# Seagull movements



## Bonzodog (Aug 29, 2018)

I rather fancy adding a hand wind watch to my collection,are these movements any good.A chap in France builds his watches with these.Thanks for any help.


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## MrF-UK82 (Jul 21, 2018)

I live on the coast so loads of poxy seagulls moving around here, this time of year. Noisy buggers too...

Oh you meant watch movements?


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

I would recommend looking for an ST 5. They can be had off eBay new old stock. Get a non date one, and factor in the price of a service. I have one or two, and they have been excellent in both reliability and accuracy.


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## PC-Magician (Apr 29, 2013)

Good movements if lubricated correctly, some sadly are not.

Will the seller stand by the product?



WRENCH said:


> I would recommend looking for an ST 5. They can be had off eBay new old stock. Get a non date one, and factor in the price of a service. I have one or two, and they have been excellent in both reliability and accuracy.


 Wrench is correct on this.


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## Bonzodog (Aug 29, 2018)

PC-Magician said:


> Good movements if lubricated correctly, some sadly are not.
> 
> Will the seller stand by the product?
> 
> Wrench is correct on this.


 Not gone into the nitty gritty of things yet,still early days of looking.Have to rebuild the toy fund first.


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## PC-Magician (Apr 29, 2013)

Bonzodog said:


> Not gone into the nitty gritty of things yet,still early days of looking.Have to rebuild the toy fund first.


 You have plenty of time. :yes:


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## MrF-UK82 (Jul 21, 2018)

Bonzodog said:


> Not gone into the nitty gritty of things yet,still early days of looking.Have to rebuild the toy fund first.


 Don't wait. Buy now - Enjoy it - Worry later! :laugh:

Sorry i don't help with your spending habits do i mate?!


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## JayDeep (Dec 31, 2016)

The st3600 is a fine movement, I like it, it's cheap and used in pretty cheap watches typically also. Still, I've found that most seagull are not properly lubed and unless you use a reputable maker, like seagull themselves or alpha and a few others similar, you're going to get something that will break soon. But with a $30 movement inside I think it's cheaper to just replace the movement when it happens then to have it serviced. To each their own...


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## ZenArcade (Aug 17, 2016)

They are cheap throw away movements. You will read all sorts of guff on the internet how the Chinese brought in Swiss machinery to make the chronograph movement etc ETA clones Unitas clones but the simple fact is they are just not up to the same quality so there is a very good reason why they are cheap. Sure you will get a decent watch assuming the other parts such as the case etc are from a good source and a cheap reliable bit of fun for a few years but if something breaks in it the movement is pretty much going in the bin.

And yes, I have had plenty of watches with Seagull movements to know.


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## Bonzodog (Aug 29, 2018)

MrF-UK82 said:


> Don't wait. Buy now - Enjoy it - Worry later! :laugh:
> 
> Sorry i don't help with your spending habits do i mate?!


 No,that's not helping at all :biggrin: ,I've bought five watches so far this year,must ease up a bit.


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## MrF-UK82 (Jul 21, 2018)

Bonzodog said:


> No,that's not helping at all :biggrin: ,I've bought five watches so far this year,must ease up a bit.


 You're very welcome mate :thumbsup:


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## Bonzodog (Aug 29, 2018)

JayDeep said:


> The st3600 is a fine movement, I like it, it's cheap and used in pretty cheap watches typically also. Still, I've found that most seagull are not properly lubed and unless you use a reputable maker, like seagull themselves or alpha and a few others similar, you're going to get something that will break soon. But with a $30 movement inside I think it's cheaper to just replace the movement when it happens then to have it serviced. To each their own...


 That's good to know,the watch I've been looking at has this movement inside.


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## PC-Magician (Apr 29, 2013)

ZenArcade said:


> They are cheap throw away movements. You will read all sorts of guff on the internet how the Chinese brought in Swiss machinery to make the chronograph movement etc ETA clones Unitas clones but the simple fact is they are just not up to the same quality so there is a very good reason why they are cheap. Sure you will get a decent watch assuming the other parts such as the case etc are from a good source and a cheap reliable bit of fun for a few years but if something breaks in it the movement is pretty much going in the bin.
> 
> And yes, I have had plenty of watches with Seagull movements to know.


 The ST5, for example, has a jeweled Barrel bridge and centre wheel so a well-made movement and serviceable which would run for decades just like any other movement would if looked after.


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## Bonzodog (Aug 29, 2018)

This disease is awful,another with a plojot movement has caught my eye, :bash:


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## ZenArcade (Aug 17, 2016)

PC-Magician said:


> The ST5, for example, has a jeweled Barrel bridge and centre wheel so a well-made movement and serviceable which would run for decades just like any other movement would if looked after.


 It may run for years but the quality of the build is simply not on par with the movements they are cloned after. I have heard this argument a million times but when something breaks its in the bin. Its the same with so many Chinese watches I have bought plenty of them I have had about 3 of those Seagull chronographs, clone Unitas movement ones as well as a few vintage ones.

Vintage ones, even they are copied and dodgy ones are a plenty. Take a look a the reviews of the Beijing everest watch, looks good but it soon becomes apparent the movement is poorly finished, parts look poorly put together I am sure they are great for the amateur watch repairer who wants a bit of fun to mess about with or someone who wants some cheap lookalike but the reality is its £50 - £300 that could be spent on something of much better quality or put towards something of better quality.


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## PC-Magician (Apr 29, 2013)

ZenArcade said:


> It may run for years but the quality of the build is simply not on par with the movements they are cloned after. I have heard this argument a million times but when something breaks its in the bin. Its the same with so many Chinese watches I have bought plenty of them I have had about 3 of those Seagull chronographs, clone Unitas movement ones as well as a few vintage ones.
> 
> Vintage ones, even they are copied and dodgy ones are a plenty. Take a look a the reviews of the Beijing everest watch, looks good but it soon becomes apparent the movement is poorly finished, parts look poorly put together I am sure they are great for the amateur watch repairer who wants a bit of fun to mess about with or someone who wants some cheap lookalike but the reality is its £50 - £300 that could be spent on something of much better quality or put towards something of better quality.


 Opinions vary.


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## KAS118 (Mar 2, 2014)

I wondered this myself and I think I agree with ZenArcade - its very hit and miss.

Some people have found them to be great and reliable - but others have had issues (see peoples comments on the hand wound Timex Marlin for instance - or indeed this comment from Eddie Platts regarding the ST19 https://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.php?387229-PRS-5&p=4210134&viewfull=1#post4210134).

So, I personally avoid them - indeed I've actually decided not to buy 2 watches when I saw that they were using Seagull movements.

That said, I'm probably being harsh - as I'm sure that people have probably had issues/problems with some Swiss made movements too


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

ZenArcade said:


> It﻿﻿ may run for ye﻿a﻿rs but the quality of the build is simply not on par with the movements they are clo﻿ned ﻿after. ﻿


 "The ST5 is a 19 jewel, manual winding mechanical watch movement which was manufactured by the Tianjin Watch Factoryfrom 1966 until 19xx. It was the first movement to be 100% designed and produced in China using Chinese tooling, and it was first used in DongFeng brand watches."


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## Bonzodog (Aug 29, 2018)

After long reflection I've decided to pass on the seagull movements,thanks for your thoughts.


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## JayDeep (Dec 31, 2016)

Bonzodog said:


> After long reflection I've decided to pass on the seagull movements,thanks for your thoughts.


 That's up to you, and I understand why

The squeaky wheel always gets the most attention. But a Unitas movement alone costs more than an entire watch utilizing the Sea-Gul equivalent. And it's such an easy swap should it somehow fail in the future and for only $35! That's cheaper than servicing a Unitas!

Honestly, I think it's just stupid to pay the price of a watch utilizing the Unitas. Why pay 5 times the original cost, then pay for servicing every 5-7 years, when you can simply replace the cheapo version when it finally breaks for cheaper cost and probably less frequently. Honestly, it's insane!


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## PC-Magician (Apr 29, 2013)

WRENCH said:


> "The ST5 is a 19 jewel, manual winding mechanical watch movement which was manufactured by the Tianjin Watch Factoryfrom 1966 until 19xx. It was the first movement to be 100% designed and produced in China using Chinese tooling, and it was first used in DongFeng brand watches."


 Correct and a fine movement it is.


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## bowie (Mar 12, 2005)

I have this one


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## Bonzodog (Aug 29, 2018)

bowie said:


> I have this one


 Indeed,but it's an auto wind.


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## bowie (Mar 12, 2005)

Bonzodog said:


> Indeed,but it's an auto wind.


 yes you are quite right about that oops:


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