Wristwatch Review: Gosasa SKMEI Men's Quartz Chronograph Watch

This is a review of a Gosasa SKMEI quartz chronograph watch that I purchased off of Amazon for less than $10. In fact, it was on the Amazon Haul portion of the site with a clearance price of only $5.  But, don't le the low price fool you. This watch is surprisingly capable. The established watch brands should be quaking in their boots and thank their lucky stars that this watch was listed with the laughable name of "Gosasa Men's Elegant Quartz Watches Waterproof Big Face Date Analog Watch Dainty Business Dress Watches for Men Stainless Steel/Silicone Strap Gifts for Men." Few western men want a "dainty" watch.

Gosasa SKMEI Chronograph Watch

I'm not sure if Gosasa is a brand name or the Amazon store name. Chinese watch manufacturing can be pretty opaque. I've seen watches being sold with the SKMEI label in many outlets.

Gosasa Watch Features

The most surprising thing about the Gosasa Quartz Chronograph is that it actually has features. In fact, it has functional subdials that provide a 1/10 of a second timer at 12 o'clock, a second timer at 6 o'clock, and a minute timer at 9 o'clock. The watch also has the date in a window at 3 o'clock.

The subdials all work, but the 1/10 of a second time stops after 2 to 3 minutes. I think this may be intentional. Perhaps the designers think that after the first 3 minutes, wearers are no longer interested in 1/10 of a second times? This may be an intentional design as the product video shows the 1/10 of a second subdial stocking after just a couple of minutes. It does save some wear and tear on the watch.

This watch has traditional chronograph markings around the bezel. However, these are just for style since the large second hand does not work like a traditional stop watch. This isn't a strike against the watch design. Many watch manufacturers provide chronograph markings without chronometer functionality.

Gosasa SKMEI Chronograph

Gosasa Watch Style

This watch has traditional chronograph styling and comes is sometimes offered in a wide variety of colors. As of this writing, the only color being offered is a rose gold-tone case with blue dial and bezel. In terms of style, this watch hits the mark and sticks the landing it is a great looking watch.

Gosasa Watch Construction

The Gosasa SKMEI Chronograph looks like a pretty solid watch. The Amazon listing says that this watch has a zinc alloy case and a stainless steel caseback. It also has a mineral-reinforced glass crystal that is gently domed.

Gosasa SKMEI Men's Quartz Chronograph Caseback

If there is an area of cost cutting, it might be the bezel. It is made of a hard black plastic that actually looks very good. The Amazon copy claims that the watch is water resistant to 30 meters. The watch comes with a silicone strap, but it is also sometimes offered with a stainless steel bracelet. Overall, this watch is built at a quality level and materials level that is similar to other watches that cost less than $50.

Gosasa Watch Dimensions

This Gosasa chronograph is a fairly big watch and it has some heft. It feels substantial. It has a 45mm diameter case. It's 46mm in diameter if you include the crown. The case is a bit thick at 15mm.  Lug-to-lug, I measure 47mm. This watch isn't dainty. 

Gosasa SKMEI Chronograph Profile

The black silicone strap is 18mm wide at the lug and tapers to about 16mm at the clasp.  The strap is generously long and fit my 7 3/4-inch wrist perfectly and doesn't have too much overhang. 

Gosasa SKMEI Chronograph Silicone Strap

The strap curves to conform to the round case, but it should be easy to replace since it is a conventional silicone strap.

Overall Impressions of the Gosasa SKMEI Chronograph

The Gosasa SKMEI Chronograph was a great buy. It looks good, seems solidly constructed, and works well. With this watch, I do miss being connected to a historic brand with an origin story and a legacy. Gosasa SKMEI is a fairly unknown entity to western watch purchasers. However, the Amazon store for this inexpensive fashion brand shows quite a few daring designs and they are all affordably priced. If I want to entertain myself with a watch purchase that doesn't break the bank, I'll look to Gosasa and SKMEI again. 

Where to Buy the Gosasa SKMEI Chronograph Watch

You can get a rose gold tone and blue version of this watch here via my affiliate link to Amazon.

Cheap Wristwatch Review: YouYouPifa Best Birthday Watch Dress Watch

Have you ever wondered what the very cheap Chinese watches sold on Amazon are like?  I have.  There are many attractive looking watches on Amazon that are sold at very low prices.  For less than $5, you could get a watch that (on the Internet) looked much like more expensive watches from the exciting startup watch company MVMT.

I've often wondered if companies were selling us cheap watches for hundreds of dollars so I had to check it out.  I placed an order for the YouYouPifa Best Birthday Gift watch.  Would my watch be the equivalent of an MVMT or, at least, a typical Target or Walmart commodity quartz watch.  I had to know!

In just a few weeks, I received a mysterious envelope from China.  The customs declaration on the back listed the contents as a watch x 1 and value as 5.00.  My YouYouPifa watch was here!  Inside the envelope was a wall wrapped watch!

I was a little concerned that the package was very, very, light.  But, inside was one plastic wrapped watch.  For $5, you don't get a presentation box.  The watch was well protected and the watch was keeping accurate time.

The watch looked pretty good on the wrist.  But, the materials left much to be desired.  The watch was very light weight.  The case material was a light weight metal.  I wondered if it was tin.  The strap was also a little short and quite stiff.

 

The YouYouPifa watch looked fairly good on the wrist, but the dial was not quite the dark jet black color that I had expected.

This watch is certainly not a good substitute for a genuine MVMT watch.  I'm quite sure that MVMT watches use higher quality materials. MVMT watches also have nice leather bands, have solid stainless steel cases, and use reliable Japanese MVMT movements. But, it isn't fair to judge a $5 watch against a watch that costs 20 times more.

Overall, the YouYouPifa Best Birthday watch is a working watch that arrived quickly and that has an interesting style.  However, the watch does prove the adage that  you get what you pay for.  It has a very inexpensive strap and lightweight metal case.  I will probably not wear this watch to work.  However, I might check them out again for a watch that is clearly bang-around watch.

The fact that I can order a watch factory direct from China and get it in two or three weeks should worry a lot of watch brands.  How many brands are simply sending a set of watch specifications to China?  What happens when the Chinese develop their own brands and become marketing savvy?  Youyoupifa makes a wide variety of watches and even has automatic models in their line up.  At prices this low, it's easy to experiment on your own.