One of the things I normally do when I go back to Malaysia is to visit a friend who is a watch collector. He has a fascinating collection, one of the biggest I know. I like his collection as he collects just about anything, from very high end brands to very cheap watches.
Anyway, on one of the trips back, I saw him with this watch and found it fascinating. It is Skone 5146. I have no knowledge about the watch other then it looks like a 'copy' of a well known high end brand. Additionally I am not familiar with the brand.
I do like the skull...
The back of the watch.
The watch is powered by a quartz movement and it is made in China. And it is pretty cheap. You can get Skone watches from USD10 upwards. So began a hunt for one...
At the end of the day, I managed to get one and this is my review of sorts of the Skone 5146. Please note this post is photograph heavy.
I got the black with 'rose gold' skull version. There are 4 versions of the watch.
Photograph: lazada
I have seen some website calling the watch Skone Steampunk Pirate Watch. :)
The Skone 5146 is a large watch. It is 51mm by 40mm. The shape of the case is tonneau or barrel shape. It is 16mm at its thickest and 11mm at its thinnest.
I like watches that are design such that it wraps around the wrist.
The twelve screws on the top case are polished and well made. I am not sure if the screws are integral to the watch or are actual screws. From what I can see, the screws do not serve any other purpose other then being decorations.
There are oblong holes at the side of the case. The central hole is longer then the ones at the top and bottom. The holes add a cool look to the watch.
The entire watch is finished in matte black. I believe the watch case is steel with black coating. I am not sure how the coating is applied.
I like the overall design of the watch. It looks very robust with the 'beams' at the side of the case.
Jewels at the back of the watch? Most likely decorations. I have some websites that say the white stones are Rhinestones while the red ones are artificial Rubies.
The case back is held in place by 4 screws at the four corners. The other four 'screws' are decorative.
You can see a hole just above the crown stem. This is most likely to facilitate the removal of the crown. I do not know how the battery change is done on this watch or what movement is fitted to the watch but from websites selling the watch, the movement is suppose to be Japanese in origin.
The crystal, I believe is hardlex crystal and it smudges rather easily.
Skone calls the dial the Hollow Skeleton Dial. You can see the movement through the dial. Even the hands are skeletonized.
There is only the hour markers on the rehaut, with corresponding minute marker at 5 minute interval. There is no minute markers or minute track. This may not be a watch for those who works to minute precision. At the 6 o'clock position you find the number 5146. I suspect this is the model number.
The hour and minute hands looks like arrows with a ladder frame. The hands are easy to read due to the gold background. The hour hand is visibly shorter as compared to the minute hand. The tips of the hands looks like it has been coated with luminous paint, sadly this is not true. The sweep seconds hand is a simple bar type hand.
All three hands are finished in glossy black and are well made.
The crown is made of a combination of silicon and plastic. It is a big crown coming in at 10mm in diameter and 6mm thick. It is a very comfortable crown to use. The crown has two position. The first position is the 'lock' position and the second, when pulled out is to adjust the time.
The crown is not a screw down crown.
The strap is made of silicon and it is soft and comfortable. It is 27mm wide at the lugs but it is 18mm at its mounting point (see later photographs). The strap tapers in thickness from 10mm down to 2mm.
The straps are vented at the top portion. This is great as it allows the wrist to breathe and it helps with cooling down the wrist. The tip of the bottom strap is tapered towards the tip.
I like the straps.
There eight adjustment points, 6mm apart allowing a total 50mm of adjustment.
There are two strap keepers. One is floating and the other is captive. You can see the tiny rubber protrusions to hold one of the strap keepers in place. Nice touch.
The silicon straps looks like it is integral to the case. However it is not as you will see later. The bottom strap is 128 mm long with the first adjustment hole 20mm from the tip. The buckle side is 75mm long. The strap is basically 20m wide along the length of the strap.
The straps sits inside the case and can be easily replaced. It is held by spring bars. It is great that it is not integrated into the case although it looks like it is with the case back fitted.
Unlike the case, the pin buckle is finished in glossy black. The buckle is well made. There are no holes on the buckle to facilitate the springboard removal.
The case back. It is not well finished, you can see the tools marks. Pretty much expected for the price. But I do have to admit that parts that can be seen are pretty well done. The back plate is pretty thick at 2mm. It is 40mm wide and 44mm long.
The Black coating is well done. Not sure if the crystal is sapphire but I doubt it is. I suspect both the front and back crystal are made from hardlex.
At least there is a gasket and it is well lubricated. The watch is rated to 30M.
The faults? The two white spacers at 2 and 8 o'clock. :(
As for the battery change, I suspect there is a need to remove the crown, remove the module and unscrew the four screws on the dial side to remove the movement from the dial. I am not sure if the hands need to be removed. I will cross the bridge when the battery needs to be changed.
In the end, can't really fault the watch. Plenty of watch for USD20 retail. At the moment you can get it less then USD20.
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