Read our comprehensive LIGE watch review of the ‘Hulk’ model with 28800 bph movement priced at $47. Discover its features and performance in this in-depth analysis.

LIGE Watch Review: Has It Redeemed Itself?

When LIGE introduced this watch sometime last year, it didn’t get off to a very good start. It was priced much higher than it probably should have been. There were, let’s say, some inconsistencies between the product listings and the actual watch. Now LIGE seems to have fixed the listings and dropped the price to where I think it should have been from the very start. But have they now fully redeemed themselves and made it all good? There are still some bold claims, like a high-beat 28,800 vibrations per hour movement, and the product listing pictures are still pretty good.

Well, today, we have all the tools we need—well, most of them—and, as always, we aren’t afraid to use them. So let’s take a closer look at this watch.

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Initial Impressions

A spoiler alert: not all is as expected, even after the product listing fix and the price drop. Now, how bad is it? Well, let’s put all the facts on the table.

First, in the usual format, I will cover the price, key dimensions, and specifications of this watch. Also, as usual, I will share my first impressions and, of course, what I think is good and what I think is not so good about this watch and highlight any quality control issues that I’ve managed to find so far. Also, naturally, I will be posting pictures of this and other watches on our Instagram account, so do check them out. The link is in the description.

Price

I paid just over $45 US dollars for this watch on AliExpress. This watch, at the point of introduction, was priced from memory somewhere around $75 US dollars. So the price adjustment is a welcome change.

In terms of shipment, I bought it from LIGE—I think it’s a LIGE official store—and to their credit, the watch was shipped very, very quickly and arrived in the UK within weeks.

Packaging

Right, packaging. So we have a cardboard box—quite sturdy, I must say. Inside, we have packed in a small envelope, a user manual, an unsigned guarantee card, a small branded cloth, and a tag. LIGE also included a nifty little double-sided screwdriver, which, as we will see in this review, I couldn’t exactly make any use of. And of course, we have the watch, which I already unwrapped in the unboxing video.

Dimensions and Specifications

Case diameter is approximately 40.4 millimetres, case height is 30 millimetres, lug tip to lug tip is about 47.5 millimetres, and the distance from end-link to end-link is 52.5 millimetres. The bracelet tapers down to about 16 millimetres at the clasp and can accommodate up to an eight-and-a-quarter-inch wrist, or about 21 centimeters in circumference. The fully supplied stainless steel bracelet weighs about 150 grams.

Dial

This is, of course, a green dial watch, and the Rolex Submariner that this one is paying homage to is nicknamed the ‘Hulk.’ The dial has a quite pronounced sunburst effect. On one hand, I like it; however, because there is not much, if any, anti-reflective coating on the crystal, the strong sunburst effect together with a bit of crystal glare kind of hurts legibility to some degree. Not a showstopper by any means, but on a few occasions, it took me a split second to make sure that I was actually looking at the hands and not at the sunburst arrays on the dial.

Of course, we have familiar Mercedes and lollipop hands, and we have applied hour markers and a printed minute chapter ring, leaving very little doubt as to what watch this one is paying homage to.

Sure, here is a more concise version of the draft:

The date window is at the 3 o’clock position with a magnification of about 1.5 times, making the date clear and legible. The dial feels busy, with three lines of text at 6 o’clock, two lines, and an applied logo at 12 o’clock. The writing under the logo doesn’t add clarity, and ‘DESIGN LIGE’ is confusing, much like the ‘1856’. Additionally, the logo is slightly angled, pointing a bit to the left.

Well, the only positive here, in my opinion, is that LIGE used a light grey color for the writing, and therefore the busy writing does not stand out so much.

While we are talking about the positives, it is a good time to mention the lume. The Lume on this $45 watch is surprisingly decent for the price. It will not light up the room, but it performs okay, taking into account the price point. My only complaint here is that the lume is somewhat uneven in places, especially on the 12 o’clock pip on the bezel. But then again, not exactly a show-stopper, in my opinion, again taking into account the price.

Crystal

We do have a nice, flat mineral glass here. As I mentioned earlier, it doesn’t look like any anti-reflective coating was applied. The cyclops for the date window seem ever so slightly shifted to the right. It’s not a big deal, to be honest. A slight shift kind of works and almost looks like a feature rather than a problem.

Bezel

This watch has a ceramic insert and unidirectional 60-click bezel with a lumed 12 o’clock pip. It looks like a decent bezel with an engraved chapter ring. I also like the color; it works pretty well with the color of the dial. Also, the bezel aligns pretty well, at least on my watch. So this is good.

Now, in regards to bezel action, well, it is a 60-click bezel, and the bezel action is very, very average. There is back play and a bit of side-to-side movement as well, which is also acceptable at this price point, in my opinion. However, what I found a bit strange was the resistance and consistency as I rotated the bezel. It kind of feels okay for a few clicks, and then the resistance changes and is okay again. Well, maybe it is just a quality control issue on my watch, and if you already have one of these, please let us know in the comments if the bezel action on your watch is actually smooth enough.

Case

The case is executed pretty well. Stainless steel construction, good brushing and polishing. The finishing is not super flawless; however, it is somewhat better than I would expect on a $45 watch. So no complaints here. We have a screw-down crown protected by crown guards, and the crown is signed as well. Moving on to the back of the case, we have a screw-on see-through back case, which again, at this price point, is more than acceptable. LIGE declares 100 meters of water resistance, which again makes perfect sense with the screw-down crown and back case. So we should be able to take this watch for a swim.

Movement

Now, this is the area that I was very curious about. It is not very common to find a high-beat 28,800 vibrations per hour movement on a budget watch. Most budget movements tick at 21,600 beats per hour, including the very popular Seiko NH35, Miyota 8000 series movements, and most entry-level Sea-Gull movements that are usually used in budget watches. So let’s have a quick look at what we have here.

This movement runs at 28,800 beats per hour, with minimal beat error and good amplitude. I used a default lift angle of 52 degrees, which only affects amplitude readings. The accuracy looks great. If you’ve owned this watch, please share your experience in the comments.

In regards to the crown action, it is okay, similar to other Chinese-made movements that I have reviewed in the past, like the Sea-Gull ST6, for example. Also, this movement hacks and hand-winds, and we have a quick set date.

Bracelet

At first, I was impressed by the brushed bracelet of the watch, which made the scratches less visible and gave it a more robust look. However, my excitement faded when I noticed that the clasp was different from what was shown in the product pictures. After checking with the seller, I learned that they had switched to a butterfly-style clasp because of the poor quality of the old clasp. I will discuss this further in the summary. For now, let’s focus on what we actually receive with this product.

So, as I already mentioned, fully brushed solid links with mirror-polished sides. We also have solid end links, and the links are connected using push pins, so it’s pretty straightforward to adjust. And as for the clasp, yes, only a butterfly clasp. Not signed, and no micro-adjustments, and no half-links either. So accurate wrist adjustment might be a bit of a challenge.

Summary

Well, so the ‘Good’: The price is okay for a $45 dollar watch. We get a high-beat movement, decent stainless steel construction, an okay-ish lume, a ceramic bezel that actually aligns, 100 meters of water resistance, and a decent colour combination. I like the shade of green that they chose for the dial and the bezel and how it all works together. Now, of course, I also like the brushed bracelet links.

Now, the bad: Well, a few things really, and most, if not all, I already mentioned, like, for example, a slightly inconsistent application of lume, a slight quality control issue on the applied logo on the dial, and not to forget a really poor bezel action. It got better since I unboxed the watch, so chances are that it will smooth out in the end. So I will most likely need to do a follow-up on this. And, of course, the bracelet. Okay, we get old brushed links, which is good, and LIGE replaced the unreliable clasp, but the replacement is actually not that fantastic. It is only a simple butterfly clasp, with very limited adjustment options.

So, what do you think? Is a well-functioning butterfly clasp perfectly acceptable at this price point? Well, please let us know in the comments. And of course, if you find this review helpful, smash that ‘like’ button and, of course,’subscribe’ if you haven’t already done so. And, as always, thank you for watching. Take care, and I will see you in the next one.

Read: Your Guide to Scoring the Best Watch Deals Online

Source: Shiny Things