i love my merkur jump hour, i have the 38mm. i wish the minute hand circle was infront of the hour window. that couldve been awesome. the design is not a homage but it is heavily inspired by another watch. i didnt care so i didnt do any reaserch on it. i keep saying we live in an amazing era for horology bc anyone can afford a jump hour, tourbilloun or a wandering hour watches.. :)
Agreed, having a window in the minute hand would have been a nice touch…. Maybe V2? It really is fun being able to play around with all these different designs and movements and being able to afford it.
I noticed these myself. Pierre Paulin and Merkur are now absolutely on my list of watches to check out! Too bad the otherwise beautiful hour jumper has such a tiny window though, making it nearly impossible for me to read it! At that size, it would have been a great opportunity for a 24hr dial, but no, it is just another 12 hour watch. They could have made larger numbers for the 12hr scale, or could have done a 24hr scale at this size, but a 12hr scale so small, does not make sense to me. The bonklip bracelet is a great deal maker though, and I have them separately in my shopping cart already! BTW: WHY are people so against flexible bracelets? They are comfortable in daily wear! I even LIKE my decades old folded link bracelets, that catch so much hate with self declared watch "enthusiasts", but I find them light and comfortable, and they stood the test of time. I had to get used to the heavy, chonky, solid link bracelets on newer watches! What is the reason for all these people to put so much hate into well designed and light-weight bracelets, that are totally comfy in daily use?
At least you are self aware to it😁.. yes, you guys in the US do say things in a funny way 😉. Actually just one thing- Tourbillon is pronounced without the “LL”, so it sounds “to(u) r bi yon”. Great review. I own the Aesop, the other dial, and the Pierre Paulin (same dial but with 3 hands). I enjoy them a lot.
What I would like is someone testing chinese watches with an x-ray fluorescent spectrometre to see if there are any toxic metals in them. I am very interested in brands like Pagani Design, San Martin, Sugess etc. but I'm very hesitant to buy them. I know of some tests that governments and journalists have done on chinese jewelry and things like lead and cadmium are sometimes present.
Would make a very interesting video, Im not sure how likely it would be that cadmium or lead would be used in the manufacturer of these as they are machined and not cast. Swab lead test kits are readily available, but I can't find cadmium test kits for solids (only liquid). Obviously a spectrometre is out of my scope and price range... I'll keep my eyes peeled for a cadmium test kit.
Great video, thank you! I appreciated you explaining things like the measuring device and what a jumping hour watch was. 'Liked' the vid. Already subbed recently
Glad you enjoyed it! When I start getting the DIY videos up I’ll have a whole video on. Timegraphers, how they and alternatives. Welcome to the channel!
@@WatchWorkbench wow sounds awesome, I really look forward to the time grapher videos, and no doubt your other tutorials and videos in general! thanks for the reply and also all your effort on your channel.
Even though some (many?) people have used these for a few years without problems, it's still a gamle I'm not willing to take. What about warranty for example? What do you do if it fails? Do you send it back to China to be fixed? Will your local watchmaker even touch it with a stick? The most expensive one is almost $300, and for that amount of money you can get a nice Seiko 5 for example. Now, even a Seiko can fail, but if that happens, you have a warranty you can trust, it's serviceable and any watchmaker will be happy to work on it. Those things are important even when you buy a relatively inexpensive watch, which you probably intend to enjoy for many years to come.
All very good points, but also reinforces the reason to learn to do basic watch repair if you're getting into the hobby. Both of these watches are less expensive than a service would likely cost on the watch, so the most cost effective thing to do if something goes wrong is DIY swap the movement. A movement swap can be done at home in 20 minutes. Many of the watches on Aliexpress run NH34/35/36 movement which can be bought for as low as $20. I recently was quoted $225 to service my SKX009, not including parts. I got an identical movement for less than half the quoted price and did the swap myself. (I actually filmed it, it'll be up soon).
@@WatchWorkbench Yes. I understand your points. I'm still skeptical, though. Maybe it's just that I feel better seeing a Seiko on my wrist then a brand I've never heard of.
Some years ago, my Skagen from Macy's, with a huge sticker touting its "Swiss quartz movement!" (OOOHHH!!!) failed shortly after its 1 year warranty was up. There went 250 bucks into the bin, while ALL of my Seiko/TMI calibre watches still run, some as old as 35 years! Citizen/Miyota is another brand I will not touch anymore, with a better than 50% FAILURE rate for me! I certainly will not fall for any Swiss con-tricks anymore, especially knowing, how they cheat with their regulations, that define what is made by them, and how poorly they pay their assembly workers, that literally make 50 thousand dollar watches, while getting paid peanuts, and Suisse is an expensive place to live! So, NO, I am not the least bit impressed by these watch mafioso! Looking at all that, I happily save a ton of money I don't have in the first place, and have bought several AliExpress watches now, and am exceedingly satisfied with them
Great content! We need more videos about AliExpress watches that aren't homages
More are coming!
Pretty cool, I gotta admit. I too, would like to see more non homage Ali watches.
More to come!
My Aesop tourbillon. Similar to yours, but on a leather strap. Is still working strong after 2 years. I wear it in rotation, though. Good review.
That's great to hear!
i love my merkur jump hour, i have the 38mm.
i wish the minute hand circle was infront of the hour window. that couldve been awesome.
the design is not a homage but it is heavily inspired by another watch. i didnt care so i didnt do any reaserch on it.
i keep saying we live in an amazing era for horology bc anyone can afford a jump hour, tourbilloun or a wandering hour watches.. :)
Agreed, having a window in the minute hand would have been a nice touch…. Maybe V2? It really is fun being able to play around with all these different designs and movements and being able to afford it.
I noticed these myself. Pierre Paulin and Merkur are now absolutely on my list of watches to check out!
Too bad the otherwise beautiful hour jumper has such a tiny window though, making it nearly impossible for me to read it! At that size, it would have been a great opportunity for a 24hr dial, but no, it is just another 12 hour watch. They could have made larger numbers for the 12hr scale, or could have done a 24hr scale at this size, but a 12hr scale so small, does not make sense to me.
The bonklip bracelet is a great deal maker though, and I have them separately in my shopping cart already!
BTW: WHY are people so against flexible bracelets? They are comfortable in daily wear! I even LIKE my decades old folded link bracelets, that catch so much hate with self declared watch "enthusiasts", but I find them light and comfortable, and they stood the test of time. I had to get used to the heavy, chonky, solid link bracelets on newer watches! What is the reason for all these people to put so much hate into well designed and light-weight bracelets, that are totally comfy in daily use?
I totally agree with you. The more I wear the jump hour the more I really like the bracelet.
At least you are self aware to it😁.. yes, you guys in the US do say things in a funny way 😉.
Actually just one thing- Tourbillon is pronounced without the “LL”, so it sounds
“to(u) r bi yon”.
Great review. I own the Aesop, the other dial, and the Pierre Paulin (same dial but with 3 hands). I enjoy them a lot.
Next we can debate who says “aluminum” correctly :-)
@@WatchWorkbench good one😆👌🏻
But you spelled it incorrectly 😉😂
I spelled it American
@@WatchWorkbenchBut you speak English 😂
The joke….. you missed it.
What I would like is someone testing chinese watches with an x-ray fluorescent spectrometre to see if there are any toxic metals in them. I am very interested in brands like Pagani Design, San Martin, Sugess etc. but I'm very hesitant to buy them. I know of some tests that governments and journalists have done on chinese jewelry and things like lead and cadmium are sometimes present.
Would make a very interesting video, Im not sure how likely it would be that cadmium or lead would be used in the manufacturer of these as they are machined and not cast. Swab lead test kits are readily available, but I can't find cadmium test kits for solids (only liquid). Obviously a spectrometre is out of my scope and price range... I'll keep my eyes peeled for a cadmium test kit.
Great video, thank you!
I appreciated you explaining things like the measuring device and what a jumping hour watch was.
'Liked' the vid.
Already subbed recently
Glad you enjoyed it! When I start getting the DIY videos up I’ll have a whole video on. Timegraphers, how they and alternatives. Welcome to the channel!
@@WatchWorkbench wow sounds awesome, I really look forward to the time grapher videos, and no doubt your other tutorials and videos in general! thanks for the reply and also all your effort on your channel.
Great reviews.
Can you test the seagull 1963?
the merkur is a geckota W-01 homage
Belle montre et horrible logo
Please, continue :)
More is definitly on the way!
Even though some (many?) people have used these for a few years without problems, it's still a gamle I'm not willing to take. What about warranty for example? What do you do if it fails? Do you send it back to China to be fixed? Will your local watchmaker even touch it with a stick?
The most expensive one is almost $300, and for that amount of money you can get a nice Seiko 5 for example. Now, even a Seiko can fail, but if that happens, you have a warranty you can trust, it's serviceable and any watchmaker will be happy to work on it. Those things are important even when you buy a relatively inexpensive watch, which you probably intend to enjoy for many years to come.
All very good points, but also reinforces the reason to learn to do basic watch repair if you're getting into the hobby.
Both of these watches are less expensive than a service would likely cost on the watch, so the most cost effective thing to do if something goes wrong is DIY swap the movement. A movement swap can be done at home in 20 minutes. Many of the watches on Aliexpress run NH34/35/36 movement which can be bought for as low as $20.
I recently was quoted $225 to service my SKX009, not including parts. I got an identical movement for less than half the quoted price and did the swap myself. (I actually filmed it, it'll be up soon).
@@WatchWorkbench Yes. I understand your points. I'm still skeptical, though. Maybe it's just that I feel better seeing a Seiko on my wrist then a brand I've never heard of.
Some years ago, my Skagen from Macy's, with a huge sticker touting its "Swiss quartz movement!" (OOOHHH!!!) failed shortly after its 1 year warranty was up. There went 250 bucks into the bin, while ALL of my Seiko/TMI calibre watches still run, some as old as 35 years!
Citizen/Miyota is another brand I will not touch anymore, with a better than 50% FAILURE rate for me!
I certainly will not fall for any Swiss con-tricks anymore, especially knowing, how they cheat with their regulations, that define what is made by them, and how poorly they pay their assembly workers, that literally make 50 thousand dollar watches, while getting paid peanuts, and Suisse is an expensive place to live! So, NO, I am not the least bit impressed by these watch mafioso!
Looking at all that, I happily save a ton of money I don't have in the first place, and have bought several AliExpress watches now, and am exceedingly satisfied with them
Fair enough…. Wearing one of my Seikos as I type this 👍
These are outstanding picks. Love my 🍣 dial jump hour. But I’m buying a green dial in the next sale for sure.
I was torn between colors when I ordered, but I have a couple green dials already and nothing in the salmon color so I went for this one.