Pagani Design Watch Review | Read This BEFORE You Buy a Vincero Watch
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I’ve gone and done it, mission complete. I’ve probably found the best value low-cost watch out there. If you’re considering buying a Vincero chronograph, definitely read until the end of this post first.
Ok so, a year or so ago on my Ben Arthur channel, I reviewed a Vincero watch. I was sick of their adverts being rammed down my throat, I’m sure similar has probably happened to you online; so, I thought I’d save everyone the effort and see if they were actually ‘luxury’ as advertised.
To cut a long story short, I wasn’t impressed. They advertised the watches as luxury, but they fell pretty flat. The specifications were really basic and I thought the design was clumsy overall, considering the watch retailed for well over £100. It wasn’t the worst watch in the world, but if it wasn’t purchased for the sake of a YouTube review, I wouldn’t ever have purchased it for myself. It felt like it had no real selling points.
At the time, I already knew there were a bunch of better alternatives that you could purchase in that price range; I’ve shared some of them on this website before. However, today I’ll be showing what’s maybe the ultimate alternative to that Vincero chronograph design, with a far better movement, a more attractive design and better build quality for a fraction of the cost. There are some trade-offs, but I think this is just far better value for money.
Introducing the Pagani Design chronograph from Aliexpress. I’ll reveal the price of this watch at the end. Just like Vincero, this has an Italian sounding name but the watch is made in China.
This features a similar chronograph arrangement, though you can tell this is different enough to not be any sort of copy from the Vincero design. I chose the colourway most similar to that Chrono S, to ensure that the colours weren’t going to influence my judgement on any comparisons. Within a second of looking at the dial, I could tell that this was just a way better looking watch.
Watch Dial
Instantly, the texture of that dial just looks far nicer than that in the Vincero, which I remember looked like a flat piece of white paper, which just didn’t work in my opinion. This Pagani Design catches the light really nicely and has the ringed engravings on the subdials, which are sorely lacking on the former.
You’ll also notice, those subdials are also more spread out, giving a less cramped look; that’s primarily because of the movement. The hands on this watch are slim and simple, with some limited lume on them. They do look quite similar to that Vincero, but the lumed sections extend a bit further along.
Covering this watch is a domed piece of what they call ‘hardlex’. This is a piece of hardened mineral crystal, which will provide some limited scratch protection and is fundamentally the same stuff you’ll find in Vincero watches. Whether this is an actual piece of Seiko ‘hardlex’ glass is unclear, but nevertheless, it’s seems good considering the cost of the watch. I’m a big fan of these domed crystals, I think they look much more premium than the flat mineral glass used in watches like that Vincero. They also cost more money to produce than standard mineral glass, so it’s nice to see that here in the less expensive watch. These domed crystals don’t suit every watch out there, but for these basic chronograph designs, I think it looks great.
Case CONSTRUCTION
Case finishing as a whole is fine. Nothing special by any means, this is just a simple high shine finish throughout, very similar to that Chrono S. This is constructed of the popular 316L stainless steel, which is heavily advertised in watches at multiple times this price point. I remember thinking the steel used in the Vincero was good and this feels really solid too. It definitely has more weight to it than I expected considering the price of the watch. Lots of these cheap ones feel really hollow.
The pushers and crown feel totally functional and responsive. It’s pleasing to see the Pagani Design logo on the crown too, the grip on which is really high. Unfortunately, this watch only provides a limited 30m of water resistance, making it nothing more than splash-proof. The Vincero does have better water resistance, which is one of the trade-offs, though neither are really high performers in this regard. Nevertheless, this kind of design isn’t really going to be the type you’d really be swimming in anyway.
Size-wise, this watch comes in towards the larger end at 43mm in diameter and 13.5mm in diameter, with a lug to lug size of 48mm. This is almost identical to the Vincero on paper, but in practice, it certainly wears slightly smaller. I think the lug to lug size must be shorter, nevertheless, both are still pretty big, so if you have a skinny wrist like me, these probably aren’t going to be a great fit. However, for bigger wrists, say over 7 inches, these will suit you better.
Movement
Now, contained within the case is the big killer feature of this watch. Powering this watch is a Seiko VK67 Hybrid Mecha-Quartz movement. This is a better movement than the Cheap Miyota quartz found in the Vincero and costs far more to produce. The great thing with these is that when you set off the stopwatch feature, you get a second hand that ticks along multiple times per second. This gives a relatively smooth motion, akin to a mechanical watch. At the press of a button, the second hand will instantly snap back to the 12 o’clock position. This movement just feels so much better than the cheaper quartz movements, it’s near silent too. The only minor complaint with this is that one of the sub-dial hands seems a fraction misaligned, but considering the miniscule size, you really wouldn’t notice unless you had a magnifying glass at hand. The same issue was present on the Vincero anyway, so it’s hardly a negative.
These VK67 movements are currently retailing for £30 individually. With this Pagani watch currently selling for just over £39 on Aliexpress, it’s phenomenal that they’ve managed to squeeze this into a watch at this price point. I do not know how they are making a profit on a watch this good, with this movement inside. Compare this to the £3 quartz movement found in a £120 Vincero and there’s no contest.
Watch Strap
One of the areas that costs are cut, to allow such a good movement, is the strap. As with lots of these Chinese watches, the strap is pretty cheap, though is better than I expected. This is only the low tier genuine leather and does feel a little on the rubbery side. It also lacks the quick release tabs, so you’ll have to use a tool to remove it. If you’re bothered about this, it might be worth switching the strap out for an alternative. It’s not like you’ll be short of cash left over with this watch.
Something else worth mentioning is the packaging. I expected the watch to arrive in a sleeve or envelope or something, given the retail price. But no, our friends at ‘Pagani Design’ even clutched up with an impressive padded gift box, that’s easily as good as the Vincero one, albeit a different shape.
Should I Buy a Pagani Design Watch?
To summarise, this watch is a third of the cost of a Vincero, yet looks better, has equally as good build quality, has a far superior movement inside, has nicer looking glass and a brand name that is easy to pronounce. In my opinion, it’s just a better watch…and it’s cheaper! It really exposes how much mark-up some of these brands must be making on their watches. Even those watch brands that claim to offer industry leading value.
It’s a no brainer. If you’re after one of those Vincero chronographs or at least a watch that has that sort of styling, I say just get one of these and save yourself a ton of money. There’s an Aliexpress affiliate link below if you want to pick this up at the best price before they go. These aren’t going to arrive as quick as Amazon prime, but this arrived within two week’s which is incredible.
