Stumbled upon this watch on Ali and had to buy it. I was delighted to find your very thoroughly detailed review while waiting for it to arrive. Thank you! Subscribed and will check out more of your videos.
The Merkur group puts out some of the best looking affordable watches out there. I just wish they would have a sapphire glass and a NH / Miyota movement. I would be willing to pay more. Thanks as always for the thorough review!
I don't believe Miyota offer a movement with this complication (correct me if I am wrong) but agreed on the crystal in todays world. Maybe they worry that by costing more they would not shift as many units?
@@mywatchreviews I know almost nothing about movements so you’re probably right. I guess I meant for their more traditional three handers. And you’re probably right about that, they are probably worried about cost. I also believe their primary market is the Chinese / Asian Markets who probably worry less about movements than us pain in the ass Westerners…
I really like the look, but for me part of the fun is watching the hour disc snap over. The minute hand appears to obscure it at the point of the hour change. Maybe a Breguet hand with a hollow opening could frame the hour to help? Nicely sized for my smaller wrist too! I’d love to see them address that hour wheel visibility though.
Hi Mike, I forgot about this channel, That is a really nice watch for the money, I love the case and dial. also glad your health is ok now I'm 53 so should get checked myself. anyway all the best. Andy.
Just got mine this week - love it. Your review is accurate when comparing to my own thoughts. For me the only downside really is the hour window isn't lumed. I don't expect it to be because they would have to lume every hour, just wishing it was.
Love the dial, hate the strap. But, for the price, I am ordering one. I have 2 other jump hour watches from the Merkur group and I love them. This will be a nice addition.
Very nice review. The featured watch is sold out, but other variants are still available. BTW, if your eyesight isn't very good then you'd think you'd see an hour hand more easily than a date window ;-)
Insightful review as ever. You're right too, an automatic jump hour with an original design for less than a ton? That's a bargain. I was going to say I couldn't make up my mind in this one, but I thought I'd get off the fence. I don't like it. The tonneau case is fine, if a little chunky, the strap (and as ever I'm going off your review) looks good, the printing looked flawless, and the bullseye was charming. What completely lets it down for me is the hour window and minute track placements. When you were winding it on to show the jump, from about five to to five past, it wasn't easy to make out the hour. If the hour wheel had been on the outside track and the minutes on the inside, there wouldn't have been a problem. It's not just a functional issue, but if I'm buying a jump hour watch, I want to see the hour jump! Taste is always subjective of course, and it's always good to see brands coming out with original designs.
Love at first sight! :) I'm the same age as you, that's exactly what I thought a few seconds before you said that the numbers displaying the hours are small. The completely black dial is also very nice. It would be a bit more expensive, but with a better movement... it would be much better... About the crown: my Hamilton's is much bigger and that's not bad either. I don't think there's anything wrong with that.
A really great looking watch, if I didn't have a Thorn Tuxedo Dial watch I would definitely get one, I might get one anyway? The strap is good, as the tuxedo dials were originally military watches made for number legibility.
Its to a budget but equally Seiko & Miyota are just not offering a movement with these features. Seiko do not even do a movement that has a subdial second hand position. Its a good jewel count even at its lowest spec of 20 which is more than enough to aid a friction free movement which shows on the reasonably clean trace on the timegrapher.
@@mywatchreviews You're right , I'm expecting too much for the money. Nh35 s can be very poorly regulated too, the last one I had was almost 2mS beat error.
The thing that I don't like about the watch, is the minute hand blocking the view of the jumphour window. Just when it jumps over. I rather had seen a much shorter minute hand.
Another great review thanks Mike. Shame they didn't lume the hour digits, wouldn't be much use to me at night because of that, other than that a nice quirky watch👍
Well yes. You cant compare this with the Lip at all. Lip is x3 the price and has a purpose made 3 disc movement. I just like that there is still this feature being produced.
@@MrWansty any watch that requires you to look at it more carefully is really not a bad idea if you are really into watches like I am. Means you have more time to just stare at them 😂 Trust me when I say that this is one of the most legible jump hours I own and I have many!
@@mywatchreviews i get what you,re saying mike but i,m at an age were i have to spend 5 minutes finding my glasses just to see what the time was 5 minutes ago
Lovely Watch but no good for us older gits as never gonna see that hour window without glasses. Why don’t why they don’t make the hour window a bit larger and make a feature out of it..would look brilliant 🙏
@@fooshman5163 was my comment in the video I can’t see anything without glasses. To be fair I’ve worn it on and off for over a week now and I’ve got used to it and can tell the time easily. Issue Merkur have is the movement and not their design really. They are bound by the confines of the movement size and discs. At least sea gull is making a movement with this feature
the problema whit this desing is the hour window its too small whit out any lumen or ligh to see in the dark suggest have this same watch and i dont pulled the trigger on its because of that issue
To make the hour disc numbers bigger would require a much bigger disc so you can still evenly space the 12 numbers. This would then make the case bigger and all that goes with it. I understand that visibility at night is an issue but I don’t see it as a watch for that. It’s not an every day watch or your only watch. If it was it’s not practical enough for its purpose. A conventional 3 hander would always be the only choice.
Well I say they class it as pilots probably from the minutes on the hour markers but a pilots should be big, clear and legible which the hour window is not. I wound not get hung up on what category it falls into.
Looks great. But no matter how good your eyesight you can't see what hour it is on the hour every hour (because the minute hand obscures it). That would irritate me!
maybe but ask yourself when are you ever out of sync by an hour in your daily life. I know I am not. It passes over in only 3 minutes as my speeded up footage shows.
@@philw4053 I get that but it’s the limitation of the movement. There are no 2-3 rotating disc movements out there and a small stubby minute hand would not work either. A slightly skeletonised hand might which is what many are suggesting in comments. There’s a lot of comments actually! As I own so many jump hours I am used to the impracticality of them so don’t really see the issues like may another do.
Wow. I can’t say I’ve ever broken a glass other than fitting them which occasionally happens. Sapphire it should be but it’s working to a budget clearly.
Nice style, wasted opportunity. As the lume makes absolutely no sense when you can't see the most important aspect of the time, the hour. The simplest solution is the jump hour must also be lumed. Alternatively and better still, as with GS where lume is seldom used, I would advocate for the skeletonization of the minute hand [simply cut out the lumed section] so that we could better see the hour jump and dropping the pointless weak lume altogether, saving time and money. Stage three would be skeletonization of the minute hand, then adding lume to the skeletonised minute hand taking care not to fill the diamond shaped void where the lume was previously and also adding lume to the jump hour. This watch is screaming out for the skeletonization of the minute hand that is currently obscuring its primary function. But I suspect that this was done to obscure the imprecise nature of the jump hour mechanism.
Thing is everyone is hung up on lume. Every single jump hour I own or have seen and I have about 15 of them. Non have lume. Non are easy to read at a glance and thats the design of them. Not all watches tell the time easily or glow in the dark all night long . For that purpose 3 hander are the only viable choice other than digital . This has to be considered as a novelty watch, something a bit different rather than an every day do it all. Sea gull to my knowledge are the only ones making this movement that you can use for a jump hour. VARIO watches made one not too dissimilar a few years back. The hour disc would have to be bigger to accommodate bigger numbers which would mean a bigger case and dial and then the question would be does the movement actually have enough torque to then turn it . Granted where the minute passes the hour it could be more visible which might be a bit of an oversight but trust me I have many watches that are much harder to read than this and that’s what I actually like.
@@mywatchreviews I alluded to the fact that my daily wear is a Grand Seiko, a brand on which lume is seldom used and stated that 'better still' I would drop the lume altogether and skeletonise the minute hand in order not to obscure the jumping of the hour. The simplest solution would be to lume the hour as is, small as it might be, ...the best solution would be to drop the lume altogether and skeletonise the minute hand so that we could better enjoy the jumping of the hour in general. A win/win, cutting cost, whilst simultaneously stepping up the watch's jump hour game. It's a rather poor show that the minute hand obscures the whole point of this watch, ...its jumping hour. I wouldn't comment if I didn't actually appreciate the general design of this watch. I have a 34mm Hamilton 1973 pilot's watch of a similar case design that I am particularly fond of.
If it would be a German brand, in German Z is pronounced as Ts, as in Zeitgeist [tsaitkaist], or Zug [ tsoook] (train) The German g is pronounced like the k sound in English "good". But it looks like it is all Chinese, Merkur [M'r kooor] is a German name too...Probably to make it look European :) Same as San Martin is France's National Saint after all :)
@mywatchreviews Price isn't everything even if you a working to a small budget. For c.£150, for example, you can buy a Baltany with an excellent finish, sapphire crystal, great lume, screwdown crown, and most importantly a japanese movement that a watch repairer will be prepared to service.
@@michaelbedford8017 hmm. I do lots of Baltany and yes they are good £150 also get you a San Martin . £150 is still 50% more than this Seizenn. I am an amateur watchmaker of 7 year plus. My main channel shows many watches I work on but I have serviced on and off camera 100s of watches of all brands. Why people get hung up on Japanese movements is beyond me. Miyota is proper budget and are not that impressive inside and only on a par really with this Sea Gull. Seiko are bullet proof and don’t die but extremely limiting on what they offer. NH35,38 and 34 that’s about it. No hand wind no sub seconds position. Any microbrand has only a few manufacturers to use for their designs because of these limitations. Look at the last Baltany I reviewed. Miyota calendar, about the most useless combination. Month day date . It gives the appearance of a complication / chronograph but it’s not. A month complication is not needed and besides if you don’t wear it often then your forever setting it. This seizenn is not perfect either but for £85 it’s feel, finish and fit is better than a lot of other stuff I’ve reviewed , repaired or worked on.
You can pick up the watch here using this affiliate link. (Early Bird Deal limited numbers at this price s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DCAMnF5
Stumbled upon this watch on Ali and had to buy it. I was delighted to find your very thoroughly detailed review while waiting for it to arrive. Thank you! Subscribed and will check out more of your videos.
The Merkur group puts out some of the best looking affordable watches out there. I just wish they would have a sapphire glass and a NH / Miyota movement. I would be willing to pay more. Thanks as always for the thorough review!
I don't believe Miyota offer a movement with this complication (correct me if I am wrong) but agreed on the crystal in todays world. Maybe they worry that by costing more they would not shift as many units?
@@mywatchreviews I know almost nothing about movements so you’re probably right. I guess I meant for their more traditional three handers. And you’re probably right about that, they are probably worried about cost. I also believe their primary market is the Chinese / Asian Markets who probably worry less about movements than us pain in the ass Westerners…
I saw this the other day on aliexpress and have been looking everywhere for a review!! Thank you for making one!
I really like the look, but for me part of the fun is watching the hour disc snap over. The minute hand appears to obscure it at the point of the hour change. Maybe a Breguet hand with a hollow opening could frame the hour to help? Nicely sized for my smaller wrist too! I’d love to see them address that hour wheel visibility though.
Hi Mike, I forgot about this channel, That is a really nice watch for the money, I love the case and dial. also glad your health is ok now I'm 53 so should get checked myself. anyway all the best.
Andy.
the dial is fantastic, and the case shape is great too.
Just got mine this week - love it. Your review is accurate when comparing to my own thoughts. For me the only downside really is the hour window isn't lumed. I don't expect it to be because they would have to lume every hour, just wishing it was.
Love the dial, hate the strap. But, for the price, I am ordering one. I have 2 other jump hour watches from the Merkur group and I love them. This will be a nice addition.
Very nice review. The featured watch is sold out, but other variants are still available. BTW, if your eyesight isn't very good then you'd think you'd see an hour hand more easily than a date window ;-)
Insightful review as ever. You're right too, an automatic jump hour with an original design for less than a ton? That's a bargain. I was going to say I couldn't make up my mind in this one, but I thought I'd get off the fence. I don't like it. The tonneau case is fine, if a little chunky, the strap (and as ever I'm going off your review) looks good, the printing looked flawless, and the bullseye was charming. What completely lets it down for me is the hour window and minute track placements. When you were winding it on to show the jump, from about five to to five past, it wasn't easy to make out the hour. If the hour wheel had been on the outside track and the minutes on the inside, there wouldn't have been a problem. It's not just a functional issue, but if I'm buying a jump hour watch, I want to see the hour jump! Taste is always subjective of course, and it's always good to see brands coming out with original designs.
Love at first sight! :) I'm the same age as you, that's exactly what I thought a few seconds before you said that the numbers displaying the hours are small. The completely black dial is also very nice. It would be a bit more expensive, but with a better movement... it would be much better... About the crown: my Hamilton's is much bigger and that's not bad either. I don't think there's anything wrong with that.
Its basically something a bit different and thats what I like the most about it.
Thanks Mike.
I agree - nice interesting watch with a cool design, for a great price. Good review, cheers mate.
Thanks Simon, well you got to see this one in person so pleased you still like it enough to watch the video!
Like it , I just wish they'd make a suitable minute hand with an aperture for the hour window but the movement is acceptable all considered .
So you can see the our at 12 as the hand passes over? I never really saw that as an issue but it a good point.
What a gorgeous piece of art
A really great looking watch, if I didn't have a Thorn Tuxedo Dial watch I would definitely get one, I might get one anyway? The strap is good, as the tuxedo dials were originally military watches made for number legibility.
A Lange & Söhne still make jump hour watches my brother has one.
Great review 👍. Shame the movement isn't great, but otherwise a super watch for the money.
Its to a budget but equally Seiko & Miyota are just not offering a movement with these features. Seiko do not even do a movement that has a subdial second hand position. Its a good jewel count even at its lowest spec of 20 which is more than enough to aid a friction free movement which shows on the reasonably clean trace on the timegrapher.
@@mywatchreviews You're right , I'm expecting too much for the money. Nh35 s can be very poorly regulated too, the last one I had was almost 2mS beat error.
Very interesting
Merkur has some lookers in their collection
I kove the meta distortion from the crystal. Im going to take a look st that bronze or golt-tone one on the website. It gives ne vibtage vibes.
The thing that I don't like about the watch, is the minute hand blocking the view of the jumphour window. Just when it jumps over. I rather had seen a much shorter minute hand.
Another great review thanks Mike. Shame they didn't lume the hour digits, wouldn't be much use to me at night because of that, other than that a nice quirky watch👍
Fair enough. As much as we all like lume I never need it as I am never in a dark place that requires it.
despite of the casing material, i think your birthday present lip (and my hoga) jump hour, with AS 1902 movements are much better...
Well yes. You cant compare this with the Lip at all. Lip is x3 the price and has a purpose made 3 disc movement. I just like that there is still this feature being produced.
@@mywatchreviews well, i got my hoga 5 years ago for around $80 (1.300.000 idr) with 90% condition and +- 2 sec/day...for 1970s technology...
Not a new brand, been around for years, in that Merkur, Seizenn, Pierre Paulin, FOD group. Very cool watch though.
I meant it was a new brand to me. I had not heard of Seizenn.
Hour wheel needs numbers in lume against dark background cause you can't read hour in the dark. Also "maybe" a cyclops over it?
Can't find the link to buy one, can anyone help please.
s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DCAMnF5
i have their pierre paulin
I think this is a city in China, they have many factories in Szhenzen
at my age i,d need a cyclops on the hour window
@@MrWansty any watch that requires you to look at it more carefully is really not a bad idea if you are really into watches like I am. Means you have more time to just stare at them 😂
Trust me when I say that this is one of the most legible jump hours I own and I have many!
@@mywatchreviews i get what you,re saying mike but i,m at an age were i have to spend 5 minutes finding my glasses just to see what the time was 5 minutes ago
@@MrWansty haha, find your glasses? I have to wear them at all times now !
Lovely Watch but no good for us older gits as never gonna see that hour window without glasses. Why don’t why they don’t make the hour window a bit larger and make a feature out of it..would look brilliant 🙏
@@fooshman5163 was my comment in the video I can’t see anything without glasses. To be fair I’ve worn it on and off for over a week now and I’ve got used to it and can tell the time easily.
Issue Merkur have is the movement and not their design really. They are bound by the confines of the movement size and discs.
At least sea gull is making a movement with this feature
the problema whit this desing is the hour window its too small whit out any lumen or ligh to see in the dark suggest have this same watch and i dont pulled the trigger on its because of that issue
To make the hour disc numbers bigger would require a much bigger disc so you can still evenly space the 12 numbers. This would then make the case bigger and all that goes with it.
I understand that visibility at night is an issue but I don’t see it as a watch for that. It’s not an every day watch or your only watch. If it was it’s not practical enough for its purpose. A conventional 3 hander would always be the only choice.
Even with good eyesight, one can't read the time when the hand is above the hour window.
Please educate me. How/why is this considered a “Pilot’s” watch? It looks like a field watch to me.
I believe it’s because of the minutes being shown as the markers. A Field Watch would have “12” at the top with 1,2,3 etc. going clockwise.
Well I say they class it as pilots probably from the minutes on the hour markers but a pilots should be big, clear and legible which the hour window is not.
I wound not get hung up on what category it falls into.
Maybe he landed ;)
Looks great. But no matter how good your eyesight you can't see what hour it is on the hour every hour (because the minute hand obscures it). That would irritate me!
maybe but ask yourself when are you ever out of sync by an hour in your daily life. I know I am not. It passes over in only 3 minutes as my speeded up footage shows.
@mywatchreviews Sometimes I don't even know what day it is 😊
True, but it means you can't really see it "jump" properly which is kinda the whole point
@@philw4053 I get that but it’s the limitation of the movement. There are no 2-3 rotating disc movements out there and a small stubby minute hand would not work either. A slightly skeletonised hand might which is what many are suggesting in comments. There’s a lot of comments actually!
As I own so many jump hours I am used to the impracticality of them so don’t really see the issues like may another do.
pretty , might get one , would like sapphire or even acrylic over the mineral glass , never had a glass watch i didnt break .
Wow. I can’t say I’ve ever broken a glass other than fitting them which occasionally happens.
Sapphire it should be but it’s working to a budget clearly.
Nice style, wasted opportunity. As the lume makes absolutely no sense when you can't see the most important aspect of the time, the hour. The simplest solution is the jump hour must also be lumed.
Alternatively and better still, as with GS where lume is seldom used, I would advocate for the skeletonization of the minute hand [simply cut out the lumed section] so that we could better see the hour jump and dropping the pointless weak lume altogether, saving time and money.
Stage three would be skeletonization of the minute hand, then adding lume to the skeletonised minute hand taking care not to fill the diamond shaped void where the lume was previously and also adding lume to the jump hour.
This watch is screaming out for the skeletonization of the minute hand that is currently obscuring its primary function. But I suspect that this was done to obscure the imprecise nature of the jump hour mechanism.
Thing is everyone is hung up on lume. Every single jump hour I own or have seen and I have about 15 of them. Non have lume. Non are easy to read at a glance and thats the design of them.
Not all watches tell the time easily or glow in the dark all night long . For that purpose 3 hander are the only viable choice other than digital . This has to be considered as a novelty watch, something a bit different rather than an every day do it all.
Sea gull to my knowledge are the only ones making this movement that you can use for a jump hour. VARIO watches made one not too dissimilar a few years back.
The hour disc would have to be bigger to accommodate bigger numbers which would mean a bigger case and dial and then the question would be does the movement actually have enough torque to then turn it .
Granted where the minute passes the hour it could be more visible which might be a bit of an oversight but trust me I have many watches that are much harder to read than this and that’s what I actually like.
@@mywatchreviews I alluded to the fact that my daily wear is a Grand Seiko, a brand on which lume is seldom used and stated that 'better still' I would drop the lume altogether and skeletonise the minute hand in order not to obscure the jumping of the hour.
The simplest solution would be to lume the hour as is, small as it might be, ...the best solution would be to drop the lume altogether and skeletonise the minute hand so that we could better enjoy the jumping of the hour in general.
A win/win, cutting cost, whilst simultaneously stepping up the watch's jump hour game.
It's a rather poor show that the minute hand obscures the whole point of this watch, ...its jumping hour.
I wouldn't comment if I didn't actually appreciate the general design of this watch. I have a 34mm Hamilton 1973 pilot's watch of a similar case design that I am particularly fond of.
Did se they use Seiko's magic finger to ;)
Yes I’ve seen a few Sea Gull using that setup . There are even some Swiss stuff that has.
If it would be a German brand, in German Z is pronounced as Ts, as in Zeitgeist [tsaitkaist], or Zug [ tsoook] (train) The German g is pronounced like the k sound in English "good". But it looks like it is all Chinese, Merkur [M'r kooor] is a German name too...Probably to make it look European :) Same as San Martin is France's National Saint after all :)
Completely lacking in elegance.
It’s a sub £100 watch, you can’t buy much for that money especially if you want a mechanical movement.
😂
@mywatchreviews
Price isn't everything even if you a working to a small budget.
For c.£150, for example, you can buy a Baltany with an excellent finish, sapphire crystal, great lume, screwdown crown, and most importantly a japanese movement that a watch repairer will be prepared to service.
@@michaelbedford8017 hmm. I do lots of Baltany and yes they are good £150 also get you a San Martin . £150 is still 50% more than this Seizenn. I am an amateur watchmaker of 7 year plus. My main channel shows many watches I work on but I have serviced on and off camera 100s of watches of all brands. Why people get hung up on Japanese movements is beyond me. Miyota is proper budget and are not that impressive inside and only on a par really with this Sea Gull. Seiko are bullet proof and don’t die but extremely limiting on what they offer. NH35,38 and 34 that’s about it. No hand wind no sub seconds position.
Any microbrand has only a few manufacturers to use for their designs because of these limitations. Look at the last Baltany I reviewed. Miyota calendar, about the most useless combination. Month day date . It gives the appearance of a complication / chronograph but it’s not. A month complication is not needed and besides if you don’t wear it often then your forever setting it.
This seizenn is not perfect either but for £85 it’s feel, finish and fit is better than a lot of other stuff I’ve reviewed , repaired or worked on.
Oh, they copying apple watch ultra!
nice video