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Yes these San Martin watches are very good.

Forgetting for a moment the ‘inspiration’, ‘homage’ or other euphemistic aspect, and evaluating purely on the basis of ‘Product’ merit, the San Martin is a solid product.

It has the required ‘heft’ and has an excellent finish. The only elements of de merit are that the screw down crown is not smooth to operate, the uni directional bezel is more clicky than the Rolex and has some lateral play (obviously) when compared to the Rolex.

Ive got one with the Chinese PT5000 automatic movement which does 28800 beats per hour.

The watch feels exactly like a Rolex Sea Dweller more than a Submariner. It weighs more than 157 grams whereas the Submariner weighs less.

Overall it is a very enjoyable watch to wear. I wear it quite often and dont mind it at all as a ‘beater’.

This is such a beautiful watch. It was on my wish list for a long time. Congratulations!

Hey there,
I have a very old Omega Seamaster which is in shambles and requires a ton of TLC from someone who knows their business considering the complexity of the self winding movement.

I would love to get the watch fixed no matter the cost as it holds immense sentimental value to me, please do suggest repair shops in Bengaluru, Chennai or Vishakapatnam that are capable of doing the same.

Thanks
SB

I think for this kind of watch as per your description - better get it checked by Ethos or Helvetica or Zimson. Also P Orr and Sons Mount Road Madras. Or the old established watch makers - CT Pundole Pune and Kapoor in Delhi etc.

But truth be told, I would vastly prefer taking it abroad to Omega in Switzerland or the EU zone.

Get in touch with "Time & Me", New Tippasandra, Bangalore. Google page shows contact number 080 4091 0887

Beautiful watch, congratulations on the purchase. How long was the waiting list? Did you have any purchase history with them?

6 months from when I put my name down to when I got 'the call' from them, no purchase history.

At that price range, power reserve being offered is truly commendable. I think Argos is a brand to stay, and will come of age. Orient too is a brand which offers power reserve, in quite a lot of their models, and is well matured (but their movements are exclusively in house). Seems Argos is heading the same way in terms of product positioning and proposition. Though Argos is using Seagull movements -- reliable and well calibrated. Would love to see when Argos comes up with a diver class. Maybe around 20-22K. Wow!

Thank you for the suggestions. As I'm currently unable to go to the EU owing to several factors, my options are limited to the domestic sector. Surprisingly enough, I found an official Omega repair center in Chennai (Horology Services & Co). If anyone has availed their services, I would love to know how your experience was.
Regards
SB

I was recently scrolling through multiple options for watches under Rs 7-10K, which one should I go for? Any suggestions?

Timex E-class Automatic TWEG23500. Recently bought it for 7k after all discounts(MRP 12k) from Just in Time. Its a decent starter Automatic, slowly you can upgrade the ladder to better ones.

https://justintime.in/products/e-cla...9YGnDinPJ_ydSC

Thank you for the suggestion, will check it out today as it is on sale currently too.

More than the heft, the challenge with microbrands like Argos lies in inconsistency in quality. Since these are generally assembled from the parts bin of old movements (at least, Argos Apollo 2 was), the quality one gets is purely a lottery. The first watch I received looked great but lost nearly 10-15 minutes every hour. I got a replacement after 45 days of following up with them. That one kept time decently but had a scratched-up movement. The good part is that it’s cheap enough to move past the sunk cost feeling.





The replacement

That's because they use reconditioned HMT 0231 hand wind movements. I still don't understand why we Indians patronize such dodgy brands. I've called them out multiple times on Instagram, etc, where influencers gloat about Argos. It's laughable that they charge 9 or 10 thousand rupees for what's essentially a Chinese case and dial (500 rupees) plus a reconditioned HMT movement (about another 200 rupees).

Cheers,

Jay

For about 10k, you'll get excellent Alba watches, replete with a warranty, top quality fit and finish, and some nice heft on the wrist. One downsize: No hacking or manual winding as the movements are Seiko 7S26s. Alba is the budget iteration of Seiko. Think Daihatsu-Toyota, with Toyota being Seiko.

Cheers,

Jay