Starking Watches - Can A $50 Budget Automatic Be Any Good? Full Review
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 23 авг 2019
- Starking Watches - Can A $50 Budget Automatic Watch Be Any Good? I give this Starking budget watch a full stripdown and review, watch till the end for the twist!
Starking Watch on Amazon: amzn.to/2TZws7m
Starking Watch on Ali Express: bit.ly/30457TN
Join the Watch Repair discussion Group on Facebook: / watchrepairlessons
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enroll Today on the Watch Repair Course: www.watchrepairlessons.com/
Full HD Video Lessons streamed to your PC/MAC, Phone or Tablet
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Instagram: / watchrepairguy
Twitter: @watchrepairguy
Facebook: / watchservices
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Discuss watch repair issues and learn more at
www.WatchRepairTalk.com/
----------------------------------------------------------
Cameras And Equipment Used To Make This Video.
Purchasing via these links will cost you no more but will help this channel.
CAMERAS AND LENSES
Main Camera: Sony A7iii - amzn.to/31H2JlE
B Camera: Sony a6400 - amzn.to/32Q4ChD
Close Up Lens: Sony FE 90mm Macro f2.8 - amzn.to/2MEPjTb
General Lens: Tamron 28-75mm F/2.8 - amzn.to/2W6qLpb
Wide Lens: Sony 16-35mm f4 - amzn.to/2pFTQM1
Telephoto: Sony FE 70-200mm F4 - amzn.to/2MIrhH3
4K External Recorder: Atomos Ninja V - amzn.to/2Pd080w
AUDIO
Voiceover Mic: Rode Procaster - amzn.to/2qDNUDN
Pre-Pre-Amp: Cloudlifter CL-1 - amzn.to/32HJ3zx
Pre-Amp: dbx 286s - amzn.to/32GOfDV
Audio Interface: Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 - amzn.to/2WaQUTY
Talking Head Mic: Rode NTG-3 - amzn.to/2N4oCGu
Lavalier Mic: Sennheiser EW 112P G3 - amzn.to/2W5dQDO
Audio Recorder: Zoom H4N PRO - amzn.to/2ofe1A8
Headphones: Audio Technica ATH-M50x - amzn.to/363C7z1
MEDIA STORAGE
NAS: Synology DiskStation DS418 - amzn.to/2N8KHDB
Drives: Seagate IronWolf 8TB - amzn.to/2MHdC2A
----------------------------------------------------------
Music Used In This Video Provided By EPIDEMIC SOUND
www.epidemicsound.com/referra...
----------------------------------------------------------
#starking #cheapwatch #review 
Хобби
Starking Watches - Can A $50 Budget Automatic Watch Be Any Good? I give this Starking budget watch a full stripdown and review, watch till the end for the twist!
Watch Repair Channel WOW I must say that It’s absolutely amazing the way you can put together and take apart clean and lube a watch. Wish I could do that. I have self taught how to regulate the plus and minus. I have several starkings 4 of them. All are very accurate plus or minus 10 seconds for all of them and I even got two of them for 20 US DOLLARS.. love the channel and the video you make 👍👍👍👍😀😀
These watches are great however mine has stopped working and I'm unsure why
@@simongroves722 sounds great.
I don't think it is worth it because there are so many other options. An Invicta with a Seiko NH35 automatic movement can be had for $50. I'd rather wear an invicta than a starking. At least it is a brand with some history.
Great video. I have this same watch, unfortunately mine has developed a bit of a stutter on the second hand so I have been thinking of replacing the movement with something nicer. I am really glad to have your video as a reference, and also great to know that the 8215 Miyota will fit in here. Any idea what other movements might also fit? Thanks again.
When my kid brother was Young he would take clocks apart and put them back, we thought Nothing of it and then he became a clock and Watch smith and Goldsmith later in life. Watching this makes me think of him and what he could do. He even made missing parts for antique clocks. He passed away two years ago at 56. Thank you it was mesmerising.
Your brother sounds amazing. Sorry he passed so young.
damn. sorry abt that dude.
Sounds like your brother was one of a kind. Very sorry for your loss.
Your brother sounds like a really cool guy. I'm sorry for your loss.
Shame to lose your Brother at such young age because I am sure you loved him dearly. Also lost is his knowledge and expertise in the field of his. People in the field is for sure shrinking over time with advent of digital timekeeping and disposable watches and clocks. One of my friends used to have business repairing cameras. He eventually had to changes careers due to digital cameras becoming dominant even in SLR field becoming DSLR. Sorry for your loss.
Starking just wanted this rebuild video so they can use it for internal training on how to put a watch together properly ;-)
Or, they just had him show them what the problem was with their movement so they can redesign it. Probably saved them hundreds of thousands in R&D.
@@manstersr hundreds of thousands ... maybe not.
@@manstersr I imagine their next watch will have a miyota 8215 in it and it's $100 which might still be a real bargain lol
@@Jerome... Depending on how much they sell, it could actually save hundreds of thousands of faulty movement returns.
@@Jerome... hundreds of thousands of chinese rmb cents maybe :)
They Have listened to you and now sell the same watch with Miyota 8215 movement for $62.55!!
With a steel bracelet? That sounds amazing, but unfortunately I already got this watch with its current movement after watching the video...
Bryan Cheong This is still not a bad watch. A decent watch. I think you will enjoy it.
This wasn't explained in the video, but how good quality is the Miyota 8215 movement? How long can you do with this in stead of the "12 month" movement that originally comes with it?
@@MrLizardLab the Miyota should last much longer. Like MUCH longer. They are opposites, really. The Starking is pretty much the bottom of the barrel when it comes to longevity (higher BPM also means it will wear down faster). Miyota 8xxx is very basic but an absolute workhorse. A good one should last a couple decades unserviced.
I always opt for the Japanese movement option when it comes to Chinese watches. You pay maybe 20% more for the watch but it should last much longer.
nice one!
I love how often you're like, "Nah, that's not worth doing. Ah, screw it; I'm going to do it anyways."
Labor of love
You know what? I'm unlikely to buy it but Starking has my respect for producing a nice looking, functioning watch at a really fantastic price.
They're focusing on their own brand and not producing fakes, so I have nothing bad to say about them.
It's fair enough; not pretending to be something it isn't. Nice job and a fair review.
yeah, so like you created a rubbish automatic watch , we r not pretending that is great but we want your money
how about no?
@@petrub27 You don't have to buy it, but you can at least respect the effort to put out an admittedly cheap watch compared to slapping the same movement into a fake Rolex case.
With the fakes, they don't give a crap if it fails a year after you buy it, cause they took the money and ran, but with this company, they're at least making an effort to build a brand. Is the quality great? Not in the movement no, but everywhere else it's beyond fair for the price, so I'd rather encourage a mediocre effort in the right direction than ridicule them. Too many Chinese companies get ignored cause they can't compete with the counterfeit companies, and they can't shake the reputation of Chinese companies being counterfeit, so I don't want to discourage companies from trying the right thing.
@@G1NZOU They also sell it with the miyota movement now so then you get a ok movement with a ok case.. seems pretty fair for 65 usd.
Exactly. 50 bucks, you know what you're getting. I think this is actually a great value watch. Good for a gift or even if you want to buy a watch and tool around with the mechanism.
@@PhilippeAJBesset just one more watch has reviewed this and verified it is sapphire.
Its very therapeutic to watch you work. Especially with the music 👍
Johnathan Burrows fascinating . Meditative ...
Yeah, I was going to say watching these videos is like coming home after a long day and sitting in front of your aquarium watching your buddies swim around..
Totally agree you hit the nail on the head, i was so relaxed watching and listening to tthis vide
Try #ASMR videos for that.
It's a pretty clear trend now among my hobbies.
I'm not truly happy with something until I've taken a bargain item and made it outperform examples that cost 10x more (or 100x/1000x in some cases).
This right here is the pinnacle of using watches as a hobby.
I really enjoy doing similar things too,
I once took this anime themed quarts pocket watch, and fitted it with a really nicely decorated 6498 movement along with a new dial and hands. That was a really fun project 😎
In all my years of watching You Tube videos I have NEVER been as captivated as watching you take apart a watch and then reassembling it.
You have the demeanour of a surgeon.
Well done. Fantastic education.
Thank you.
Great job. next episode: How to fit a Rolex movement in a Starking housing 😂🤣
In the meantime, your local watch maker trys to charge $80 only for a battery change for a Quartz watch...
They are not watch makers, just only battery replacers nowadays.
A battery can be replaced by batteries plus for the price of the battery plus 5 bucks.
look out for the guys that use metal tweezers to place your new bat into your watch , they just shorted it out draining it , probably lost half its life in those few seconds ! i didn't say anything to him ,it was my moms , i was with her and she could have asked me to get a bat and replace it instead, $20 charged , but that was more than 15 yrs ago , that local jeweler store closed up, sad he was robbed and business wasn't that good.
@@HANDBALLDIEHARD Cool story, are you German?
It all depends. If you're charging $80 to change the battery of watches that cost a lot of money, you need to take the whole picture into consideration. They usually inspect the watch, so you're also paying for an experts time. (Even if it only takes 10 min to check, and he values his time at $100/hour, which is about normal, that's $17 right there.) They also usually replace the o-ring, which is another 1 min of his time which is a couple bucks, and another $0.50 for the o-ring. They also usually blast it with steam to clean the links, which is another $5-10 worth of time plus the wear and tear on the steam generator. Then you have to factor in liability. If he changes the battery on 1000 watches and accidentally scratches one of them, that can make the profit from the other 999 watches completely disappear, depending on how much it costs him to repair that watch. Plus account for employees needed to serve that customer and amenities in the shop (like if they have tea/coffee for you while you wait). People that aren't business owners don't think of things like that, and you may think that things like the wear and tear on the steam gen, or labor/materials of replacing the o-ring, is inconsequential. That's because you're not looking at the whole picture. All of those things cost money, and that isn't even including profit for the business or the litany of other things that go into serving a customer and running a business. It's the main reason businesses fail. People don't think of the minutiae, and after a year, that all adds up to thousands of dollars.
My heart sank when you said it wasnt worth your time putting it back together...then you did ..i was like weeheeh..here we go...and then a movement swapout...what a rollercoaster...great vid pal..cheers love your videos..so calming..great...and where have you moved to .by the sea??
He was playing with us, I think!
So glad you decided to put forth your best effort on the little guy!
clone enolc I agree. Most you tubers just want to mess with the big name Watches and blow off the smaller less expensive watch. I have 4 starking’s and all tell excellent time. About plus or minus 10 seconds. Even got 2of them new for 20$
exactly. way easier to get into watch repair if people can get interested in these dirt cheap chinese movements, and imo all mechanical movements are inherently beautiful
I actually saw this on Aliexpress and fell in love with it. The bracelet is one of the best things about it. I love how unique the design is with its mixture of polished and brushed surfaces. I had really high hopes for it and it was a gamble. I paid $44 for it and there were many quality control issues with it. First, the crystal was not sapphire because it scratched easily. Second, the second hand had a stuttering issue. I sent it to Starking and they fixed it but I had to pay for shipping. I regulated it and it was -5 seconds a day which was great but then it stopped working. I had it for about a year and it failed. I am never buying another Chinese made watch ever again.
Upgrade the movement or replace it. A simple replacement would be my advice. It’s pretty easy and there’s many different videos covering the topic. Maybe use it as a way to try your hand at watch making. I have about a 70 plus watch collection and I have done all my mods and servicing. My grandfather was into watches and I learned from him at an early age. I have picked up a lot of tricks and other stuff from just watching these skilled people that share the knowledge with the world for free. RUclips is an awesome source of information on anything you want to know about. Sorry for the long post. Good luck with whatever you decide.
you get what you pay for
I bought one £36 free delivery. My 1st automatic watch. I'm hooked. Onwards and upwards. Love your channel.
Oh dear the addiction begins
jeb 1967 I bought my first automatic watch to only I got my 1st for £500
progamertom 78 I hope youre proud
@@progamertom7878 I got my first automatic too only it cost £50,000.
Welcome to the mechanical club
Since I live in the Philippines, I see everything from total junk to some watches from China that surprise me. Like you said.. for $50.00 what are you expecting? I have seen cases that don't hold a candle to this one, cost much more. I think it is very reasonable for a watch of this quality. I may purchase one for fun..
I got this watch for $35, AliExpress has lots of sales and gimmicks for those who are patient. Thanks for the tear down, you are insanely talented!!! Subscribed. :)
"insanely talented!"
That was the description I was looking for when I posted my comment. Great comment.
How is it?
Is it still working? I was betting these would last longer than you wanted them to?
Amazing review. I have no idea how they can manufacture such a machine for $50 to the consumer. Blows my mind.
@jake well then you are outdated with your info. Most of these watches are mass produced in the production lines.
@@waszkreslem9306 You have no idea what you're talking about. I have a background in machining and having things manufactured, and some experience with Chinese manufacture. There is no way in hell that this watch can be made for $30-50. (It was recently $30, before it grew in popularity.) There are WAY too many parts that need machining, parts that need subsequent ops (like jeweling, blue heat anodizing), hand fitting, and assembly. Their workers most likely live on site, are being paid after room/board/food is taken out (similar to coal scrips), and have horrible working conditions. You have to be pretty ignorant, or just disconnected, with manufacturing processes and technologies to think that this can be manufactured in even China for $50, and still treat their workers properly.
I gave away my watch tools after developing arthritis in my hands. After watching this video I realized that how satisfying it is to repair a watch. Nice job. I have no idea how they make a profit on a watch with a sapphire crystal and what appears to be a decent bracelet?
I actually bought this watch and am reasonably happy. (No I'm not a bot)
I bought it from AliExpress and when it arrived, it was running super fast. Like 5 minutes in half a day fast. In addition to that, the rotor broke after like a week (might have been my fault) and so did the date ( definitely my fault; set the date with the hands like 2 hours from midnight and it stopped working). I contacted the seller (starling official store I think) and complained, and after a bit of back and forth, they just sent me a new watch without the bracelet as it wouldn't be worth the hassle shipping it to China, disassembling it, finding the faults, reassembling it and shipping it back to Europe. Now I would be happier if it had just worked from the start, but now I at least have a spare watch that I can disassemble and take videos of. Overall I do recommend buying this watch if you can't spend too much money just on a whim.
I’d love to see more content like this!
Going through a rough time financially so even budget watches like Seikos and Orients are a stretch right now. Fortunately there’s fun to be had with weird and wonderful watches from AliExpress/Wish/etc.
We all have the skills needed to take it apart, lol, but it was mind blowing that you remembered where every tiny piece belongs. Well done!!!
With the advent of smart phones its easy to take a close up picture at every stage so you know what goes where. BUT a watchmaker knows all the parts and where they belong from years of dismantling and assembling so doesn't need any more than experience.
I don’t think I would have been able to take it apart totally without having watched this video. Probably not.
Nothing beats watching a first class craftsman at work. Excellent experiment!
Yes, no matter what materials, ie; the watch, he is working with.
I have purchased more than ten of these by now, and the first batch with black dial were good, at least came oiled and ran fine. Then at the first DOA I went on discovering why it had stopped and saw similar scoring inside the bridges and went on replacing it with a Hangzhou 2836-2 clone, which is a 55-60 dollar movement, also crazy to put in such a cheap watch, but it makes for a nice end result and that's ultimately what it's all about. I so appreciate you took the time, as there was a discussion going on on WUS about these for a while and the opinions were quite on opposites. What I actually liked about the movement is that it has dial feet positions and screws for ETA and DG! The hands are actually rather the size of an ETA, so that might help some in finding replacements, or should you also go the Hangzhou route you can fit them without any issue. The only thing that won't fit are the dial feet, but this is easily solved by using dial dots. The crystal really is sapphire though, I've tested it! If you want a reliable tester for that it won't be more than ten bucks on aliexpress, and called a DIamond Selector II
Whereas I've subscribed to a range of horology / watch 'tubes, none compares to this. You do a great job. Keep it up.
Amazing - the case, band, dial and hands do look pretty nice for the price. Also cool that you experimented with the movement upgrade. I assume that it wouldn't be terribly difficult to just get hands that fit the Miyota movement to avoid having to fit the minute hand and second hand.
As always, many thanks for posting.
I've had an even cheaper starking for a couple of months now and despite the chrome plated brass case and the identical movement,is running well and keeping good time and all for $26.0.I now have a "winner" which beats at 21600 and so far is keeping very good time for a measly $19.0!!You'd have to buy a basic casio quartz to beat that!!
You need to acquire a dehumidifier for the room. Calculate he square footage to find which unit will suite you best. Protect your tools friend. Thanks for the video. Loved it.
At the moment I own Tissot, Frederique Constant, Seiko and this Starking with white dial, I love it and its now my everyday watch, ppl stairs at it quite often and say nice watch.
That's What i'am talking about, that Reaction from the PEOPLE.😄
IDK why anyone would want to stare or gaze upon someones stairs, to begin with??? Unless it's one of those fancy circular staircases, or something! LOL
Absolutely amazing watch review. So much wisdom, joyfully and humbly imparted!
I truly admire your dexterity when it comes to handling those small parts. I bought this watch a few months ago and the movement failed - the balance wheel stopped working - so I purchased a replacement movement online, and putting it back together took me the better part of two months, and I'd consider myself to have decent fine motor skills.
I had your video on the browser window open during all those months, trying to replicate your steps. Thanks a lot for your content, besides being a relaxing hobby, your explanations are very clear and your videos have a great narrative.
it's very educating how you take note of even the minutest internal details like the scratches that buyers will never even get to see. it's like you're telling the manufacturer they shouldn't do this. very cool and honest review!
I bought one, and after wearing it a few times, I went to set it one day and the stem got out of position and could no longer set the time. I think it was turning the date in the number 2 position, or something of the sort. They offered to fix it for free, but shipping to China is too expensive, so I just bought another one because I love the look of the watch. No idea if this one will hold up. And I guess I have an extra for parts now, then. Ended up costing about $86 for the two, I believe.
Oh, wow!.... A movement swap?! Just what I needed! Nice.
I own this watch. Have had it for a few months. Mine is on the leather band with the white dial. Paid $44.00. Runs about 7 sec a day fast which I consider quite good considering the price. Overall, a good value even if it only lasts a few years.
This is the most satisfying and relaxing video I have watched ever ! Masterful understanding at work and the background music added to the whole experience. 😁
Im so glad you decided to put the watch back together, to see you bring a watch to life is amazing, its a real joy watching a true master, it is that fact why i never get bored watching every video you do, this one was specially enjoyable and great to see you putting a face fingers and other bits on another watch workings,
If a 50 dollar watch gets new people into horology, then mission accomplished!
I've had mine for about one year and have seen no appreciable decrease in performance. Not perfect, by any means, but great buy.
When I buy a mechanical watch I don't expect it to keep time as well as a quartz movement. I buy it for the art.
I agree, it's not perfect but I appreciate the effort, and I can't fault it for the price.
Comments now? Is it still working?
@@MetalMD7 up
I love the music on your videos Mark, so relaxing!
This one is on my list! Always nice to have a decent looking beater watch in the collection. Really cool to learn about your tricky little upgrade! Great vid! Keep up the good work!
A review in a few months would certainly be appreciated to see if any degradation to the case and bracelet, else I would purchase it as at first impressions seems great value
It is 316L stainless steel, I have had mine about 12 months looks great
If I may suggest, linseed oil os amazing tô keep rust away! I use on my tools and I live in Brazil...
Great content!
Gustavo Broglio - Umani.studio eae cara kk tudo bem
I really admire your skills as a watchmaker to be able to work with such small parts and tools and remember where things go is so amazing to me. Glad to know the movement is basically junk and won't last long. Can't really complain because of the price.
Love this channel, been watching for around a year now and sorry that's me just subscribing now. Keep up the good work, I could watch these for hours.
This watch now available on aliexpress with the miyota 8215 for us62. Starking obviously thought your upgrade was the way to go 😁😎
Oh shoot! I wish I'd have seen this video six months ago. I purchased this with the white dial and just fell in love with it but only wore it maybe a dozen times in the six months I owned it then the teeth on the gears failed and I knew nothing about the movement as to get parts or swap it out so I threw it away because it broke my heart...lol! Not to mention I paid $85 for it not $50! If only I hadn't got mad and thrown it away. I guess there's a lesson to be learned here.🤔 Excellent video!!! I do appreciate and love watching all of them you produce. God bless!
Just buy another such watch, same one. Now even on sale in Ali, look for better prices. Paying a watchmaker for the movement swap, ordering a new and working movement will be more expensive or simimar price... so totally not worth it.
You are truly a genius and your videos with the chosen music and watching your precision work puts me in a calm tranquil place, thankyou.
Two videos and I’m hooked. Amazed how you dismantle and assemble - you must have had lots of practice!
I only came across this watch recently and to be honest, I'm really interested and intrigued by this watch. The trade-off for me is fair; I mean, getting the "perfect" piece of a Starking is might be up to chance, but for $50? The "risk" (if we want to put it that way) is well worth the cost. Thanks for giving the piece a chance! Thoroughly enjoyed the video and was really hooked when you changed the movement!!
I started my watch collection by buying Chinese watches, the third one I bought was a Carnival with miyota 8215 for € 52 a gorgeous and excellent in terms of accuracy the last one I bought was a Parnis master 03, with a miyota 9100 for € 170 (I know it is expensive, but it has real sapphire) and delighted, I would recommend to anyone who wants a Chinese watch, to look for one with a good known movement. Very good channel and as always good video
I actually bought this exact watch about 6 months ago. I have worn it about half a dozen times and it performs fine. I've had no problems with it & it looks great. It gains about 4 seconds a day. Thanx for the awesome work. I really enjoyed that break down!
This is exactly the channel I’ve been looking for. Have subscribed and look forward to watching your videos.
I bought a Starking a few weeks ago. I'm a college student and wanted a cheap automatic. The crown got "stuck" and wouldn't adjust the time even when fully wound. My disappointment was immeasurable, so I contacted the company and they sent me two new watches. They were very friendly, even with the language barrier haha.
I really hope these watches last me at least a few months.
I’m also a college student looking for a bargain automatic watch. I was considering an SNK Seiko but the Starking has a better bpm and hacking. How’s your experience with the Starkings now? Do you recommend it for $50?
@@hexoden5027 I personally recommend a Cadisen c1032, another beautiful cheap watch, but in this case containing a Seiko NH36; lovely reliable movement. I like the silver dial version
Great video and review. You should start your own brand of entry level automatics. China case and band, Japanese movement sounds good to me.
I also think so
US case only then China strap haha...
Rude Medic or sell a watch with no strap since they tend to suck when they are cheap.
I would buy one, maybe two.
This comment!
A good looking stainless steel case and sapphire crystal for 50 bucks? Great price even for quartz watch. Great video, your channel is one of the best on RUclips. Cheers 👍
I bought one of these in white. It was my first new high-beat watch. I needed a white faced dress watch and the Tissot Visodate I really wanted was 7x the price of this one. I don’t wear it all that often, but I do really like it. It’s good to see the insides of the watch and what to look for if I should have to pull it apart sometime in the future. Thank you for doing this video. I really appreciate this channel!
It's amazing that all of that can be had for $50.
These type of watches are great when going on vacation. If you lose it, no big deal. Also, when returning home, Customs will not think you bought an expensive watch and attempt to charge custom/import fees.
They do that?
Creosote Petrichor Only if you’re not wearing the watch. If 🛃 saw an new expensive watch stored in a retail box with original 🏷 still on it. They might suspect an attempt to resale for a profit. So one way to avoid getting taxed by customs is to ditch all retail box packaging in your luggage. Personal effects are non-taxable items.
I don’t think I’ve seen such a remarkably detailed watch review before. Thank you!
I have purchased this very watch but in a white dial! And LoVe ❤️ it....
Got it delivered with a matching ladies for my wife and I. She wears hers about 3-4 days a week and I mine about 3 times a month. Have had the pair for a bit over 8 months without fail on either...
Love the upgrade you did with the Miyota movement... you are truly a talented watchmaker and adore watching your videos....
BTW This was my second purchase from Starking through AlliExpress and the first Starking I’ve had for a bit over 18 months and is solid as a rock to this day....
Cheers!
Just seen on Aliexpress they have started offering this watch with a Miyota 8215 for a £10 premium.
Things... I end up watching at 4.00 AM
I watched it at 4.58 AM here.
Nice to see, we like this review, we love machining watch parts. Thank you for sharing. Yes you are a watch snob that to us is a great thought to have had shared by you.
Thank you.
Lance & Patrick.
As a general thing, I love videos of budget item teardowns (watches, guitars, etc) I am usually surprised with the results. This is fun, interesting stuff to watch. Keep it up!
And super relaxing!
For that price, it's fair. So many greedy companies try to sell this type of watch as "luxury" and charge $150 or more.
Exactly. But they'll also put an "MSRP" of something like $699 or something stupid. And then say, "ONLY," $150. I hate that kind of marketing.......Invicta.....*cough.....Stauer....etc.
Excellent work! Good to know what a $50 Chinese watch is all about. Thanks.
this video is surprisingly very soothing.. maybe its the calm precision and control. thanks for a great video
Watching this gives me great respect for a real watch maker at work :)
Any plans to do something like this for a Vostok Amphibia or Amphibia Neptune?
The Chinese are doing some crazy things with watches at the minute. Just look at Sea-Gull! You can't deny that they're a threat to the Swiss. If they get the hand finishing down the Swiss could get a run for their money!
@mgljimcmgl The Chinese have been making most of the SWISS watches since the late 1960s.
It's a nice looking watch. It amazes me how many moving parts go into a watch to make them work. Remembering where everything goes without damaging anything is also remarkable. I probably would have destroyed trying to take apart this watch. I definitely enjoyed watching a craftsman at work. Thanks.
I have this in a white dial. I love the look and it wears nicely. It runs a bit slow but I can't be bothered to regulate it. For the $42 I paid I already got my money's worth in the year that I've had it. I also have a Ruimas and a Cadisen both with Seiko movements that I got for $50 each. I don't know how they Chinese can sell them and everyone makes a profit at these prices.
I thought you will refinish the original movement.
Still, a great video!
Lovely looking watch.
Great value for those of us who love mechanical watches but cannot afford the prices of top brands. Great honest clear review. I think I'll buy one. Cheers 👍
Enjoyed the review, I don't believe anyone else would have given this watch that much of their time, but your fans are glad you did. My interest in watches is more about the movement than anything else, and the quality issues were a concern. I cannot say that I would buy this watch, but if they made a style I like in manual wind, I would consider the brand...knowing full well the possible issues ahead of time. Definitely worth $50! Thank you Mark!
Great video (as usual). Okay it looks like that one movement was a bit duff, but no reason why others wouldn't be good enough at that price. 28,800, sapphire crystal and 50m waterproof, is a great set of specs for $50. Not my kind of watch, but pretty good. You can get the Miyota movement for about £30 from Cousins, so that swap is very do-able. Personally I'd run with the original movement and try and regulate it so its there or thereabouts on a daily wear basis.
You can get a much better one within $60. CADISEN c1032 which have sapphire crystal, good quality case and bracelet and seiko NH35/NH36 movement.
The SK also has a real sapphire crystal and more than decent case, and is very flat. NH35/NH36 are not always trouble free either.
@@vincenzodigrande2070 yes, my cadisen had very annoying dust particle, i opened it and just couldn't pop the case back, even with my whole weight! I broke the back glass, a watchmaker replaced it. Even with a watch press is difficult to close the case back, I use flat kitchen woodboard and a bigger caseback put on this watch and press the board and it snaps.
@@vincenzodigrande2070 But most NH35/NH36s are not trouble makers. Its a Japanese movement with a recognized brand behind it. Not like with a chinese watch.
I was going back and forth before with either the cadisen or this starking. I went for the starking. I just didn't like the roman numeral on the 12. It throws off the balance for me.
OK - I have ordered a Cadisen to do a side by side comparison! :)
I will actually tack on another 10 bux and do a dial swap. Then it'll be a well built, cool watch with a robust movement for 110 USD. Great job as always! The very fact that you get solid end links on a 50USD watch and Brietling Colts still come with hollowed out ones is a massive plus for them.
Wow, so good to see a professional at his craft. Wish I had done that as a youngster here in the UK; bit old now at 60!
I've got a cheap automatic that was a gift a couple of years ago with a dead movement that I'd love to get working again, its not an expensive watch but I really like the case and strap and it has some sentimental value.
Do you have any tips on identifying the movement, or figuring out what would be a compatible replacement?
take the case back off and look for identifying marks or take pic and send to watch u seek or similar
So you removed the 28800 bph movement and replaced it with the miyota stutter movement.
Don't get me wrong i understand why but is'nt the fact it has a high beat movement it's main selling point for a $50 watch?
Always so great to watch a master work, an honest, professional, and so much knowledge as to be able to modify and make it work properly.
Thank you sir a true pro.
That movment reassembly looked like fun. I do hope you enjoy your work. Thanks for the detailed Starking review.😎
I think that this Watch would be perfect for a beginner to strip down and learn from it and to experiment on it. I would call this the squire of guitars.
I don't think experimenting on watch movment and such is as easy as simply changing a pickup or switch turners on a squire.
admiral cookie both things aren’t that easy , but I’m referring to the general sense of modification. It can be visual or practical. And I compare them because they’re both inexpensive enough to experiment on without regretting it later. This movement can be bought around 20-30 bucks.
@@wc7484 I've done both the movement strip down and the guitar rebuild, The guitar was a Cozart 12 string that got new paint, pick ups and electronics. The watch was a Tevise (24 bucks) that I stripped down and lubricated and put back together as a hand winder. Both took a lot of practice and patience and I can say that modding the guitar was a little easier than rebuilding the movement.
I like the style but i would never get a watch with invisible hands. All super polished hands that look like mirror are practically invisible
Great video, I've been waiting on this one. I almost bought one of those a few months back.
I love watching movement upgrade videos. Like when people upgrade the seiko skx’s 7s26 to the nh36 so satisfying to watch. I myself decided to randomly install a miyota 2035 quartz movement in a wrecked 1977 timex which to start out with was mechanical.
Even this 50 dollar watch has fucking solid end links. Come on Orient ffs
With about 50 euro you can buy a Russian made Vostok, the AK of watches
😂 The AK of watches! Priceless!
But why? I like the looks of this one more.
Actually, I bought it for last Christmas and it's been doing fine since I got it.
The Vostok looks like garbage
but not that looks as nice as that
No, thank you! I am not a communist or a Chechen soldier.
Your videos relax me so much that I "watch" them for hours. Thanks.
As always excellent work, it's a pleasure watching you work!
Nice in-depth review, pity you didn't include a test of the "Sapphire" glass to confirm that's what it was and a quick test with a magnet would have also shown you the quality of the stainless steel.
Mark Wallis Jody at “Just One More Watch” did the test. It is sapphire crystal.
It's not sapphire at all, it's likely a mineral glass, i.e. soda lime glass or something like that, with a capacitive coating to fool people into thinking it's sapphire when they put a capacitive meter on it. Soo much fake stuff comes out of China, that practically everything is fake. For example, stainless steel coming out of China is subpar quality and actually different grades than stated (That's why those cheap tea pots at walmart rust soo quickly), and I've seen tempered glass come out of China that was actually just soda lime glass.....which is extremely dangerous when you're using it in high heat applications where it could shatter in an explosive manner. I bought some "tempered glass" from China for 3D printing machines, and they didn't even have any stress patterns at all under a polarizing filter, i.e. NOT tempered glass. Of course glass is still pretty scratch resistant in general, more so than plastic. So technically it's still a better value than most watches, as long as the mechanism holds up. But when whatever material they use breaks, I wouldn't want that watch on my hand or anywhere near me when the shards start flying. This is a watch for people who want mechanical without paying the extra money and only want to wow people who know nothing about good watches. But the moment you cross paths with someone with a good watch, you might as well be using a casio.
@@peoplez129 Agree with you wholeheartedly. Honey from China has been banned in the States for years for being fake, Netflix did a documentary on it. China uses cheap labour, cheap parts and treats its people cheaply. China=Cheap.
@@bottletree33 says the guy who is using most his tech equipment made in China.
Funny, I fell asleep with that music. I’d wake up when you’d start talking and then nod off again.
This happens to me as well.
I really enjoyed this video. The dismantling of this movement was very telling of the quality, and care of its making. I would like to see more of these videos servicing other micro brand movements.
I bought one of these watches as a Dress Watch for myself just over a Year ago, it gets worn maybe once or twice a month, probably more in the Winter than Summer months. So far, so good, I paid just £34 and a bit for mine delivered on a Sale, so I am one Happy Bunny. I have heard some dire tales about these watches, but maybe I have been either careful or Lucky? For the Money, great value IMHO, but don't expect it to be something you leave for your heirs! Great Review too, thanks, useful stuff! Jim
Humidity! I’d say, ...whee are you living? Under a waterfall 🤔
Thailand.
"I have a cunning plan" - Baldrick Sodoff
Sodoff is meant to be his first name 😉
Something i could never do , Sir you have the patience of a Saint !
Thank you for putting the watch back together (and attempting better specification) and exploring perhaps using a different movement. It's always easy dissambling something but always a lot harder getting it back together! Truly an interesting video. There might be other watches that have the same value proposition as this where a better movement is justified.