Pagani Design GMT Watch Review

Today we are looking at the Pagani design GMT, which is a very clear homage of a well known watch.

I have the batman version and before we get started, this a really strong homage and I would argue it is really pushing the boundaries of what a “homage” is, so for that very reason,  it will not be to everyone’s taste and that is okay.

Model – PD-1662

The model I have is the PD-1662. This is the “Batman” meaning it has a black and blue bezel, but there are other colour options including the red and blue (Pepsi), the red and black (Coke), rose gold (Root beer) and all black.. (Which I don’t think has a fun nick name)

It is an automatic, 100m water resistant watch with a screw down crown that is 40mm in diameter and comes with the GMT complication allowing you to read a second time zone.

Brand

Pagani Design are a Chinese watch company that sell their watches mainly on Aliexpress since 2013. They focus on homage watches, sometimes, like the watch we are looking at today, the homage levels are a little strong and they are getting a little close to the “copy” or “clone”territory.

However, the Pagani logo is always clearly on the watch, so everything is perfectly leagal.

(You can read more about – Frequently Asked Questions About – Pagani Design Watches)

Movement

The movement inside is the Pearl DG5833 GMT. Honestly, I can’t find anything out about this movement. I am assuming it’s a clone of another movement, but I’ve no idea what of. This means it is a little difficult to know how reliable it is, or what its power reserve is.

It has a single direction rotor which can make a bit of noise. If found if I flick my wrist I can not only hear it spin, I can feel it wobble!

Hand winding is not very enjoyable, the crown feels very gritty when I turn it and it does not fill me with confidence that this watch will last me long term.

However, on a positive note, it does work as a GMT watch. The GMT hand is free to move and you can set it indepedantly, but if you try and move the hour hand, the GMT hand is slaved to this, so its not perfect, but its pretty good.

It also is pretty good movement to look at. The rotor is nicely decorated and signed. The rest of the movement has been decorated with blue screws and some red cogs in among the gold coloured ones. I am pretty sure they have just been painted, but it still looks really cool and it is done well.

You can also see the plastic movement holder which sort of spoils the illusion of its quality, but now I’m just nit picking!

(You can red more about – Are Pagani Design Watches Reliable?)

NH34

This watch is actually now available with the NH34A movement, which is Seikos affordable GMT option.

This is awesome as I feel this movement will be far more reliable, even if it is relatively new to the market. The fact Seiko is behind it gives me more confidence than the known DG5833GMT that I currently have.

If you are about to buy this watch, definitely get the NH34 version. If you are like me and have the old model, well, I’m not sure what we can do.

When my watch inventively breaks I want to try and replace the movement for a NH34. The issue is… will it fit? and will the dial and hands I currently have be compatible? These are questions I am unsure about and it may be easier (and probably a similar price) to just rebuy this watch if you want it with the NH34, rather than trying to convert it.

However, more information is needed and right now my GMT is running fine, so this is a question I need to be asking just yet.

Dial

The Dial is a beautiful piano matt black with the Pagani Design logo above the pinion and quite the paragraph of text below.

It says GMT in blue, to match the GMT hand, Automatic, followed by Water Resistant and finally 10Bar/100m on the 4^th line.

The incidences are applied and are a mixture of batons and circles, with a triangle at the 12. They are an off white with a silver frame and all very nicely done. There is also a date window at the 3 o’colock position, with a Cyclops and a white minute track running around the outer edge.

The hands are silver Mercedes hands and have that off white colour as well. The GMT hand is blue with a white triangle at the tip and the seconds hand is a classic lollypop with a white circular baton.

The dial as a whole is fantastic, but then we do pretty much have the Rolex design team to thank for the inspiration.

Bezel

The watch has a ceramic bezel and it rotates anti clockwise with 120 clicks. Mine is very smooth and has no back play.

The bezel is really important for the GMT function and allows you tell the time in your second time zone.  It has 24 hour markings to allow you to tell the time and the bezel is split into two colours from the 6 to the 18 markers, mine is blue and black. The Blue is to represent day and the black is for the night time hours

Crystal

The crystal is a flat sapphire and has a Cyclops. While I cannot see the usual blue hue of anti reflective layers, the watch seems to hold up well when light is shining on it and is always easy to read. 

Case

The case is your typical submariner style shape and is made from stainless steel and is 40mm in diameter. Its 13mm thick (14mm if you include the Cyclops) and 48mm from lug to lug. It has a mixture of brushed lugs and polished sides of the case. 

The crown has some small guards either side of it and it is a screw down crown that has the Pagani logo on it.

Unlike the watch it is homaging, the Pagani has a clear caseback that so you can see the movement inside.

Lume

If you have heard of Pagani Design, you will know they do not have the best reputation for lume and sadly this watch carries that reputation on. It is a nice ice blue colour, and is probably why the hands and indices have that pearly off white colour to them during the day.

The lume seems well applied; it just isn’t that strong and runs out pretty fast. I find it really needs charged up to see it well. Most times it doesn’t even glow for me, unlike other watches that will glow every time you go from light to dark.

Strap

The lug with is 20mm and you can pick an oyster style bracelet, which I did, so I guess I have the batman homage.  There is also a jubilee style bracelet, which would make the watch a more of a Batgirl homage and there is also a rubber strap option.

(There are a few more differences on the actual Rolex between the Batgirl and Batman versions, but for this pagani watch the head is the same, it’s only the bracelet that is different.)

Personally I find the oyster style bracelet super comfortable. It has a good weight with polished centre links and brushed outer links and it also has solid end links. The clasp is decent and is very similar looking to the original, but is of course signed with the Pagani Design name.  

When I bought the watch my intention was to not use the bracelet. I bought a Black Nato with blue stripes. I usually wear the watch on this as I think it works really well. I also kind of hope this makes it look less of an obvious homage. However, while I was waiting for this Nato to arrive, I really enjoyed my time with the bracelet and was almost temped to keep it for the majority of the time. Of course when the Nato arrived and I seen it, I soon changed back to my original plan. 

Extension

Okay, so i owned this watch for nearly a year before I realised that there was an extension. Its pretty well hidden and its extremely stiff.

I had always looked at the clasp and just felt there was something about it, but I couldn’t work it out. I thought maybe they had designed it to look like it had an extension, without actually having one. Of course you get no instructions with these sorts of watches, so you are never sure.

One day I just decided to really push on the bracelet where it meats the clasp and well …out popped an extension that had been neatly tucked into the clasp.

It took a lot of force and I thought I had broke it, but its came out. Luckily now it is a little easier to use, but there you go. These watches do have a hidden bracelet extension

Price

This watch cost me just £62. Just for your reference, the original watch that this is homaging is currently at £8600 brand new. That is if you can actually get one, if not they are sitting around 20k on the second hand market.

I would much rather have the Rolex, but I haven’t got £8600 and I certainly haven’t got 20k. This low price alternative fills a hole for me. Will I save up for the real thing? Very likely, but for now I will enjoy the budget version.

Overall Opinion

I love this watch, but of course that is because it looks like a Rolex that I really want.

I do like this Pagani, although I am a little uncomfortable with just how strong its homage levels are. I do wonder how some watches like this get away with it.

Honestly I only wear this watch in my house. I don’t want people to think it’s a Rolex as it could very easily be mistaken for that from a far. That awkward conversation of explaining it’s not a fake, but still looks very similar is something I don’t want to get involved with.

Once you have the watch in your hand, you will of course realise it is very far luxury quality. Although it is cheap, it is a decent watch. As I’ve said, I don’t think it will stand the test of time, but for now I am really enjoying the GMT function and of course, the overall look.

Would I recommend this watch? Yes, I would. If you are okay with homages, then this one looks cool and is a very reasonably priced. It probably won’t last too long, but it will be fun while it lasts.

(You can read more about – Can Pagani Design Watches Be Considered As A Good Alternative To Luxury Brands?)