Category Archives: Reviews

Service: Omega Seamaster Professional Planet Ocean 168.1665 / calibre 8500

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IMG_3090I’m sure most of our readers are as curious as I was to get my hands on an 8500 movement for the first time. I had of course seen one before, but so far, no service had been required. So I went out and bought myself a 1 1/2 year old Planet Ocean with box and papers in order to have a good look.

Before opening it, I do a bit of testing. I get a 67 hour 50 minutes power reserve, and that is impressive. The two barrels are doing their work it seems. In terms of accuracy, I am disappointed, as the watch gains 4 to 5 seconds per day, and not at a constant rate. I expected much better from a 1.5 year old 8500. Continue reading →

Review: A trip inside the Swatch Sistem51 / ETA C10111

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IMG_3318When Swatch announced the release of the Sistem51, I was of course very curious about what lurks inside! With these things, there is only one way to find out…

I went ahead and ordered one for £108, and it arrived from Switzerland 3 days later.

Now this watch isn’t usually opened, and there are of course no photos of the inside to be found anywhere, apart from the stuff Swatch releases. Time to change that … Continue reading →

Review: TickoPrint Android App

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I have waited a long time for the release of TickoPrint, and yesterday, the software was released to the public. I downloaded the basic version, which doesn’t show beat error or amplitude, but just the trace.

Wanting to support the project, I forked out the £ 8.50 for the full version, only to find out that it doesn’t show the amplitude, nor lets you modify the lift angle. Quite a lot of money for an app, and quite restricted for that sort of dosh. They apparently want to release a more expensive version, that will then show the amplitude as well. For £ 8.50, I want to see the amplitude, please!

Now how does it perform? Continue reading →

Review: Junghans Max Bill Automatic Date 027/4002.44 calibre J800.1 / ETA2824-2

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IMG_0239Ever since I serviced Torsten’s Junghans watch, I wanted to get one myself. Now the big questions was used or new, and the main trade-off is that Junghans doesn’t make their own movements any more. So if you want a genuine Junghans movement, you have to go vintage. As I quite like the ETA2824-2 for it’s precision and reliability, I wasn’t too worried about that. And I do like the excitement of unpacking a brand new watch! Continue reading →

Comparison: Sea-Gull ST2130, ETA 2824-2, Peacock SL3000

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IMG_8987Torsten, who is very active on the WUS Chinese watch forum, has asked me to compare three movements for him. The original, the ETA 2824-2, and the well known Sea-Gull ST2130, a Chinese clone, and the new Peacock SL3000, another Chinese clone.

I have a new Sea-Gull in stock, and Torsten sent me a Peacock. Thanks to Ron from Texas, I got hold of a used Fortis watch with an ETA2824-2, so we have to take into consideration that the ETA isn’t new, but used. Continue reading →

Review: Sea-Gull 1963 Chronograph

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This is a watch from my collection – a Sea-Gull 1963 chronograph. It’s a replica of a chronograph Sea-Gull manufactured for the Chinese air force in 1963.

The movement is a clone of the Venus 175 movement, which Sea-Gull now calls the ST19.

Just right up my street – no frills, clean dial, just does what it has to do. It’s hand-winding, and has a normal second hand dial at 9 o’clock, and the minute counter dial for the chronograph at 3 o’clock. Continue reading →

Review: Sea-Gull 816.362 / ST2130

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I got my new Sea-Gull 816.362 the day before yesterday – thanks to “trusthonestman” on eBay!

It has the  ST2130 movement, which beats at 28,800 bph / 8 bps. It looks stunning and I love it.

Oddly enough, it’s half the price of the 816.351, even though, at least in my opinion, this one looks nicer.

So far, it’s 6 seconds per day fast, but constantly, so that’s very good news.
Continue reading →

Review: Sea-Gull 816.351 / ST2130

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Today, I’m moving up the ladder of Chinese watches. I’m taking apart my beloved Sea-Gull 816.351. This is my everyday watch, and I absolutely love it. I’ve regulated to be 2 seconds fast during the day when I wear it, and then I put it face up on my bedside table and it loses 1-2 seconds overnight. It does this constantly, so the movement must be quite good!

The looks are almost identical to the Sea-Gull M177S – with slight differences of the dial and of course the metal wrist band.  Continue reading →