Cheap Chinese Watch Review #5: Guanqin GJ16022 Quartz Chronograph

This is my 5th review of a budget-minded Chinese watch, the Guanqin 2016 GJ16022 Quartz Chronograph. This watch is in my current EDC rotation.

The Guanqin GJ16022 is available in 3 color options:

1) Black case/Black dial/Black strap/Silver hands (the version I am reviewing).
2) Gold case/Black dial/Black strap/Gold hands.
3) Black case/Red dial/Black strap/Black hands.

The watch was supplied by TomTop.

^ TomTop Pics. ^

Here are TomTop’s website and Sunon’s (movement) website. I was unable to find a manufacturer website for Guanqin, which is somewhat common for mushroom brands:

http://www.tomtop.com/guanqin-2016-fashion-men-s-luxury-top-brand-big-di... (TomTop – Dealer’s watch listing).
http://sunonwatch.com/EN/products_category.asp?id=1 (Movement Mfr./PE90 variant site).

Before we get to the review, here are the specs as they appear, verbatim, from TomTop’s website. I include the opener, where they explore the spiritual/ethereal side of watch ownership…heheh:

The design concept of GUANQIN-GQ brand watch advocates natural color, nature, delicacy and style of individuality. It takes humanistic spirit as the main body of the design guiding ideology, advocating modern dress sense and the combination of spiritual experience. Making our watches combine comfort, taste and thoughtfulness. Don’t hesitate any longer! That’s the watch you want.

Features:
Automatic quartz for accurate time keeping.
Creative dial and slim simple.
Perfect gift for men, Christmas gifts and gifts for the New Year.
Beautiful and special design, just for you.
Do not worry about water, this wristwatch is daily life 50m water resistant (but not for showering, swimming and diving).

Specifications:
Brand: GUANQIN
Item Type: Wristwatch
Style: Fashion & Business & Luminous
Gender: Male
Clasp Type: Buckle
Color: Black+Red / Full Black / Gold+Black (Optional)
Color of Band: Black
Band Material: Leather
Dial Display: Analog
Dial Shape: Round
Surface Material: Sapphire Crystal Glass
Watchcase Material: Stainless Steel
Movement Type: Quartz
Feature: Date, Heat-resistant, High Hardness, Luminous, Second Plate, Stopwatch
Water-resistant Level: Daily Life 50m Water Resistant
Dial Diameter: 41.7mm / 1.6in
Dial Thickness: 11.6mm / 0.5in
Unfolded Length: Approx. 202mm / 7.9in
Watchband Width: 19mm / 0.7in
Item Weight: Approx. 52g / 1.8oz
Package Size: Approx. 10.1 * 7.1 * 7.7cm / 4.0 * 2.8 * 3.0in
Package Weight: Approx. 156.4g / 5.5oz

Package List:
1 * Man Watch
1 * Original Watch Box

KronoReview:

TomTop (Dealer) website pictures portray a pretty attractive, dress style watch. The Guanqin is a classic, round shape chronograph. TomTop’s current price is $35.25, which seems to be in the average price range found on the internet.

^ Watch fresh out of packaging ^

The boxed watch was shipped in a standard, white, bubble type envelope, with styrofoam-like wrapping around it. It was very securely packaged. As you can see from the pic, the box suffered no damage from shipping. The nice, blue, cardboard retail box has a white slip-on sleeve.

^ Watch in Blue Retail Box ^

The Guanqin watch inside had your standard see-through protector on the crystal and case-back.

Unboxing the watch further reveals an ‘International Guarantee’ card, Chinese/English User’s Manual, a Retail tag, and a soft, pink micro-fiber polishing cloth.

Like many of the watches I have previously reviewed, this watch is very attractive in person. The size of the watch feels right for it’s dressy style. The strap has a black, embossed top with an interesting, alternating pattern of 3 bars and 7 round dots. From a distance, it is reminiscent of a carbon-fiber weave. The underside is tan, and supposedly leather, but that looks questionable. There are two loops/strap keepers…one static and one loose. The strap is a good length. My wrist is 7-5/8”, and there is plenty of adjustment, either way. The pin/buckle is some sort of steel and coated with a gloss-black coating that matches the case.

The 2 sub-dials and 2 pushers at the 2 and 4 O’clock position are functional. The top pusher starts and stops the chronograph function (stopwatch), and the bottom pusher resets it. There is no fly-back function. Sub-dials are located at 12 O’clock (split seconds), and 6 O’clock (seconds). The top sub-dial has number marks on their angled ‘bezels’ at 60, 15 and 45. The bottom has 15, 30 and 45. They both have hash-marks in between those numbers. The sub-dials overlap slightly at the center of the watch-face, hence no number mark on the top sub-dial at 30, nor the bottom for 0. The small, circular date window is at the 3 O’clock position.

The black dial is huge and heavily textured. It is very attractive and resembles a swirling honeycomb. Note that the overall watch-size isn’t that huge. That is due to the small bezel thickness, only about 2mm from crystal to the edge of the case. It gives the watch a sizable dial, without the penalty of a massive, overbearing case-size. The watch sits low enough and fits easily under a dress-shirt cuff. The hour markers are simple lines, very small, and can be difficult to see. They look as though they would have lume on them, but unfortunately, that is not the case. There are no hr. markers at 12, 3, 6 and 9 because of the two large sub-dials, logo and date window. The silver hour and minute hands are simple, a squared-off, stick-shape with center lume, but very weak. The minute hand is also silver, very thin, but with a flash of color, a red arrow pointer that grabs your attention. The date window is at 3 O’Clock. The brand name Guanqin, with wings logo beneath, appears at the 9 O’clock position. The dial is covered by a flat crystal. Specs say it is Sapphire, but I don’t think that it is. It sounds like acrylic. It is also very reflective, which can be hard to see the dial at certain angles.

The case is supposedly Stainless Steel, and finished with an attractive, gloss-black coating. The unobtrusive lugs extend at a sharp angle, and reach slightly below the case-back. I appreciate this feature as it makes it more comfortable for the top of the wrist. I have mentioned this lack of extension on several watches I previously reviewed, and I can’t understand why more manufacturers don’t do this! Kudos to Guanqin for this feature.

^ Open-caseback movement photos ^

^ Sunon’s pic of the PE90 (PE903 variant). Could it be this variant, without the 24 hr function? ^

The case-back is SS with a pop-off design. Inside is a Chinese made Sunon PE90 (PE903 variant) quartz, no jewel movement. The construction of the movement looks mostly metal, but it does contain a plastic gear which is visible at the center. The movement actually hacks when stem is pulled out, which was a surprise. Many of the watches I have recently reviewed are using this movement. The Sunon PE90 is mostly metal, but appears to have at least one plastic gear inside. This makes me doubt it’s longevity. Someone with greater knowledge of Sunon’s movements, please feel free to chime in!

The watch looks nice on the wrist. I even wore it Friday for an interview I had. As I said previously, it fit nicely under my dress-shirt, and looked pretty nice with my black blazer. I should have taken a pic with it. Maybe I can dress up again and take a pic later.

PROS:
Dress style watch that looks nice, beyond it’s cost.
Large, textured dial is intricate, with high-end flare.
Chronograph with working sub-dials.
Movement actually hacks.
Attractive, gloss black case and buckle..
Working sub-dials (Seconds/Split seconds).
Date function.
Attractive, comfortable strap.
Lume on hour and minute hand.
3 color combos to choose from.
Box w/warranty card, instructions, tag and polishing cloth.
Light weight, relatively low-profile design.

CONS:
Acrylic crystal (Specs say it is Sapphire).
Crystal is very reflective and ‘ringy’ (reflections off off sub-dials), hard to read at certain angles.
Very limited lume on hands, and no lume on hour-markers.
Chinese Sunon PE90 movement w/plastic gear.
Pop-off case-back.
Chinese battery.
Price is a bit high considering the lower-end movement and probable acrylic crystal.

MY MEASUREMENTS/DIMENSIONS:
Width: 44.2mm (including crown)
Case Diameter: 41.5mm
Lug to lug: 43mm
Strap width: 20mm
Crystal: 37.5mm
Height (top of crystal to caseback): 11.25mm
OAL: 248mm
Weight: 50gms

RATING:
Cost: 3
Looks: 3.5
Durability: 3
Function: 4
Comfort: 4
Average: 3.5/5

In conclusion, the Guanqin 2016 GJ16022 is a very attractive watch, but with a low-end movement. The watch wears well, and looks much more expensive that it costs. Overall, considering the movement and looks, this watch balances out overall to be an okay watch.

Thanks,
krono