My Favourite AliExpress Watch 2024
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- čas přidán 16. 05. 2024
- #AliExpresswatches #johnswatchjoint #octopuskraken36mm
The Octopus Kraken Explorer OCT-0013
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Today we are looking at a new 2024 release from Octopus Kraken.
An Explorer homage watch that to my eyes gets a lot of things just right!
I have heard and seen a lot of good things so thought it was about time I got a watch from them so I could see if the hype was true.
Suffice to say the Octopus Kraken Hype Train was not without foundation.
This watch: The Octopus Kraken OCT-0013 pays homage to a very famous watch with explorer vibes and has excellent dimensions making it one of the best small field watches around
I compare the Octopus Kraken with its Baltany S4056 36mm counterpart which itself was only recently released and I did a review on both colourways from Baltany just a couple of weeks before this came to light.
Both brands and the watches they produce should be on your radar if you are genuinely looking for excellent quality at a good price AND a great range of watches to choose from!
I will leave AliExpress affiliate links to both of these watches below though the Octopus Kraken Official Store is not yet included in that program so the link is just generic.
I will make no commission from the Octopus Kraken watch but will from the Baltany however you will not pay any extra for either watch.
You will however be helping to support the channel moving forward.
Thank you for your support :)
Link To Competition Video
• Win a Watch. 10K Subsc...
Link to my eBay Store for the Baltany
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/135010423622
Links:
Octopus Kraken OCT-0013
www.aliexpress.com/item/10050...
or
s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_EzS...
Baltany S4056
s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DlV...
Looking for quality watch straps that won't break the bank?
The Thrifty Gentleman
thrifty-gentleman.com/
Discount Codes:
JWJTTG15 One-Off 15% discount on your first order.
JWJTTG10 10% Discount on each order after that! :)
Important note to CZcams and to viewers:
Please note that this channel reviews original and homage watches.
Homage watches are perfectly legal and most watches on peoples' wrists are an homage of another watch.
To be clear I do not handle or review fake watches here. I never have and never will!
It is a scourge on the hobby I love.
That is a Kraken little watch there... Ha! I can't be the only one to come up with that little pun there. In all seriousness this has got to be one of the best Explorer homages I've seen. Excellent review!
Thank you :)
Clown 🤡
The Baltany is sort of its own thing with the beige coloring, whereas this Octopus looks more like the original Rolex. Both are nice. I think I prefer the Baltany branding, but the logo looks cool on the Octopus.
My blue enamel dial version just arrived today. Great explorer homage. The dark blue basically looks black in dimmer lighting but has a beautiful color outside in the sun. The 36mm is a perfect size on my 6.75" wrist.
I gotta be honest though. I don't think they put any anti-reflective coating on this watch. This thing is basically a mirror when it comes to reflections. I have several watches with flat sapphire crystals and this one is *by far* the most reflective, which is really the only disappointing thing I can see other than the unsigned crown. Even sitting here at my computer, I can see with perfect clarity everything I'm typing in this comment on my screen when I angle my wrist a certain way lol.
Looks great. A very true homage to the latest edition explorer. I personally prefer the San Martin version though. It has a more vintage feel.
thats a really good looking watch even if its an homage the quality looks excellent
I happen to own an Octopus Kraken watch, an Oris homage, and I am nothing but happy with it. This Explorer homage is a good one, too. AliExpress Explorer homages often look a bit weird because their bezels are too massive. I believe it's down to the fact that they try to work existing dive watch cases into fixed bezel Explorer homages. This one looks to be designed as an Explorer homage from the get-go. Sure, the brand name is a bit odd.
Nice one Alex. Haven't heard from you in a while. I really like this watch a lot. Fantastic catch for those of us afflicted with smaller wrists :)
I love all 4 of my Octopus watches, and this one looks like a winner too! Great review, John!
Nice one Dan. Take it easy buddy 😉
I swapped in the adjustable clasp from san Martin into the baltany and now it’s excellent
I’ve had my eye on a few from the brand. They all look very good.
Good review and nice to see it beside the Baltany. I agree the bezel looks better proportioned on the Octopus. I have been very tempted by the Octopus Oris Big Crown homages several times, but never pulled the trigger.
Aye it's a gud un'
Beautiful watch! One of the best do it ALL watches IMHO! Love it!!!!!!
Couldn't agree more!
So great to see this classic in two subtly different homages. Hope you can keep doing these Explorer comparisons!
Thx 😊
Thanks for another great review. Experience says this will be too small for my 7.3" wrist. Be good to see it in 40mm.. .
I had no experience with octopus watch quality and couldn’t find any videos on this particular explorer and decided to risk it. It arrived a couple days ago and I have to say I’m very happy with the watch. Phenomenal quality. Usually I’m not a big fan of Chinese watch logos but I’m very happy with this one. It’s the best one that I have seen so far on a explorer
Glad you like it. It's a lot of watch for the money :)
@@johnswatchjoint 😉 it really is.
I wonder if the movement holder is out of plastic or metal. Any chance you will open the case to regulate the movement? I would open it myself but I don’t have the tools. Metal movement holder is a small detail but it gives the watch the premium feeling in my opinion.
I do not have the tools either and as you have seen mine is running very sweetly so not necessary :)
Got it. Thanks 🙏
Canadian price puts it over $300 now so outside my skint budget
It seems you guys get a rough deal over there! :(
I have the Octopus Seamaster homage and the lume is off the charts!
Thanks for the review John. I do like both of them but must admit, great lume is far more important than a signed crown for me.
The kraken is delightful, I just wish they had opted to sign the claps with their logo and added an applied logo to the dial. I wish more brands would do that, just elevates the perceived brand presence in my eyes
That looks a beauty, i think it looks better than the original with all that messy text. Looks a nice plain and simple watch which is really what the explorer is all about.
It does!
Beautiful watch. I paid £450 in September for a very similar version by Steinhart. The Octopus sadly wasn’t an option at the time!
It would be cool to compare this one with the baltany explorer.
i take that back... should have watched the video all the way.
I was gonna say...!
LOL
The thinner bezel in combination with the reduced thickness, as opposed to the Baltany, is why I would opt for the Octopus Kraken. It makes the watch look bigger, which is not a bad thing at all for a 36mm watch. The Baltany looks a bit 'chubby' imo. Apart from that, because of the logo the printing fits the contours of the dial better as does the printing at the bottom of the dial. It's a real pity I don't like Mercedes hands, otherwise I'd have ordered it right now.
Overall it looks very well balanced. I also prefer the white indices over the fauxtina on the Baltany, it provides a cleaner look against the black of the dial. Really nicely executed watch.
Thanks for yet another great review, John!
Thanks for your thoughts :)
i agree with you, baltany looks good but that wider bezel doesnt look really good compared to octopus's bezel. and the white indices does really have great contrast with octopus black dial.
too bad octopus didnt engrave their crown.
what i dont really like about the octopus's only the logo , if they use only logo and no written octopus it would be great ( to me at least ), and engrave the logo on the crown.
Would be great if you could review the tandorio explorer homage 36mm with nh35 movement
Also what tool do you use to adjust the microadjust on that clasp?
Just a small screwdriver or a spring bar removal.tool 🤗
Lovely.
If i was in in the market it'd definitely be the Octopus plus coming with the PT5000 which is a refreshing change from the NH series at this price for the finishing & overall quality.
It's an absolute gem this one 😍
Looks like a winner.
Great review as always. From the reviews I see, they make some excellent watches. And I’ve always like the name from the beginning because I thought it was a bit silly. I also thought “San Martin” was a ridiculous name for a watch when I first got into watches so…🤔 Thanks as always!
Cheers Albert. They are a brand that I have known about but I have always had some other watch on my radar. Glad I didn't pass on this :)
I've also seen the oris big crown homage from octopus.
Also if you could, check out the baltany dirty dozen mechanical in beige dial.
Yeah I've seen that big crown homage. Looks well done. I have done a couple of Dirty Dozen reviews with one from Baltany but not the mechanical one.
Welcome to the 🐙 fan club, John. They make cracking watches, and this Explorer looks the business!
Hi Harvind. It's a beauty.
Did you see my msg on WhatsApp?
How much does the bracelet taper?
On the signed crown, i don’t mind. Ditto the clasp. I think there is something to be said for minimal branding. For the finishing, i don’t care about “hand finishing”. I just want it to be *good* finishing.
To just under 16mm
@@johnswatchjoint Thank you. Also i wanted to add that i have a Rolex-style clasp on a Rolex copy i have and it is one of the most comfortable clasps that i own. I know people like to give them grief, but man do they design a very wearable watch down to the smallest detail.
Nice review, nice watch, but personally I prefer BALTANY's homage explorer 36mm mostly for the bellow two major reasons. Baltany explorer has true no ghost date caliber NH38 and Octopus a caliber that has date function which means that has ghost position in the crown. Furthermore, Seiko NH38 is more proper movement for a tool watch like the explorer, because it is very reliable with good accuracy and it is compliant with the minimum antimagnetic resistance ISO764 standard. Last but not least Baltany explorer has more personality, it is not a direct clonage of the Rolex explorer.
Thanks for your take :)
Lovely & clean looking watch. I’m a sucker for a blue dial watch,but I think the black dial, does this watch justice. The Baltany is very nice. I think the Octopus Kraken trumps it by a little.
Great review.
Thanks Paul. I really appreciate it 😊
I wonder if it has AR coating?
I have one of the bronze Oris(h) pilot in green they did one run of and I love it but I really want them to bring this model back, I need a red one!
You convinced me to pull the trigger on the Kraken. I recently sold my smiths Everest and started other buying other explorer homages. The tisell 36, san nartin sn021 and now this one. I like the vintage vibes of the san martin, but this octopus kraken looks better than the tisell.
Nice 🙂
Ordered it from Watchdives, I love this little watch 😍
Nice one 🤗
@@johnswatchjoint thanks for the review and putting this on my radar John!
No probs Allan
Better the 39mm Cronos?
Looks awesome. Kinda sick of everyone making enamel dials,but it is what it is i guess
You know how to pick them JWJ!
Have Octopus done any finishing between the lugs on this one? On my Octopus p39 they skipped that and I like to switch straps, but it looks horrible with that rough surface between lugs on Nato or leather 😢
Looks as well finished as the Baltany between the lugs :)
Does the circle logo line up with the point of the 12 o clock marker?
Yes....as per the vid :)
Looks good John I’m looking at either a Tudor ranger or explorer homage as next watch but they both bit dressy for my liking at the moment
This one is certainly more tool like :)
Looks rather nice!
Hands have excellent proportions, just compare it with the Baltany, which hands are too narrow.
I wouldn’t have thought that the bezel being slimmer would make such an impact, apparently I was wrong!
But Baltany definitely wins in the crystal department.
But I’ll say Octopus Kraken should’ve went for the toolless clasp, like Proxima.
I like the wider midlinks on the Kraken!
The font used reminds me of the "goldeneye" lettering.
Maybe that’s enhanced by the Kraken logo looking like a bullyseye.
it definitely has something going on. Its a Kraker!
I'm very curious about Octopus watches. I wonder if the sw200 is real or a knockoff.
I think it is be likely to be real. And for the price it makes sense. Selita is * the * Eta alternative and is very willing to sell to people. Basically anyone can order from Selita.
If one were to buy one of these watches and want to upgrade the bracelet clasp, would you have any recommendations? Sometimes i hear about people talking about upgrading clasps.
Sorry if it is a boring topic, but I would like to know if one can buy a clasp upgrade. Maybe others would also be interested too.
On this watch the bracelet and clasp are excellent. I know that SM and Proxima have upgraded their clasps and I had both in hand. The screws used by each brand differed in diameter so we're not able to be used cross brand in that case.
@@johnswatchjoint Thanks
Really nice
Thank you! Cheers!
Did you compare it to the Cronos version also?
I have had the Chronos version and wasn't particularly impressed. The Logo was a real put off for me but ultimately it was a watch that didn't even make it to review as the movement was faulty.
If I do not have same watch from lil brand called Rolex I will definitely buy this one... As I see it is 1 to 1 with original... nice watch for sure and with pt5000 and enamel dial from one meter it is same ...😅
does this watch wear bigger than dimensions, would bigger wrists struggle with this one?
It wears like a 37mm
I'm not too sure about the PT5000 movement, I've had two out of the four watches I have with them fail. They both started great and I've been careful not to handwind them but i guess I've just been unlucky. I'll stick with the Seiko movements on these less expensive watches as they've been trouble free.
Sorry to hear that. You will be fine with the bigger manufacturers. I have had more troubles with Seiko movements tbh
I prefer the Octopus Kraken to my Addiesdive equivalent which I bought last year, mainly because of the bracelet.Decision’s decision’s I may have to open a bottle of Kraken to help me decide.
Haha 😂
Is the AR on the octopus not very strong?
It's a flat Sapphire, but the dial remains legible at all.rimes :)
I would like to see this watch in 39mm
Hi John, you mentioned selling some watches on eBay, please tell me how to find your eBay channel
Hi Richard. My eBay store is not listed as John's Watch Joint. It's my personal account.
Hhhmmm! Got the San Martin SN021-G in the cart, just waiting for the black leather strap to come back into stock but it's 335€ + 49€ for the strap, now I'm not so sure, how do you think it compares to the San Martin quality wise?
San Martin and Octopus Kraken are very close quality wise. You already know which one you want to buy so that is for you to choose 😉
@@johnswatchjoint hi, thanks for the reply, I own a few SM's but not even seen a Kraken in person, for the price difference I might give it a try, looks almost identical to the San Martin, thanks for the review 👍🏻
No worries. To put your mind at ease, I still have mine and it's a keeper! 😉
@@johnswatchjoint worth a punt then, probably made in the same factory or at least from the same components anyway, thanks for the heads up, have a great day 👍🏻
🤗
Lovely little watch. Brand name not keen on.
Dear John, overall is this better than Baltany explorer 36mm?
They are both quality watches and I would be happy with either. The question you have to ask is which aesthetic do you like and what movement do you feel comfortable with:)
@@johnswatchjoint yes John aesthetic and movement wise which is final Best?
That is subjective. I cannot choose for you :)
Absolute beauty but I struggle to get past “OCTOPUS”…eww
Just FYI: Something off with that AliX link for the Octopus. I find the watch alright when I click the link, but it tells me that they can't/won't ship the item to my address in Germany. When I then click on "Products" or on "Store Home", I get an empty page. Also: When I add the watch to my cart, AliX tells me they auto-removed it because the seller doesn't provide shipping to my address.
As I said they are a new seller and are not part of the conventional commission system as yet. It means I dont get paid any commission on future sales. They may have certain country restrictions as a result. I will find another store and give an alternate link for you :) Keep an eye on the description below the video for an update :)
@@johnswatchjoint Thanks for the quick answer, John. Might be just an oversight on their part, I guess ... I don't see a reason why they wouldn't ship to the EU. While I have you here: Did you ever own the San Martin 36mm Explorer-homage, and if so: How do the two compare?
Added a new alternative link. I never had the San Martin version. I really did not like their early stuff at all 😕
I think the Baltany looks better to me.
The other thing that i cant get around is the branding. "Octopus" is pretty uninspiring to me.
I don’t think that it is your first watch from them. I just watched your pelagi 39 comparison that also included the octopus kraken this morning.
Thank you for jogging my memory. Indeed I did have one back about a year ago...this is what age does to you...be warned! 😭
What's the difference between this and £90 more for the SW200?
The SW200 is a superior movement but really I would not opt for that as you are buying a Chinese watch. If you know you will keep the watch long term then fine but flipping it down the line would be more costly when buying with that movement :)
@@johnswatchjoint Thanks v much for your prompt reply. Top man.
I hope it helps 🤗
A bit cheeky John,but if i win the competition can i have this instead!
...no chance haha...this one stays :)
best explorer homage for sure, look so similar to the actual thing. I would buy one in a heart beat if not for that ***hole logo. Just the Octopus - Kraken text would have been so much better
Clean your mind then, I’ve had my octopus p39 for 8 months now and not once I thought of the logo shaped like an anus.
So tempered by this one, would prefer a 38mm though
There is always the Baltany but in it's 39mm size ;)
My favorite watch doesn't have ghost date.
Beauty of a watch. Would like to see it in a 40mm, 39mm at the very least. 36 is just too dainty for my taste. Well done review on such a nice looking timepiece.
I skip. Beauty of a homage. But the rehaut is to thick for me. Next time
That logo is a horrible. Would be a great watch without it
Very nice homage!
Thank you! Cheers!
Personally I have an issue with these homages beeing just rebranded replicas of the real thing. Much more prefer the homages that takes inspiration and then spice things with their own ideas. Oh, lastly great chanel my friend. You are doing a fantastic job!
I understand your point of view however there are many who would love the real thing and want something as close to the original as possible...without being a fake. I must admit this watch ticks that box for me and is better than the Steinhart version I owned a few years back. Thanks for taking the time to comment.