The Sea-Gull D5330 belongs to the family of heritage designs attributable to Louis-Abraham Breguet. Not to be confused with Sea-Gull's own family of Tourbillons.
Current trends have watch companies attempting to mimic the tourbillon look. Unfortunately, companies add the look to their product lines and have no idea why - other than the competition does it. It's a popular trend in watchmaking today. I've asked several watch company representatives why they call their watches "Tourbillons" and they have yet to provide an adequate answer. Usually, people simply say, "it's cool to see the watch working."
Here's a brief explanation. Early pocket watches tended to slow down and speed up because of the Coriolis effect, which means the earth's rotation effects any other objects in motion. The inventor of the tourbillon used it to counteract the effect of the earth rotation on watches.
French-Swiss watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet developed the tourbillon in 1795 and patented it on June 26, 1801. It's an addition to the mechanics of a watch escapement. It aims to counter the effects of gravity by mounting the escapement and balance wheel in a rotating cage, to negate the effect of gravity when the timepiece is stuck in a certain position.
Sea-Gull has designed and produced watches as a tribute to the Breguet. These watches do have a cage, but it doesn't rotate. These sub-$500 watches provide a nod to the tradition.
Sea-Gull, however, makes several watches with rotating tourbillon cages. You have to pay a significant price for the real thing. For example, the watch to the right is a "real" Tourbillion. It sells direct from Sea-Gull for $13,800. It's a a bargain at that price compared to $75,000 Swiss models.So why a tribute watch?
Each year at Basilworld, watchmakers from every corner of the globe exhibit homage or tribute models that resemble earlier designs. The designers of the Sea-Gull D5330 created such a tribute model. At least Sea-Gull knows what they're doing.
The D5330 is a chronograph style with a moon phase dial. It has a 24 jewel, automatic movement. It's in a marine grade stainless steel case.
Seagull built and packaged this timepiece in the Tianjin factory. The finish and details of the watch compare to finest Swiss and German watches costing three to four times as much.
Sea-Gull is no longer owned by the Chinese government. The original charter of making watches for "the people" is over. Sea-Gull makes movements in competition with Swiss brand ETA. When you see a watch like this, it's from a limited production run. The charter of making watches for "the people" still has a place in Tianjin, but it's not a priority.
Let's talk about the D5330 tribute watch.
Following are the specifications:
Movement: Sea-Gull Automatic ST6801, 24J
Case: Stainless Steel, 44mm
Band: Genuine Brown Leather Strap
Crystal: Mineral Glass (Front and Back)
Water Resistance: 50M,
Functions: Date, Day & Night Indicator, 24 Hour
What does that mean? Well, compared to the competition, you get an equivalent watch for about 20% of the cost. I don't believe that discrepancy will last long. Remember when cheap Japanese cars invaded the US? If you don't, I can understand. Look around and you will see that the tables turned. Now, the US automobile companies make cheap cars and the Japanese have the premium models.
Links:
Seagull D5330 on eBay
Parnis Seagull