Almost all the vises of that style are Asian imports nowadays, and have bern going back decades.
The original version was the Sawyer Nutype vise made in Oswego NY, but those can be differentiated by the name cast into the side on the main body of the vise.
I have no clue how the design got to China.
The Asian made versions from decades ago sometimes show poor casting of parts, and bondo type filler, but otherwise seem to have been pretty sturdy, since they show up frequently enough, sometimes with evidence of hard use.
The imports aren’t really valuable, since you can buy new versions, cast from high strength ductile iron, for $200, and cheaper grey iron versions for way less.
If you just need a vise, that style is really worthwhile to have.
It’s provably worth what you paid or a bit more.