Insight, more or less...

[automatico]

Saw this and found it interesting.  I do not agree with a few details but it is still enlightening.

 

http://www.asian-watches.com/2015/02/the-great-chinese-swiss-watch-paradox.html#!/2015/02/the-great-chinese-swiss-watch-paradox.html

 

I looked the Hamilton H74451833 up that is mentioned in the article and found one on eBay (item number  162492072705  for $369) and 5 or 6 other E-tailers had them listed but were 'currently out of stock'.  Maybe they are like the Tissot quartz chronographs from 6 or 7 years ago that were for sale on eBay with steel case, Eta mvt, box, papers and all for $149 to $199 including delivery from China.  The same watch (in appearance) was maybe $895 in USA retail stores.  For all practical purposes they were identical as I had one of each and examined them closely.  I can not remember the detail differences now but they were slight.  At the time I figured the Tissot from eBay was an outright replica but knowing a bit more now than I did then and reading this article, they may have been like the Hamilton...a clones or ghost watches with no official status or warranty. 

 

When we had a watch store, we could get new Seiko 5 automatics from a gray market guy and starting out they were $35 each iirc.  They were not sold in the USA to my knowledge at the time but were genuine Seiko watches with no warranty at all but they were all over eBay, mostly in China or Taiwan.  We were a Citizen AD but not a Seiko AD and a few Seiko ADs said they could not get Seiko 5 automatics at all.  We also got nib stainless steel Pulsar Kinetic 100M dive style watches and they arrived from England with no USA warranty...same movements as Seiko.  It has been a few years but I think we paid $55 each for the Pulsars.  New steel automatic Orients same as eBay item number  292038513460  were $35 each.  I still have one with a bright green or blue (can not remember) dial because no one wanted it.

 

 

edit:  It's blue, I dug it out and looked.  Not as bad as I thought.  

 

 

Edited May 21, 2017 by automatico

[alligoat]

Long, but interesting article. Looks like Buyer Beware!