When it comes to watches, the Swiss made Hamilton’s parent knows how to influence purchase decisions. Overall, they may not make better low priced watches Asian companies, but they can make us spend more. It’s a matter of conditioning and I’m not immune to it.
Before we look at the pilot watches, let’s talk about variations in competing watch companies in different parts of the globe. For reference purposes, I put links to eBay to see the variations in prices.
We should start with Example 1. With slight various in design, we’re looking at the same watch. The one on the left is a Hamilton. It has a stainless steel case, sapphire crystal and an ETA A07.511 movement. It sales for (USD) $1445.
The two watches on the left sell for approximately $200. They have marine grade stainless steel cases, sapphire crystals and use a 821A Miyota Citizen movement.
When you look at Example 2, more disparity exists primarily in the appearance. Many people recognize the Sea-Gull brand as well as the Hamilton. Both manufacturers created these watches as a tribute to military: Hamilton to the British Military timepieces produced in the 1970’s. Sea-Gull’s tribute is obvious in historical terms.
If you think “cheap” when you look at the Chinese watches, think again. I dismantled these. The results surprised me. (more below the photos).
Example 1
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Example 2
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Hamilton has their cases made in Asia. Hamilton’s parent has facilities in Thailand, Malaysia and China. An ETA plant in Samut Prakan, Thailand makes watch movements. I also found the Hamilton case made in Thailand.
That leaves differences in watch movements. The ETA A07.511 doesn’t show up in retail watch or Jewelry catalogs. Existing sources say ETA customized a 7753 movement for the 1970 Pilot. The case size of the reissue is 42mm and expanded from the original 40mm. ETA based the movement on the original Valjoux 7750, introduced in 1974. Click here for an external history of the movement.
Sea-Gull’s reissue (In example 2) uses a hand wound ST19. It originated when the company purchased the entire facilities, patents and inventory of the Venus Watch Company’s Caliber 175. After several modifications, Sea-Gull delivered a large order to the PLA Air Force.
Citizen Miyota’s 821A has similar specifications as their model 8215. It’s a popular movement used in numerous watch brands such as Invicta, Citizen, Dugena, Festina, Jacques Lemans, Lip, Laco and numerous watches made in China, but sold under numerous brands under confidentiality agreements.
The original patents for the base ETA and Miyota movements made their debut in the 1970’s. The manufacturers made improvements and,or changes to accommodate shifts in watch styles over the years.
The Hamilton’s movement is an expanded version of the Valjoux 7750. ETA increased the size of the basic watch, but forgot to engineer it with enough torque to move larger hands. You can see a difference if you notice the stubby hands.
When asked the difference in the Hamilton and Miyota movements, knowledgeable watch collectors have said:
The ETA has a superior finish, four more jewels, a slightly higher frequency. These represent minor differences and certainly not $400 worth.
Many Chinese watch manufacturers have switched to the Citizen Miyota to increase brand recognition. The 821A drops in as a replacement for the Dixmont-Guangzhou DG2813.
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