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Review: Alpha GMT Diver

August 9th, 2006 John Biggs Leave a comment Go to comments

Unmitigated crap, thy name is Alpha. I don’t mean to be harsh, but I’m spitting mad right now staring at the hunk of garbage called the Alpha GMT Diver. Alpha is an eBay brand famous for their “replica” watches which apparently include the entire Rolex line, a few sassy Omega-alikes, and even an Anonimo-alike. They are almost all mechanical automatics, which is impressive, but they are little more than a ham-handed effort at selling branded fakes.

I know I always say I’d love China to start making their own brands, but this is not what I was looking for. I was open-minded. In my travails with eBay brands I’ve rarely been amazed but I’ve never been so disappointed. What is the issue? Well, this is a GMT watch. It has a large red hand indicated 24-hour time. It is set independently of the other hands and the bezel offers even a third time zone option. “But John,” you’re saying, “that sounds super! It’s like a three-timezone watch for less than c-note! And it comes with a gimpy little price tag that looks like a lump of wax!”

Yes, friends, it does come with a little lump of plastic shaped like a dollop of wax. But that’s not all! This watch has a fatal, and horrible, flaw. The time zone setting “sweeps” across the face when you try to change it. That’s right. Not only can you set a second time zone, you can feasibly set time zones in parallel universes or at the center of a black hole. Let’s see… if it’s 4am here in Tokyo, it must be 1:28 in Mtzplkia! Luckily, that’s one time zone from Burblefrox, which makes it 2:28 over there. Thank you, Alpha!

Normal GMT movements snap from hour to hour. If it is 10:30 in New York and you want to set it a few time zones ahead, the GMT hand moves swiftly from 10:30 to 11:30 instead of moving like the hour hand – 10:31, 10:32, etc. This little feature, found on most major GMT movements, is the way things are supposed to work. Instead, this Chinese-made movement half-asses things and has the GMT hand slip forward and back with giddy abandon, rendering it absolutely useless.

The design is quite ham-handed – it’s clearly a fake Rolex redone. The markings at the bottom of the face, where the Chinese pirates usually write “Swis Mad!!!!” reads CK and HK, which is apparently secret code for “shitty movement.” The date cyclops is there, surely enough, and the date looks like it was applied using a stamp made of a halved potato. Not so readable, let’s just say.

Another clincher? The clasp is patterned to look like the bracelet. Someone in the Alpha/MillionSmart factory thought this would be a nice touch, I suppose, but all it did was make me much angrier.

I didn’t want to be so angry, but I am. I cannot recommend these watches – even Sandoz, another well-known far East/eBay brand, makes a better Submariner-alike and for GMT grab a Seiko 6117 or another used, classic piece. Want to go really classy? Grab the amazing D.Freemont Sapphire Diver. But please, for the love of all that is good and holy, avoid this watch.

Quality: 1/5
Style: 1/5
Overall: 1/5

-John Biggs

Categories: Divers, Reviews, WWR Exclusive Tags:

Zach

I’m not surprised this is really poor. I guess if you want the Rolex look with a genuine swiss movement (2893-2) and not much dough, you could go with the Steinhart.
el-cruello

I am still trying to find out what are some of the other well-known “knock-off” brand watches commonly sold on eBay. Can’t someone enlighten me?
thraktor

I’m no Alpha fan, and I don’t own one, but there’s lots of “it is this!” and “it is that!” but nothing about WHY.

Shitty movement? Ok, why? Tell us why it’s bad. What is it? Where’s it from? A single detail would be nice.

“And it comes with a gimpy little price tag that looks like a lump of wax!” – For the life of me, I can’t figure out what this means. What are you talking about?

Sweeping GMT? Ok, not being that familiar with GMT, give me at least a SENTENCE about how it ought to be.

I think in your hatred of this watch you’ve forgotten how to write a review.

Oh, and I love your site.
ces

–>Normal GMT movements snap from hour to hour.
Graham

Ouch!
ces

post didn’t work right.. try again

“Normal GMT movements snap from hour to hour. ”

What about the half-hour zones. Many millions of people live there.
Mike

Well for starters the watch only cost $60 at the most
what did you expect. And to be honest there is nothing
wrong with the movement you cant work it isnt thw fault of the watch is it. Alpha makes alot of great watches and for the money they are hard to beat. Try and find another $50-60 new watch that keeps great time and looks good for the same money, then do another review on it and see if it is any better. Only Fake around here is your review.
TheBlackPage

No mention of anything worthwhile here – fit? Finish? Accuracy? Weight?

It’s clear you just hate the watch because it came with a “price tag that looks like a lump of wax” and the “time zone setting “sweeps” across the face when you try to change it.” *GASP* Say it isn’t so!! Big deal. As was mentione before, it allows for those half-hour zones.

As a review, I’d give this 1/5. As a rant, it gets the full 5/5 in my book.
http://www.wristwatchreview.com john

ok. you got me. it’s still a hunk of crap, though. alpha doesn’t do it for me. the look is derivative, the price is barely acceptable, and the movement is half-baked.
Jess

Four Words: “IT IS AN ALPHA”

I bought a green alpha sub 9 months ago for $39. Hardly ever wear it. When I bought it, I knew it was a $39 Chinese Rolex knock-off so my expectations were appropriately low. I guess that is the problem with the Alpha GMT — if you are expecting performance, you will be disappointed — Alpha is +30 seconds per day. If you are buying an Alpha just to see what they are like, then you will see what they are like. Decent for $40, but cannot hold a candle to my Seiko 007 diver that cost $55 more.
john

i think Jess has the right idea. I bought this to tell folks what kind of quality you’re going to get from a $80 alpha and you’re going to get what you pay for.
Joe

It’s been a few days-is your blood pressure back to normal? Seriously, what were you thinking-you were getting a fully functional GMT for that price? You want Rolex features for less than 1% of the cost. You got 90% of what you were really looking for with this watch and that’s for it to be identified for what it is not-real. Quit your griping and admit why you ordered it-don’t blame the product for not measuring up-it did. For 40 bucks it looks just like you wanted. Your real gripe is the Rolex is out of your price range or you just won’t part with the 4700 bucks it takes to go legit. Either way your anger is misplaced on the watch-look in the mirror and by all means-buy the Rolex quick before you have a stroke, your health should be worth it.
john

ok. i’ve stirred up a hornets nest of alpha lovers. let’s put it this way : don’t buy alpha from ebay. It’s just not worth even the pittance you pay. Joe: if you read any of my previous reviews, you’d notice that I purchase ebay brands and review them on this site – along with legitimate watches – for the benefit of folks looking for them online. I don’t buy them for myself and I usually just have them lying around the office here or give them away. Hell, I tried to give away a Tachmeister in a contest and nobody wanted to take it. I’ve seen all sorts of crap (http://www.wristwatchreview.com/2006/04/10/review-tauchmeister-1937-diver/), but this had to be one of the worst I’ve seen in a while. Even Sandoz and Aeromatic make a much better watch than this.
INViCTA DUDE

Life is to short to wear a cheap watch! Invicta is a cheap watch to warn your friends about just say no to invictem. Seiko has the shinnznick
Andrew A

I feel you review like so many reviewers, ie. cars, hi fi, watches etc.. If it does not have the badge/ name etc.. then it has to be CRAP. I do not own a Alpha. Looking at the pictures I can see that the watch does look to be STAINLESS STEEL (you did not tell us), the glass is GLASS and mist free (you did not tell us), the strap has polished edge links (you did not tell us), the dial looks clear and dust free (you did not tell us), the hands GLOW (you did not tell us). Did the watch work and keep time? Did it run down? Did the Auto wind do its job of keeping the mainspring wound? I have so many questions your review did not inform me of. You only have to look at buget brands in other product areas and these buget brands walk over the so called high end products when it comes down to customer satisfaction. You say ‘it’s clearly a fake Rolex redone’. Seiko, Citizen, Royal of london and many more have all cloned a Rolex style at some stage. Is this wrong? The dial does not say ROLEX. It cost $40- $50. Just what did you expect? By the way I am very calm as I write this. I did not like the REVIEW.
Jeremygiraffe

Reviewer is a fool !

WTF is an eBay brand ? There’s no such thing reviewer has a chip on his shoulder and is unable to write an objective review.

Why not have a go at US cars for the European market -now that really is a laugh !
Andrew A

Please ‘Jeremygiraffe’ What do you mean?

‘Reviewer is a fool ?’ or do you mean

Many have given the impression that the ‘Reviewer is a fool ?’
No one person has said this.

I myself found the review ‘lacking information’.

This website is excellent.
lysander

You say:
“Normal GMT movements snap from hour to hour.”

You seem to forget that in the first versions of the Rolex GMT Master, the 24 hour hand set by sweeping, just as this one seems to, they didn’t jump from hour to hour.

And I would say you you are being somewhat unrealistic to expect that level of refinement in a $100 eBay watch.

Maybe you could talk about the quality of the case/bezel, fit and finish, and maybe just a bit about the watches accuracy, you know thing that are useful in a watch review.
Michael

Thanks for the site and the reviews, John. As (almost) always I enjoyed reading the review and your additional comments. For me, the review gave quite enough information and enough pictures.
Graeme

I’ve owned half a dozen Rolexes and still own a couple. For pure value this watch is incredible. My accuracy is about + or – 5 secs a day – not bad at all and I think that the outside finish is great for the price. It’s not a Rolex – get over it, but it’s nowhere as bad as made out. I’m thilled with it.
Graeme

Actually so far the accuracy over 6 days has been + 1 second – total. Each day has been within +1 second of the correct time. Amazing – and better than any previous mechanical watch I’ve owned. It says something for the time setup at the factory. Now if only they would install some o-rings. They’d add maybe a cent to the production cost…
Docrwm

Really poor excuse for a review. No meaningful information beyond your histrionics about it not snapping from hour to hour (so?) and the hang tag (again – so?). For a
RichardMT

I enjoy reading reviews and I suspect for the price of these watches that quality is going to be a bit on the low side. Of course for not much more you can get a Seiko or Citizen with excellent quality. I would enjoy more specifics on fit/finish and things like that.
Bwog

I would disagree on one point. Alpha is not an ebay brand. They are a china based watch company that has been around for awhile, making low cost autos and cool complications, based on proven (ripped off) designs of other, better known companies. They do not have the quality control of the Swiss prince companies but for the money thier not bad. Pretty good style for value unless your unlucky enough to get one made the morning after that chinese new year’s party. I would also put CTI and Prague in this category. “Ebay Brands” (Trias, Piccard & Cie, Aeromatic, FREIDERICK STEIN, Louis Bolle, Bernoulli, Grace Bros, etc) are also china based companies but they have ridiculously inflated retail values, made up company histories, the same shoddy quality control, and seem to be marketed soley on ebay. The big difference is that Alpha, CTI and Prauge are not posing as more than they are to bilk customers.
Andrew A

After posting a reply last September 06 I purchased a ‘Alpha-Orange bezel’ 21 jewel auto (Well known Swiss- style). I wanted to see for myself why a watch could cause such anger. Cost £28.00. Delivery 5 days to UK. Six months on it keeps very good time, has not wound down.
The case and strap are stainless steel with good weight. The strap uses screws not pins. The glass though not saphire is glass/ crystal and very clear. The luminous markers and hands are very bright and last. I own a Seiko, Citizen, and a Rolex Sea Dweller and love them all. I would put the Alpha in the same class as the Seiko and Citizen in terms of build and quality. Angry, no, rather pleased! 67 times less than the well known swiss watch it looks like. I am sure not 67 times inferior in terms of build and time keeping. Its only fault, looking like a well known Swiss watch!
Robbydso

In the last year I have purchased a brand new Rolex Blue TT submariner (£4000)and a brand new Rolex TT Datejust (£3700)
Both stunning watches, I think you will agree. Last week just for a laugh I ordered an Alpha Tourbillon Automatic. It cost me exactly £36.38. Well I stopped laughing this morning when I received it. It is absolutely fantastic for the money. How on earth did they put so much watch together for the money? Bearing in mind it also came with a really good quality leather strap. That would cost you about £25.00 on it’s own here in the UK. The watch looks very smart and well made and yes I left both rollies at home just to wear it. Fantastic effort Alpha..keep the good work up. Robby
Johnny Soko

Strangely, after looking at your horrible review, I was compelled to go to this companies web site and check out some of their other models. The watches are priced in the timex/casio range, but look better. They are all powered by a miyota 21 jewel movement(used in fakes and invictas costing a lot more) which is a quality little movement that will last at least 5 years before requiring service. After I get the green “subbie” look alike, I will post a review and have my flying robot post some pics.
Dave Helli

I have two Alpha watches, including the GMT. For the price they are excellent watches. Accuracy is good, glass, band, and fit and finish are as good as most watches. Frankly, the Alpha watches are value for the money and one can do much worse (and I have).
EC

When I saw the Alpha watches, I was impressed by their features and prices, so I did a some research before ordering. I found a couple interesting reviews (aside from this one which is clearly a totally biased rant). Here are 2 I found:
http://jholbrook.proboards33.com/index.cgi?board=review&action=display&thread=1168632394
http://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=7434
sami

two years late and my alpha is running better then my other expensive watches. The Band is worned but the watch is perfect
http://www.wristwatchreview.com john

I give up, guys. Fine. Alpha is amazing.
Sakabomsissahay

John, one more question, is the band actually stainless steel or Invar? Being as I have a severe allergy to nickel I’d like to know if the watch is full stainless steel.
Sakabomsissahay

Answer me God Dammit!
frank13

I purchased an ocean 1 diver watch from steinhart, I was so impressed by the quality that I purchased 2 more watches from them.
I do own a lot of watches among my collection are breitling,rolex, sector, invicta,croton and a few others, and to be quite honest I really liked the look and feel of the steinhart a lot.
Takinacrippler

Frank, you are comparing a 350 dollar watch to a watch that cost like 40 to 60 bucks? I looked at Steinharts web site. The watches are nice, but lots of em are for that much money.
JFinkelstein

Well, the watch came six days after I ordered it. Green Bezel subbie look alike. I was so happy to get the deal of a lifetime for less than 40 bucks. Sadly, I only had it on for about an hour. I was getting in my car and the watch fell off. I noticed that one of the screws had popped out of the bracelet. The screw is nowhere to be found, so I am going to go to a local jeweler and see if they can patch things up
fake watch knower

Heh you guys have a clue? these are the watch companies that make replicas, when you get spammed with email about fake rolex and fake tag, etc. it is ALPHA that makes a lot of them! You guys must be totally blind. Why do they make alpha? it’s the brand name of the knock-off rolex. To be clear: alpha makes watches with rolex logos on them.
fakewatchknowafullashit

Don’t believe that. Look at the crown guard on an alpha sub and on a replica sub. You will see that they are different. The alpha is a lot closer to the original. No where on the alpha watch does it bear the name Rolex. Seiko, Citizen, Invicta, Steinhart, Sandoz have all made homage watches to the Sub. Does this mean they are Folexes or fake rolexes? If someone wants a low cost automatic watch and doesn’t want to wear a fake Rolex, I think Alpha is not a bad option. I just wonder if JFink ever got his band fixed?…poor guy
JamesColabove

Some of the comments on here are downright ridiculous! These watches are in the 40 to 60 dollar range, so what do you people expect? Rolex quality for under 100 dollars? It’s not going to happen. If anything, for the price these watches should be compared to the watches in the little case at your nearest Rite Aid or CVS drug store. If you compare them to watches that are in the same price range, you will see that they beat the competition hands down.

P.S.- Ham handed effort my ass
Crappy watchbuyer

Okay, I bought one of these out of curiosity. From the outside all looks good, but every time I have worn this watch, it has run up +5 MINUTES! This happens in just a few hours of wear. Has anyone else had similar experiences? The watch is now in my top drawer and I am back to wearing my invicta which runs about +/- 5 Seconds every few days.
Andrew A

Okay, I have bought the model John tested as well to see if it is as bad as he say’s. My ‘Orange bezel’ keeps very good time +15-30 secs/ week. (That’s info for CRAPPY WATCHBUYER).
I would like to say also that the GMT keeps great time. It is around the +30secs/ week. The fit and finish is great, it is ‘stainless steel’, it is waterproof, the glass is mist free and the date cyclops is easy to read,
at least 2-3 times enlarged. The watch is a good weight. Now something that is impressive, the GMT works very well and is easy to set up for another time zone.
Homage watches, and rather well done at that.
I will update in the near future to let you know how they are performing.
John C.

Here is a message for crappywatchbuyer. The reason why your watch is running so fast is because you have overwound it! The seagull movement in your watch needs to be wound about 5 or 6 times at the crown if it has stopped. I bet you wound it up about thirty times which is why you are having problems.
steve

so am i to understand that because it sweeps between 5 and 6 that when im on the east coast at 12 that i cant just assume that because its between 5 and 6 that its 5 oclock in gmt? just like i would with the hour hand? am i missing something , how is this completly useless?
jimmy

your 1 out of 5 for style, does that mean youd give the gmt master a 1 out of 5 also?
Don P

If ANYONE is considering buying a replica Omega or Rolex, I would tell you to take a chance on Alpha first. I bought the black face green bezel sub lookalike and have been nothing but pleased. The replica sub has a black face that isn’t quite dark enough and the crown guards are too big. The Alpha has a dial that is deep dark black and the print is a silverlike color. Also the hour markers, hands and pearl really glow nice in the dark. Seriously, side by side with the replica the alpha looks WAY better. It also has a real shiny mineral glass crystal that looks like sapphire. Get one of these instead of a replica, its about 100 dollars cheaper and a lot better.
steevy

this watch isnt useless, you are for not figuring out how to adapt to use it. synch everything then use the bezel to adjust the time, big F’N deal, is that the only difference between this $60 watch and a $7000GMT master? i even hear the alpha bracelets are better than genuine oysters
John Goeble

Here is the problem with this whole Alpha watch deal. A guy who is probably a watch collector with watches adding up to the cost of a second home doing a review of a low cost asian made watch. Of course he is going to find flaw. I am not a watch collector nor do I own a loupe or any other magnifying tool to look at watches. I have looked at a Rolex in a store window, went in to look at it and when I was told the price I said “nice watch, but not worth 5k” If you have money to throw in the fireplace then sure, buy a rolex or some other expensive brand. If you want a nice watch that will keep good time and look really good on your wrist for about 40 to 60 bucks, Alpha is a good choice.
Thad

The sweeping GMT hand is no big deal if you use the watch for what it is designed for….GMT time that is. It is meant to be set to GMT and left there. you use the bezel and the 12 hour hand to change to another zone. That’s why Rolex named it GMT.
Chris

Well, I am a watch lover and collector. And I collect watches of all kinds.
Among them several Aplha watches and I can only come to one conclusion: For a price that is far lower than a single crown of a Breitling or a Rolex, not even to mention a simple bracelet link, these watches are excellent value.
For the GMT function, the reviewer has indeed a point: it’s a bit fiddly (but once you know how to set and interpret this function, it works fine).
After proper adjustment, some of these even keep time within chronometer specs.

Sorry, but these are the bare facts, not just an emotional approach.

Best regards
Mark

My newly aquired alpha looked excellent when first arriving. I was shocked how nice of a watch it seemed.
The band clasp fell apart the first day [within 2 hours-being very careful with it] One of the luminous markers had fallen off as well; I sit here looking at a great looking timepeice that sadly lasted a couple hours- Maybe I got a lemon- Dont quite know- It just bums me out that it was of no use and a total waste of money, as it cant be worn [without further investment repairing a new watch] Bought it through ebay from a foreign seller- I’m not going to waste any more time and money attempting to seek a replacement as it has sadly been a waste of time already [pun intended] The main watch looks and seems to work great- If there was a bit of time spent on details such as this, I’m sure it could be a good generally worn watch.