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    Iron Heart Fall/Winter 2025 Collection Preview - Now Live

    The (Less intimidating) Watch Thread

    Accessories
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    • madmondayM
      madmonday
      Raw and Unwashed
      Joined:

      🙏🏿 for the list @JDelage

      Super helpful and just fun for me to ogle affordable watches

      head high, middle finger higher

      last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • GraemeG
        Graeme
        啓蒙家
        Joined:

        I find that a lot of cheap watches are knock-offs hommages of the sorts of timepieces that don't belong in this thread.

        However, I saw these in a piece at aBlogToWatch, and they look fun.

        The watches are The Last Laugh XL and The Last Laugh Tattoo XL by Mr Jones Watches, and I like them.

        The time is read off numbers, in the mouths of the skulls. The hours jump, whilst the minutes rotate.

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        • GraemeG
          Graeme
          啓蒙家
          Joined:

          The Farer Aqua Compressor is a nice looking diving watch with a compressor case. These have the rotating bezel ring fitted internally, and it's rotated by one of the crowns.

          The watch uses an ETA movement that's been decorated. It looks rather nice in the display back.

          Time and Tide watches have a favourable review, if you want to read more.

          The UK list price is £1095, or $1295 in the US. That's a little above the price limit mentioned earlier. Sorry. 🙂

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          • GraemeG
            Graeme
            啓蒙家
            Joined:

            The Emile Chouriet Challenger Deep is a similar price to the Farer, above. I don't think that it's as successful a design, but it is dressier.

            There's a review at aBlogToWatch, which is hilarious in its pickiness. (Why doesn't it have a natural rubber strap instead of silicone? How dare they call it the Challenger Deep when the brand has no heritage!)

            The trouble is that Jomashop are offering the Oris Divers Sixty Five for about $1100 to $1200, and I'd get one of them instead.

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            • ChrisC
              Chris
              Raw and Unwashed
              Joined:

              I think the Challenger Deep is a pretty nice looking watch, and the specs are respectable as well.  I'd be curious to see how it depreciates- it might be a very reasonable used market purchase.

              And I'm with you, @Graeme, this one is just cool.

              last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • louisboscoL
                louisbosco
                啓蒙家
                Joined:

                @DougNg:

                I don't even know the location of most of my jeans…they're somewhere in the house, here and there...

                i don't even know the location of most of my jeans. they're somewhere in the house, some in another country…

                "Loyalty is a two way street. If i'm asking for it from you, then you're getting it from me."

                • Harvey Specter
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                • neph93N
                  neph93
                  見習いボス
                  Joined:

                  @Graeme:

                  I don't think that it's as successful a design…

                  How do you mean? Aesthetically I find this rather attractive.

                  “Some of those that work forces
                  Are the same that burn crosses”

                  • Virginia Woolf
                  last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • manufc10M
                    manufc10
                    Iron Heart Deity
                    Joined:

                    @neph93:

                    @Graeme:

                    I don't think that it's as successful a design…

                    How do you mean? Aesthetically I find this rather attractive.

                    I was thinking the same thing!  Most of the diving watches posted so far have not been appealing to me except for that one.

                    last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • ChrisC
                      Chris
                      Raw and Unwashed
                      Joined:

                      I like it, but there's not much about it that's distinctive.  Dive watches are a competitive category, and a company with little to no name recognition is going to have a hard time breaking out of the pack with a watch that's simply "nice".

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                      • JDelageJ
                        JDelage
                        啓蒙家
                        Joined:

                        If I learned one thing from my exploration of the bronze diver rabbit hole, it's that's there are a lot more makers than I thought.

                        I have to say I wonder what is going to happen to those micro-brands over time, and to the people who buy from them.

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                        • GilesG
                          Giles
                          IHUK Crew
                          Joined:

                          A lot will go bust and the people who bought their watches will have a problem….

                          "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

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                          • JDelageJ
                            JDelage
                            啓蒙家
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                            Yes, I agree. It's probably much safer to have a single Rolex collection than 20 micro-brands, as boring as that sounds.

                            last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • GilesG
                              Giles
                              IHUK Crew
                              Joined:

                              Who the feck wants to live life safe?

                              "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

                              last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • ChrisC
                                Chris
                                Raw and Unwashed
                                Joined:

                                Actually, I think the micro brands aren't really risky.  They almost without exception use massively produced movements from major manufacturers.  Long after some company that sold a handful of watches before closing its doors is gone, ETA 2824 and Miyota 9015 movements and parts will be getting cranked out by the thousands.  And repair shops with the expertise to fix them will still be easy to find.

                                I think the more dangerous proposition is a smaller brand that has a more "prestigious" in house engine under the hood.  If they go under, good luck finding parts or a qualified repairman.

                                But yeah, a Rolex is always a safe choice…

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                                • GilesG
                                  Giles
                                  IHUK Crew
                                  Joined:

                                  Good point…...

                                  "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

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                                  • David_pllD
                                    David_pll
                                    Raw and Unwashed
                                    Joined:

                                    Just came across this on eBay, aesthetically it’s what I enjoy so going to watch and see how it goes. A submariner is my end goal, but not quite just yet.

                                    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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                                    • JDelageJ
                                      JDelage
                                      啓蒙家
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                                      @Chris - Yes, what you say makes sense.

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                                      • DougNgD
                                        DougNg
                                        Joined:

                                        I like that the Challenger Deep uses a ceramic bezel. I much prefer the ceramic bezel to aluminum, and most divers I see still use aluminum (looking at you Tudor).

                                        With that being said, I'm kind of surprised they went with a 60 click bezel.

                                        I know violence is not the answer, I got it wrong on purpose

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                                        • GraemeG
                                          Graeme
                                          啓蒙家
                                          Joined:

                                          @neph93:

                                          @Graeme:

                                          I don't think that it's as successful a design…

                                          How do you mean? Aesthetically I find this rather attractive.

                                          I meant to say that I didn't find it as successful a design as the Faver or the Oris. It's a nice watch, but it doesn't immediately jump out at me. It's a pleasant enough watch, but it's just a little bit conventional.

                                          That said, it looks well executed (except on the bracelet), and it's not a hugely clunky diver's watch.

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                                          • GraemeG
                                            Graeme
                                            啓蒙家
                                            Joined:

                                            I agree with what @Chris said, though I'd argue that there might be a problem getting things like replacement hands, dials, or case parts.

                                            The biggest issue with in-house movements in future is likely to be silicon components. For a conventional movement, if a part isn't available, it'd be possible for watchmaker to machine a new one. But if you need a lithography process to get a new balance spring, then there might be a problem down the line.

                                            Then again, you could buy something like the Mr Jones skull watch, and replace it every four or five years with a new one for what it'd cost to service a Rolex.

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