San Martin SN0144 (Jian Zhan) Review | The Best $300 Watch Just Got Better
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How are they doing this? That’s my question: how are they doing this for so cheap?
I thought the same a few months ago when San Martin released the SN0129, a $300 GMT with mega specs and an insane desert-like dial that sent value for money blasting through the stratosphere. It was one of those watches that a big brand would have demanded a kidney-sale price tag for, and as a reviewer, I couldn’t not recommend, even if it didn’t perfectly fit me.
Since then, San Martin has released several watches, none of which quite hit the spot. Many of them were the ever-present clones of big brand watches or reworks of existing models, including a bezel-free version of the desert dial watch, but nothing fresh that piqued my curiosity. I mean, some of them were downright ugly. Maybe San Martin had peaked. Maybe their previous success was just a flash in the pan?
San Martin SN0144-GX Review
Out of the blue, they emailed me saying they had already posted me one of their new models to take a look at because, and I quote, “the photos taken may not capture the true effect of the dial, which is actually very beautiful.” In fact, they were supposedly beautiful enough to “fascinate and intoxicate people.”
Now, I’m going to be honest: I didn’t actually read that far. I don’t really like people sending me samples unsolicitedly, as it messes with my tight review schedule. I thought the watch looked a little gimmicky and pointless, and I couldn’t be bothered reading all the spiel.
But, my wife did read the spiel and said the dial manufacturing process sounded surprisingly interesting. Either way, I expected to take a quick look and ask for a return label, as I wouldn’t have time to fit it in. Then this happened.
Yeah, they weren’t lying. Yet again, San Martin has worked some witchcraft and created another seemingly magical dial for another astonishing price tag. In fact, they’ve made several other interesting changes, which I’ll delve into in this post, and they’ve also made one unfortunate mistake, which you’re staring at right now. Take a good look; we’ll come back to that one later on.
Dimensions
So, here it is the SN0144-GX. To clarify, they did send this in, but they haven’t paid me to say anything about it and have no control over any content. While the dial is the obvious focal point, I immediately noticed something else when unboxing...the slimness. Indeed, the 39mm case size and 46mm lug-to-lug are nothing out of the ordinary, but boy, is it thin. Skeletor arguably has more meat on his bones than the SN0144, as it clocks in at quartz-rivalling 10.2mm thick, which includes the bezel and a fractionally raised sapphire crystal. Heck, if San Martin ever makes a bezel-free watch, it’ll be so thin you could chop your veg with it.
Needless to say, it fits under just about every sleeve and wears perfectly flush to the arm, giving a very sleek look. I think these proportions are also very versatile, though I’ll have more to say on that later on.
Case Construction
The case surely draws inspiration from the Rolex Oyster models, given the comparable shape and flat side profile, albeit with an elevated focus on brushing rather than polishing. It’s got a brushed bezel and flanks, with a few polished patches sandwiched in between. While akin to Rolex, the straightness of the case isn’t really to my taste. I tend to prefer more curvature and fluidity to the sides, such as that offered by Vaer or Erebus.
As you can see, the standard of case finishing is shockingly comparable despite the vast cost difference. This San Martin uses 316L steel, so it’s not quite the same material as the 904L steel Rolex, but the final results are nonetheless in a similar ballpark, with a great deal of precision and attention to detail.
San Martin may have been edged out in my recent AliExpress comparison video, but on average, I still think they’re the kings of low-cost case finishing.
Bracelet
With this watch, they’ve even made strides in that department. The SN0144 has a bracelet that is quite frankly unbelievable for a watch at this price. It’s nothing short of gorgeous, with a super-clean case integration, extra fine brushing, and a clever use of polishing down the sides of the central links that helps it catch the eye.
Just like the case, this gives the whole package a premium look and feel, which is only exemplified by the clasp, which perfectly traces the lines of the bracelet and even houses a concealed glidelock-style mechanism that permits a wide range of adjustments on the fly. Of course, it also retains the screw-link system for easy link removal.
Previous San Martin bracelets were already top-tier, though they looked a little generic and had the occasional QC issue. This one, though, is next level. I’d love to know if the style is copied from another brand, which wouldn’t surprise me. Even if that’s the case, the execution here is undeniable. It’s the best bracelet I’ve seen on a watch under $1000, for sure, in both form and function, with a wonderfully comfortable fit and a final look that almost seems photoshopped.
Caseback & Water Resistance
In terms of the rest of the watch, you still get a decent 100m advertised water resistance rating, which I believe, as the watch has not only a screw-down crown but also one of the firmest casebacks I’ve ever had to remove, to the extent where I scratched it when I first tried. I’d be astonished if it didn’t achieve that 10-bar rating.
That caseback, which features Chinese symbols that apparently translate to ‘San Martin,’ is also very flat, undoubtedly contributing to the overall thinness of the piece. You’ll also notice the bracelet has nice solid end links and spring bars that are fairly easy to get at but lack any quick-release notches.
Watch Movement
You’re probably wondering what’s under the hood. The last gen San Martin SN0129 had the highly regarded Seiko NH34 GMT movement, or in the case of the non-GMT versions, the NH35 variant. That was a decent enough movement for sure, but here, they’ve gone one better.
The SN0144 is packing a Miyota 9015 automatic. This ‘ultra-thin’ movement, as Miyota calls it, is a go-to mechanical option for brands after two things: a slim movement to cut down the size of a movement and a higher vibration frequency (aka beat rate). Higher beat rates give the second hand a smoother sweeping effect, which you’ll notice when you compare this to the lower beat rate Seiko-powered SN0129. It can also provide a touch more accuracy on average.
Overall, this is about as good a movement as you can get at this price, and anecdotally, I’ve had far fewer performance issues with these movements than others like the Miyota 8000 series, with the only real gripe being that it’s still got quite a noisy rotor.
Dial Design
As is the norm with these Chinese brands, this one features a decent flat piece of sapphire crystal with a more than adequate anti-reflective coating that doesn’t obscure your view of the JianZhan beneath. Indeed, let’s get into the nitty gritty of this absurd dial.
Now, some elements here are not new. The hands and markers, for instance, appear to be the same and are each quite versatile and attractive, so they work just as well here, though if you have both watches in your collection, such an overlap may reduce the individuality of each piece. I’d still take that over them being ugly, though!
In contrast, the dial surface is something entirely new to me. Now, I’ve tried enamel dials before, but they’re usually single-tone with a glossy, smooth finish. According to San Martin’s email, this is some kind of variant of that, using a “low-temperature enamel finish,” which gives a three-dimensional effect despite the top layer actually being flat. An optical illusion, to some degree, with a textured bottom layer, a central colored layer, and then a transparent upper layer.
Whatever the technicalities, the final result provides you with the extreme texture of a matte dial combined with the shiny surface of an enamel dial, and while I wouldn’t say I’m ‘intoxicated’ from it, the final effect is nonetheless applaudable for the money. This sort of thing just didn’t exist at this price five years ago!
The texture varies in prominence, depending on how you move the watch, as well as the lighting conditions, with a final result that looks akin to the elaborate porcelain ware they mention in the product name. The same can also be said for the other two colors, red and orange, albeit the blue will likely be the most popular, as it’s the least in-your-face.
To my knowledge, there seem to be two versions of this watch floating around at the time of publishing. The original versions launched with a much more obvious fumé effect, where the dials quickly recessed to black before the hour markers. This, however, seems to be one of the new versions, where the central color extends further to the edges, with only a slight fumé effect, giving a more subtle aesthetic that I think I just about prefer. I’d expect this new version to be the one you get from the San Martin Official Store moving forward.
Date Window
Here’s where we get to the mistake, the error I mentioned earlier. That is the date window. Now, color-wise, I have no complaints. It’s perfectly matched to the dial tone, and from what I can gather, it’s the same story for the other two color variants.
What’s frustrating is that my unit had a wheel that was clearly misaligned. The dial as a whole looks perfectly straight, but the date is butted up slightly to the right side of the window. It’s a shame, too, as it’s quite easy to notice, given the central position of the window on this model, which throws off the symmetry a tad.
It does at least show that San Martin probably doesn’t cherry-pick units for reviewers, as the vast majority of user-generated reviews on AliExpress don’t have this issue. It seems I just got a little unlucky. There are no other obvious errors, and everything looks very clean under macro, as you can see.
Final Thoughts
For the most part, this watch is absolutely bonkers. Right now, it’s around £250 or $320 on AliExpress, and for that money, you’ll struggle to find a more intricate dial or a higher-quality watch. San Martin is calling this a GADA watch, and I suppose with the sporty styling, it is fairly versatile, but I tend to prefer slightly more restrained designs for day-to-day usage. It’s just what I end up reaching for, for whatever reason.
And you know, despite all the San Martin watches I’ve reviewed, many of which have received stellar reviews, I’m yet to find one that I can actually wear regularly. I may have small arm syndrome, but I’m still looking for the one that fits well and makes it reliably into the rotation. And I may just have found it.
Yeah, while making this post, I stumbled upon this, which they didn’t tell me about: two new size variants of this SN0144; a 42mm and a 36mm. Now, I guess there’s one for all the family! I think I’m gonna buy one of these purely to see if it’s the San Martin to break the curse. Now, the blue is decent but a bit predictable, and that orange is calling my name.
If I do grab it, you’ll see it on my unboxing channel, called In The Loupe, as I don’t want to retread the same ground here. While you’re waiting, you should check out this post, which covers San Martin’s previous attempt at textured dials, as well as a surprisingly good $40 alternative. It’s from another Chinese brand and it’s almost as good!