What’s your Mt Rushmore of Chinese mechanical

When it comes to personal favourites, I totally agree with your first two. I am a huge fan of the Sugess “Top Time Deus”, and have it in two colourways. I also have the Merkur Cross Line in rose red, and adore the vintage styling – it’s a perfect dress watch. I’d then add the Thorn SHY028, which is a great BB58 homage at an affordable price. A bit of a curveball at number four, I’d choose the San Martin SN0065. It’s not one of their big-sellers, so falls under the radar for many buyers. It takes inspiration from other timepieces, notably the Panerai, but is not a direct homage. The 40mm case size is perfect for me, and I love the California dial.

But having said that, if I was recommending four watches to someone unfamiliar to Chinese brands and AliExpress, I’d have to start with the Seagull 1963 Chinese Air Force Chronograph. Surely a rites of passage for any collector? The best bang for your buck has got to be the Steeldive SD1970 “Captain Willard”. I’d keep the Merkur Cross Line on the list, and finish with a San Martin. I believe of all the Chinese brands, they epitomise the quality and value for money offered compared to similar timepieces from Japan and Switzerland. I’m going to stick to recommending watches I own, so would opt for the San Martin SN007 (62mas) as it’s a classic design, desirable, and offers exceptional value.

For me:

Sugess Chrono Heritage 411 (blue): A homage to a Furlan Marri chrono, itself a homage to the Patek Phillipe Tasti Tondi. The finishing, the deep blue dial, the silver Roman numerals, it just all comes together in a beautiful package.

Heimdallr Monster (orange): A homage to the Seiko Monster for a lot less, but with great specs. A monster of a dive watch, literally, with its slab-of-metal bezel, but I just love everything about it. Even the Heimdallr logo, which fits perfectly with the watch’s shark theme.

Corguet Railmaster (white): Corguet’s homage to the Omega Railmaster is not the most eye-popping watch, but there’s just something about its subtly textured dial that I love, and in any case it’s a strap monster and a watch that fits every outfit.

Shanghai 8120 Kontiki (black): A faithful recreation of Eterna’s beautiful Kontiki watch. Classy enough to be a dress(y) watch, but with enough lovely details on the dial that keep it from being boring.

Edit: like the other commenter mentioned, wasn’t easy to pick just four, so as my runners up: Mysterious Code Ophion Velos homage (in blue, the others are dreadful); Addiesdive AD2101 vintage dive watch; Berny Mondaine railway watch homage.

SteelDive SD1970 : Comfortable on the wrist and a watch I'd happily wear everyday as my only AliExpress watch. It pays homage to a very unique and very interesting tool-watch. It has been around for so long, it has its own loyal fanbase. Before this, I don't know if there was much interest in homages of Seiko divers.

Heimdallr Full Steel Sea Shepherd : This one came out a long time ago and built on the interest in homages of vintage Seiko divers. The stainless steel bezel and the faithful details from the SBBN007 meant that it was aimed at a small slice of Seiko geeks.

Proxima PX1683 : The best made homage to the SBDX001 but with a clear Stephen Yi signature. The horizontally brushed fume dials add character. What makes it even more special (even though it isn't a practical function), is the engineering effort that went into the two piece case construction that fits without a visible gap.

RDUNAE R5 : A fresh take on the iconic Monster with a Sawtooth bezel and deep fume dials. RDUNAE have always danced to their own tune within the homage watch business and I respect them for that.

It wasn't easy to pick four, even though I was only picking Seiko diver homages 😂. Here are the honourable mentions: San Martin SN079, RDUNAE R2X, RDUNAE R1, and Heimdallr Frost Monster.

At least from looks alone, that San Martin Chinese New Year GMT from earlier this year is top.