Skmei 9288 PRX Review

 

If you don't want to spend the ridiculous amount of money which Tissot wants for its admittedly £60 watch with a 5x markup (according to Nico Leonard), Skmei has you covered with actually a much better value proposition for only £11.

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As you can see, I chose the black grained dial with rose gold hands, indices, and bezel. My wife bought it for me as a Christmas present long after I'd forgotten that I ever mentioned it to her.

Apart from the fluted bezel on the top of the range 40mm Tissot PRX Powermatic 80, and of course, the Skmei having a cheap but very accurate Miyota quartz movement with a day-date complication, the watches look almost identical even close-up. The Tissot's case is brushed steel rather than polished chrome, which is the biggest giveaway if you want to pretend to be one of the "exclusive PRX owners club" (which doesn't actually exist).

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The bracelets are pretty much the same too with a butterfly clasp and links which include no possible micro-adjustment. If you don't get a good fit, it'll be too loose or too tight, and there's nothing you can do about it other than swap to an expensive Tissot PRX (or cheaper AliExpress) leather or rubber strap. It fitted me perfectly and is very comfortable.

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As far as quality goes, having tried on the Tissot PRX with a view to buying one, I'd say there's not much in it. The Tissot bracelet feels like a cheap AliExpress bracelet too, and it even has the same sharp bits. A quick rub over with Brasso or a fancier Cape Cod polishing cloth (not the potato chips) will probably improve the finish in both cases.

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The domed crystal on the Skmei makes it even more vintage looking than the Tissot if you like that sort of thing. It still won't look exactly like the cheap and nasty original from the 1970s though. Both the Skmei and the Tissot suffer from having no anti-reflective coating on the mineral crystals (because plastic would have been better and more accurate), and both bracelets will nip your arm hairs depending on how hirsute you are.

The Skmei isn't some luxury timepiece, but it certainly isn't an overpriced everyday watch either. The case is alloy rather than stainless steel, obviously, but it's done very well. There's nothing else to say really. It's just a cheap fashion watch which has no right to be as good at it is for the money. If you don't like the PRX design, it won't matter which one you buy anyway because they don't get any better.