Forsining Automatic Tourbillon Review: A Bargain Or Trash Worthy?
Forsining watches are affordable. No, actually, they are insanely cheap.
If you look at what they have on offer on Amazon, you will be shocked at what you get for under fifty bucks. I was.
Of course, you are not buying a Rolex here, or even a Seiko for that matter, but it’s amazing what you can produce for such a low price. Even when you include the raw materials alone (metal, leather, battery, glass), it’s still pretty surprising!
That is why I wanted to take a closer look at what you get with a Forsining watch, specifically an automatic that claims to be a tourbillon, something that is usually reserved for watches in the “thousands” of dollars, not tens!
First, A Little About Forsining
Before we jump into the features, I thought it was worth checking into the company in a little more detail. After all, most of us have probably never even heard of Forsining.
They are actually one of three brands made by Guangzhou Ruixue Watch Company Limited, who started out in 2006, so have a little history in watch making, but not the decades that most have.
Based in Guangzhou in China (of course) this company really started out making watches for the Chinese market, via Alibaba and also produce two other Chinese brands: Winner & Jargar. Again, maybe not brands you have heard of.
Aside from this information, I have not been able to find much more.
It Is Really A Tourbillon?
The thing with Tourbillons is that they are insanely complex and expensive. They are designed to counteract the affect of gravity on the watch movement. This is done by placing the balance wheel and escarpment into a rotating cage of sorts, that usually spins at one revolution per minute. This means that any imperfections in the timing created by gravity are balanced out. Or at least in theory.
There are so many moving parts in a tourbillon that only major players make them, and they are insanely expensive.
This watch has what looks like a tourbillon, but it is actually just a skeletonized dial that aims to look like a Tourbillon. After all, you would not get one for such a low price.
Forsining Automatic Features
This watch from Forsining seems to come packed with features. Whether they all function is another thing, but it’s impressive to look at. First, it is an automatic, so charges via your arms movement, something that normally costs hundreds of dollars.
Here is a summary of the features:
- Chinese automatic movement with skeletonized face
- Seiko Hardlex scratch-resistant acrylic crystal
- 46×14.5 mm stainless steel case with display back
- Leather strap with steel buckle
- Limited water resistance (splash proof)
- Day, Date, Month, Year on various sub-dials
The Dial
This is an ultra-modern watch dial with lots of steel and black contrasting one another well. The large pushers and crown on the side add to the look, although they are actually typical stop watch style buttons, they don’t function as such.
The stand out feature on this dial is the golden colored psuedo-tourbillon at the bottom. If you have never heard of one before, they are designed to counteract gravity to keep an automatic watch winding no matter what angle your wrist is at. They are not used very often because of their complexity and it surprises me to see one on this watch.
The full calendar on this dial is also very modern with the two sub-dials featuring the day and date, with the large curved windows at 10 and 2 o’clock showing the month and year.
The black dial has some engraved waves which you can see between 4 and 8 o’clock, however I believe they are also in other areas of the dial. The arabic numbers only appear for odds, and are aligned with the watch case which is a great look.
Chinese watch makers know how to take the best of most brands and produce stunning looking watches. The trick is in keeping them running for years, which they seem not yet to have mastered
The Case & Strap
The case is quite large on this watch so it very much suits a larger wrist. Being 46mm in diamater and quite thick at 14.5mm.
It’s a completely polished stainless steel, adding to the modern look I think they were going for. The display back, although not the best I have seen, is also a nice addition.
On the side you have a large crown and two push buttons which are used for changing the date/calendar on the dial. I believe the crown can also be used for hand winding, but I reserve judgement on that without having my hands on one as cheap automatics normally don’t have this function.
The angled edge of the case leading up to the domed Seiko hardlex crystal gives it a very high look as you can see in the first image above.
The strap is nothing special: a simple black stitched “genuine leather” affair, that you may want to change for something more modern later on – like a nato or perlon strap.
The Automatic Movement
There is not a lot of information to be gleamed about the automatic movement in this watch. It appears to hold more than 10 hours change, but how much exactly I have no idea.
It also appears to be hand-winding (because they mention using the crown to wind in the description) but this surprises me as I mentioned above.
Water Resistance
Again, there are no exact specs on the water resistance of this watch. I expect it is only splash proof, so if you buy any watch from Forsining don’t forget to take it off when you wash the dishes. I don’t expect it will last long under water.
Final Impressions Of Forsinning Watches
It still amazes me what you can get for 30 bucks these days. This watch looks very modern and impressive, and if all the dial functions work when you get it, even better.
The fact that it is automatic too, is impressive. Because assembling such a watch is complex and expensive and normally at this price point you would only get a battery operated quartz.
In the end, you get what you pay for and this watch will more than likely not be the heirloom you hand down to your son in 20 years. But if you are only looking for a watch to wear out on the town for a year or two, then it’s a great buy.
