When it comes to Rolex Submariner homages, you think of Steinhart or Ginault, but the problem is that those watches cost from 500-1300$ which is quite expensive for some. But there is a super cheap alternative which isn’t the best but does its job well if you want to rock that iconic Rolex look without spending more than 500$. The watch we are taking a look at today costs only 17.64$, yes, that is the real price, I was shocked too.

The watch you will see here is provided by Gearbest.com which is like an Amazon-style store with products from China. It is pretty popular now. They have everything from watches, electronics, smartphones to clothes, shoes and many other things. Go check out the store, there is a lot of useful stuff for cheap prices.

So the watch that costs only 17.64$ is the Tevise T801 which is basically a Rolex Submariner homage. This one comes with zulu/nato strap, but they have also a version with a stainless steel bracelet. I chose this one because other reviewers were going for the dressier pieces from gearbest.com and I wanted to look at the popular designs and those which I like more. And this one appealed to me because of the super low price and it being automatic. The watch came in a rather good box, I actually was expecting maybe it being wrapped in bubble wrap or in a plastic bag, but for sure I wasn’t expecting a decent box. I even had watches come in worse boxes than this and they cost 20 times more. Inside the box, you will find the watch and that’s it, not even instructions or some kind of description or warranty, but that is ok.

So the case is made from brass and not stainless steel. The whole case is plated in silver colour. The machine work isn’t the best, but for the price, I was expecting something worse. The lines are uneven and the surface is wavy too, but for the price, I wouldn’t be concerned about these things. The diameter is 43mm the thickness is 14,5mm, from lug to lug it measures at 50,5mm and the lug width is 20mm. The proportions are good and will fit most of the wrists. At 3 o’clock you will find the push/pull crown and that really hurts me as this is a dive watch and it should have a screw-down crown, also the water resistance is only 30m (3ATM), I even have dress watches that can handle 50m to 100m water resistance with push/pull crowns. The crown is protected by chunky crown guards and the crown is signed with Tevise logo. Now we come to the bezel which is all over the place. It has a lot of play and it wobbles like crazy. The case back is an exhibition, but the thing with what I was surprised is that it is snap on case back. Yes, a snap-on case back on a dive watch, I guess that explains the low water resistance. On top of the dial sits a flat mineral crystal with a cyclops eye over the date.

The dial is shiny black and has that Maxi dial style that Rolex has, nothing special there. The lume is pretty bad, basically works for the first 20min. Funny thing about the dial is that you have written on it “Perlative chronometer” instead of Rolexes “Superlative chronometer”. The date wheel is very wobbly when you try to set the date. The printing is quite good actually on the dial. From far, the watch actually looks good, but when you take a very close look at it, it looks not so good. But any case for the price, this is a very good watch.

The movement inside the watch is automatic. with a nice signed rotor and everything. I don’t know the model, but I guess it is one of those Chinese factory movements (not Sea-Gull). The accuracy, of course, is what you expect, mine ran about +30 seconds a day, but even if it was +1min a day, I wouldn’t be bothered as the watch costs like one of my cheapest nato straps I have. The strap that came with the watch is just a regular black zulu/nato strap. Nothing special.

Overall the watch is really good for someone who just wants to experience a mechanical watch. As it is so cheap it also works as a cheap beater and you wouldn’t cry after you drop it or it stops working.

Price: 17.64$ @ gearbest.com