I picked one of these up for 80 bucks, wore it to work, the pool, the beach...etc for almost 4 months straight. The watch did not have any scratches on the crystal or the bezel and did not lose or gain a single minute in that time. Very well worth the money.....
I work in a DIY store and am used to people expecting 100% of the service for the lowest price. My L’Oreo submariner came so sharp I had to do a similar sanding. There is a reason you pay $100 instead of $10000. If you are expecting Rolex quality, you need to pay! By the way, as a salaryman I love the Paganis and other homages. Beautiful but affordable.
I got one of these and I've got to say... Outside some minor finishing touches... This watch is a match with Rolex. You get 90% - 95% of what a Rolex offers at 1% of the price. It's well worth it.
Absolutely agree. I had the Rolex GMT Master 1, and it gained, at least, 30 seconds a day. And that was with a new movement fitted by an AD. This Pagani one, whoich I love, gains some 3 seconds a day at times. Other times it gains 1 second a day. Stuff the costs of Rolex and Omega, buy Pagani...
that tell you the insane market up lol it marketing like a diamond it just a piece of coal lol. I guess rolex is profit margin is 5 million percent lol .
I recently purchased an Air Kng from Pagani which was exactly as unfinished as I expected. After a pleasant evening buffing out all the sharp edges, case and bracelet I have an excellent watch (nh35) which is extremely comfortable and has become my preferred daily wearer despite having many others to choose from.
So, the PD offers roughly 80% (granted, a very subjective assessment) of the Rolex for less than 1% of the price. Even if it's only 50% as good as a Rolex, it's astoundingly good bang for the buck.
@Mrs. Riki Chinese watches are very often equipped with very reliable and accurate Japanese movements. Sometimes even Swiss movements. They are usually very nicely finished, with no more flaws than watches costing many, many times more. And what tiny flaws they may have are inconsequential considering the price-to-performance ratio they provide. If your ego doesn't allow to see this, the loss is yours.
@Mrs. Riki Nothing wrong with pagani design watches reliable and good value, don't get why some people get so annoyed by them lol pretty much 99% of people don't give a damn what watch is on your wrist, so if you like it buy it
I have a Pagani Design PD1644 (Dytona homage) with an oyster bracelet; I have not experienced any sharp edges or falling apart problems. Indeed, very happy with it.
Just I wanted to say that I really enjoy your content. The reviews are detailed and thoughtful, the prose is excellent and your narrative style addictive. Many thanks, and keep doing what you are doing!
I've worn mine for a couple of years with no comfort issues. Don't forget to blue locktite the pins in if you take then out. All my pins were oiled and loctited. As for fake/homage, I note that quite a few Rolex owners also own a 'replica' that they use as a place holder when on holiday etc. while the real one stays in the family safe.
Only a weak wrist would notice the sharp edges, that dont ever actually touch the skin, would call this a negative. But given how good the Pagani Design watches are, the reviewers have to give something negative to balance out the review, even if it is minor.
Great review. I bought the green Hulk version. I didn't find any of the sharp edges , but it's 3 years old and wonder if the Covid shutdown and labor shortage, that they said , just send them without buffing them. I found mine very accurate, only losing 3 second in a 5 day period. I liked it so much, I ordered this version. It never showed up. Ali Express did refund me afyer 9 months. They are great quality for the money
I own 12 PD homage watches like this in different colors and styles, and a Watchdives sub homage, and a two tone sub homage by San Martin. Each have their strong points and overall I have almost no complaints. I wear a slightly different style or color watch each day and enjoy them all. Accuracy is acceptable for the price. The cyclops is my only gripe but my vision isn't great so that may be a me problem not a watch problem. I dealt with sharp edges with some 3k grit sand paper and a little time rubbing the edges down. The boxes these come in are not a concern in my opinion. I prefer they spend the money on the watch building and not the box that I discard upon receipt.
I own several Pagani Design watches. Finish quality varies. I have encountered stripped bracelet screws and some sharpness in the machining, though not terribly bad, mostly just burrs on the bezel. My Orient Ray 2 has better quality control and final finishing. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another PD watch but I would avoid buying from anywhere with a difficult return process. I've had a great experience with Amazon and their easy return system.
I bought one. No sharp edges at all. Very easy to resize the bracelet. On my Timegrapher it is gaining only 4 seconds per day with zero beat error and a healthy amplitude. The only improvement I could suggest is that Pagani should employ a bidirectional bezel like the new Seiko GMTs have. Other than that this Pagani is a great watch for $100.
I agree these Chinese watches are super sharp from the factory. I've had a Cronos sub, Pagani Daytona homage, a Steeldive Willard SD1970 (this is probably the least sharp but I put it on a waffle strap which helps out) All are sharp. I have the Invicta pro diver as well and your right about it having better finishing but they cheap out on the crystal, bracelet, and bezel (also the display window popped out on mine). think I will do some hand finishing so thanks for the guide.
Great revue! I always do refinements on my cheapies: Filing , grinding, polishing, etc. One thing I'd do here is make the insert sit flush with the rim of the bezel.
Really good review. Your information about removing sharp edges worked on my new pagani 1701 i recently purchased. The watch was very painful on my wrist but now is very comfortable. Thanks!
Nice review. However, I do not agree with the adamant claim that Pagani watches are unwearable out of the box. I haven't finished any of mine any further, and while some may indeed have a few rough corners, I've found them generally comfortable to wear, day and night, right from the start. And this includes the Seiko NH-34 powered version of the watch on review here.
My Pagani GMT doesn't have the issues yours does ... or maybe I don't notice it as much or have the expectations for the price ... mine is 3 years old ... still runs fine, looks good, alignment is spot on bracelet is good (a bit unfinished like the case) not bad when you consider the price point lum sucks but what do we expect for the sub $100 I paid in the sale - for a decent looking well functioning GMT. I recently got a Citizen Promaster Eco-drive Land GMT Worldtime and my Pagani still gets wrist time. If you go in not expecting a perfect watch (finishing lum etc.) It is great value. As for issues - well I've seen reviews of multiple Seikos and Multiple Rolex's with issues ... for hugely more expensive prices.and fans of those brands seem to put up with them so I'm not too picky with a Pagani design homage.
Sounds like a good assessment. I have much more “perfect” watches but I still enjoy wearing this one. My coworker (who knows nothing about watches) was admiring it during lunch and asked to take a look. I handed it to him to inspect, and I asked him to guess how much it costs. His guess was $8000.
I own 5 or 6 Orient watches, all mechanical, and their fit and finish are shockingly good all the way around.....and their time keeping varies from average to shockingly good......I just ordered the Pagani as I really wanted another two tone Submariner homage to go with my Orient one(which is and has been unavailable for at least 10 years, now).
@@xenonny i really like this one. its actually VERY well done and I have gotten many compliments from people on it and they all freak when I tell them it cost what it did.....lol I have since gotten a BB58 in black face/red bezel that is also VERY c00l!!!
Thanks for the informative review. I got the Batman version with the oyster bracelet and couldn't be happier. One thing though, instead of oiling the bracelet screws loctite should be used. Cheers
I got the Batman version a couple months ago. At first seemed great. But noticed I’d set it down only for it to be stopped the next morning or off by a LOT of time. Like 20 minutes. But if I wore the watch it was fine. So finally I put the watch down on its side in front of me while at work and kept an eye on it. Ok I thought I saw it stop for a second. Then again I saw it just stop for ten seconds. Then again. Always at the 32 second mark it would stop for ten seconds at least. At other marks it would pause briefly. Sometimes at 32 seconds it would stop and never start up unless you touched it. I sent it back. Won’t get that movement again in any watch. Coincidentally, the only other gmt I have is a Tudor and the gmt set on the crown just quit working. I just have bad luck with gmt watches!
I have just bought the Batman GMT and would say none of the negative comments like sharp edges , screws falling off , bad packaging and wearing it for 2 weeks causing redness on the wrist existed ! The Watch is perfect !!! Much better quality than the Seikos and Citizens in build quality ! The finishing is superb! I have ordered another 3 more pieces with different designs
Several others have said the same - it seems to be hit and miss. Amazon ratings have a few comments now about sharpness, but hopefully it was a supplier or temporary issue that’s now corrected.
I have the same watch in the Pepsi, put it on a leather strap when I took it out of the box. 100% wearable, mine does not have any uncomfortable sharp edges. I own almost a 100 watches of various price points and I have to say for the $85 I paid for this you cannot find more watch for the money especially when you factor in the styling.
Nice review! I have not had this sharp case issue with my several pagani watches. I had some other issues, though, including the crown stem being too short and one gmt with this movement that died after a few weeks with no obvious reason on quick inspection under 10x loop. Most of my pagani watches were under $75 with Aliexpress sales. Anyway, cheers! And happy new year!
great presentation. I have bought this watch but pepsi version. It doesnt have any sharp edges and it just fantastic overall :) keep it up. have a great day :)
I got my first automatic watch 1.5 years ago, went from a $15 Casio to a Russian Vostok. While I definitely don’t have the best automatic watch at least I can say mine has history and isn’t a copy of anything else. While this is a well made and Beautiful Watch I’d had to own one and have people ask me or say “oh nice Rolex” or “is that a Rolex” some people may find it nice to be asked this but you can’t claim this is a Rolex; I’d hate to have to explain to someone it’s a Chinese watch modelled after a Rolex. If you just want a nice watch and don’t care what people think this is a great option just ignore the people who say you have a “fake Rolex” these are honestly nice watches, most people don’t know watches, they just wanna know if it’s a Rolex or not. Sad but people will judge if they ask you if you have a Rolex and you say no
I have a Invicta Pro Diver 29178 (42mm Sub Homage) on a bond nato strap. I absolutely love it. Its my most worn watch these days. Recently someone asked me about it. They asked, "so whats that on your wrist there?" I immediately smashed their inquiring nature by replying, "oh, this is a garbage watch, its my beater." They laughed and I laughed and we moved on to another topic. What I did there was downplayed my love for the watch and thereby didn't have to explain what type of watch it is and why its not a Rolex. Believe it or not, I get compliments or asked about my cheap as shit watches. But my Hamilton Khaki Diver? Not one person has ever asked me about that watch. Its the most expensive watch I own (love that one too) 😂
Truthfully, for me the whole "modeled after a Rolex" does give me pause. Even though objectively watches such as this and the various Invicta homage watches are in fact excellent watches with excellent value at an affordable price for just about anyone - the fact that they very much look like a far more expensive watch, but aren't - make me hesitant to buy them. Like if Toyota made a car to look almost exactly like a Ferrari, but with a Toyota motor and performance specs. People would initially be like. "Ooooh! Nice Ferrari!" but then you'd have to explain that, no, it's just a Toyota. Still a fine, reliable, excellent car, but certainly ***NOT*** a Ferrari. Meanwhile, a Toyota that looks like a Toyota can be honest with itself and proudly wear the reliability, durability, dependability and affordability of a Toyota.
Love my Pagani GMT… for the price you just can’t beat it. It is great looking and keeps very good time. I must wear my watch a little looser than you because I had no issues with being uncomfortable, although I did file down the edge of the case as you did. For this price you just can’t go wrong.
I’ve got two in blue and red ‘Pepsi’ colours. One with the Oyster bracelet, the other with Jubilee. It’s a great little watch with fantastic value for money. 👍😊👍
I like your channel. Have been watching 5 of them tonight after i stumbled on your video about Timex because i am thinking about buying some for presents. Keep up the good work. I have ordered two Pagani watches last 6 months. Firstly, I bought the 38 mm. Quartz PAGANI DESIGN PD 1731 in green. Came with a ''genuine leather''Strap with a butterfly claps that I just could not figure out how to wear or close, hated it, and a Nato strap, so I swapped it with a black silicone strap, and it's just so plain and simple watch. Should have oredered the Oyster braclet. Paid about 68 dollars plus 10 dollars in taxes. I am happy with it. My first watc in years. A bit too little for me. The other one was the Pagani PD1661. 40 mm.Hulk, green Submariner homage. For 74 dollars plus 10 in taxes on the 11.11 Sale on Aliexpress. I gave my stepdad that as a Christmas present 5 days ago, and he is so happy with it that I can't complain. It has a lot of the same specs as this PD1662, but with an Oyster bracelet and not an GMT. He has not yet complained, just endorsed it.
I bought the same watch (except mine was the root beer and with an oyster bracelet) after the review on Just One More Watch. No problems even with the SLIGHT rough finish which wasn't enough to make it uncomfortable. Guess that's a quality control issue. But overall a good review
Glad to have you back! Great job with the review. I absolutely hated and had so many issues with it. The bracelet broke, sharp edges, gained nearly a minute a day, cyclops was way off center and the bezel insert was lined up worse than a Seiko. Even the 12 on the bezel was about 3 minutes off line when the triangle was centered on the 12 o’clock.
The alignment in mine was fine. How could the bezel insert be misaligned? The bracelet and edges are a known issue for sure, as discussed in the video.
I recently picked up the 'Pepsi' with Jubilee bracelet. Added the Oyster bracelet as option. All for under $100. Can't beat the value for the level of workmanship and quality. BTW mine has 120 clicks for the bezel.
A mere minute with an Arkansas hard slip stone took care of all the sharp edges. Yes, shouldn't have to do that as a customer, but OK at the price. I lucked out and got a plus 2 second a day NH34A movement. Thanks for the "oil the screws" tip.
I forgot to ask in the video…what do you think about homage watches? Do you think small brands should be able to copy designs of famous brands and just change the logo or make minor changes? Or, do you think a person should buy the originating brand or nothing?
I don’t mind homage watches at all. It seems the practice only increases demand for the more expensive original, while at the same time letting the average person enjoy a watch and perhaps a hobby. With that said most can find common agreement that fake/replicas are bad and for obvious reasons. But I do not begrudge budget friendly homage watches that help keep money in peoples pockets for food and rent. I’d rather see a young person buy a homage and save their money for tuition or something else to better society. Leave luxury watch prices to the rich and foolish.
If one is limited to only brand items that cost tens of thousands of dollars, one never enters the watch enthusiast grouping. Watch ownership has severely dropped since cell phones came out. I've asked people who answered they didn't use watches. They see no need. Watch ownership may not be a fetish yet, but it's certainly lost it's accommodation amongst working men and women. It's now a much more specialized demographic compared to the days of my youth.
I think it's important to keep in mind, the watch industry only exists because of the economies of mass retail sales. When enough people decline to buy watches, the industry shrinks and begins to disappear. Inexpensive clones, copies, alternatives, or whatever you prefer as a referring title, they allow people such as I to enter the watch collecting field at a low enough price to make doing so an enjoyable, affordable hobby. I'm up to around 50 watches, and learning SO much. It's great! Small shiny valuables that I can wear, and no pot metal Timexes in the bunch. Took years for the bumps and rashes on my left wrist to heal. Now, stainless steel cases with better movements, watch bands I can add links to, which was a learning experience by itself. (Large wrists). Yes, we need homage brands!
I just got mine a few days ago. It does not have any of your problems no sharp edges also keep exact time as my laptop I got the blue and red it looks a bit blingy now I wish I had got blue and black, but at this price, I can order another $103 CAD
Almost all PD watches have issue with the crown thread. The crown was unable to screw in due to worn-out thread. Searching for the crown replacement parts is a pain in the ass. Very little resources fr the internet.
I'm not sure if the sharp edges are really QC issues because on my Tudor Pelagos 39, all the edges are extremely sharp. And I prefer it that way because the watch looks better that way and I don't have issues with the watch cutting into my skin.
To be honest, having close to 20 different watches of different brands, Pagani is actual a decent watch, for a low buck. It has its low ends, cant lie, compared to high end brands like Rolex, but it is still a decent watch, all in all. Personally, i didnt have issues wearing it out of the box, dont remember the sharp edges being the problem, dont remember it having sharp edges. All negative what i can remember is that bezel was wobbly and not firm like in Rolex.
i have 2 pagani gmt, but rarely wear after i discovered steinhart. I did however order a pagani jubilee bracelet for one of them, of course it didnt fit, the end links were too wide, had to file them down. So just be aware you arent getting the highest precision in the world when you buy a pagani
I got one of the newer ones that have the Seiko NH34a gmt movement in it. I paid $150 for it but I rather take my chances on a off the shelf Seiko versus the reactivity unknown Chinese movement. Also all those sharp edges have been 45/ and its comfortable out of the box.
Thx for this video I own the Pagani design black bay 58 in red and its a great piece no sharp edges or anything so maybe u had bad luck? edit: I have now owned several pagani watches and I only find problems at the clasp
I bought, and currently wearing the Orient Ray 2 based on yours and another review. I'm very well pleased. It's accurate enough for me 5-7 minutes a month. I've been wanting a good GMT that's within my price range. I have the same exact Invicta that you showed... and it stopped working several years ago. I'm a communications operator and most everything is done according to GMT. I would just ask if the quality (accuracy & luminosity) is as good as my Orient ? Or should I just go with a Torgoen for a few dollars more ?
I’m not familiar with Torgoen so I can’t give advice on that one, but I checked their website and they appear to be about 2-3x the price for a quartz, so not really comparable. To answer your main question, the lume is mediocre strength. A nice pilot’s blue but definitely not superluminova.
@@WondersofWatchdom Thanks for that. I think I'll just wait for Orient, or take a closer look at the Phoibus Eagle Ray GMT ($200 last year). And there's a Vincero that has a second time zone in a sub dial. Glad you are back doing these !
Thanks a lot for the review. Excellently worded, detailed and in depth. Reasonable and objective, this truly matters. I came across the name Pagani a couple of years ago and was thinking it some kind of a collaboration between Automobili Pagani, a very exclusive Italian sports car maker, and a watch manufacturer, like Lamborghini - Dubuis projects. Turned out to be a completely different cup of tea, but got me interested. I bought a TH Aquaracer homage from Pagani Design for something like $138 and been wearing it occasionally for about a year. Tag Heuer is a bit more humble than Rolex and not that immediately recognizable, so all that Pffff from snobbish public does not blow my way. I must admit the workmanship and overall quality is excellent, with CeraTech bezel, LumiNova hands and markers, sapphire glass both sides and Seiko WH35 movement running very smoothly. I believe WH in the index stands for Working Horse, it is a standard for many microbrands and startups usually priced at $500+ Currently the watch is not displaying any wear and tear evidence, is quite accurate and rather flashy indeed, quite a match for original Aquaracer. The dial has rectangular markers as compared to TH round ones, and date is at 3 o'clock, not 6, but it does not strike me as a disadvantage or stepdown. It's really amazing how much can be achieved for so little money. My respect to Pagani Design.
Mine has just arrived today, links were easy to remove on the strap (took 2 out) looks great for the money, crown feels dry and grates a little (like my invicta grand diver) but for £90 it’s decent. Think I’d prefer a 42mm .
I bought a GMT M2 from Pagani with this same movement (pearl DG 5833). It was an absolute piece of junk and now resides in the landfill. Occasionally when I wore it throughout the day, it performed quite well (+/- 10 seconds) but left overnight on my bedside table it gained around 30 seconds. Other times, the rates were horrendous. Timegrapher readings for rate/amplitude/beat error were all total shambles.....all over the place, no consistent readings for ANY of these parameters. If anyone is interested in these PD's or other GMT models, the new NH34 movements would be a far better option.
Hi a fair review bought the pagani with the oyster style strap & had no issues with the case ? poor quality control your one slipped thru this cheers from the UK
It’s a tough call. The Pagani has better features and so far runs perfectly. I’ve been wearing it a lot. But if I had to bet my life on my watch working, I’d take the invicta with the Seiko movement.
I bought one years ago and the whole thing was sharp edged all over and got my money back. Pagani store was a nightmare to deal with so i left Paypal to deal with them. My first and last watch from Pagani because if you can't get it right first time i don't want to know. Watch was binned. Before people spout off about it being the bad egg in a basket the whole watch casing, bezel, crown and strap had sharp edges plus the straps are bloody awful. Felt like i was touching and wearing barbed wire and razor blades There are better watches out there (maybe not GMT) for your hard earned cash than Pagani. Their watches may look nice but shite finishing.
I don't know how many of if any at all historic brands have yet to be resurrected, but having a brand with some heritage might be worth the entry price to buy up the rights. Perhaps manufacturing of a premium brand in Germany, France or Switzerland.
Just make sure you buy the watch that has the Seiko NH34A GMT movement which is miles ahead of the Chinese made Pearl DG5833 which is a really bad movement. Great video…
Subscribed and liked. $120 is for me, an investment watch. But then my budding watch collection is passing through the early days of mass accumulation, all quartz and chinese. So many beautiful timepieces for under $50, hard not to want them all. Learning the watchband industry availabilities and types, case sizes, finishes, etc. Just about to move into automatic, ie: mechanical, slightly upscale in price point. I'm enjoying myself and learning rapidly. I'll be perusing your videos, sir. Thank you.
I've had this watch for about a year now, mine also had sharp case edges but didn't really bother me. The cyclops on mine is terrible, I really have to look at it to see the date, othe than that I really enjoy it overall
I have had a PD-1662 for over a year and only wore it once. I kept it on my desk and would give it a shake every now and then. Recently, the stem started feeling rough like metal rubbing metal and now it will not screw in all the way. Also when I shake it for about 30 seconds it only runs for a minute or less. When it was new,afew shakes would run it for thirty minutes or so. Thinking about getting the Seiko NH34A GMT TMI movement to replace the one that is in there now. I think it has the DG5833 movement right now. If you change your movement could you put it on youtube? Thanks
Only just seen this vi's as was looking to try 1 of these. I never knew that you're meant to oil the screws in a bracelet, in my strapcode super engineer bracelet I used watch makers 222 I think it was (its purple) locktite on the screws. You can still unscrew them with force and care