Seagull Drastically Limits Supply of the ST-19 Chronograph, but not for Studio Underd0g

While widely known as a China-made movement, the Seagull ST-19 chronograph has always been well-accepted by the watch community. It looks good, it has a tried-and-tested architecture (well, of course, being a copy of an old Venus 175), it has a classic combo of column-wheel and horizontal clutch and, mostly, it made it possible to get a vintage-like chronograph watch for an accessible price. But times are changing as Seagull outlined some major changes to the future supply of all ST-19 series movements, making it almost impossible for small brands to get them anymore, knowing the new and high “minimum order quantity” defined by the movement maker. And while it will be the end of the story for many smaller indies, Studio Underd0g will be one of the very few capable of having this movement, inside an updated 01SERIES Chronograph, entering its 3rd generation.

So what’s the deal with the movement, which, until now, has been widely known as the base of many accessible chronographs…? Seagull, a giant Chinese movement maker, published in April 2024 an official notice that indicates that, for the future, all variants of the ST-19 chronograph calibre will have a MoQ (minimum order quantity) of 10,000 pieces. A gigantic amount, which most micro-brands won’t be able to fulfil. As such, many young or accessible watch brands are saying goodbye to the ST-19 calibre, and will have to find an alternative solution. But not Studio Underd0g, the young brand that you might have discovered through their collab with H. Moser & Cie.

The official notice from Seagull indicates that (translated from Chinese), “to stabilize the market and ensure the market competitiveness of this product, the sales model of each movement of the ST19 series is adjusted” with certain rules, such as; “a minimum order quantity of 10,000 pieces, total quantity of single or multiple varieties” or that “ST19 movements purchased by customers can only be used for their own brands and must not be sold to other customers or individuals without authorization.” These rules are effective since May 1, 2024.

What the Studio Underd0g has done is to secure the delivery of movements through a contract with Seagull, allowing them to offer a bespoke version of this column wheel chronograph movement, the ST-1901B. Changes compared to off-the-shelves variants are visual – an all-black main plate – but also technical as it’s now equipped with a swan neck regulator. With it, Studio Underd0g achieves more precise regulation, with adjustments done in Great Britain to -10/+15 seconds per day (compared to -15/+35 seconds per day before). Knowing this, and due to the minimum 10,000 pieces to order, it means that we’ll see more of the Seagull-powered chronograph watches in the future.

And that’s not all, as this cool-looking and well-praised movement now comes in an updated version of the brand’s accessible and acclaimed chronograph watch, the 01SERIES 3rd-Generation. Compared to previous versions – here and here, for example – the 38.5mm steel case has been reworked to be thinner, with a total thickness of 12.9mm (down from 13.6mm), and the crown thickness has been increased for better winding action. The size of the sapphire exhibition caseback has been increased too… Nothing wrong with being proud of showing this movement!

The Studio Underd0g 01SERIES 3rd-Generation comes with a slightly reworked dial too, available in 4 bold and fresh colours – Watermel0n, Desert Sky, Go0fy Panda and Mint Ch0c Chip – still with varied sizes of the sub-dials and coarse-grained-like texture, framed by a tachymeter scale. All are worn on a supple Epsom Calfskin strap. Overall, minimal changes compared to the Gen-1 and Gen-2.

This new generation Studio Underd0g 01SERIES will be available for pre-order on the 19th of November 2024 for 9 hours between 3pm – 12am GMT via underd0g.com. All orders placed during this window will be guaranteed a watch. The first 600 orders will be delivered in December 2024 (before Christmas), with any further orders to be delivered from January 2025. All versions are priced at EUR 600, GBP 550 or USD 675 (incl. worldwide shipping).