****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
This watch is way better than it has any right to be for the price. Sea-gull isn't making much, if any, profit selling these at the price I paid. Obviously, it is a loss leader to generate interest. The dial on this watch is exquisite, and I actually mean that. I don't even know what you would have to pay to get a watch with a better dial. Some of the details are so fine, you need a magnifying glass to fully appreciate them. I've looked and I can't see any QC shortcuts, except for maybe the strap. But something has to give at this price. The case is nicely polished. The dial is so good it is almost unbelievable. The blued hands look great. I've gone back and forth on how much I like the cutout to view the workings of the escapement, but in real life, it is actually very interesting and I'm glad the watch has it.I assumed one of the tradeoffs for the price would be accuracy. I was pleasantly surprised here as well. The watch is accurate to within 10 seconds per day. That's as good as any other entry level automatic movement, and better than most. I have a Swiss made movement that has better accuracy, but that watch sells for four times what this one costs.Sea-gull is not some made up Chinese import brand. They have been in the business for 70 years and they make more mechanical watch movements than any other manufacturer in the world. This is a real watch from a real watch making company. What's the downside? As an American buying a direct-to-consumer watch from a Chinese brand, finding somebody who can work on it when the time comes might be challenging. Challenging, but not impossible. And, as with any other entry level watch, the decision to eventually have the watch serviced or to just buy a new one has to be considered.