Too often, I think anyone who hears the word “homage” unfairly equates that to “cheap knockoff”. To me, nothing could be further from the truth; on the contrary, when I see someone overpaying for a product just for the brand name, I think “sucker”. I’m always reminded of a situation where friends of mine, who are extremely savvy and experienced with high-end furniture and art, were getting rid of a couple of beautiful egg chairs simply because 1) they were quite big, and 2) they were slightly sun-faded. Before they took them to the dump, they asked me if I wanted them, and I did not hesitate. I did ask, “No way these are real Arne Jacobsen egg chairs, are they?” They replied, “Oh God no, they’re replicas – but they’re very good replicas.”

So what’s the difference between a good replica, or good homage, and “the real deal”, beyond the spelling of the name? In the Chinese watch world, the biggest difference is about a 5x reduction in price, and in many instances, an increase in quality control and material improvements. Bezels line up, aluminum is replaced with ceramic, mineral glass is replaced with sapphire. In short: the originals seem overpriced.

Quickly comparing the spec sheet of this watch from Heimdallr, against the original: monobloc case (same), Seiko NH35A movement (same/similar), ceramic bezel insert (arguably better), sapphire crystal (better/at least, more scratch resistant), drilled lugs (same), dial & hands and lume (same/similar). Overall finishing may be arguably better on the original, but that’s really marginal and you’d need a macro lens or loupe to see any differences. To me, the details on this watch are perfect, like the brushed edge along the side of the case. I especially like the little applied shark logo on the dial.

I wore it on the provided metal bracelet, which was an improvement over the standard Seiko-esque dive style rubber strap I tried. (TOP TIP: I normally prefer a rubber strap to a bracelet, but I’ll always get the metal bracelet, because you will not be able to get it later if you want it, and you can always get a rubber strap later.) This is a top-heavy watch, due to the 15mm thick monobloc case. Since then, I’ve found a reproduction of the original Seiko SBDX001 style rubber strap, and it makes the watch fit much better, which I think is a little weird, how one rubber strap can be so different to another. But it is a combination of being both softer and thicker, which must better offset the monobloc case, than would the more common Seiko-style diver strap, or the iconic “tropic strap”, that works so well with the Willard, Turtle, and Samurai cases.

If you have the desire for the the original and that’s important to you, then by all means go for that. But don’t fool yourself into thinking there’s a big gap in quality, to justify the big gap in price; and this one has a bonus shark logo on it!