Reef Tiger Watches Review
There has been an explosion in watch manufacturing in China in recent years, and there now seem to be hundreds of manufacturers there, all of whom are trying to establish their position in the Western market.
It’s a tough nut to crack, especially when the new Chinese manufacturers are trying to compete with decades of Japanese design and more than a century of Swiss watchmaking.
Reef Tiger is one company that is making an effort to stand out in a crowded field, and they’re doing so by offering an incredible selection of models, good features, decent build quality and an affordable price point.
That’s a lot to put in one package, but you’ll see that there’s a lot to like about Reef Tiger watches.
Read on for the full Reef Tiger watches review.
Build Quality
Movements
Innovation
Styling and Features
Care and Maintenance
Warranty
Prices
Where to Buy
Summary
Reef Tiger Watches Build Quality
The build quality is good; they use stainless steel for most of their cases. We’ve seen a few models with cases labeled as “rose gold,” but at the price point they’re offering, we suspect that these are actually plated stainless steel.
The watch faces are protected with sapphire crystal on most models; this is a rock-hard, scratch resistant surface.
Most models seem to be rated at 50 meters of water resistance. This is relatively modest; you can get them wet, but you should probably avoid swimming or diving while wearing them.
Bands are stainless steel, leather and rubber, depending on the model.
Reef Tiger watches had a bad reputation early on, as they seemed to use Chinese movements exclusively while talking about “Swiss Tech” and mentioning France and Germany frequently on their Website.
This led to a lot of would-be buyers becoming confused regarding what, exactly, they were buying.
A lot of this has been cleared up, though the company Website has clearly not been designed by people who speak English as a primary language.
Currently, Reef Tiger watches use a mixture of movements from Seiko and Miyota in Japan, along with some Chinese movements, especially in the Reef Tiger watches that feature a tourbillon. As far as we know, no Japanese movements are available with that particular feature.
Models are available with quartz electronic movements and automatic (self-winding) mechanical movements.
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We haven’t seen any true innovation in the brand; they mostly take tried-and-true technology that other companies have invented and put it to good use in an affordably priced timepiece.
The styling of Reef Tiger watches is all over the map. They make some austere, traditionally-styled models that they have appropriately named their “simple” line.
For that, you’ll find time-only, or perhaps time and a calendar complication. These watches may be simple, but they are attractive and will appeal to those buyers who are not interested in the opposite end of the product line.
There, you’ll find watches that are truly busy, with tachymeters, chronograph features, inset dials, skeleton features, calendars, and even a few models with a tourbillon.
Some of those models look as though they’ve tried to cram all of those features into a single timepiece. They haven’t, but many of their models are rather busy.
Case sizes range from as small as 35mm to as large as 49mm, which is probably larger than most of us would like to wear, but if you like a really large watch, Reef Tiger has you covered.
There are more than 500 models in the lineup, with models for both men and women. The overwhelming majority of models are for men, and the women’s models are somewhat limited in styles and features.
Care and maintenance will vary by model. Models with quartz electronic movements will need to have the battery replaced every three years or so.
Models with mechanical movements may require occasional factory service. We did not find a recommended service schedule on the company Website, but they may include one with purchase.
As with all watches, you should keep your Reef Tiger watches away from extremes of temperature and store them in a cool, dry place. With proper care, they should run well for years to come.
The warranty offered with the purchase of Reef Tiger watches is actually one of the better ones that you’ll find in the marketplace.
The company warrants their watches for three years from the date of purchase against defects in materials and craftsmanship.
This compares to the two year warranty that 90% of watchmakers, including some very expensive Swiss brands, offer with their products.
As with most Chinese-manufactured watch brands, you’ll find that Reef Tiger watches are fairly affordable.
Prices range from about $80 on the low end, for a quartz-powered model to about $3000 or so for a more elaborate model with a tourbillon.
Most models are priced in the $100-$500 range, making the brand quite affordable when compared to Swiss or even Japanese brands.
You likely won’t have a lot of luck finding this brand for sale in brick and mortar stores, but they are available from a variety of sources online, including larger retailers, such as Amazon.
You can also buy them at the official Website, though the use of English on that site is rather mangled, which can occasionally make it difficult to understand the product descriptions.
Reef Tiger Watches Summary
There are a lot of Chinese manufacturers right now that are struggling to make their brands known in North America.
In recent years, Reef Tiger has improved their products considerably, by using well-tested movements from established Japanese manufacturers in most of their models.
They offer an incredible variety of designs, colors, and styles, and their watches will particularly appeal to people who like large watches with a lot of visible features.
They also offer some of the most affordable watches with a tourbillon on the market, so if you’re interested in one of those, the brand is definitely worth a look.
Reef Tiger has styling that should offer models that appeal to just about everyone, and pricing that makes the watches quite affordable in a competitive marketplace. They also offer a better-than-average warranty.
If you’re looking for something in a watch that’s a bit different, Reef Tiger watches may be a good choice for you.
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