# Personal thoughts on owning a Sea-Gull tourbillon



## monsieurxu (Jun 2, 2012)

Dear friends,

After having had a Sea-Gull steel tourbillon (818.900) for almost a year, I thought I'd give a short review and my thoughts and comparisons with other watches. I think this will benefit those who are contemplating purchasing Sea-Gull's higher-end offerings, but are unsure as to whether the extra cost over similar watches is warranted.

Firstly, in terms of accuracy, the watch easily passes muster. I am no huge stickler for accuracy but as far as I can see, the watch is always accurate to the minute (since the rather exotic second hand is non-hacking). This is probably more than can be said for most other tourbillons from Europe, which are seen as fragile things that get a wearing once in a blue moon to an event. I have worn mine fairly often, and am a firm believer in not saving your best watches for special events, but rather celebrating them as often as possible in regular rotation. I have worn mine in all sorts of relatively active pursuits (caught a lemon shark off the Caribbean once with it), and never knew until recently that all mechanical watches, let alone tourbillons, should not be exposed to even slight shock.

As to the oft-lamented lack of decoration on the back of the movement, I think this is perfectly fine, since Swiss and German tourbillons are also left fairly bare (apart from decidedly redundant gold lettering detailing all sorts of exotic information which is fairly pointless). Apparently this is because tourbillons do not benefit from a large amount of decoration as this affects their accuracy. Nonetheless, there is nicely-done anglage on the three holes surrounding the tourbillon carriage (more nicely done than some of my rather pricey Swiss watches), and the tourbillon itself is beautifully polished and bevelled. The solid 3/4 plate adds stability and robustness to the movement, which probably played a part in preserving the tourbillon movement after it had been dropped on marble (see below). Any criticism against it can be equally levelled at the Glashuette tradition. On the whole there is no imperfection that can be seen either with the naked eye or with a 10x loupe. The diamond is indeed genuine and glimmers stunningly - and I am certified by HRD Antwerp to grade diamonds.

As to the million yuan question - how does the Sea-Gull manufacture tourbillon compare with mushroom brands' products? To my knowledge, tourbillons are all hand assembled as there is simply no other way of doing so. There are several hundred minute components that must come together into one package that weighs less than a feather (according to Sea-Gull), and this simply cannot be done by machine, which accounts for the cost of the movement. Such assembly is prone to errors, and thus the great bulk of these movements are rejected. These factory seconds are then likely sent out to other brands for their use. In fact, I have had a Kemmner tourbillon before my Sea-Gull which uses the export TY800 movement at AAA grade, but even that exhibits some deficiencies in comparison to Sea-Gull's own, in terms of power reserve, anglage and the lesser polishing of the movement.

With Sea-Gull ceasing the sale of their reject tourbillon movements, these are now used in their proprietary tourbillon cufflinks (whose indigenous conception was recently celebrated at Basel!) Now exclusivity is one thing, and of dubious merit, but having the ability to produce tourbillon movements on a (relatively speaking) large scale enables Sea-Gull to both accrue a great deal of manufacturing expertise and experience in perfecting them, as well as allows them to choose the very best for use in their own watches. And I feel that both points are certainly true in my own experience with their movements in both a manufacture and non-manufacture watch.

As to the warranty, I have yet to have occasion to use this. But my partner's own Kemmner tourbillon was recently dropped onto a marble floor. Although the diamond fell out, the tourbillon still amazingly works, and even keeps accurate time. This is utterly astounding to me, as can you imagine dropping a normal 3-hand Swiss luxury watch on marble and it continuing to function? Let alone a Swiss tourbillon. Equally inspiring is the fact that Sea-Gull has agreed to fix the movement for a nominal sum, and within 10 days. To put things in perspective, could you imagine JLC agreeing to fix a Cartier tourbillon which you dropped on hard marble for a non-usurious fee, within such a short time frame? My Vacherons typically require 8 weeks for servicing (local service centre, and not sent to Geneva), and they are simple 3 handers. The routine servicing exceeds a grand with ease. Imagine the routine servicing for a high-end Swiss tourbillon. In my opinion, for a tourbillon for one to actually wear on a fairly regular basis, there is simply no other option than a Sea-Gull tourb, as any other option is simply far, far too expensive. The lifetime free servicing is simply the dealmaker in this situation.

Now regarding the off-centre hands, I happen to take the view that this is a positive, as I believe it balances the gaping hole in the dial, and the design actually harmonises very well with the Roman numerals concentrated upwards. Sea-Gull in my opinion has the most elegant design of any tourbillon in the world. Although the Beijing tourbillon probably is of superior quality, its case and dial simply do not accord with me as well as Sea-Gull's. The lancet hands are gorgeous of course. The combination of the stark white dial, glimmering diamond pointer on a carriage that is shaped like a 大 or "great", the forceful hands and guilloche dial, present a dignified, stately countenance to the world, proclaiming to all that China has accomplished the construction of the low-cost, but beautiful and practical tourbillon. I know that mine will grow old with me, and not fail on me at an inopportune time, and will always be taken care of by its maker. And ultimately it will be handed down to my blessed offspring. Who knows where Sea-Gull, and China, will be, at that point in time?


----------



## Levelman (Oct 6, 2012)

Nicely written review. Would love to see pics of both Tourby watches. 
Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Thrax (Oct 6, 2012)

I loved reading first-hand feedback on this! Can you post any pictures?


----------



## BuddyJ (Oct 16, 2012)

I believe this is the watch in reference.

What's a good price for one of these? It's lovely.


----------



## AsAnAtheist (Sep 22, 2011)

I like the review however found the bias against the Swiss tourbillon makers to be poor taste, and not supported by data just hearsay.

Mechanical watches falling on hard floors is considered abuse, some may take it better than others but none are manufactured to stand such forces. Some may stop working, some may not. It's like dropping your phone just because it lived once doesn't mean it's designed to resist drops, it's a luck of the draw. I am very glad your tourbi is still working.

A seagull tourbillon runs around what a Rolex may run ($5,000-$15,000).
The cheapest swiss tourbillon is approximately $37,000, and most tourbillons usually end up in cases made of gold, or platinum hence people that own them are very gentle with them. Not because of the movement, but because of the casing is soft. Heck a few movements are even made with gold, platinum, silver and other precious metals.


Is the diamond included, synthetic or natural? I've always wondered that.


----------



## monsieurxu (Jun 2, 2012)

AsAnAtheist said:


> I like the review however found the bias against the Swiss tourbillon makers to be poor taste, and not supported by data just hearsay.
> 
> Mechanical watches falling on hard floors is considered abuse, some may take it better than others but none are manufactured to stand such forces. Some may stop working, some may not. It's like dropping your phone just because it lived once doesn't mean it's designed to resist drops, it's a luck of the draw. I am very glad your tourbi is still working.
> 
> ...


Seems like I overlooked responding to this thread, apologies.

Actually I have both first- and second-hand experience with servicing for both high-end Swiss and German watches, having owned several of them over the course of my life and having friends with vast collections of the same. I can assure you totally (and I do not throw this absolute guarantee around willy-nilly) that the servicing is both more costly and more time-consuming.

I did not imply that I considered it par for the course for mechanical watches to be dropped on marble flooring, but the fact that a second-grade Sea-Gull tourbillon movement survived such an encounter has impressed me all the more. Granted this may be anecdotal evidence, but I rather doubt that most Swiss makers would submit their 5 or 6 digit tourbillons to the same test.

I think a Sea-Gull tourb is as at opposite ends to any Rolex as is possible in the watch world. They appeal to utterly different people, for better or for worse.

There are several entry-level Swiss tourbillons (JLC for example) which come in at around the price you mentioned, and they are case in steel and are meant to be robust for such movements, relatively speaking. I examined the JLC Master Tourb and found the Sea-Gull to have superior finishing. For example, if you are familiar with black polishing, one of the dark arts as it were and among the highest forms of finissage, the Sea-Gull carriage exhibits this across its entirety, and shows no imperfection under 10x magnification. It is a flying tourbillon which is considered more elegant and more difficult to assemble, where most European makers stick to tourbillons with a bridge and simply black polish this bridge alone. Most European makers also shy away from dual tourbillons, or tourbillons combined with a repeater, yet Sea-Gull has achieved these as well.

The diamond is natural, and is surprisingly well-polished and cut.


----------



## ckgan (Apr 18, 2013)

nice review. very informative. I am new to watches and esp. tourbillon. never heard the word till i joined this forum.

Tx again for sharing.


----------



## bcy (Apr 26, 2013)

Thanks for sharing ! It really is informative and helps to give me some idea in term of my decision making. I am hoping to own a Chinese tourby but is still trying to decide on what to buy.


----------



## dougiedude (Aug 29, 2012)

Are you aware of the WUS Forum Tourbillon Project watch? The decision-making processes, by forum members like you and me, is nearly complete, and it will cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $900, a real steal for a Sea-Gull ST-8000 watch!

It's not too late to register if you are interested in participating/buying one. This is also where you can see the near-finished rendition:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/...oaG5uVXc#gid=0

You can also find the link to the registration site, but I'll provide it here, too:

https://www.watchuseek.com/f497/wus-chinese-tourbillon-project-registration-list-717874.html

Cheers!


----------



## keenmin (Jun 9, 2013)

Thanks for pointing me to the WUS Forum Tourbillon Project watch. I have been fascinated by tourbillons for quite some time, but i could not justify the price of European tourbillons to myself.
But this forum watch is to good , i could not justify missing out on it. Now all i need is the possibility to order an extra stainless steel wristband with the forum tourby.
Update:
Sweet: looks like i made the list :-!:-!:-!


----------



## dougiedude (Aug 29, 2012)

keenmin said:


> Update:
> Sweet: looks like i made the list :-!:-!:-!


Excellent! Glad to have you along:-!!!


----------



## larstetens (Mar 12, 2006)

G'Day,

Is the "limit" 54? or can they produce more for those of us who've clearly been "off with with fairies" and missed this posting/opportunity? and "if" it's not too late, how do we leave a deposit? I noticed the deposits seemed to be in the US$270.00 mark, I'm happy with that or can give more depending on the requirements at this stage(late in the game as it were)?

Cheers,

I'll await to see if I managed to "squeak" in or if there will be a "round 2" phase to order another tourby.

Kind Regards,

William


----------



## hked (Oct 5, 2009)

PM sent William


----------

