Beijing Beihai 3.0 watch review

So I've finally got to spend 3-4 days wearing the watch on the wrist (after a nightmare of 2 months between paying for the watch off eBay and getting it to my door) and here is my (hopefully) comprehensive review on the Beihai 3.0. I've divided the review into different sections so if you can skip to any section of particular interest.

1. History of the Beihai 3.0

This watch is made by the Beijing Watch Factory (prior to its joint venture/merger/being bought by Fiyta (one of the largest Chinese watch companies) in 2015). It started in 2008 as the Beihai 1.0 limited edition celebrating 50 years of the Beijing Watch Factory (1958-2008). I had bought a Beihai 1.0 but returned it due to some issues with the watch (the stuttering seconds from an indirectly driven 4th wheel) and I, personally, thought the design might stray a little too close to Patek's Gondolo 5111 (with a difference in rectangular vs circular of course):

Here's the Beihai 1.0:
Beihai 1 by Secondfox, on Flickr

And the Patek Gondolo 5110:
Patek Gondolo 5111 by Secondfox, on Flickr

And of course there was the issue of some problems identified with the SB-18 movement used in the Beihai LE. I've written a translated post on the SB-18 and what modifications they introduced in the Beihai 3.0 and SB 18-6 - http://forums.watchuseek.com/f72/beijing-watches-evolution-sb-18-into-b18-6-important-changes-movement-4571775.html

As noted in that post I was so impressed by the changes to the movement and design that I put my money where my mouth was and ordered a Beihai 3.0 using the new B 18-6 movement.


2. Technical specifications of the Beihai 3.0:

• Hand-winding 21600 bph movement
• Sapphire crystal on both sides (doesn't appear to be coated with AR coating)
• 3/4 plate with geneva stripes
• Swan neck regulator
• Gold(plated) chatons
• Date window at 3 o'clock
• Power reserve appears to be around 58 hours (from online discussions)
• Lizard skin strap
• 38 x 9.5mm in size

3. Impressions:

Overview:
A. Positives:

• New design combines the Patek elements with (to my knowledge) Beijing's own original design
• For me - a date window - it's my most used feature in a watch other than to tell the time across all watch complications (moonphase, chronograph, countdown, power reserve etc.)
• New B 18-6 movement is as good as advertised - no more stuttering second hand
• Caseback is an interesting look - different from your average rotor or manual wind watch caseback
• Strap buckle is stamped with Beijing logo on underside
• Overall design aesthetics
• Indices applied and nicely beveled (along with beveled hands)
• Hacks
• Dial logo's change from English to Chinese
• Light without feeling insubstantial

B. Neutral:

• Ticking can be heard in quiet situations - it would be one of my louder mechanicals - it might even be the loudest mechanical I have currently. It is certainly noticeable but not enough to be annoying (to me at least).
• Lack of AR coating - I didn't put it into the negative category as I haven't found it to be obtrusive and the dial is very legible (thanks Patek!)
• Could probably be thinner for what it is (3 hander with date)

C. Negative:

• Date complication implementation is awkward - I'll expand on this below (it's important enough that it's my first negative on the list!) - this covers both the font, window, date disc
• Guilloche bisects 12 indice at wrong spot.
• 3 languages used on the watch - Chinese (understandable!), English (acceptable) and French (why?) - "lezard veritable(sic)" on the strap

To expand on the above:

This is a lovely watch. I've had it on my wrist for the last 3 days and I haven't been tempted to switch it off for my Tudor diver or Omega. Of course it is a very different style when compared to the tool watch that divers represent (though many people nowadays use these divers for desk diving). The watch is highly legible and I think Patek must have obviously put a lot of thought into them for use in the Gondolo and hence their appearance in the Beihai is equally eye-catching. The beveled edges on the indices and hands catch the light in beautiful ways - again, thanks to Patek for their design choice but also Beijing for translating this design faithfully into the Beihai. The mirror polish on the inner surfaces are eye perfect and I don't really intend to look at them through a loupe.

The watch sits light on the wrist - I'm used to wearing a "heavy" Tag Aquaracer/Omega Speedmaster/Tudor Pelagos - I don't have a Calatrava to compare it to however . It seems to me that they could probably make the watch/movement thinner - I see Seagull have watches in the 8mm category so 9.5mm for a dress watch seems a little high. But there's no problem with the watch fitting underneath the cuffs of a shirt, even my 14mm Pelagos fits fine.

The strap has a buckle with the Tiananmen logo for BJWF underneath - not necessary and not noticeable in daily wear but it's a nice touch and I like that they went for the extra effort of making design choices that aren't seen by others or even the owner normally but it's there and done right for pride and design purposes (photos will follow).

The back is very nice and looks different to the usual rotor winding mechanism or manual wind barrels. It's highlighted with gold-plated chatons and the swan neck regulator - all nice design touches.

The watch has been keeping ok time considering it probably hasn't been serviced in the last 5 years or so - it's currently running at -20 seconds a day but I've seen a steady rate on the watch timer so I imagine a small regulation could push it up to a very good rate or I should just pony up for a proper service on the watch.

The date window is a sore point for me - I know some people don't like date windows at all in a dress watch but for me it's the most used feature of a watch besides actually telling the time. I always know what month it is, generally what day it is but quite often I need a reminder for what date it is. So I'm quite happy that the 3.0 has a date feature which wasn't present in the Beihai LE. However, I would say that it can be easily seen that the date feature is an "added on" feature rather than part of the original design. The reason for saying this is that the font is different to the 12 indice, the date disc colour (white) is different from the silver dial (this might not be an issue for the red or blue dial versions) and the date window is a bit abrupt with its square face (it's the only square on the circular dial with triangular hour indices and hands). The newest Beihai (now produced by Fiyta I believe) 5.0 has addressed these issues - the date window is now round (which matches the circular dial) and the date disc's colour matches the dial - see here:
http://en.beijingwatch.com/item/35
Though if you buy the Beihai 5.0 you'll be paying quite a bit more (5000 Rmb = roughly 600-700 euro) and the indices have moved away from Patek's design - for better or worse. The date at 21 and 31 also chooses a different format to the 20-29 and 30 which I'm not a fan of.
So in essence - I do like the feature but its implementation in this version was a bit rough, not in keeping with the watch in general and one can see the improvements made in subsequent versions.

One of the things I think the designers overlooked with they switched from "blatant copy" of Patek's Gondolo design to their own dial design is that the guilloche lines run through the number 12 indice not between the 1 and 2 but roughly 20% into the 2...it's not hugely noticeable but for some if you notice it you'll never be able to un-see it . Maybe there was a big debate down at BJWF between spacing out the 1 and 2 or running the line through the 2 in which case I'll just have to say that I think it might have looked better if the 1 and 2 was spaced out a little more and the line runs in-between the two numbers rather through one number.

Finally the three languages - I love they switched the "Beijing Watch" from the Beihai LE to "北京" in the 3.0. To maintain dial consistency I would have switched the "Made in China" to Chinese also but English is fine. What I don't get though is why their lizard skin strap (which wears nicely even in my second hand version) has "Lezard veritable" stamped in French. And bad French at that as it should be LB]zard veritable - sadly I suspect they wanted to seem more "high-end" and only managed to embarass themselves with their poor implementation. Everything in Chinese would be perfect in my eyes - be Chinese and unashamedly so. No need for Hen-Dazs English (Hen-Dazs isn't a real word in any language and only chosen to sound European/exotic when the company itself is American).

However - the three points above are minor quibbles - I don't read the strap, look that closely at the 12 indice and well the date feature is at least present - it is a lot of watch for the money and represents very good value for money. I bought my 2nd hand Beihai 3.0 for 180 euro off eBay and I see trusthonestguy (Jun Liao) currently has a new one for $300. In this price range you're looking at a Tissot Visodate and I think the Beihai represents much better value when looking at its Swiss or Japanese peers.

I guess there is a "enticing" factor to the watch also - 2 or 3 of my wife's colleagues commented on her watch and asked her about it whereas when she normally wears her Cartier or Omega it's not remarked upon (perhaps because the Cartier and Omega are instantly recognisable) - but the fact is, in the 2 days my wife wore the watch people separately asked her about the watch and its details demonstrates to me that the watch is aesthetically pleasing and an eye-catcher for sure.

And now on to the photos!

IMG_20180204_142220 by Secondfox, on Flickr
Love that they went through the effort of deep stamping a logo on the inside of the buckle - similar to how Tudor put their logo on the inside of the Pelagos' clasp also.

IMG_20180204_141947 by Secondfox, on Flickr
Why Beijing why Lezard without the accent

IMG_20180204_141412 by Secondfox, on Flickr
Dialside see the line going through the 2 in 12.
IMG_20180204_141813 by Secondfox, on Flickr
Movement side - lovely details throughout

IMG_20180204_141902 by Secondfox, on Flickr
Another angle

IMG_20180204_142118 by Secondfox, on Flickr
Here's a shot trying to replicate the look of light catching off the beveled hands/indices

IMG_20180204_142149 by Secondfox, on Flickr
And another.



Hopefully this review was useful to anyone interested in the Beihai or Chinese watches in general. The large Chinese manufacturers (Beijing, Seagull, Shanghai) all produce interesting pieces that aren't fakes or straight up homages - many of them are highly original and they can often represent great value - you'll never find a 400 euro Swiss or Japanese tourbillon

I think I can safely say that despite some of its shortcomings this watch will be remaining in my collection forever (unless another burglar breaks in :mad: touch wood!) The Beihai 3.0 improves a lot on the LE version mechanically and is produced by BJWF when it was still an independent watch factory (prior to the 49/51 joint venture with FIYTA) so I think it is similar to buying a little bit of history. If you like dress watches then I would highly recommend seeking out a copy for yourself.

If you have any questions not covered in my review above please let me know and I'll try my best to answer them.

Cheers!
Thirdfox