Seagull ST3601 Manual Wind Watch "Kit" from AliExpress

This is a first for me. I ordered parts from AliExpress to build a watch. I know everything is made in China, but I wanted to see what the quality was like for things that are so very cheap. I bought a Seagull ST3601 hand-wind movement with a swan neck regulator (cool!), a stainless steel case with sapphire crystal and mineral glass display back, a black dial, two sets of hands (black and white) so I could have an option if I didn't like one set, and a brown leather watch strap.

All totaled, the parts were $80.42 shipped to my door via USPS.

I ordered the parts on March 27th and they arrived April 4th, so one week to get from China to Washington state. The parts look very nice.

The Seagull company is, according to the all-knowing internet, the largest mechanical watch movement manufacturer in the world. It is a Chinese company that makes movements of their own designs and also movements based on other company's designs. This one I bought is (I think) a clone of an ETA 6497.

It was a fairly straight-forward job of putting everything together, even without any instructions. First the hour hand gear went on the movement along with a small spring washer, then the dial went on, then the hands. The seconds hand was the worst, as it was so very tiny. Next was putting the movement into the case.

The next step was to take the crown that came with the case and thread it onto the watch stem that came with the movement, then install the stem and crown so I could measure how much length to cut off the stem, as it comes extra long so you can cut it to length.  After that it was just a matter of putting on the case back and installing the leather watch strap.

This is a hand-wind movement with 17 jewels.

I have an app on my Android phone that measures watch accuracy. This watch is running +2 seconds per day (!) and 0.3 milliseconds of beat error. That is fantastic. We'll see how long the accuracy stays, but at the moment I am thrilled.