# Thoughts on Seagull Skeleton M182SK?



## Kosmo5 (Sep 24, 2007)

I'm interested in getting a skeleton watch and this Seagull M182SK caught my eye. Anyone here 
have some experience with it? Is the skeletonized movement nice to 
look at (and not cheap looking)? How is the quality?

Also, if you can recommend me other skeleton or tourbillon watches in the same range, that would be great. Thanks.


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## 124Spider (Feb 1, 2009)

I can't help you with your specific question; however, I just went through a similar process, and I can tell you what I decided.

After doing some research here and elsewhere, I felt pretty good about the watches Sea-Gull puts out, and the customer service provided by USA Sea-Gull if something goes wrong. So my wife and I bought an array of their watches.

Everyone has their own threshold of what's "real money," but I felt that the looks of their watches, combined with the low price, was worth a flier. If a $175 (or even twice that) watch turns out to be garbage, and if I can't get satisfaction, I'll live. And they look so nice that I may well be getting a really acceptable watch (perfect for when my flashier watch isn't appropriate) for a very low price. 

YMMV


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## Kosmo5 (Sep 24, 2007)

Thanks I'm generally wary of Chinese made watches but Seagull seems to be a quality piece

Still hoping on someone who owns the watch


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## HKDan (Nov 6, 2008)

I just bought the one with the black hands and I love it. It looks and feels far from cheap and although I have only had it for a few days and can't really speak to its long term quality, out of the box it looks and feels well made. My only complaint is that Seagull USA is less expensive than what I ended up paying in China! That kind of irritated me, but the difference wasn't enough to keep me from buying this really good looking piece. I'm hoping to get to the factory in Tianjin someday, I read here that they give great discounts there and now that I have decided that I like Seagull I have a feeling that I will eventually end up with more than one. The enablers at WUS strike again!


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## Gurra1980 (Dec 14, 2008)

Here you got something more to consider. NB-6 and NB-1 has movements based on the nice chinese 6497s. The nb-1 seems to have the same movement as I have in my parnis, except this is skeletonised of course. I have a friend that has the same movement to. They are accurate and tough. But booth mine and his is down to molecules for now at school, the finish looks to be on par with the basic eta 6497 but they has higher bitrate and screwed balance. http://www.minorva.net/prolist.asp?id=1082&protitle=SKELETON


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## tetrapak (Jun 18, 2009)

This review of the watch by Aaron might be of interest to you if you haven't checked it out yet > https://www.watchuseek.com/showthread.php?t=267215

Sea-Gull makes some quality time pieces. I do believe that you won't be disappointed with the quality and the attention to details.

And the big plus is that Kevin of Sea-Gull (USA) is a great guy to deal with. Email him and he should be able to help you with any question you may have. b-)

I've been blown away by the overall quality of my Sea-Gull :-!


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## DenS (Sep 25, 2009)

I have had my Sea-Gull M182SK for 6 days now and can say I am very happy with the watch. It looks good and runs like a charm. Very sturdy feeling and a pleasure to look at.
Only one slight complaint, the hands do get lost in the silver works especially in the sunlight. I think the black hands would show up a bit better but I really like the blue color..
I do not think you will be disappointed in buying this watch.
DenS |>


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## Abbazz (May 12, 2009)

I think the movement on this model from Alpha looks definitely better finished:









Photo: Alpha-Watch

And here's a view of the back of the watch:









Photo: Alpha-Watch

 Cheers!

Abbazz


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## LNJames (Aug 12, 2009)

The AM190SK Chronograph skeleton looks very nice.


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## nderwater (Jun 20, 2007)

Nice indeed |>


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## Rxq (Dec 20, 2007)

LNJames said:


> The AM190SK Chronograph skeleton looks very nice.


 Where can one of those be had?


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## LNJames (Aug 12, 2009)

Rxq said:


> Where can one of those be had?


As far as I know, China. Price 8200元 (about $1,201)


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## Rxq (Dec 20, 2007)

That's pretty high, considering a counterfeit Patek (same movement/case, different dial) costs a fourth of that.


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## Chascomm (Feb 13, 2006)

Rxq said:


> That's pretty high, considering a counterfeit Patek (same movement/case, different dial) costs a fourth of that.


And the quality control on a fakes is what? ;-) Besides, I have a feeling that the skeleton ST19 might be a little bit more expensive. But yes, I take your point that the pricing of Sea-Gulls is extremely variable depending on the market.


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## lvt (Sep 15, 2009)

LNJames said:


> The AM190SK Chronograph skeleton looks very nice.


The decoration of the watch is amazing, but for the daily use I would suggest two important modifications :

- The crown should be bigger for easy winding (the classic SG chronograph series's crown works best), the current crown is only good for automatic watches.

- The hands should be bigger, I recommend wide gold plated hands for better visibility (obviously Perpetual has some nice sets of hands for theirs watches that can be used with this M190SK). Those standard hands don't look well with such a nicely decorated watch.

With the above changes on the watch I think I couldn't resist to buy one...


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## Williams_den (Oct 20, 2009)

Sea gull is the first real movement maker in China. Of course it was government owned, but at present I am not sure. However, they make movements for the watch makers in China. They put together their own watches as well, but it is a bit like Swatch. They make ETA and use them in their brands but sell to other companies as well. So you can get a Chinese watch with a Sea gull movement much cheaper than buying directly from Sea gull. Just need to ask if it is a Sea gull movement though.


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## gigfy (Apr 13, 2007)

Williams_den said:


> So you can get a Chinese watch with a Sea gull movement much cheaper than buying directly from Sea gull. Just need to ask if it is a Sea gull movement though.


This is true and I've done it many times with mixed success But when you buy a Sea-Gull branded watch you know that you will get the highest quality movement!

Cheers,
gigfy


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## ThatOne (May 16, 2007)

I HATE YOU!!!

All of you! Because I already have one Sea-Gull, the M222S black/white, with Sea-Gull's tasty ST3600 manual winder, (very Unitas 6497 inspired, but not a slavish copy as far as I can tell), and it is a fantastic watch which has beaten all my ETA powered beauties off my wrist for at least half the time. I really do not get obsessed with accuracy on low-price watches, but the ST3600 has yet to slide beyond +10 sec in any of the 4 weeks since it arrived.

More important is that Kevin is one of the equal-best sales and admin guys with whom I have worked, ever, and that the watch just looks "quality at any price". The value for money of Kevin + watch is too great to describe: buy a Sea-Gull and you will quickly feel and understand what a great deal you have made.

So why my paranoid outburst? Well I hate skeleton watches. They really are the ultimate triumph of style over substance, and utterly useless for telling the time. So now I have decided to buy another Sea-Gull I have opened the Sea-Gull site and simultaneously come to WUS to see what would be an interesting model to consider. Hmm... Automatics are very slim and classical... Classics are just that... Chronographs are very tempting... and look at the prices, all of them!

But this thread on the Skeletons has really fired up my Homeresque desire: "Must have Sea-Gull M182SK....!!" It's a cracker, as I can see now you guys have removed my baseless anti-skeleton prejudice.

Thank you!

One final detail for which I would appreciate your opinions, please. M182SK, with the same blue varnish as I see in my M222S, (I suppose it's varnish and not Breguet-bluing at this price), making the hands and the indices ping out nicely from the background, or the M182SKG? I like the idea of the good gold plate, but the indices on that little yellow strip around the edge of the dial don't look that easy to spot to me. Any wisdom I need to heed?

And two micro-criticisms: I wish Sea-Gull would show total faith in their branding and add their logo to the name "Sea-Gull" on all their dials; it looks like Sea-Gull have fallen into a trap that has only become prevalent in recent years by writing "rose gold", when the gold in view is manifestly very classy, rich, yellow gold.


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## Mucchan (Dec 31, 2011)

First of all, sorry for bumping this thread. I'm not sure whether I should use an existing thread or create a new thread.

I'm looking for an affordable skeleton watch and I'm wondering if the M182SK would be a good pick. I don't have a lot of knowledge about watches and I haven't heard of Sea-Gull before to be honest.


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## IanC (Jul 3, 2010)

Its pretty expensive compared to other chinese skeletons. You might want to take a look at Stuhrling or Akribos as well.


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## Mucchan (Dec 31, 2011)

I've looked at several Stuhrling watches on Amazon. The couple that interests me seems to have similar prices as the Sea-Gull.

Stuhrling Original Men's 127A.3315C2 Emperor's Grandeur Automatic Skeleton Silver Dial Watch
Amazon.com: Stuhrling Original Men's 127A.3315C2 Emperor's Grandeur Automatic Skeleton Silver Dial Watch: Watches

Stuhrling Original Men's 165A.33112 Lifestyle 'Winchester Elite' Skeleton Automatic Watch
http://www.amazon.com/Stuhrling-Original-165A-33112-Lifestyle-Winchester/dp/B001GPOMU2/ref=sr_1_113

How would these Stuhrling watches compare to the M182SK? I'm also curious about how the warranty is handled. Would they be valid internationally?

Rather off-topic, but how would Amazon.com: Swatch Men's Irony Automatic Body & Soul Watch YAS100G: Swatch: Watches compare to the Stuhrlings and the Sea-Gull? The price seems rather cheap.


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## IanC (Jul 3, 2010)

The M182SK can be found on ebay for $140 with free shipping btw.

The swatch is a non-decorated movement, which kind of kills it for me. Also doesnt have any indices to tell the time with.

This Stuhrling is 40mm and only costs $110 off ebay or amazon. Stuhrling Delphi

At this level you wont see much of a difference in terms of quality, although Seagull will definately be better. They are likely to have roughly the same accuracy and both will function well out of the box unless you get a lemon. Seagull doesnt really have international warranty (i think their service centers are all still located in China) and Stuhrling's service centers are only in the US.


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## dcdude (Apr 29, 2012)

Just got mine on Friday from "trusthonestman" on evil bay. Blue hands, black strap. Beautiful watch. Quality and finish seems very high, even down to the band. At least as good as Kenneth Cole or other things you might have seen near this price point. 

Inspiring "Chinese craftsmanship," two words I can't believe I would put together in the same sentence, but then again my point of comparison are fairly crude Harbor Freight Tools. One reality check is that iPhones are made in China too. It seems as if given reasonable time and budget, nice products can be made anywhere....


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## russr1123 (Mar 30, 2012)

How well is your new watch keeping time?


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## ed21x (Feb 11, 2011)

Seagull movements are extremely underrated.

A well finished movement can easily hang with the best of it's swiss counterpart:








Actually, I have yet to come across a swiss skeleton that looks quite as good as a skeletonized ST19


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## girishji (Apr 7, 2012)

My M222SK. The skeleton part is chiseled with 3D patterns (unlike cheap ones where they simply score curved lines). This thing is a joy to watch.


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## sdca (Apr 6, 2013)

IanC said:


> At this level you wont see much of a difference in terms of quality, although Seagull will definately be better. They are likely to have roughly the same accuracy and both will function well out of the box unless you get a lemon. Seagull doesnt really have international warranty (i think their service centers are all still located in China) and Stuhrling's service centers are only in the US.


A lot of time has passed between our posts, but for future members reference, there is a vast quality difference between Sea-Gull and Stuhrling, as well as Akribos, M Johannson and many other brands under $150.

I purchased the Sea-Gull M182SK recently based largely on reviews and insights from members on this forum regarding the Sea-Gull quality. I couldn't be happier with the watch quality and time accuracy, and of course this specific skeleton style.

Prior to the Sea-Gull, I had purchased the Stuhrling 1077.33151 Delphi Venezia... twice! They feel heavy with good fit and finish, which conveys a feel of quality. However... they are extremely poor quality mechanical movements.

The first Stuhrling would gain 4 to 5 minutes every 24 hours, so I returned it. Then I bought the 2nd from a different supplier, and the winder wasn't even connected to the mechanical movement, you could wind it all you want and the watch would never start ticking the seconds away. The automatic winder wouldn't get the movement started either.

That's when I started researching skeleton watches a bit more carefully (how audacious of me to believe that a watch would actually keep time in the 21st century). I researched M. Johansson, Akribos, and other ~$100-$150 brands on consumer sites like Amazon, versus watch-knowledgeable forums, and all of these consumer sites had significant numbers of reports of failed or highly inaccurate movements from brand new. I was about to give up on bothering with a dress watch (I just use my cell phone as my watch for the past few decades) when I found this extremely helpful website and got comfortable with the Sea-Gull brand.



dcdude said:


> Just got mine on Friday from "trusthonestman" on evil bay. Blue hands, black strap. Beautiful watch. Quality and finish seems very high, even down to the band. At least as good as Kenneth Cole or other things you might have seen near this price point.
> 
> Inspiring "Chinese craftsmanship," two words I can't believe I would put together in the same sentence, but then again my point of comparison are fairly crude Harbor Freight Tools. One reality check is that iPhones are made in China too. It seems as if given reasonable time and budget, nice products can be made anywhere....


My thanks to dcdude for the referral to this eBay seller, I bought the silver M182SK for $140 from the eBay seller trusthonestman - otherwise his store name would have made me suspicious  The watch arrived in about 14 days from overseas to the US, looks and works great.


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## Foghorn (Oct 30, 2012)

My finger has been poised over the 'buy' button on one these for a few days now, but the one thing that's putting me off is the 38mm diameter.
It just seems a tad small, especially for a skeleton which would really benefit from the extra viewing area.
If they were 42mm I'd be all over this.

Does anyone have any thoughts on the size of these?


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## dcdude (Apr 29, 2012)

Foghorn said:


> My finger has been poised over the 'buy' button on one these for a few days now, but the one thing that's putting me off is the 38mm diameter.
> It just seems a tad small, especially for a skeleton which would really benefit from the extra viewing area.
> If they were 42mm I'd be all over this.
> 
> Does anyone have any thoughts on the size of these?


It's a fairly dressy watch that's also quite retro, so the size is in keeping with the style. A 42mm skeleton might be a little "blingy," for lack of a better term.


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## jackychou (Feb 2, 2015)

I absolutely love the watch, you can see my review here: M182sk


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## Thomas Noonan (Oct 27, 2012)

where do you buy Alpha watches?


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## SinoWatchLover (Dec 5, 2017)

Thomas Noonan said:


> where do you buy Alpha watches?


Alpha Watch
or they have a store on eBay.


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