Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Magico 20001-11 Carbon Fiber Automatic Diver

This is a cheap watch. It cost me under $50 brand new, including shipping, and even came with a watch winder. It's made from Chinese parts, almost certainly assembled in China, and is from a manufacturer I had never heard of before.

And it's fantastic.

The first thing you notice about this watch when you pick it up is the weight. I wish I had a scale handy, but I'd say it's something like seven or eight ounces. And solid. The chunky links of the 24mm bracelet are tight and the double-butterfly clasp locks securely, even without a push button mechanism. The case is 46mm wide with broad sides and fancy lugs that integrate well with the bracelet (but would make fitting a strap a bit difficult.) It has a water resistance rating of 200m and a unidirectional bezel, so it would be suitable for diving. The bezel is reasonably tight, although I know some people want them to be downright difficult to turn. This one is tight enough that it won't be accidentally turned by something and there's very little slop in the mechanism. The oversized crown has grooves in it that remind me of gun barrel rifling, with just a slight twist to assist in gripping it. The whole face is kind of similar to a Seiko Monster, although the hour markers are much smaller and lume not as great. The real carbon fiber dial is very attractive and adds some depth to what would otherwise be rather plain. The movement is a 25 jewel Miyota 8215 workhorse and keeps excellent time, as good as many Swiss watches costing ten or twenty times as much. Magico is one of the many brands of The SWI Group, and while I can't go so far as to recommend all their watches, or even all their Magico-branded watches, this particular model is a great buy, even at twice what I paid.















2 comments:

Basian said...

Hey, where can i order that Watch? I like it too. It looks solid and nice.

Jason said...

Looks like most retailers are out of stock, so maybe keep an eye on eBay or the Watchuseek or PMWF sales forums.