I was window shopping at my local watch boutique and I come across a display case full of "Ingersoll" watches, a brand that I have never heard about. The particular display case caught my attention because of the kinds of complications that I was seeing! They have perpetuals, moonphase, double open heart etc.
The sales person came over and explained to me what the brand is about: a company based in Germany owned by a British Subsidiary owned by a Hong-Kong company called Zeon. So in a nutshell, a mushroom brand. I asked the salesperson what kind of movement are these and she told me all of them are Seagull movements. After hearing the word Seagull, my interest was piqued at maximum.
You see, I've been wanting to buy a Seagull for the longest time because of all the good things I've heard about them. Also as a man of a Chinese descent, it'd be cool to wear/own a highly regarded Chinese watch. However, it is almost impossible to find a store that sell Seagulls in my country and I do not want to buy it on some sketchy internet store. So hearing these Ingersolls are using Seagull's movements, I was very interested.
I picked a few watches from the display cases and I inspect them closely to see if they were worth anything. To my surprise these watches were VERY well made. The fit and finish is very good and the attention to details are impeccable! The biggest surprise of all is the price, most of them cost around $200~$300. Not exactly "cheap", but for the complications and overall quality it felt like a bargain. In the end I bought the Stetson 6901 because I really like the looks an the complications that it has.
The Stetson 6901 is 42mm in diameter and 18mm thick, so it's a pretty chunky watch. I'm a fairy large male so it fits on my wrist quite well. It has two beautifully finished blue hands and very a unique looking Arabic font hour markers on the dials. The watch is an automatic self wind with a power reserve of 42 hours. The movement that’s in this watch is a Seagull ST2505.
Had the watch for a few days now and I must say I am VERY impressed. It keeps good time at +8s/day (better than my Seiko 5 wtf?) and it is comfortable to wear because of the soft and thick leather strap. The movement is well decorated and it works flawlessly. The Power Reserve reading is fairy accurate as well.
I've experienced cheapo Chinese mushroom brands before with my purchase of a Stührling Original 3 years ago. The watch is still running like a champ and it is a good watch all around, however putting these 2 watches side by side it really makes the Stührling looks like a toy.
Is the quality of this watch as good as a good ol' swiss made? NO. Comparing the Stetson 6901 beside my Mido Baroncelli and inspect closely you can tell the difference. The finish on the Mido is of higher quality and the swiss movement is just "smoother" overall and it keeps better time at +3s/day. However I do have to mention that the only complication the Mido has is a date window and it cost almost 3x as much.
All in all the Ingersoll Stetson 6901 is an interesting and quality watch worthy of its price, actually it is easily worth more than what its price. If someone were to told me these watches are worth $600 I'd believe them. For a mushroom brand, these are remarkable watches.