Welcome to the next installment of the Watch Under the Microscope video series. Today we're taking a very close look at the very affordable Militado ML05.
This is a typical Aliexpress brand that will offer incredible performance for your money. In appearance, the watch is based on the military watches that were fronted by soldiers in the US army. You can find this design in brands like Benrus or Hamilton.
The 38mm case is all sandblasted and the printed dial is covered by a sapphire (!) double domed crystal with a colourless and quite effective internal anti-reflective coatng (!!). Inside, then, beats not a mechanical movement, but the battery-powered Seiko VH31. This is a true no-date module, whose seconds hand jumps at a frequency of 2 Hz. That is, it resembles low-frequency mechanical movements. The crown is screw-down and the watch promises 100M water resistance. The lume is weaker overall, but that's to be expected. I then acquired this whole attractive package in some sort of sale at a price of around 50 USD, which is incredible value for money.
Everything looks good from the outside, so let's take a closer look at the watch.
The printing on the dial is not bad, the quality is not up to the level of more expensive watches, but compared to, say, the Seiko SKX007, the printing is comparable or better. However, it was only under a microscope that I noticed that there is a blue thread stuck in the paint at number 4. I didn't notice it with the naked eye, but up close it is clearly visible.
The low price was then reflected on the hands, where you can see the flaws in the white paint, probably caused by tweezers when building the watch. Again, this defect is not visible to the naked eye.
Another, this time really tiny, thread of dust is at the end of the second hand.
Otherwise, I don't have much to complain about the watch, the dial is clean and dust-free, and the crystal and AR are both flawless. The case is also nicely made.
So it is a great readable (assuming you don't want to read the time during the night), comfortable and reliable watch. With my piece, the accuracy of the module is still worth noting. After a month since the time setting, the watch doesn't even go into the minus one second. I dare say it would fit with an accuracy of 10 seconds per year. Of course it comes down to luck within the piece, but I have not had a more accurate watch.
So in terms of workmanship they can't compete with, say, a San Martin or Wise watches, but for the price it is an incredible deal.
14 июл 2024
