A copy of a copy of a copy?

SpecsDiameter: 36mm
Lug to lug: 44mm
Thickness: 11mm
Lug width: 20mmWater resistance: 100m
Movement: Miyota 9039, 42 hrs power reserve, automatic, 28,800vph

TLDR

I didn’t expect to enjoy an homage watch, but this one surprised me. The Smiths’ name, while perhaps a bit misleading, and the lore that comes with it gives the watch a feeling of legitimacy. It may be stealing a lot of design cues from the Rolex 1016, but it’s only fair considering Rolex stole the legend from Smiths. It’s the perfect size and style for a fantastic little everyday wear.

Armchair Herodotus

Let me start by just getting the convoluted Rolex vs. Smiths Everest story out of the way. Please skip to the next paragraph if you’ve already heard it unless, of course, you’ve only heard the incorrect story. In that case, read this great piece of investigative journalism by The Outdoor Journal. To sum things up, the first watches worn on the summit of Everest were in fact, Smiths. Neither Norgay nor Hillary wore a Rolex on their historic first ascent. Being the savviest of marketers that they are, Rolex has carefully worded all Explorer ads since so as to never explicitly claim to have put the first watch on the summit of Everest, while very heavily implying it.

I’ve never been too interested in homage watches. They can feel like “pretenders” and I’d rather just get a more original watch at a similar price point, but considering the controversy surrounding the Everest history, the Smiths Explorer homage is a little more exciting to me. In reality, the Rolex was the original pretender here, so I don’t mind the 1016 recreation by Timefactors. But it’s worth noting that the Smiths of today is not the same company as the Smiths that sent watches to explorers in the ’50s. That company, despite attempting to capitalize on the Everest hype, was not as successful as Rolex and eventually went out of business. The name was bought and revived by Timefactors, which produces some faithful modern homages to the original Smiths lineup as well as the Explorer clones. So this PRS-25 is in a sense a copy of a copy of a copy. But that doesn’t mean that it’s low fidelity, by any means.

Colour me impressed

In fact, I’ve found this watch to be of impressive quality for a $325 (new) watch. The case and bracelet have a surprising heft to them, which gives the piece a substantial feel on the wrist, the lume is fantastic, glowing bright green and blowing my Lorier Neptune out of the water (not that it’d be visible under the surface with that weak glow anyway), and the design, while unoriginal, is timeless and understated. The only place where this watch feels like a $325 watch is the movement. This one is sporting the Miyota 9039 unidirectional automatic workhorse. I’ve never owned a Miyota before but I’ve heard plenty about their noisy rotors and let me tell you, the reports are no exaggerations. Flick your wrist as you check the time and you will hear and feel that engine purr like a fidget spinner. With a low power reserve of only 42 hours you certainly can’t leave this guy behind for your G-Shock camping weekend, but why would you? This is an Explorer at a tiny fraction of the price. It can truly be used for exploring. As far as accuracy goes, I’m getting around +10s/day, which is perfectly acceptable.

I love this little watch. Perhaps it is because I wasn’t excited about receiving it. It’s like that time Highschool Me made all my unwilling friends go see Black Swan in theaters. I was so hyped and they were all reluctant to come along. We left the theater in opposite states of mind with myself feeling let down and disappointed and my friends pleasantly surprised. This watch is Black Swan and I am my friends, for those of you who, like the Disciples, don’t follow my cryptic, personal parables. It happened to be one piece in a larger trade that I was mainly doing for the value, but after wearing it for a couple of days it grew on me and quickly became my daily driver. The size is perfect on my 6.5-inch wrist at 36mm, the oyster style bracelet is iconic and practical, though some may be bothered by the protruding faux rivets, and it’s the perfect excuse to complain to more unwilling friends about Rolex and tell them the long and boring (to watch Gentiles) tale of how Smiths was the real Everest brand. Oh, and in case you really can’t stand those rivets, the latest Everest model has done away with them in favor of ordinary polished sides. So don’t fret.

Black and white me unimpressed

It isn’t all peaches and cream; remember when I said the only place this watch feels “cheap” is the movement? Well, I do have just one more gripe about the watch that I almost forgot about because I’ve become so used to it. My particular clasp, as well as many others that I’ve seen online, has a peculiar quality control issue. To secure the watch safely on the wrist I’m required to slide my pointer finger to the underside of the clasp and pinch it with my thumb to properly close it. If you simply push the clasp closed like on a properly functioning watch, it will pop open when you bend your wrist. This is quite troubling as it presents the risk of the watch actually falling off the wrist and sustaining damage, though it’s more likely to just slide to your hand and give you a scare. I know some people have fixed the problem using pliers, but this is a quality control issue that should be handled by Timefactors, not the buyer. I am not sure whether they have fixed the issue on their latest jubilee and non-riveted models. All this being said, I’ve become accustomed to simply using the pinch method. I wear my watch bracelets somewhat loose so I can fit my finger under, but if you like a tighter fit it might be difficult to secure the clasp.

Despite this little annoyance I usually leave the watch on its bracelet, as it’s great for everyday wear. However, this watch is a strap monster and it can be fun to change the look by throwing it on a strap. I particularly love the look of a black dial sport watch on brown leather and I often find myself popping the bracelet off in favor of a different saddle. It also looks killer on a grey nato, but what watch doesn’t?

Judge G’s verdict

All in all this is a fantastic, affordable watch with an intriguing, yet convoluted pedigree. It’s an ideal everyday casual wear for me with perfect dimensions, design, and decent accuracy. Though it has an important QC issue on the bracelet, I’ve had watches at double the price from much larger brands with far worse problems; I’m looking at you Seiko SPB187, and your janky bezel. Something to consider, however, is that these sell out immediately after every release and they go for about 2X used. Copying Rolex yet again, I see. Many might think that the value proposition goes away at that price point, but I will still disagree. Even at $500 or so I would argue that it’s a fair deal; however, I would never think of paying $800 or the even more absurd, occasional online asking price of $1k.

So, if you don’t mind an homage and you want a reliable, durable daily driver with a fun history and classic design, look no further than the PRS-25 Everest.

-G

P.S. this watch is pretty dang photogenic so I took quite a few…

Sources

Rolex vs. Smiths: Which Watch Summited Everest in 1953? Putting a Controversy to Rest