted). It came today. Not a bad looking watch.
