Skmei 1999 Review

This is a fun little watch! I bought the Skmei1999 year ago for around $5 just to see what that would get me in a digital watch. I have already experienced the magic of $50 Steeldives so I knew there was potential, but come on, $5? I didn't have high hopes, and I was planning on giving it to one of my children so they would have a watch of their own and leave mine alone but I digress. As I am a 90's child, I of course went with the clear resin case, but there are other transparent colors available.

As it turns out, $5 can still get you a lot of watch. I believe this watch is a copy of the Casio G-Shock DW5600. I have owned one before, and while I no longer have the real deal to compare it with side by side, It feels similar to what I remember. By the numbers, the G-Shock is 42.8mm across, 48.9mm lug to lug, and a height of 13.4mm. The Skmei is 44mm wide, 47mm lug to lug, and is 12mm thick. They both have 22mm straps so I'm going to go out on a limb and say the wearing experience Is going to be about the same. The clear resin feels exactly the same as my GA2100, and both have developed a similar yellow tint as they have aged.

The module in the Skmei 1999 has a very similar layout to the G -Shock DW5600 although there are slight differences. The start/stop, mode, and light function buttons are also the same as the G-Shock. The Skmei 1999 also offers the same functions as the source material: stopwatch, countdown timer, backlight (did NOT anticipate this to be so hard to photograph), alarm, and 12/24 hour display. On the caseback of the Skmei you will see it touting a very realistic 50m water resistance - and it also tells you the battery code it needs for when the time comes, a very nice touch. While I have not done any sort of scientific durability testing, this thing has survived a solid year of toddler abuse, and if that isn't an endorsement of its durability, I don't know what is. The Skmei 1999 is absolutely worth the price in my opinion.