A photo shows you the dial and the case shape. It cannot show you the weight, the sound of the clasp, whether the crown turns cleanly, or whether the second hand lines up with the markers. Those are the things that decide whether your customer keeps the watch.
Why a sample round exists at all
Have a quantity in mind?
Tell us the model, the colours and the quantity — we come back with the exact MOQ, target price and lead time for your build, within 24 hours on working days.
Between the drawing and the production run there is one cheap checkpoint: the pre-production sample. It is the only moment where a mistake costs one unit instead of the whole order. Treat it as a review, not as a gift.
The five checks worth doing the day it arrives
- Case finish in daylight — take it outside. Brush lines should be even, polished edges sharp, no stepping where the lugs meet the case. Photographs hide exactly this.
- Dial depth and alignment — hold it at an angle: applied indices should sit level, printing crisp, and the hands should not be too short for the dial.
- The crown and the movement — wind and set it, then let it run for 24 hours next to a clock you trust. A movement that reads right on arrival can still drift.
- The strap and the clasp — weight in the hand, no sharp edges under the wrist, clasp closing with a firm click rather than a soft one.
- Water resistance and paperwork — ask for the test result for your unit, and for the model number on it to match the one you ordered.
| What you check | What good looks like | If it fails |
| Case finish | Even brush, crisp edges, no steps | Send photos taken in daylight — it is usually the polishing step, not the tooling |
| Dial alignment | Indices level, printing sharp, hands correct length | Ask for a new sample: dial tooling is cheap to correct at this stage |
| Movement rate | Stable over 24 hours | We re-regulate before assembly — ask how it was adjusted |
| Strap and clasp | Firm click, no sharp edges | Strap is a bought-in part: a different supplier solves it faster than arguing |
Nine out of ten sample problems we see are one of two things: a finish that needs another pass, or a dial that needs the indices re-set. Both are normal, and both are cheaper to fix now than after the run.
How long a sample takes, and what it costs
A customized sample built on one of our existing references takes 15–20 days. The sample fee is deducted from your bulk-order invoice, so once you order, the sample effectively costs you nothing. Production after approval runs 30–45 days.
What to do with the result
Approving a sample is a decision with a deadline: the date we quote for production starts from your sign-off. So decide on the things you can see and feel, list the rest as notes for the next version, and do not let a sample sit for a week waiting for a perfect answer.
Where the checks above come from: our own workshop. The cases are made and finished under our roof, so most sample notes are something we can act on immediately — see what runs in-house. If you want to know what a sample round looks like end to end, the four service models are on the OEM & ODM page, and you can send us your reference or drawing to start one.
