When a $20 watch looks like a $7500 watch

I like luxury watches, but being I'm not about to spend the cash necessary to get one, I buy stuff like this instead.

Above is a Chenxi CX-068. It is meant to emulate a Cartier Tank MC.

Before continuing, yes I bought my Chenxi from AliExpress, but I did a search to see if it's on Amazon. Yes, it is. Model 063A is available. You can see that right here, and while not exactly the same as the one I have, it actually matches the Tank MC more closely as it does have a date complication. True, the AliExpress price is lower, but if bought through Amazon you get the watch a whole lot faster here in America.

Here's a little secret concerning luxury watches:

Nobody cares.

Seriously, absolutely nobody cares.

What matters where wristwatch luxury is concerned is the right look and not brand. As long as what you have on your wrist looks the part, that's all that matters.

Watch collectors would tell you different, but they're wrong. The collectors can snob it up all they want, but the reality is for two watches that carry a similar style, both look the same from more than two feet away. Absolutely nobody is going to put their face within two feet of your wrist just to read the watch brand logo.

All that being said, the Chenxi is an all-plastic quartz timepiece that is styled similar to Cartier Tank MC. The only thing that's metal is the strap buckle and that's it. The watch is featherweight light, the tick is thankfully near-silent, and because it's a small seconds watch, the "quartz-ness" of it is effectively hidden unless you intently stare at the tiny seconds hand at the bottom of the dial.

Surprisingly, the dial has a real texture pattern on it and isn't all printed. It also has a signed buckle. Fancy!

See my video below on the Chenxi. It's not expensive, but this is "my Tank". I saved about $7,490 buying one of these over a Cartier.

Published 2023 May 30