One of these MWC things caught my eye today, and in the thread it was mentioned an owner was singing their praises. However, everybody else seems to think they're cheap rubbish.
Are they cheap rubbish, or are they just not up to CWC/Precista standards? Or is there another, cheap (sub £100), alternative?
They're pretty cack, as reflected in their prices! Very roughly made, virtually a knock-off off the CWC etc, even to the point of false claims of being Mil-issued (if memory serves).
I think the Mil-style ones off eBay from the HK seller are as good a Mil-spec you can get for sub a ton, can't recall the sellers name but heard they're okay.
EDIT - here ya go http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/British-Satin-Plo ... 0718136277
That's exactly what I wanted to hear, thanks, I'd been looking at these too. Ordered one midnight last, got an email before 9 this morning to say it has been dispatched. Hopefully the watch will be as ok as the service :)Originally Posted by GraniteQuarry
@ Robin Masters:
Please let us know if, when and how it arrives. I might want one of these as a beater so I am very curious as to your findings.
Thanks,
Marc
Will do Marc, but for £60 (I went for the SS non-date version) you can't go far wrong, I hope.
Not sure whether it counts, but when I was a Royal Navy Ships Diver I and others on my course mostly used privately bought Seiko 6309s - effectively replaced by the SKZ007/009. That's under £100.
these look ok
I have a satin SBS with date version of one of those. As a point of reference I also have a PRS-3 Broadarrow.
The £47 Military Divers from Ray Wong are really pretty good. The case is very good and is a satin version which looks very military. The bezel works really well and puts my PRS-3 to shame but both don't line up all that well but have enough slack to fine tune. The bezel is slightly taller than the PRS-3 and the rehaut is deeper with a single slope giving the watch a somewhat SAR look. The printing on the face is of a high standard and the colour of the hands matches the dial well
The movement is a low grade ETA but it works and keeps better time than my PRS-3! Guaranteed to miss all the markers. However you could fit a new ETA movement for £25. The lume is almost non existent but again a re-lume could fix that.
Fit a new set of spring bars, a decent Nato from Eddie and maybe a decent battery and you are ready to go.
Many people will tell you they are crap but they are far from it IMO. I'm a big fan of these as they make a very credible beater that even if you lose it, you are still only down £50. If you look at the Nato section of the TSS Strap site you will see many good photos of these watches.
One other thing. Currently the CWC diver in quartz is unavailable until next year some time. Also as the PRS-3 Broadarrow is not available, unless you are very lucky you are unlikely to find a watch like this other that these Ray Wong versions.
Good luck with the watch and please post some pictures if you can.
It's arrived. Six days after I paid for it, from Hong Kong; not bad at all.
And it's a pleasant suprise. The case is very good; I went for the 'satin' case, and the finish on it is even and well done. Even the printed bezel seems to be alright; the printing lines up all the way round, and the pip is in the middle of the triangle.
The bezel is fairly smooth-it does feel a little like it's dragging on the case slightly somewhere, but the (60) clicks are very positive, and it does line up very well. The crown is similarly positive and solid feeling, but also has a slight roughness when you screw it in and out.
The hands don't quite line up, but it's not by much and isn't something that bothers me anyway. The lume on the hands is quite bright (no idea how long it lasts yet), but the lume on the dial is almost non-existent.
I did read horror stories about the quality of the movement, but mine seems ok. The hands certainly aren't catching on each other.
Here it is:
And a wrist shot on one of Eddie's Rhinos:
I'm very pleased with it, and for £60 it will be getting 'beaten'.
That certainly looks allright to say the least!
Enjoy and wear it in good health; I will go and order one as well soon :bom:
Regards,
Marc
Very Nice,
I've been looking at the Broadarrow tonight.
The Smiths PRS-33 quartz won't be hanging around long if/when it's released.
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