Eniton S8031S - Malachite Dial Royal Oak Homage

Disclaimer: I received this watch free from the manufacturer in exchange for this review. I will review this watch the same as I would approach any other piece in my collection; the review below is not influenced by the manufacturer and represents my honest assessment of the watch. 

For readers who are unfamiliar with my supervillain origin story, the Watch.Bert project was a result of me undergoing back surgery in November of 2025. I had been a long time lurker and occasional participant in various internet watch groups, but while recovering I found myself with more free time to interact and participate. A lot more free time. Everything I ever learned about watches I learned from the internet - in the real world I am “The Watch Guy” in more situations than not. I started to ask around - what is the best way for me, a man with an abundance of both free time and watches, to become more involved with the community? The answer was fairly unanimous - I was told to start by writing reviews of my own watches and “Find my Voice” - so that is what I did.

When I was younger, I was told if I wanted a job, I needed to walk into an establishment, ask to speak with the manager, and give them a firm handshake and tell them I was ready to work. This got me absolutely nowhere in the real world, but I decided that it might on the internet, which as I have previously established, is decidedly not the real world. Lo and behold, boomer wisdom prevails - a company by the name of Eniton messaged me back and asked if I would be interested in reviewing one of their new stone dialed watches. Details were coordinated via WhatsApp, and much to my surprise, a watch appeared on my doorstep roughly two weeks later. 

The Eniton watch in question is an homage to the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak with a malachite dial, with the model number S8031S. I was excited to review this watch for a few reasons. First, the Eniton is completely unlike any other watch in my collection - I own nothing with a stone dial or integrated bracelet. Every other watch in my collection is derived from a dive/field/pilot watch design, and overall my collection emphasises legibility, functionality, and durability within a certain price range. As someone just stretching their legs writing reviews, I liked the challenge of writing about something that wouldn’t normally end up in my personal collection.  

This brings me to my second point - I have written at length in other reviews about my love for tool watches, but at one point in my life, I really, really liked the Royal Oak. This was very early on in my collecting journey - before I purchased my first automatic, before I knew the names and model numbers and nicknames of watches, when I was just going off pictures and vibes. Pictures and vibes led me to learning more about the watch this Eniton is homaging, and its designer, Gerald Genta. I also learned about the price tag, and made peace with the fact that it was a watch I would never own. So, while fully acknowledging this watch is a result of the design powerhouse that was Gerald Genta, It did feel like a little bit of a guilty pleasure to be able to review Eniton’s interpretation of Genta’s creation. 

To get the objective bits out of the way, The Eniton watch measures 38mm wide, officially (I’ll get to that) is 50mm lug to lug, and is 10.5mm thick with sapphire both covering the dial and exhibition caseback. The strap is 23.5mm at the case and tapers to 16mm at the butterfly clasp. The watch is powered by a Miyota 9025 Automatic movement which is decorated and has a custom rotor with the Eniton logo. There is a signed hexagon screw down crown that is buttery smooth to operate. The watch is available in five different stone dials - at the time of this article’s publishing they are unlabeled on the Eniton website and I am rusty on my rocks and minerals but they appear to be grey meteorite, aventurine, malachite, tiger’s eye, and blue. The watch as shown is priced at $250 - this may seem high for a new to the scene Chinese microbrand homage watch, but there's a lot more to the Royal Oak design and the Eniton homage than is apparent at first glance.

If you have made it this deep in the watch internet, you most likely have an opinion on homages and their place in the watch collecting world. My intention is not to move the needle in that discussion, but rather start another. If you are going to make a homage to a watch there are two trains of thought (in my mind at least): you can homage the image of the watch, or you can homage the spirit and design of the watch. According to the AP Chronicles article The Birth of An Icon, the original Genta designed integrated steel bracelet consisted of 154 individual components. 23 of these parts were of varying size and required a mix of brushed or polished hand finishing to meet Genta’s dedication to precision and craftsmanship. For many brands, the bracelet is an area in which corners are cut; to Genta, the bracelet was as important as, and an extension of the watch itself. 

My point in saying these impressive numbers is to underscore that this is a very labor intensive watch to manufacture, and if you want to homage the Royal Oak well, you can’t cut corners on the bracelet. I asked my contact at Eniton how many pieces made up the bracelet of their model, and after counting them on the computer model, I was told 132. That is a ton of parts to manufacture, finish, and assemble, and I think that speaks to Ention’s dedication to homaging Genta’s design. Eniton has re-proportioned a classic design while maintaining close to the original’s level of intricacy.

I will admit, I was skeptical. I will also admit I have no direct reference in my watch wearing career to something like this. However, I have handled plenty of watches manufactured in China at this price point, and this is by far the most intricate. I’m not going to make any claims that this is the most comfortable watch in my collection - that could change on any given day depending on the temperature, weather, and my mood. What I will say is this is a design where poor manufacturing tolerances are exposed - there are so many moving parts that have to work together, both visually and mechanically, for the design to look good and feel good to wear.

I found the finishing even, brushed and polished bits are brushed and polished where they should be, and the links articulate smoothly. There is no tightness between links, but also not a lot of wiggle or play - tolerances are dialed in here. The bracelet has a sharp edge here and there, but overall I was very impressed with the quality of the finishing, especially considering the number of components involved and the mix of brushed and polished surfaces. 

True to the source material, the bracelet flows out from the case with the links tapering down smoothly to the butterfly clasp. Due to the integrated bracelet, the watch wears large for its size - this is by design, as the first links of the bracelet continue the angle of the case before allowing articulation around the wrist. An anecdotal story - my wife, who usually has a visual blind spot as to what is on my wrist, commented several times on the Eniton and how it caught the light. I think given the price point at which Eniton is entering the market, they nailed the micro and macro details.

The case of the Eniton consists of three separate layers, the bezel, midcase, and display caseback. The bolts on the bezel aren’t ornamentation - they are functional and the entire case can be disassembled. It would be cheaper, but less precise, to manufacture the watch with the bezel and midcase being machined from a single piece of steel. Although this is a stylistic change from the Royal Oak, the emphasis on the precision of the manufacturing, as well as maintaining the functionality of the eight bolts on the bezel, pay fitting tribute to the source material.

The dial is a lovely slab of malachite. It sparkles in the sunlight and is darker indoors, but it is fun to look at. As much as I hate the overuse of the phrase “plays with the light,” - the occasional flash of the dial matches the glint of the bracelet and compliments it nicely. The indices and hands are polished steel with beveling at the edges. I found the watch surprisingly well lumed - I wore the watch overnight twice, and both times the lume was glowing blue when I woke up in the middle of the night and still present in the morning.

There is a chronograph track around the dial, which I was told was being replaced with a more conventional minute track, but I actually like it a lot and I think it adds to the charm - it was originally designed as a sports watch after all. The one change I would make to the dial would be the date window - in my opinion it doesn't need one. I want more of that beautiful malachite and the depth of the stone dial creates shadowing on the date in some light. 

I told my Eniton representative this feedback, and he agreed with all of it. He mentioned that changes were being made in response to customer feedback, and I can appreciate the responsiveness in adjusting to customer needs. While it can feel occasionally frustrating to feel like a beta tester with a watch, an argument can be made that it is reflected in the price and a trade off for quick response time in product design. Also, I’d like to point out that this isn’t a novel concept in the Chinese watch industries - more recognized brands frequently update and offer a v2, v3, etc.

What’s the final verdict? It’s a fun watch - I respect the design the watch is homaging, and I respect the way Eniton went about getting it done. If you’re looking for a Royal Oak homage on a budget with some unique flair and good attention to detail, this is a solid contender and I think the things I am impressed by outweigh the negatives that I mentioned.