But yeah, it's a IWC homage. Quality obviously won't be very good, but if you really like the watch and don't mind that it's a copy, it can be decent value if you happen to get a good piece. This based on what I've heard about homage makers in general..

I am not a huge fan of chinese chrono movements.

Thats not a chronograph. The subdials are just placed in the typical 7750 arrangement but thats not a chronograph movement.

Also, they are playing with words calling it a perpetual to invoke you thinking its a perpetual calendar but there is no Chinese perpetual calendar movement to my knowledge and if there was, it would be much more expensive than $90. That watch is just a regular day/date watch which has a month subdial and a year subdial (pretty useless anyways). You still have to set the day/date every month. A real perpetual calendar accounts for leap years and months with different number of days so that you don't have to set it for like 100 years.

Tao is on the lower end of Chinese watches though not at the very bottom. Its better than brands like Goer, etc... Still, $90 is way too much for a Tao. Just google them and buy from their own site if you want a Tao and you get a 12 month warranty. You also see that most of the watches are lower than $90. http://store.taowatch.us/

If this is your budget, go for a Parnis instead for Chinese IWC homages

http://cgi.ebay.com/43mm-Parnis-whit...item4aa76aec9e

If you want a Chinese Chronograph, go for something with a Seagull ST-19 like an Alpha Newman ($160)
http://www.alpha-watch.com/sub.php?list=8

or better yet a Seagull m199s or 1963 reissue ($300 to $400) .

But just accept that you're not going to get a mechanical chrono for under $100, even a Chinese one.

How about this one: http://cgi.ebay.com/Tao-Internationa...ht_4367wt_1026

Says something about having a seagull movement in it and isn't a chronograph. Would this be a better purchase?

In general, the better seagull movements are reserved for Seagull watches and the lower grade ones are sold to outside houses.

If you really like that one, consider not buying from ebay and getting it here http://store.taowatch.us/index.aspx?page=3

7 dollars cheaper and you get a 12 month warranty though I don't know of their customer service quality but its probably better than dealing with the ebay seller.

That one is also a loose knockoff, but of the Cartier Calibre.

And for anyone who was anti-Chinese chrono, I LOVE my m199s.

So you think that this is a pretty good watch for the price?

I'm gonna modify that statement a bit. As someone else noted Sea-gull has better movements in their own watches than what they sell to other "houses". The sea-gull chronos appear to be pretty nice for the money.

What he's saying is that the 2nd watch is a Cartier homage.

In terms of how good a watch it is for the price, its ok IMO. If you like the style, go for it, just don't expect super reliability or accuracy but you might luck out. I would probably be pretty happy with anything under 30 secs per day.

You can always return it within 14 days if you aren't happy.

Really the answer is similar to the previous one, it's prob decent quality taking the price into consideration. If you don't mind watch snobs knowing you're wearing a copied design, pick the one you like best and go with it. You liking it matters most.

Speaking of Chinese homages, almost a year ago before I looked at high end watch brands, I picked up a used Seagull M177s and M178s before I realized they are JLC Master Control 1000 hour and JLC Master Control Reserve de Marche homages. I was initially disappointed when I found out but these days they still make it in to my daily rotation.

Incidentally, I like how Seagull is discontinuing pieces in their line that are homages and keeping only original designs. Their original designs still need some work but they are improving.

Borrowed image :

amoeba (et all) would you have suggestions in the 2-3k which are similar to the nav b? I really love it and would be willing to spend 2-3k on that style

so you want a pilot chrono that is more expensive than the Steinhart nav b. chrono but not quite as expensive as an IWC?

3500 retail, 2800ish gray market (Mark XVI).

yeah you might as well put in a bit more and get the IWC if you are willing to go to 3k already. Can probably get a grey market IWC pilot chrono for that much.

http://www.watches-swiss.com/IWC-IW3...tch-p6920.html

LOL... I actually have one. The B&R skeleton homage. It's pretty bizarre and amazing for 70 bucks. It's my go-to cheapo watch. Looks fun and is cheap and keeps almost-decent time.

You have to understand what you are getting if you are getting one. It is a cheap weirdo watch for weirdness value. Not a serious decent watch. Prepare to reset the time a couple times a day

Wow thats nice. How much?


Also, why does nobody here like rolexes? I understand that lots of people have them, but is there any other reason? The one posted on the last page is sooo nice.

There's a few good looking rolexes IMO.

My favorite Rolex is probably the Milgauss

Milgauss is nice too.

White gold subbie is pretty sweet also.

How cool is the second hand on the Milgauss?

I have the GMT ii and love it

this is all IMO of course..

it's because that's what a layman considers a "nice" watch.. as some people get more into watches and learn about the huge number of brands and models out there they like to consider themselves to have more sophisticated tastes than the average person. i've personally encountered this opinion countless times..