Just collected mine after a very anxious 12 day wait the precise time they said it would arrive. I fell in love with the 54 when I tried it on at a Tudor store. Couldn’t afford the randsom they asked so did the next best thing. Thank you San Martin for the opportunity to fulfil my dream of owning a 54. The quality is amazing 🎉 big bang for the bucks 👍
Apart from certifications and movements the big hitters are probably making their watches at a similar cost. They just have stupid prices. Doesn't stop me buying them though😂 I do love the SM though and I like the logo.
The sharp edges and dust on the handset are 100% identical to those made by Tudor. Only reason I’ll never buy a Tudor is their lackluster price:performance ratio. San Martin isn’t that far behind I gotta say, but it does cost $3300 less
I love the logo! I also love the applied logo way more than when they print it on the dial. As of now, I own 6 of their watches with another on the way. Great review as always!
The BB54 is a beautiful watch. I purchased one in the last sale and it's even prettier in person. My daughter loved it and is now it's proud owner. She said her professors at school have commented on it. Ifnore the logo haters. You can't appeal to eveyone. Lume is great, the bezel action is sweet and the fit is good when for smaller wrists. Plus the new on-the-fly clasp is the beans! Grest value for the money. Take that Seiko!
My favorite is the first one for sure. But I'm still going to hold off till I find one that's thinner, whether that's using a PT5000 or Seiko mechaquartz. Given the rest of the dimensions, under 12mm would be fantastic. The dial of the second one is amazing! I love the color and that sunburst. Thanks for the review!
I'm always impressed with San Martin's quality for the money. Of these two, the first definitely gets my vote. The matte treatment with gold accents is handsome.
Great review as always. Gotta say that of the two, I definitely preferred the GMT olive sunburst dial with the seamaster-like bezel. Just stunning. The Tudor homage was nice, but the GMT just blew it out of the water for me.
I've considered the sm bb54. However I have a tudor bb58 and so the san Martin would be a work watch. The trouble is that these san Martin watches are too nice to beat up.
I love this channel. A metal movement holder as well. That green sun burst dialled watch is nigh on perfect. A lot of quality and and functionality for the money.
Great in-depth review. Thank you. Beautiful watches. I totally agree with you re size and have just ordered the BB54. The green sunburst dial is stunning on the GMT and green is not always easy to pull off. I am a bit conflicted re the shiny bezel though...too much bling? Nothing wrong with the logo either and I too prefer it applied. Overall great watches and a really good professional review. Interesting what you said re brushed steel and the technical apsects of this.Makes me appreciate the result even more. Subscribed!
San Martin make very high quality watches, doubly impressive for the price. I can’t get on with no-date dials (believe me I’ve tried), so the gmt would be my choice, probably in that blue you showed. Very nice. Thanks for sharing.
My Olive Green SN0136-G GMT hasn't been off my wrist since I received it! I opted for the steel h-link bracelet option. Well worth the additional cost. Loving it! Cost me around 205GBP, shipped. (Equivalent in KSh, as I live in Kenya). It was a "toss up" between the SN0136-G and the Root Beer GMT SN0116, (more akin to the other one you reviewed on this video). Still tempted to get that one , (next time there's a sale). The beads of rice bracelet looks great. The slightly larger size suits my 7.5 inch wrist.
It's almost as if SM are actively trying to *not* build my perfect watch. Not only do they not make a faithful five-digit Sub homage (which I would buy in a heartbeat), but they also kinda messed up that BB54: It overdoes it in the fauxtina-department and it also misses the point WRT the bezel insert. Wrong material, wrong colors. Throw on an aluminium insert with silver instead of the gold lettering, get rid of the red triangle and add an old school lume pearl at the 12. The more subdued insert is one of the reasons why I much prefer the genuine 54 over the 58. They also really, really need to work on their fauxtina colour. Personally, I'd rather have the option to not get it at all ("factory fresh" look) but if they really want to put it on there, they should re-think their choice of colors. Like other Chinese brands, they're using a color that really does look like a urinal cake's - it's way too yellow in tone when brands that do it better use a warmer, more khaki-esque shade of fauxtina. Lastly, it would be nice if they had built this one around the PT5000/SW200. Not only for the 4Hz-sweep, but it probably would've enabled them to make it thinner, too. 13mm is a bit too tall for a watch of this type and diameter, IMO.
I'm waiting for the admiral gmt auto from boderry and at $139 much better value. And the armour I've purchased from Aragon incl 25 for delivery worked out at £114 like I said previously rude not to.
Ah, 200 meter, they improved on it, mine says a 100 meters. Now I wonder how long the band is, I have a 9 inch wrist. I like the green one most :) I have no clue what to do with those numbered rings, irritate other people by making noises? Case back is nice, plenty room to have it engraved. Some nice Klingon text, or maybe: "Och Ohem, Och Tay, Wyees Barsoom!". That would be a fitting text for a watch like this :)
For people like me who only want quartz watches Watch Dives produce a BB54 series with the VH31 movement. I have bought the version that is similar to your reviewed watch. Its only downside imho is that if you want the gilt bezel then the lume is distinctly yellow. This is not enough to spoil the watch but it is annoying given that the lume on the other versions is not like this. For £90 as a new release it is excellent value and it will no doubt drop in price over time.
I received the SM GMT root beer last week. I’ve had a lot of their watches and always ended up selling but I think I’ll be keeping this one. Looks great on a leather strap. I have the BB58 or I would have picked up the BB54 homage. Thanks for the review.
To be honest, their finishing quality is so high that I actually have a problem seeing these gems with a NH35/34 movement that doesn’t really stack up to the rest. I have a BB homage with the PT5000 movement that runs beautifully at 28800 vph but developed stem problems making it impossible to handwind and hard to set. I’d actually pay the difference to a Myota 9 series or a Sellita on some of these models. Great microscope shots btw.
Only have to pay tax on checkout up to value of about £136. Over that it’s supposed to be collected on delivery but often not collected in my experience.
Nice review! Subbed and joined the Facebook group as well! I will be reviewing their new aventurine and the green dial watch they just released sometime next week!
Very thorough review with great photography 👍 San Martin quality is excellent. I like the green dial and bracelet, but I've never been a fan of that flat ugly submariner style case. I can see why you like the bb54 homage, but it's a bit too close to the original for me.
My opinion is that San Martin should move away from the homage arena and create it own identity by original design. It is high time now since San Martin has been producing extremely high quality watches! Make it happen!!!!!!
I agree. Whilst the homages I can understand. For me something unique and not 'homaged' is more credible on the wrist. They certainly have the expertise and quality.
You’re making me feel bad mate., honestly, got a lot of time for your opinion. Thing is these guys also make some stellar own designs too. Thing is the public buy them in high numbers so they make what sells. Not sure the green one is a direct copy, case clearly is but then that model has been cloned by all and sundry. I’d like to get better brands to the channel but it’s proving to be more challenging. Mainly time constraints as most of my focus is watch repair. As for punish them they probably can’t, would depend on what’s patented on the design front . Maybe I will stick to just reviewing my personal watches but they don’t get any views sadly. I’m damned if I do or don’t
Russell, I don't have several grands to spend on a watch! Never will. I like the quality, size and availability of the watches reviewed here. Clomages can be pretty poorly made too, which these aren't. I watch your channel A LOT but tend to switch off when you review more expensive watches as I simply cannot go there. I wasn't gifted a Rolex by my grand father nor can I afford to have two Tudors. Let's be honest, I can only get a few couple of hundred quid watches (I am a nurse) so clomages will have to do. I also have Seiko and Casio watches, again, beautiful, original and affordable. I understand people disliking clomages but to "punish them" that's a bit harsh as most watches are "inspired" by each other to some degree. Thanks.
My problem has NOTHING to do with the likes of you wanting a good decent watch . My problem is like the music business I was in for 10 years, if I rip off a chorus of a Beatles song, I will be sued by anyone that has the rights to the song. If I remember rightly one of these watches is the green Longines Hydroconquest GMT . It’s a clone of it basically it’s not right !!! I saved for that Rolex, I saved for the Tudor and the Doxa. I’m no moneybags . You can buy icon watch designs for under 500 pound especially on the used market. A brand should be established NOT just for making good cheaper versions of other watches to just make money. I’m tired of people using the ‘I can’t afford a Rolex so I bought this!’ Get an Orient Ray , a company with its own in house movement that’s inspired by a submariner but has its own character .
Orient watches are too big for me. I also recall Oasis being heavily “inspired “ by the Beatles. And a lot of musicians use classical music too for inspiration and in their songs. I was hoping to get a more balanced answer from you as I normally really agree with you but it’s only a discussion about watches after all…
Aghhh! The second hand is 20 seconds ahead of the minute hand on the BB54!!! That alone would mean a return - bad quality control. The dial surface looks like a trash bin, but it appears the crystal hasn't been cleaned well before showing it off. The green one has the same hand-sync defect, although not as severe (second hand is off by about 15 seconds). Watching another review of the 119 GMT shows the second hand off by 30 seconds! It appears SM just presses the hand on randomly. Fail.
They do. And allegedly Tudor went after some manufacturers recently for using them. However, San Martin is based in China, so Tudor will be powerless against S.M.
@@RabbitWatchShop Unless they are getting around the law somehow it has expired, so they are public domain now. The hands came out in 1969, when they brought out a Tudor Submariner version where the mercedes hands were replaced with new snowflake hands. Swiss design patents last for 5 years and can be renewed until a total of 25 years is reached, so the patent ended years ago. Unless it was not registed for a long time before they started on their 25 years?
Why do SM still make homages at all, it does nothing but detract from their excellent originals. I frankly don't want to see snowflake hands on anything but an actual Tudor.
Just collected mine after a very anxious 12 day wait the precise time they said it would arrive. I fell in love with the 54 when I tried it on at a Tudor store. Couldn’t afford the randsom they asked so did the next best thing. Thank you San Martin for the opportunity to fulfil my dream of owning a 54. The quality is amazing 🎉 big bang for the bucks 👍
Same feeling. Got mine a few days ago and it is just top quality!
I truly just don't know how San Martin always get it as near to perfect as possible for the cost. It really is above my comprehension.
Apart from certifications and movements the big hitters are probably making their watches at a similar cost. They just have stupid prices. Doesn't stop me buying them though😂
I do love the SM though and I like the logo.
The sharp edges and dust on the handset are 100% identical to those made by Tudor. Only reason I’ll never buy a Tudor is their lackluster price:performance ratio. San Martin isn’t that far behind I gotta say, but it does cost $3300 less
I love the logo! I also love the applied logo way more than when they print it on the dial. As of now, I own 6 of their watches with another on the way. Great review as always!
The BB54 is a beautiful watch. I purchased one in the last sale and it's even prettier in person. My daughter loved it and is now it's proud owner. She said her professors at school have commented on it.
Ifnore the logo haters. You can't appeal to eveyone.
Lume is great, the bezel action is sweet and the fit is good when for smaller wrists. Plus the new on-the-fly clasp is the beans! Grest value for the money. Take that Seiko!
My favorite is the first one for sure. But I'm still going to hold off till I find one that's thinner, whether that's using a PT5000 or Seiko mechaquartz. Given the rest of the dimensions, under 12mm would be fantastic. The dial of the second one is amazing! I love the color and that sunburst. Thanks for the review!
I'm always impressed with San Martin's quality for the money. Of these two, the first definitely gets my vote. The matte treatment with gold accents is handsome.
Great review as always. Gotta say that of the two, I definitely preferred the GMT olive sunburst dial with the seamaster-like bezel. Just stunning. The Tudor homage was nice, but the GMT just blew it out of the water for me.
Green dial is a Longines homage as I’ve just found out…😢
Both are stunners. I have the BB lookalike, the matt ceramic bezel looks better than the alumnium one on the OG
I've considered the sm bb54. However I have a tudor bb58 and so the san Martin would be a work watch. The trouble is that these san Martin watches are too nice to beat up.
I love this channel. A metal movement holder as well. That green sun burst dialled watch is nigh on perfect. A lot of quality and and functionality for the money.
Great in-depth review. Thank you. Beautiful watches. I totally agree with you re size and have just ordered the BB54. The green sunburst dial is stunning on the GMT and green is not always easy to pull off. I am a bit conflicted re the shiny bezel though...too much bling? Nothing wrong with the logo either and I too prefer it applied. Overall great watches and a really good professional review. Interesting what you said re brushed steel and the technical apsects of this.Makes me appreciate the result even more. Subscribed!
San Martin make very high quality watches, doubly impressive for the price. I can’t get on with no-date dials (believe me I’ve tried), so the gmt would be my choice, probably in that blue you showed. Very nice. Thanks for sharing.
you forgot on the fly bracelet adjustment on 37mm
My Olive Green SN0136-G GMT hasn't been off my wrist since I received it! I opted for the steel h-link bracelet option. Well worth the additional cost.
Loving it! Cost me around 205GBP, shipped. (Equivalent in KSh, as I live in Kenya).
It was a "toss up" between the SN0136-G and the Root Beer GMT SN0116, (more akin to the other one you reviewed on this video).
Still tempted to get that one , (next time there's a sale). The beads of rice bracelet looks great. The slightly larger size suits my 7.5 inch wrist.
If you want a high end homage, you don’t have to look further than San Martin. And did you say 20%?! Holy crap… thanks for the great review!
It's almost as if SM are actively trying to *not* build my perfect watch. Not only do they not make a faithful five-digit Sub homage (which I would buy in a heartbeat), but they also kinda messed up that BB54: It overdoes it in the fauxtina-department and it also misses the point WRT the bezel insert. Wrong material, wrong colors. Throw on an aluminium insert with silver instead of the gold lettering, get rid of the red triangle and add an old school lume pearl at the 12. The more subdued insert is one of the reasons why I much prefer the genuine 54 over the 58.
They also really, really need to work on their fauxtina colour. Personally, I'd rather have the option to not get it at all ("factory fresh" look) but if they really want to put it on there, they should re-think their choice of colors. Like other Chinese brands, they're using a color that really does look like a urinal cake's - it's way too yellow in tone when brands that do it better use a warmer, more khaki-esque shade of fauxtina.
Lastly, it would be nice if they had built this one around the PT5000/SW200. Not only for the 4Hz-sweep, but it probably would've enabled them to make it thinner, too. 13mm is a bit too tall for a watch of this type and diameter, IMO.
As usual San Martin superb quality finish ❤ 🎉 another great homage.
I'm waiting for the admiral gmt auto from boderry and at $139 much better value. And the armour I've purchased from Aragon incl 25 for delivery worked out at £114 like I said previously rude not to.
I like the hexagon logo.
Like an applied logo and indices, too.
My favourite 2 are the SN 0129 g and SN 0116 g dragon.
Nice too know tho that san Martin are of good quality good to know. 😊
I actually liked the gmt one, could be down to that olive green color
San Martin Watch Fan? come join the conversation on my new Facebook Group Here: facebook.com/groups/794985945548044/
It's a nice looking watch reminds me a little of my spinnaker watch
What reference please? I’ve been in the fence about purchasing a spinnaker how do you like yours?
Ah, 200 meter, they improved on it, mine says a 100 meters. Now I wonder how long the band is, I have a 9 inch wrist. I like the green one most :) I have no clue what to do with those numbered rings, irritate other people by making noises? Case back is nice, plenty room to have it engraved. Some nice Klingon text, or maybe: "Och Ohem, Och Tay, Wyees Barsoom!". That would be a fitting text for a watch like this :)
For people like me who only want quartz watches Watch Dives produce a BB54 series with the VH31 movement. I have bought the version that is similar to your reviewed watch. Its only downside imho is that if you want the gilt bezel then the lume is distinctly yellow.
This is not enough to spoil the watch but it is annoying given that the lume on the other versions is not like this.
For £90 as a new release it is excellent value and it will no doubt drop in price over time.
Nice one Mike!
For me it would be the GMT if it was only a little bit smaller.
Thanks
Simon
Cheers mate
I received the SM GMT root beer last week. I’ve had a lot of their watches and always ended up selling but I think I’ll be keeping this one. Looks great on a leather strap. I have the BB58 or I would have picked up the BB54 homage. Thanks for the review.
I reviewed the root beer and it’s also one of my all time favourites
To be honest, their finishing quality is so high that I actually have a problem seeing these gems with a NH35/34 movement that doesn’t really stack up to the rest. I have a BB homage with the PT5000 movement that runs beautifully at 28800 vph but developed stem problems making it impossible to handwind and hard to set. I’d actually pay the difference to a Myota 9 series or a Sellita on some of these models. Great microscope shots btw.
I need to do a video on the keyless on a PT 5000 I think the 2824 have similar issues
Only have to pay tax on checkout up to value of about £136. Over that it’s supposed to be collected on delivery but often not collected in my experience.
Nice review! Subbed and joined the Facebook group as well! I will be reviewing their new aventurine and the green dial watch they just released sometime next week!
Very thorough review with great photography 👍 San Martin quality is excellent. I like the green dial and bracelet, but I've never been a fan of that flat ugly submariner style case. I can see why you like the bb54 homage, but it's a bit too close to the original for me.
Good points well raised.
My opinion is that San Martin should move away from the homage arena and create it own identity by original design. It is high time now since San Martin has been producing extremely high quality watches! Make it happen!!!!!!
Totally agree. Their own designs are good but they sell more homage sadly and as a business you make what sells
I agree. Whilst the homages I can understand. For me something unique and not 'homaged' is more credible on the wrist. They certainly have the expertise and quality.
Can't decide between the gilt and the blue
I like the logo it’s amazing
Love the logo!
You didn't put the green GMT on the time-grapher, but never mind, it's a bit out of my reach at the moment anyway. I do like the sunburst effect.
Whoops! Completely missed it in edit. Sorry. Can’t believe it.
I will make a short for it
The green dial is superb as well. Extremely high quality finish. Another NH34 movement which is nothing special 😂
Loved your review matey! I just can’t understand why brands don’t punish these lot?! Im starting to really loath these clomage brands !!!!!!!!
You’re making me feel bad mate., honestly, got a lot of time for your opinion.
Thing is these guys also make some stellar own designs too. Thing is the public buy them in high numbers so they make what sells.
Not sure the green one is a direct copy, case clearly is but then that model has been cloned by all and sundry.
I’d like to get better brands to the channel but it’s proving to be more challenging. Mainly time constraints as most of my focus is watch repair.
As for punish them they probably can’t, would depend on what’s patented on the design front .
Maybe I will stick to just reviewing my personal watches but they don’t get any views sadly.
I’m damned if I do or don’t
Russell, I don't have several grands to spend on a watch! Never will. I like the quality, size and availability of the watches reviewed here. Clomages can be pretty poorly made too, which these aren't. I watch your channel A LOT but tend to switch off when you review more expensive watches as I simply cannot go there. I wasn't gifted a Rolex by my grand father nor can I afford to have two Tudors. Let's be honest, I can only get a few couple of hundred quid watches (I am a nurse) so clomages will have to do. I also have Seiko and Casio watches, again, beautiful, original and affordable. I understand people disliking clomages but to "punish them" that's a bit harsh as most watches are "inspired" by each other to some degree. Thanks.
My problem has NOTHING to do with the likes of you wanting a good decent watch . My problem is like the music business I was in for 10 years, if I rip off a chorus of a Beatles song, I will be sued by anyone that has the rights to the song. If I remember rightly one of these watches is the green Longines Hydroconquest GMT . It’s a clone of it basically it’s not right !!! I saved for that Rolex, I saved for the Tudor and the Doxa. I’m no moneybags . You can buy icon watch designs for under 500 pound especially on the used market. A brand should be established NOT just for making good cheaper versions of other watches to just make money. I’m tired of people using the ‘I can’t afford a Rolex so I bought this!’ Get an Orient Ray , a company with its own in house movement that’s inspired by a submariner but has its own character .
Orient watches are too big for me. I also recall Oasis being heavily “inspired “ by the Beatles. And a lot of musicians use classical music too for inspiration and in their songs. I was hoping to get a more balanced answer from you as I normally really agree with you but it’s only a discussion about watches after all…
@@justinebodlak1373oasis have been sued on many occasions and have settled out of court
please make a non gilt bezel and it will sell like hotcakes
Price doubled already
Aaaaaahhhhhhh....NO DATE ON THE BB!!
Uhh
:)
Aghhh! The second hand is 20 seconds ahead of the minute hand on the BB54!!! That alone would mean a return - bad quality control. The dial surface looks like a trash bin, but it appears the crystal hasn't been cleaned well before showing it off. The green one has the same hand-sync defect, although not as severe (second hand is off by about 15 seconds). Watching another review of the 119 GMT shows the second hand off by 30 seconds! It appears SM just presses the hand on randomly. Fail.
Do Tudor have a patent for Snowflake hands?
They do. And allegedly Tudor went after some manufacturers recently for using them. However, San Martin is based in China, so Tudor will be powerless against S.M.
@@RabbitWatchShop Unless they are getting around the law somehow it has expired, so they are public domain now. The hands came out in 1969, when they brought out a Tudor Submariner version where the mercedes hands were replaced with new snowflake hands. Swiss design patents last for 5 years and can be renewed until a total of 25 years is reached, so the patent ended years ago. Unless it was not registed for a long time before they started on their 25 years?
@@WrightsW5 wrong. Tudor recently filed for another patented for the hands.
Another bb homage? I can't even abide the original. The square hands are ugly.
Personal taste I guess . Snowflake were created for better visibility under water
Why do SM still make homages at all, it does nothing but detract from their excellent originals. I frankly don't want to see snowflake hands on anything but an actual Tudor.
I can’t argue with your point at all. Similarly the green dial one is a Longines
Then don’t buy their watches 😂
Unattractive logo. Dealbreaker