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Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2013 15:17:51 GMT -8
Several months ago; I grabbed one of these LE Sea-Gull Dragon King divers. The presentation box is a work of art in itself...  Inside the box is the prize...  It came with the usual hang tag, user manual, warranty booklet and individual watch ID card. The watch...  Is powered by the Sea-Gull ST2130(a Selita/ETA clone) that beats at 28,800bph and is rated to 200M/20BAR. The bracelet is easily the nicest I've ever experienced. And the case back is exquisite...  I wear it sparingly as it cost nearly 3x what my normal limit is...I want to keep this watch a loooooong time happy1 Timekeeping is the same as you would expect from a mid tier ETA 2824-2, so the movement is likely to have been regulated at the factory at the very least. I bought the watch from US Sea-Gull and working with Kevin Ma was a pleasnat experience. He even made sure that I got my preferred number of the LE batch. I chose #42 because I'm a fan of HHGTTG a077 Oh yeah; this thing is 43mm big but it is shaped such that it still rides my 6.75" wrist without any calamity! The watch even has a sweeter sound than any of the 2824s in my collection. Do yourself a favour and check them out smiley-cool11 |
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Post by kingrat on Jul 6, 2013 15:52:03 GMT -8
That Chinese beater is HOT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2013 16:01:02 GMT -8
That Chinese beater is HOT You can see why I threw all monetary sense to the wind and dived on it. Thanks for the feedback a063 It feels so good on my wrist too. I love when that happens; in particular when I've gone off the deep end laugh1.gif Out of respect; I'm leaving it on the factory bracelet since I have a feeling some folks might get a little upset if I changed it out for a mil style strap smiley-angry026 |
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Post by Groundhog66 on Jul 7, 2013 9:00:39 GMT -8
That caseback is worth the price of admission, love it!
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normdiaz
Is a Permanent Fixture
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Post by normdiaz on Jul 7, 2013 10:31:58 GMT -8
Do yourself a favour and check them out smiley-cool11 Like your selection. This one on the site made me go wtf.gif.  |
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Post by 69ChevelleSS on Jul 7, 2013 10:37:37 GMT -8
Great looking watch with a beautiful case back.
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Post by Groundhog66 on Jul 7, 2013 10:46:42 GMT -8
Here is a fairly comprehensive review, it was located on Amazon...
"While I could compare the Dragon King to something like the Orient Mako, I believe Sea-Gull is aiming higher with this model. This watch has a sapphire crystal and a hacking, hand winding, 28,800 bph movement cloned from the ETA 2824 - the Sea-Gull ST-21 in Sea-Gull's top grade, AAA. As such, I'll provide some comparisons to my Baume & Mercier 8779 and the Edox C1, both of which use an ETA 2824 movement. The B&M cost me around $900, although it is currently selling for more. I got the Edox as a gift for a relative on a daily deal site for $270, but it regularly sells for around $450.
The DK comes in a very solid cardboard box with a Chinese dragon in gold on it. Inside, the watch rests on a pillow inside a cardboard separator. I would say the box is a bit nicer than the typical Seiko box, not at the same level as the typical Swiss box. The watch shares the box with a unique warranty card featuring an embossed dragon, the invoice, and a truly awful instruction manual translated by someone who didn't speak much English. "Automatic mechanic watch that is winded by swing rotor, so regular exercise (Don 't designedly), and wearing the watch at lest 8HS every day." Interestingly, although the watch is called "SEA-GULL" on its dial, it is called "Seagull" in the manual. The watch was very securely wrapped in plastic inside the box.
This is a large watch, by my standards, at 43mm. The lugs are well contoured and it fits me very well. The bracelet is one of the most comfortable I've encountered, despite a lack of half links. Seagull attempts to make up for that with micro-adjustments on the clasp, but there is only one adjustment point. So if you don't get lucky with the length of the links, you could be in trouble. The links also feature push pins rather than the B&M and Edox's screw pins, not surprising at this price point. They were fairly easily removed, however. The bracelet also has an attractive combination of brushed and polished metal - polished on the outside, brushed in the middle, but with a sunken, polished strip down the center. The clasp is a very solid single fold with a double push button action. Other than the lack of half-links and screw pins, I would consider the bracelet to be at least as good as the B&M's, and I certainly like the clasp better than my Ulysse Nardin's. The clasp has "SEA-GULL" engraved on it. After months of use, I still find it very comfortable despite its size and weight.
The case is brushed, with a consistent finish, and feels very solid. The crown is polished, screw-down and has an embossed "S." It is protected by a conventional crown guard. The action is firm - not as solid as the B&M, but the overall design is probably a bit better than the Edox. The bezel is a very typical Rolex Submariner homage, nowhere near as interesting as the B&M's dodecagonal model. It's not quite a literal Sub (the 0-15 scale is not marked differently from the other indices) but it's pretty close, down to the scalloping. The 120-click bezel does not quite align properly with the dial - one of the two flaws that keep this watch from quite matching its Swiss competitors.
The dial itself is matte black with SEA-GULL / Automatic / Dragon King / 200M printed in white. It somewhat resembles an Omega Seamaster. A number of different fonts are used, but it works pretty well. There is also a blue chapter ring with minute indices and 5-minute numeric indicators, with an orange "60" at twelve o'clock. The printing is crisp, not quite at B&M levels but perhaps slightly better than Edox. Indices are applied, simple lozenges with large bits of white lume painted on. The indices are not as refined as the B&M or Edox, and on a couple of them the lume is not quite centered. You can't see that with the naked eye but it's visible with a 10x loupe. Again, quality is probably comparable to Edox, not at B&M levels. The hour and minute hands are standard batons, heavily lumed. The second hand is a little more interesting, with a large counterweight and two lumed dots towards the end. The second hand reaches the end of the indices, the minute hand the mid-point. The hour hand doesn't quite reach the indices.
Speaking of the lume, Kevin Ma (Sea-Gull's US dealer, and a real pleasure to deal with) admitted on the WUS forum that it wasn't up to Seiko levels. That's definitely true. And it's not even close to the B&M's league. This is not for lack of lumed material, which is abundant - the quality of the lume just isn't there.
The back of the watch features an engraved Chinese dragon that looks great, and, along with some other text, an indication that this is #23 of 800. I doubt a limited edition Sea-Gull is all that collectible - I suspect Sea-Gull will have a Dragon King II when this edition runs out, which may be better.
It seems to have settled at about +12 seconds per day, pretty comparable to the B&M. What remains to be seen is the durability of the black anodization on the bezel. The B&M really shines there - despite being one of my more abused watches, there isn't a scratch in that anodization, whereas my wife's Orient sub homage is all scratched up despite much less wear. I will report back after further use of the Sea-Gull - after a couple of months of light use, it's still looking good.
Finally, and disappointingly, unlike other Sea-Gulls this one does not say "China Made" anywhere on it. I think I know why they did that, but it's disappointing that they won't advertise the national origin of their new "flagship."
This is a watch that is almost fully competitive with brands like Hamilton for a significantly lower price. I struggled with the question of four vs. five stars - it is a great value for the money. So why did I settle on four? Because it's intended to be a dive watch, and the slightly mis-aligned bezel and inferior lume detract from that intended function. If they improve the alignment of the bezel and the lume on the next edition, this watch will be an easy five star watch, fully competitive with a good, basic Swiss automatic, at a substantially lower price. "
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Post by Deleted on Jul 7, 2013 12:12:26 GMT -8
I think I can almost completely agree with the Amazon review with one exception. It may just be my individual watch but the lume is good enough that it lasts through the night and is still readable in that time just before dawn.
Certainly it doesn't hold a candle to a Seiko Monster for brightness but it is more than adequate.
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