Opinion on Kronen and Sohne?

[kingdavecako]

I'd like to start off by saying I'm new to the forum. I discovered it around 3 months ago when I was looking for some information about a watch on a TV series, and have been hooked ever since. WUS's vast resource of knowledge on everything from ultraluxury watches, to Chinese mechanical watches is astounding.

Anyway, I'm looking to buy a quality Chinese Breitling homage. From what I've seen on eBay, Kronen and Sohne Breitling homages run for about $25 shipped, whereas AK Homme (which I am also considering) Breitling homages run for about $35-$40. Do they use different movements? I've heard nothing but good things about AK Homme watches in general on WUS, but nothing about their Breitling homages or KS watches. Does anyone have anything good or bad to say about them? Or any other Breitling homage brands to recommend, such as "Jaragar"?

Thanks

[AlbertaTime]

Hiya kingdavecaco! WELCOME to the WUS Chinese Mechanical Watches forum! We're glad to have you here.

Could you provide links to the watches you're considering? I looked for a Kronen and Sohne homage on Ebay but couldn't find one.

[kingdavecako]

Yes. I'm sorry. The watches are listed on eBay using various keywords.
Here are the two Kronen and Sohne watches I'm considering:
KS 3 Dial Black Auto Mechanical Date Day Army Men Watch | eBay
KS Men Steel Tourbillon Mechanical Auto Date Watch NEW | eBay
And here are the two AK Homme watches:
HOT AK-HOMME MILITARY MENS AUTOMATIC MECHANICAL WATCH | eBay
AK-Homme Air Force Automatic Mechanical Men Wrist Watch | eBay

[kingdavecako]

bump

[skywatch]

Hi, Kingdavecako - as AT said, Welcome to WUS! Perhaps you did not see much response to your question because many people come here with similar questions about the cheap eBay brands. I recommend you read the sticky wiki about Chinese watch categories. In reality, you can read mixed positive and negative reports about these "almost-free" watches. The positive ones usually say, "it's a good value for $19" and the negative ones say, "I don't need more stiff cluttering my house."

Do not expect a watch like this to replace a Breitling, or even to fool people who think you would wear a Breitling. In fact, if the watch keeps time and actually has a working automatic rotor you have scored a great value. These are not horrible things, they are exactly what they aspire to be: very cheap look-alikes sold by small businesses in Hong Kong, trying to survive. If you can wait a bit, save up $60-100, you can probably find something that you will still wear in a year.

Sorry to say, I love Chinese watches and I bought a few like this in the past just to see what they were, and they were... OK, for the price. I have given them all away since. I hope this helps in some way.

[AlbertaTime]

Hi again kingdavecako...sorry I'd forgotten about this thread. My apologies.

If you want a quality Breitling homage, I'd leave the watches you referenced alone and go to another watch, regardless whether it's Chinese, but at a somewhat higher price. I think you'll end up happier,

(these are all sellers pics)

I'm not aware of any quality homages with the kind of bezel on the watches you referenced with one exception that is probably not bad:

Alpha watch - 49mm at about $70.00 USD (and these also have shown up on Ebay occasionally with a black dial)



The rest are navitimer homages...

Parnis makes a quartz Breitling navitimer homage that isn't bad, and it's reliable. A Google search for "Parnis 40MM Quartz chronograph" will lead to to a few sellers at about $80.00.



Rotary made a couple of variations of quartz navitimer homage called an Aquaspeed that is dependable (I don't know if the movement is Chinese) that is about $145.00 and found on Ebay:





and there's a cool Russian watch called an "AERONAUT DENISOV" that can be found on Ebay that shares some navitimer appearance that has an automatic (Miyota) movement at about $150.00.



The thing about these alternatives is that even Parnis is more generally known for dependable quality than the watches you linked and Alpha HK has a decent if not perfect reputation for customer support as well. Rotary is a known brand with a very decent history and the Aeronaut/Denissov is from Zenitar, an Ebay seller with an excellent reputation.

Hope this helps

[kingdavecako]

I understand that in buying a $30-50 watch that I'm fairly well out of the Alpha/Parnis league, however I'm just looking for something to have a bit of fun with. Nevertheless, I'm looking for a watch that isn't going to fall apart on me, and doesn't look too cheap. Do you think there will be a noticeable difference between Kronen and Sohne and AK Homme?

[AlbertaTime]

...I'm just looking for something to have a bit of fun with...Do you think there will be a noticeable difference between Kronen and Sohne and AK Homme?

Nope. Pick the one you think looks best

[kingdavecako]

Okay. Thanks for all of your help.