Indeed. The Chinese watch world makes me question a lot. Not just luxury, but even low end stuff from Seiko and orient, Hamilton and Tissot. San Martin is a step up from my khaki field and other Hammy's, even Pagani is better in most areas than a Seiko 5...and all for significant less.
Excellent watch! I already have the same. It impressed me how shortly after the release of the OG San Martin came up with it. It is a true strap monster, it looked good on any of your suggested straps. I have to say, it could have done with a little less prononced fauxtina altogether. I'm glad you weren't affected by the hurricane too badly.
I think the lume is probably the same color, but printing directly onto a matte black dial makes it look much darker than printing it on to the silver surface of the hands. The only ways they can avoid the mismatch is to do applied markers on the dial, or to use 2 different color lunes, which I doubt they would do. The vid still came out great, Steve!
Fantastic looking watch. I can't criticize the fit and finish, and as long as they use the NH35 the prices are Ok. But the models fitted with the SW or PT are just way too expensive.
Steve, I hope you are doing okay after hurricane Ian. My home has some damage to the roof and lanai, gutters and sofit are missing and trees are stripped bare. I evacuated and will be staying elsewhere for now until power comes back. I'm just on the mainland before Matlacha and Pine Island.
Outstanding review 👏 This is a great watch and so happy SM chose the NH35 as I will not but anything with the PT5000 which they are using more and more. Glad you did well during the storm, down here in Miami we got lots of rain, some strong wind gusts and some localized flooding. Thank you again for your review 👍
Good luck Steve with any repair you had with the weather. Great review! Just I think a 38mm for a field watch, with unmatched colors is a miss from San Martin!
Great looking watch, would love to see a side by side comparison with the Islander Manhasset - same style, similar specs and pretty close on price as well.
I think i will buy this one with white numbers. is this the best Explorer homage on Aliexpress? Should i buy this instead of Matic, Steeldive or the others?
Thanks for making these great videos, I’ve decided to buy this one but with the white lume as the faux patina is a bit too strong for me and I prefer the longer lasting blue glow. And I’ve actually gone for the 36mm variant which I think is new because I haven’t seen any videos or photos of it, my wrist is about 6.75 inches so it should be perfect
Looks good and the watch is one I'm interested in. Might wait til that 11/11 sale. Thanks for doing strap changes for these watches like this one. Makes it easier than imagining what a certain strap will look like.
Sorry about the fence. We just had a lot of cleanup around the house with tree and bamboo debris. Do we know if San Martin will ever switch to an NH38 for no date watches? Like the watch though.
People (me included) don't complain enough, so I doubt it. But I really hope they do. If they keep increasing their prices, they'll need to find tune a couple things. $250 is about the max their NH movements can fetch until they swap to the NH38, and fix their lume.
Not much to say other than i wish you're well after the hurricane's pass. As for the vid, looks a bit more dark and "yellowish" somehow, just a bit though, could be the white balance? Sound is fine, so are the (new???) gloves😜! Cheers Steve, be well mate.
Would really consider getting this over a Pagani explorer, but sadly it seems that here in Germany we are paying about 60-70€ more then your mentioned Dolar-price
i would prefer c3 with green day time lume for this watch. looks vintage, think it would be a better match. bgw9 is ok for bb36. I looking at the moment at the nivada grenchen super antarctic, you can get it with those 3 diff. lumes. I would go green again on this one
@@ericarghirudis3462 Tudor nailed it with the color. Not green, not orange, not white, but mixed yellow-white-greenish. Since San Martin will definitly not bother to figure out the best color and will probably just drop a snow white BGW9 print in v2 on it I will just modify the dial myself afterwards.
San Martin don't waste any time 🤣 I do wish they had gone with regular lume like Tudor did with the Ranger. They did a really nice job on this one. for sure though .Looked really good on the green canvas.
So many nice watches on Aliexpress now,but unfortunately they've become too expensive to take a chance on. I mean anything over $100 is too much for a china watch without warranty....and yes they come with warranty but i'm not gonna pay half the price of the watch in shipping sending it to china.
you've raised a very good point ! . I brought a San Martin explorer at around 300 pounds and a month later the pt5000 movement stopped working , contacted San Martin and nothing . you pretty much have no warranty when ordering from Ali express
You are absolutely right: the Seiko Movement is the way to go. I hope they release a BGW9 v2 before 11.11. However I feel they should brush the sides of the bracelet like on the SN017 Water Ghost bracelet. If they don't I will brush it myself though.
@@EscapeWheel To be honest I probably would even consider brushing the polished chamfer edge on the case. I love the roughness of the new Tudor Ranger and I love how their brushed edge adds a third coherent dimension to the light play that doesnt stick out with shiny bling.
Like a couple of other people here, I’ve got one of these too, and the mismatched lime is a massive disappointment I’ve got a few SM watches and contacted them about this (as the reality is totally different from their own photos) They weren’t all that bothered, which was annoying Agree they need to fix the lime, but I’ll be gutted if they do and I’m left with a one with crappy mismatched lume
Not sure what you’re talking about as this review appears just as good as your other reviews: good resolution, informative, and engaging. As for the watch, I like it a lot since I like the Tudor Ranger in the first place. Would never shell out the funds for the Tudor, but this one is doable. I’m especially happy San Martin kept the price down with the NH35. I never consider the upcharged models with PT5000. Not important to me, so I’m certainly not going to pay more for it. 👍😁
He Steve i have a question. I own the watch myself. The strapsco strap is beautiful I want to buy it. But which exact color is this? Hope to hear something soon!
They are both equally as nice. It all comes down to preference. Tudor hands vs Mercedes, a more refined and polished case in the explorer vs the more tooly case here. I can't say I prefer one watch over another that isn't a personal preference
Nice watch, too bad the metal strap is hobbit sized, normal wrists are around 24 cm in my country.. Now you know why so many people buy NATOs here.. Asians watchmakers have tiny wrists apparently...
San martin decided to be extremely expensive without a good movement to back it up, for the same money I prefer to buy a Japanese watch or a second hand Swiss.
This is the reality of San Martin. I still think they offer great value at this price. A $250 swiss watch won't be as nice...but you are paying for the brand and after sale services with the likes of Tissot/Hamilton or microbrands.
Yeah you about lost me at $250 too much I think by at least $75. But I stuck around until the measurements and 38 is definitely too small but I'm sure it was a great review have a good day.
I like SM watches, but they are significantly over priced. You get close to the same quality level from Pagani Design. Plus you will get fairly frequently, exhibition case backs with the same movement (nh35) for about 40% less than SM. Just can't justify SM's high prices....
I feel like you haven't experienced a San Martin....everything is better on the SM. Case finishing, crystals, lume, the bracelets are where SM exceeds...Pagani bracelets are pretty bad across the board, while SM bracelets are actually something I want to wear.
Very nice but San Martin is getting way overpriced! Pagani design is slowly getting their sh&t together with the smaller logo will hopefully give them a run for their money !
I think you need to get second job to own real version of these watches all your doing is supporting companies that STEAL OTHER COMPANIES DESIGNS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
With brands like this getting as good as they are, really makes you question why we spend so much on the luxury brands.
Indeed. The Chinese watch world makes me question a lot. Not just luxury, but even low end stuff from Seiko and orient, Hamilton and Tissot. San Martin is a step up from my khaki field and other Hammy's, even Pagani is better in most areas than a Seiko 5...and all for significant less.
I bought this watch and I have to agree San Martin can smooth out the underside sharp edges of the watch. Over all an excellent watch and great size.
Excellent watch! I already have the same. It impressed me how shortly after the release of the OG San Martin came up with it. It is a true strap monster, it looked good on any of your suggested straps. I have to say, it could have done with a little less prononced fauxtina altogether. I'm glad you weren't affected by the hurricane too badly.
Yeah, just toning back the Fauxtina would have helped a lot o think.
Video and review were fantastic all around, by far my favorite on this watch that I've seen. Appreciate all you do for the community.
Thank you! I really appreciate the kind words 👊
I think the lume is probably the same color, but printing directly onto a matte black dial makes it look much darker than printing it on to the silver surface of the hands. The only ways they can avoid the mismatch is to do applied markers on the dial, or to use 2 different color lunes, which I doubt they would do. The vid still came out great, Steve!
Thanks Dan! The lume is a tricky one...SM aren't the only ones that struggle with matching the lume when it's fautina
White hands would be better imo
Fantastic looking watch. I can't criticize the fit and finish, and as long as they use the NH35 the prices are Ok. But the models fitted with the SW or PT are just way too expensive.
I got a 36 model with BGW9 lume, no logo. Looks good !
Yeah the white lume like great
Excellent review, I am going to order this baby, the fauxtina does not bother me at all but the new 36mm version has the same tone in dial and hands.
Steve, I hope you are doing okay after hurricane Ian. My home has some damage to the roof and lanai, gutters and sofit are missing and trees are stripped bare. I evacuated and will be staying elsewhere for now until power comes back. I'm just on the mainland before Matlacha and Pine Island.
Oh wow....right there. Glad you got out of there though and seems like you came out fairly good. Hoping you can get back in your house soon.
Outstanding review 👏 This is a great watch and so happy SM chose the NH35 as I will not but anything with the PT5000 which they are using more and more. Glad you did well during the storm, down here in Miami we got lots of rain, some strong wind gusts and some localized flooding. Thank you again for your review 👍
Glad to hear it wasn't too bad for you down there. Thanks for watching, and thanks for the kind words.
Good luck Steve with any repair you had with the weather. Great review! Just I think a 38mm for a field watch, with unmatched colors is a miss from San Martin!
Thanks man, no repairs, just demolition!
Loved your crisp video presentation - subscribed !!!
Thank you! And thanks for subscribing!
Have one and its excellent, Inc the bracelet which is normally a cost cutter on Chinese watches.
San martin's bracelets are usually really good. Very happy with the majority of mine.
Have several SM watches and they do a great job. I would like them to offer these styled watches with white indices and hands.
Agreed, they did it with the Tudor pro, maybe they'll do it with this one, too
Great looking watch, would love to see a side by side comparison with the Islander Manhasset - same style, similar specs and pretty close on price as well.
Thats nice lookin'! Ark makes some great watches but I haven't handled his newer stuff just the old SKX stuff. I'm sure it would be very comparable
Great video! I believe they just released a 36mm version. Also with white numerals and blue lume. Could you do a review? Thank you!
I think i will buy this one with white numbers. is this the best Explorer homage on Aliexpress? Should i buy this instead of Matic, Steeldive or the others?
Thanks for making these great videos, I’ve decided to buy this one but with the white lume as the faux patina is a bit too strong for me and I prefer the longer lasting blue glow. And I’ve actually gone for the 36mm variant which I think is new because I haven’t seen any videos or photos of it, my wrist is about 6.75 inches so it should be perfect
Looks good and the watch is one I'm interested in. Might wait til that 11/11 sale. Thanks for doing strap changes for these watches like this one. Makes it easier than imagining what a certain strap will look like.
Yup, that's why I do them. Glad you found it helpful.👍
Sorry about the fence. We just had a lot of cleanup around the house with tree and bamboo debris. Do we know if San Martin will ever switch to an NH38 for no date watches? Like the watch though.
People (me included) don't complain enough, so I doubt it. But I really hope they do. If they keep increasing their prices, they'll need to find tune a couple things. $250 is about the max their NH movements can fetch until they swap to the NH38, and fix their lume.
Not much to say other than i wish you're well after the hurricane's pass. As for the vid, looks a bit more dark and "yellowish" somehow, just a bit though, could be the white balance? Sound is fine, so are the (new???) gloves😜!
Cheers Steve, be well mate.
Thanks, Stavros. I noticed the color being a little off as well. I think I've got that fixed now. Still playing with the settings though.
Would really consider getting this over a Pagani explorer, but sadly it seems that here in Germany we are paying about 60-70€ more then your mentioned Dolar-price
Woah, that's crazy. Sorry to see that.
Wish this was in a vintage 34mm sized case.
Sadly I don't think we'll see that anytime soon...
I agree! 😫
I hope they’ll release a next version with bgw9 lume. Awsome watch
Agreed. Thanks for watching, Cedar
i would prefer c3 with green day time lume for this watch. looks vintage, think it would be a better match. bgw9 is ok for bb36. I looking at the moment at the nivada grenchen super antarctic, you can get it with those 3 diff. lumes. I would go green again on this one
@@ericarghirudis3462 Tudor nailed it with the color. Not green, not orange, not white, but mixed yellow-white-greenish. Since San Martin will definitly not bother to figure out the best color and will probably just drop a snow white BGW9 print in v2 on it I will just modify the dial myself afterwards.
@@EscapeWheel Steve, is this the newer version which the color is better matched between the hands and the dial or this is the first edition?
@@bfair6284 this is the first edition
San Martin don't waste any time 🤣 I do wish they had gone with regular lume like Tudor did with the Ranger. They did a really nice job on this one. for sure though .Looked really good on the green canvas.
Isn't the Tudor like greenish lume
So many nice watches on Aliexpress now,but unfortunately they've become too expensive to take a chance on. I mean anything over $100 is too much for a china watch without warranty....and yes they come with warranty but i'm not gonna pay half the price of the watch in shipping sending it to china.
you've raised a very good point ! . I brought a San Martin explorer at around 300 pounds and a month later the pt5000 movement stopped working , contacted San Martin and nothing . you pretty much have no warranty when ordering from Ali express
I agree. I seriously don't want to even see a watch review over $150.00 for a watch from China.
@@boston961 PT5000 sucks. Will not buy a San Martin with it especially since they charge a premium for them
@@ytfeelslikenorthkorea Chisolm Hunter? eBay and other (UK) second hand places for me
@@ytfeelslikenorthkorea imo if you can't easily pay it in full, you shouldn't buy the watch.
You are absolutely right: the Seiko Movement is the way to go. I hope they release a BGW9 v2 before 11.11. However I feel they should brush the sides of the bracelet like on the SN017 Water Ghost bracelet. If they don't I will brush it myself though.
It's a small enough surface that brushing it should be easy and take no time. 👍. Giving me inspiration 🤣
@@EscapeWheel To be honest I probably would even consider brushing the polished chamfer edge on the case. I love the roughness of the new Tudor Ranger and I love how their brushed edge adds a third coherent dimension to the light play that doesnt stick out with shiny bling.
@@maxfaberg128 I don't think I could bring myself to do that....lol. But I get the want to do it.
@@EscapeWheel Oh c'mon ;) This 38mm SN004 case is nice but it's also disposable! ;))
@@maxfaberg128 I was saying that because I actually like the polished bits 🤣. Unnecessary on a field watch, but I still like em'
Like a couple of other people here, I’ve got one of these too, and the mismatched lime is a massive disappointment
I’ve got a few SM watches and contacted them about this (as the reality is totally different from their own photos)
They weren’t all that bothered, which was annoying
Agree they need to fix the lime, but I’ll be gutted if they do and I’m left with a one with crappy mismatched lume
Not sure what you’re talking about as this review appears just as good as your other reviews: good resolution, informative, and engaging. As for the watch, I like it a lot since I like the Tudor Ranger in the first place. Would never shell out the funds for the Tudor, but this one is doable. I’m especially happy San Martin kept the price down with the NH35. I never consider the upcharged models with PT5000. Not important to me, so I’m certainly not going to pay more for it. 👍😁
Haha, well, thanks! I'm so happy they went with the NH, too
Looks very nice!
Five new watches! You will be busy 😁, I do quite like that, but I wish they would stop using yellow lume.
Agreed. BGW9 with a pop of red on the dial would sell really well IMO
He Steve i have a question. I own the watch myself. The strapsco strap is beautiful I want to buy it. But which exact color is this? Hope to hear something soon!
That is the Cognac color 👍. Enjoy it, it's one of my favorite strap combos still 👍
@@EscapeWheel thanks for the quick reply!
Do you prefer the San Martin 39mm Explorer better than this model?
They are both equally as nice. It all comes down to preference. Tudor hands vs Mercedes, a more refined and polished case in the explorer vs the more tooly case here.
I can't say I prefer one watch over another that isn't a personal preference
Great work!
Thank you!
I think he mentioned a 40mm version of this watch at 3:40, I can’t find one, does anyone know if that’s hypothetical or a real watch ?
I don't think I did... 🤷. But no, 38.5mm is the biggest this one goes
@@EscapeWheel ok awesome, thanks for the clarification, much appreciated
nice model T reference
Nice catch 👍
Awsome intro 👌
Thanks, Cedar
if it's good enough for the ducks then it's good enough for me
🦆🦆
Miyota 9039/9015 and quick adjustment clasp make it 4-5 hundred and it would be so much nicer
Ty i buy one
Enjoy it!
I feel like this watch could be 36mm and not look like a 36mm.
36 would be cool too. They are missing a true field watch at 36mm I less you consider some of their quartz models.
Really nice watch, but...Ghost Position NH35 and mismatched lume at the dial/hands ?
Sorry, not for that money 😕
Nice watch, too bad the metal strap is hobbit sized, normal wrists are around 24 cm in my country.. Now you know why so many people buy NATOs here.. Asians watchmakers have tiny wrists apparently...
Don’t like the hands being polished. With this vintage-military dial, I think white hands would look much better (and more legible)
Either white or brushed would have been good
San martin decided to be extremely expensive without a good movement to back it up, for the same money I prefer to buy a Japanese watch or a second hand Swiss.
This is the reality of San Martin. I still think they offer great value at this price. A $250 swiss watch won't be as nice...but you are paying for the brand and after sale services with the likes of Tissot/Hamilton or microbrands.
Think I would buy this in a heartbeat if it were BGW9.
I photoshopped it and it looks so damn good.
Yeah you about lost me at $250 too much I think by at least $75. But I stuck around until the measurements and 38 is definitely too small but I'm sure it was a great review have a good day.
Thanks, Vince!
First
wow people still do this in 2022, cool for you bro
I like SM watches, but they are significantly over priced. You get close to the same quality level from Pagani Design. Plus you will get fairly frequently, exhibition case backs with the same movement (nh35) for about 40% less than SM. Just can't justify SM's high prices....
I feel like you haven't experienced a San Martin....everything is better on the SM. Case finishing, crystals, lume, the bracelets are where SM exceeds...Pagani bracelets are pretty bad across the board, while SM bracelets are actually something I want to wear.
Very nice but San Martin is getting way overpriced! Pagani design is slowly getting their sh&t together with the smaller logo will hopefully give them a run for their money !
They've got a LOOONNNGG way to go to match SM
I think you need to get second job to own real version of these watches all your doing is supporting companies that STEAL OTHER COMPANIES DESIGNS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Honestly, San Martin did this better than Tudor did.
I do like this very much, there are a few niggles that fingers crossed they'll address in a V2, if so I'll definitely pick one up....🏴⌚🏴⌚
Meh. I prefer the Pagani 1723
Those are really cool, but totally different watches.