My Top 5 Aliexpress Watch Collection for under £500 Total 2020 (A Watch to Fit Any Style :) )

So as you know i'm really getting into this Aliexpress watch collection. It's just a great market place to but cheap yet good quality watches. In this video i look at 5 Mechincal Aliexpress whats which together come to less then £500 and fit into 5 different watch catergories: Beater, Dress, Diver, GMT and chronograph. I personal this these watches are way to starting off a small yet decent watch collection when you are on a budget. Have a watch and see what you think :)
Pagani Design PG1651:
www.aliexpress...
Seagull 1963:
www.aliexpress...
Ciga design z series:
www.aliexpress...
heimdallr 62mas bronze:
www.aliexpress...
Parnis GMT:
www.aliexpress...

[@MyAffordableWatchCollection]

Great picks, I love my Seagull 1963!

[@francisbawasanta6310]

It's a fun collection. I have the Pagani Sea Dweller homage and both your CIGA and the 1963 are on my wishlist. What I like about the Parnis / Bliger watches is the aftermarket parts available for them. You can really customize one out if you're okay with tools. And if you mess up... it's not a $18k watch you have to repair. It's just $100. You can get another.

[@JohnBuckmaster-sw3wm]

I have three of the five. The 62 MAS Homage is one of my favorite watches and it wins wrist time over many more expensive watches. You cannot go wrong with any of the variance of the 1963! I chose the sapphire crystal variant knowing that I was giving up some Of the vintage look of the Domed acrylic(I’m hard on my watches)...I can’t stop looking at that movement… it used to be a Venus 1705 movement... it’s not actually a clone as Siegel bought the rights and the tooling for that movement in the 60s… Thanks for the great review!

[@raymondhouser5174]

Great collection.

[@captainturbo4164]

Superb and informative video 👍

[@GrimwoodWatchModding]

Thank you :) Was asked the question so thought i would do a video on the subject :)

[@mikes41720]

I've got the PD 1639. A bit big at 43mm but I do love it! I also recently ordered the CIGA Design Z from the AliExpress sale. The Seagull 1963 is still on my shortlist!

[@GrimwoodWatchModding]

Like i say you can't go wrong with these watches. A lot of bang for you buck :)

[@buildingsheriff]

Great choices.

[@gwolks1008]

Great video as always :) though, and I say it as an owner of Chinese watches myself (and I love them), I think you should mention that this collection holds almost no resale value (let alone appreciation) - that is, if this matter is of importance to you. If you were to take all that money and invest it in a.. say 400-500$ seiko ( for example sarb033), you'd be left with a watch that actually holds, and potentially increases, in value. Again, I understand the fun in Chinese watches, but I think that a first time watch buyer should know this before he/she decides how to spend their money. Keep em up! Cheers :)

[@GrimwoodWatchModding]

You do have a very good point. See my remarks are more me disliking the way Seiko have rebranded themselves. The way Seiko have pushed the prices up for there stand prospex range and made the SKX into basically a fashion watch. Really is rubbing me up the wrong way. Want some many Seikos but at the price points i'm going for things like Zelos and Heimdallrs. Which in my mind are more cost effective. But thats only my opinion haha which i will admit might be wrong. haha

[@sobeit712]

I don't understand the thought process of treating watch collection as investment. You invest in education, in housing, in a business or self improvement. Watch is a hobby, that's going to waste your money just to have fun, like any other type of hobbies. The minute you start treating watches like investment, you throw all the fun out of window and have literally gone mad, because the green greed had tainted whole thing and you start debating, calculating, regretting and becoming bitter about this choice and that choice and how much you've made or loss on certain watches. It's like dating a woman and keeping note on how much you've spent on her and what you've got in return. It's the worst thing man can do to ruin his life.

[@saleendriver]

Very nice grouping of watches. Could be a very nice core grouping for any collector starting out. And your pick of the Seagull in this group is a particular favorite for me.

[@GrimwoodWatchModding]

Thanks you very much. Yeah the little Seagull is a favorite of mine as well. Hopefully will be jumping on your live feed as well if i get my work load done today haha

[@anthonyodwyer3261]

I have always liked the look of the Seagull mechanical chrono - are they made under licence by several watchmakers? Any reason why the sterile Parnis GMT? Great collection, great value.

[@GrimwoodWatchModding]

Arr just fancied the GMT without the branding. i am debating if i should change the dial as well but not sure. As the the seagull sure it was Seagull which did these back in the day as well.

[@dj4play1980]

I prefer parnis watches with a sterile dial too, the name is bad and looks too similar to penis or parsnip when quickly glancing at the dial.

[@davemck1887]

Great vid mate. I'm about to order a 1963 but I might reconsider now. I know it's cheap enough but it'd send me ape sh#t if it doesn't line up. Cheers pal.

[@captainturbo4164]

Superb and informative video👍

[@dinner_workingsly]

Great picks. I don’t think you could complain about cost of quality with that group. I think the only one I wouldn’t buy is the dress watch, not because it isn’t really cool, I just don’t wear a dress watch.

[@GrimwoodWatchModding]

I'm the same, if it wasn't a skeleton i wouldn't have picked it up. However just picked up another skeleton which has some incredible specs but for less then £100. But it this was if the specs are true could give my tudors a run for their money ;)

[@67spot]

Nice video interesting collection not a fan of that dress watch though I have the pagani submariner in the hulk colour myself and really rate it I am also a fan of vostok watches and of course the odd mod perhaps they could make an appearance in later videos plus its canny to hear a NE accent as im from Newcastle myself keep up the good work

[@GrimwoodWatchModding]

Thanks, and i also have a Pagani Sub hulk and love that as well. I only have one vostok but do like that watch, have also done a few mods to it now. And you can't beat the accent ;)

[@watchalot919]

I just ordered the Heimdallr 62 Mass bronze with a blue face, and got it for £152. I also own the Parnis GMT, but with a batman bezel, absolutely terrific watch. Love the Seagull 1963, but 38mm is a tad small. Sorry, hate skeleton watches. Have been looking at the Pagani, but reports are that the bezel is rubbish, and that would drive me crazy.

[@GrimwoodWatchModding]

I have to say on my Pagani the bezel action is very nice, polar opisite to it's bigger brother the 1639. Just amazes me how you can get a watch collection like this together and less the £500. Most decent Seikos are more than that these days haha

[@watchalot919]

@@GrimwoodWatchModding many watch snobs poo poo Chinese watches for no other reason than they are Chinese. I still own a few Seikos and enjoy them, but a watch is a sum of its parts. Brands such as Heimdallr and Phoibos represent far better value for money than so many of their Swiss and Japanese counterparts. Keep up the reviews, I enjoy them

[@MyAlan999]

I like your watch choice , the Pagani , Seagull and Heimdallr are watches i'd like to have but i dont want to sound pedantic the prices you said - Pagani £67 - Ciga £135 - heimdallr £175 - Parnis £60 and Seagull £134 add's up too £571 , slightly under £600 , anyways i am wondering if you had tax/customs to pay on any of these watches , as this has stopped me from buying from Ali X and gearbest etc , cheers mate

[@GrimwoodWatchModding]

Haha, must of been on something when i did that adding. As for tax i have not been stung from any watch on Aliexpress so far :)

[@MyAlan999]

@@GrimwoodWatchModding Lol cool mate , thanks for the reply and information ........ I'm sure i'll get stung for tax/customs first time i buy from Alix :)

[@watchalot919]

Waxed dental floss for the stem thread will stop the grittyness

[@GrimwoodWatchModding]

Thanks for that info shall have to try it :)

[@Alias_Anybody]

Wait, do you rub that wax on the stem or how are you supposed to do that?

[@dinner_workingsly]

It helped a bit on mine, just floss it like a tooth. Get the string on the threads and work it around.

[@possumsam2189]

For Under £500, you could buy a Legitimate Functioning Tourbillon (See: Kopeck/Gull-tron/Brigada), moonphase chronographs (Aidophedo/Sugess etc.) & still have the finances for several more watches.

[@GrimwoodWatchModding]

I agree you can get all these within the £500 price point, think they normally sit around the £450 -£500 and have debated getting one. But one thing getting a 80-200 pound watch on Aliexpress, not too keen on the idea of anything more costly haha

[@possumsam2189]

@@GrimwoodWatchModding Moonphase chrono is within the victinity of two hundred pounds ;)

[@anasaly2549]

Are the PD and Parnis bracelets interchangeable?

[@GrimwoodWatchModding]

i haven't tried if i'm honest but the GMT and PD1651 have the same width so will have to check :)

[@anasaly2549]

@@GrimwoodWatchModding I think all the sub homages are one mould. But I could be wrong.

[@ankushbudhiraja9475]

Y does parnis has a brand delete? And hw did u order it?

[@GrimwoodWatchModding]

It's an option you can pick on there Aliexpress page. Just wanted a watch without the branding. Bit different :)

[@francisbawasanta6310]

As he mentioned there's an option for Parnis and Bliger for brand delete. I'm not sure if it's related but you can also buy uniquely colored ceramic bezels, watch faces and hands specifically for their Sub and GMT homages. I'm thinking of picking up the Stainless steel with white face, white dial inserts and black ceramic bezel with yellow indices. Maybe matching it to a yellow rolex style silicon strap with stainless steel clasp. The fun bit about these cheap watches is it's possible to mod these and not feel too bad about messing up. Seiko is the only other I know of that have aftermarket parts for the modding community.

[@michaelbedford8017]

Rubber strap on a dress watch? You obviously have some interesting evenings.

[@GrimwoodWatchModding]

Haha, comes with a leather one as well i just like the rubber one better ;)

[@808jspekeg6]

Why the hell would anyone would want to wear a fake Rolex yachtmaster, fake Richard mille, fake seiko prospex, or a fake Rolex gmt master II?! The last thing you would want is some to laugh at your weak fake wrist flex 😂

[@GrimwoodWatchModding]

Well for me it's more the fact i will wear one of these without thinking, like when i'm working no my bike or a on a vessel for work. But when i'm around the office or in a meeting can stick one of my Tudors on or Brietling you know the 'real' watches i guess you would class them as ;) Homage is still better in my mind than a fake :)

[@wayneriley7367]

Ah, a watch snob flexes their fat wallet! Look at all the watches out there and tell me how many are really different? Everything you own copied nature. The fact is you can get a good watch for under 200 so why would you buy a watch for over 1,000? If you have that kind of money good for you! I’ll use my savings to learn and buy other nice things.