I must admit, I originally had no intention of writing about the watch which is in front of you today. In fact, I didn’t even plan to buy it. So why did this article about the Stalingrad Defender Titanium Lunar Dial come to be?
Let’s start at the beginning and first address why I never considered purchasing this watch, let alone presenting it on my website. The reason is actually quite simple. This is a typical Chinese/Hong Kong - based brand, with AliExpress as one of its key sales channels, and its designs are clearly inspired by well-known watch brands (the Defender, for instance, has strong roots in Panerai Radiomir models). On top of that, the company chose the grandiose name Stalingrad, supposedly as a tribute to the bravery of Soviet soldiers in the battle that ultimately turned the tide of World War II. I have to admit, even now, the name still bothers me immensely…
So how did the watch end up in my hands? The main reason is OrologiChePassione.com, a store I’ve mentioned multiple times in my reviews. As I do every year, I browsed their Black Friday Week deals at the end of 2024, searching for anything new and interesting. That’s when I came across the Stalingrad brand for the first time. I opened the page with disbelief, chuckled at the brand’s description (copied from the official Stalingrad Watches site), which glorified Stalingrad’s history, and then started browsing through their watches. To my surprise, two models caught my attention—the watch in front of you today and another Defender model with a meteorite dial.
The more I looked into the details, the more pleasantly surprised I was. A titanium case, sapphire crystal, automatic Miyota 8215 movement, and a truly interesting dial design—all for under €250 in the Black Friday sale for the Lunar Grey model, while the meteorite version was priced at €380. Another crucial factor for me was that, unlike some of their other watches, this one didn’t have "Stalingrad" printed on the dial—just a subtle "S"! The meteorite version still seemed overpriced for an AliExpress brand, but for the Lunar Grey, I thought, why not? (Honestly, if the dial had "STALINGRAD" written on it, I wouldn’t have bought it at all.) That said, I still had no intention of writing about it…
When the watch arrived, my first impression was surprisingly positive. It’s incredibly interesting, and more importantly, well-made. After over two months of wearing it, I’ve realized that it has become one of my favorite everyday watches and that it is quite frequently in rotation. That’s why I decided it might actually deserve a proper review.
The main attraction of this watch is undoubtedly the sandwich dial, which, true to its Lunar name, is decorated with moon-like craters. Adding to the appeal is the gradient grey color, transitioning from almost white at the center to nearly black at the edges, what gives the true effect of the Moon lightened by the Sun. The rugged texture of the dial extends to the bezel, enhancing the overall character of the watch. The result is an extremely attractive and unique design.
I also appreciate that the dial isn’t overloaded with text. At the top, under the 12 o’clock position, the logo is wisely reduced to just the letter "S", while the bottom at 6 o’clock only features the words "Titanium" and "200 meters". The date window is cleverly integrated as one of the craters, making it unobtrusive. The crater-like effect is further emphasized by the sandwich construction of the dial. Overall, the design is well thought-out and undeniably appealing.
The (also titanium) bezel features a rubberized edge, providing an excellent grip. It has 120 clicks and rotates unidirectionally counterclockwise.
The titanium case exceeds expectations. The edges are beautifully shaped, with no sharp or unfinished surfaces. The screwed-in crown is also signed.
The case back is also made of glass, allowing a view of the Miyota 8215 entry-level automatic movement. This is a slightly newer version of the movement, now featuring a hacking function (earlier versions lacked this feature).
Since this is a basic Miyota automatic movement, exceptional accuracy shouldn't be expected, as its factory specifications state a deviation of -20/+40 seconds per day. However, in regular use, it performs quite well—in my case, the watch averages around +10 seconds per day.
Around the edge of the glass window, all the key specifications of the watch are engraved.
The watch comes with a long rubber strap. In fact, its size is my only real complaint about this watch—the strap is so long that, despite my fairly large wrist, it nearly reaches the opposite side of the case. As a result, the end of the strap sticks out awkwardly and can be quite annoying.
On the positive side, the strap’s design features cushioning elements near the case, which actually enhance comfort, making it extremely pleasant to wear.The issue here is that those cushions make the strap quite thick. I also have to add that the stap is in general quite thick yet soft.
Naturally, in line with the case material, the buckle is also made of titanium.
Since we’re already discussing wearing comfort, let’s take a look at how the watch actually sits on the wrist. I haven't mentioned this before, but now is the time—the watch is quite large! The case measures 45mm in diameter (excluding the crown), 15.5mm in thickness, and has a lug-to-lug of 51mm. However, none of this negatively affects its wearability—as mentioned, my only real issue is the excessively long strap. As a result I am considering to order a good hand made leather strap which might be a good added value to this watch.
The luminova is just perfect, way beyond my expectations. It's not just bright at the beginning, it lasts very long and what is the most important - everything is easily readable.
The package is quite simple, no extravagance here. Just the basic box. It serves its purpose and that is it.
So, to conclude. For les than 250 EUR, I received this:
Brand: Stalingrad
Model: TITANIUM Defender Grey Lunar Dial Black Silicon Strap
Movement: Miyota 8215 Automatic, Vibrations PH 21,600, Power Reserve 42 Hours, 21 Jewels, Parashock Movement Guard, Hacking Seconds, Handwinding, Quickset Date
Case: Titanium, 45mm, thickness 15.40mm, Lug to Lug 51.20mm, Opening 34.0mm, Bezel Titanium 120 clicks, Caseback and Screw-Down crown
Dial: Grey Lunar, Sandwich, Japan Super Luminous, Date
Watchstrap / Buckle: Silicon , 24mm
Glass: Sapphire Crystal
Other features: Water Resistant to 20ATM, International warranty 2 years, Weight 117g
I can't complain, for this price I got a great watch. In the official webshop prices are a bit higher, however one must be aware that on top of that the import charges must be added so for the EU customers the OrologichePassione is a much better choice. But as you can see the official store offers much bigger variety of the colour versions, so if you prefer other variants than official store is the only option. For me the grey version was the optimal one therefore Orologichepassione was the logical choice.
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