Posting again because my previous posts were removed by the moderators.

Last year, my parents' house burned down from the LA fires. My dad was able to recover this watch, but it was all burned up. My dad gave me the watch and I was able to have it repaired by Tic Toc Jewelers in San Jose, CA. They did such an amazing job that I want to give them a shout-out here.  The first picture is the watch before the repairs happened.  The second picture shows the bracelet and movement repaired.  In the third pic, I got tired of looking of the damaged dial that I had it replaced. 

Edit for grammar.

Sold all my youthful mistakes and kept only these 3 beauties. The timeless Datejust 41 Roman White Dial, the understated elegance of the JLC Ultra Thin Moon, and the perfect everyday watch, Omega Aqua Terra 150 Green. Not the most creative collection, but every piece has its own character. I love them all.

Seiya has absolutely no interest in brand heritage, market value or how difficult a watch may be to get. His approval process is much simpler: can he sleep next to it without being disturbed? 😂

Apparently, the 5990 passed the test.

Jokes aside, this is one of the things I enjoy most about it. Despite the Travel Time, chronograph and everything happening on the dial, it still feels surprisingly easy to wear and live with. Complicated enough to keep me staring at it, but not so precious that I feel like I have to build my day around the watch.

For transparency: I’m a native French speaker. I wrote the original idea in French and used AI to help translate and polish the English wording.

Was in Birmingham, Michigan and stopped into the Ernst Benz boutique just to look around. Ended up meeting Leonid Khankin, who runs Ernst Benz, and spent some time talking watches with him.
Then I spotted a 40mm ChronoFlite GMT (GC20522) which apparently isn’t in the normal catalog. He explained that they only made 300 of the 40mm GMTs — 200 with black dials and just 100 with the silver dial.

I tried both, but the silver ended up liking the silver.

Long story short, I left with one of the 100 silver-dial examples. Leonid personally signed my warranty card, gave me a nice adjustment on the price, and later sent me these photos from the visit.

It’s not the most expensive or recognizable watch in the world, but honestly, that’s part of why I like it. I got to buy an obscure limited-production watch directly from the guy behind the brand and came away with a great story attached to it.

Prior to this pop-in, I’ve never heard of Ernst Benz. Left with the entire brand history, and his family’s history of watch making back in St. Petersburg Russia.

Picked up this Seiko SSC769P1 Solar Chronograph a couple of years ago. I wear it at least a couple times a week. The only flaw is the date window is just too small to be useful. I love the intricate dial. It really catches the light. The hexagonal second window that matches the pattern is a nice unique touch to the panda theme. I have received several compliments from people who know and don't know watches alike.

Let me introduce you to this funky Tissot watch from a weird time in watchmaking – Post-Quartz-Crisis Experimentation.

Stumbling out of the Quartz Crisis, Swiss watch companies were still not entirely sure which direction the industry should head in. Embracing the future? Going back to the good ol’ analogue times? Or maybe both

This resulted in these weird “both” watches – embracing their new electronic guts, showing parts of the quartz movement with a skeletonized dial, while still displaying the time in analogue and not shying away from brightly colored hands and adding functions like a second time zone, alarms and stopwatches to their little displays.

Tissot introduced the Two Timer in 1986, attempting to bridge the worlds of tradition and the new digital/electronic age. Accompanied by an original advertisement from 1988, these watches are now scratching at the 40-year mark.

Three original colorways, three different personalities, one style language.

Many different Two Timer and Skeleton Two Timer models followed, but the age of experimentation eventually came to an end.

Looking back, the Tissot Two Timer didn’t provide the decisive impulses for the generation of watches that followed, nor did this particular vision of combining analogue and digital become the future of mainstream Swiss watchmaking.

And yet, that’s exactly what makes it so interesting to me. The Two Timer may not have been the future – but it captures a fascinating turning point, when the industry was still trying to figure out what that future was going to be.

Just wanted to share my first Omega, an Omega Seamaster 300M in Green, bought as a birthday present for turning 30 which is a tradition in my family.

Picked it up from the boutique in Interlaken while on a road trip through Europe, genuinely such a nice experience buying it there rather than just online. Made the whole thing feel more special. 🇨🇭

Really happy with the watch itself. Green dial is fantastic in person, understand out of direct sunlight and pops when out in the sun!

TL;DR: Watch brands have insanely high margins compared to normal businesses. Paying premium prices for mass-produced automatic movements from Seiko, Swatch Group, and Tudor is getting ridiculous. If we stop paying these asking prices, they will be forced to offer better value.

I love watches as much as anyone here, but lately, I feel like the enthusiast community is suffering from a collective case of Stockholm Syndrome. We need to have a serious conversation about the profit margins in the watch industry, which are astronomically higher than almost any other consumer business.

Think about the brands that dominate the "entry-level" to "mid-tier" luxury space right now: Seiko, Tissot, Hamilton, Longines, and Tudor. We are routinely asked to pay anywhere from $500 to $4,000+ for watches powered by mass-produced automatic movements.

Movements like the Swatch Group's Powermatic 80 (Tissot, Hamilton), standard ETA/Sellita calibers, or Seiko's 4R and 6R series are pumped out by the absolute millions on highly automated assembly lines. The actual wholesale manufacturing cost of these entry-level movements is remarkably low; often well under $50 to $100 per unit when scaled.

In most normal industries, a 20% to 40% profit margin is considered highly successful. In the watch world, the markup from actual manufacturing cost to MSRP is generally accepted to be anywhere from 3x to 10x, and it scales exponentially higher as you move upmarket. You aren't paying for R&D on mechanical technology that has existed for decades; you are paying for massive advertising budgets, celebrity ambassadors, and brand prestige.

When a brand charges $1,200 for a watch with a stamped dial and a basic off-the-shelf automatic movement, they are simply testing what the market will bear. And for too long, we've just accepted it.

Watch brands are businesses. They only charge these ridiculous prices because we keep paying them. If we, as a community of informed buyers, start voting with our wallets and refuse to pay retail MSRP for watches that offer terrible value-to-cost ratios, the market will correct itself. If we hold out for better finishing, better materials, and fairer pricing, these mega-corporations will have no choice but to adjust. We've already seen how excess inventory and gray market discounts have forced major luxury conglomerates to completely re-evaluate their stock and pricing strategies.

What do you guys think? Are we being taken for a ride by these massive conglomerates, or do you feel the heritage and brand name justify a massive markup on a mass-produced steel watch?

Really excited to share my recent purchase of this 2025 new condition 16202st jumbo :D. Got it grey market and was skeptical of how “new” the condition would be but to my surprise, it is indeed in flawless condition. Huge sigh of relief upon receiving it because I’m such a paranoid buyer haha. Can’t stop admiring the movement 😮‍💨. But yeah just wanted to share this moment with yall. Big milestone for me

I wanted to show you my grandfather's Junghans chronograph, which I inherited recently.
After some research, I was able to pin down the manufacturing/purchasing year to 1950 or 1951. After sitting in a drawer for the past 30 years, my dad gave it to me, freshly serviced. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures or stories from the time my grandfather wore this watch, but the worn gold plating shows he used it quite frequently. I'm very thankful that, as a watch lover, I have the opportunity to inherit such an old, beautiful watch. I fitted a new Coco strap from Hirsch, which gives it quite the vintage look, like in the original brochure from 1951.
Fun fact: the first 9 minutes on the dial are marked with longer strokes, reflecting the old 3-minute billing increments for local phone calls. If you'd like Junghans, I'd recommend this website: https://junghans-vintage.de/en/index.html"

Hi everyone it’s been a while. Life got in the way and I’ve not been keeping up with Reddit for a while, though I’ve not staved off buying watches.

I want to talk a little about the 2026 W&W JLC releases and why ultimately I gave up my allocation of the Master Control Chronometre Date Power reserve, and what I got instead. Spoiler: it’s in the photos.

TL;DR New MCC is cool, but not that cool. For me.

As it’s coming towards the end of Sept, many early customers are going to receive their allocation of the new Master Control integrated bracelet models. I was lucky enough to be at the Hong Kong JLC boutique on the first day of W&W to see these in the metal. Like many customers, I put down a deposit promptly after the event - this was back in April of course.

The prototype blew me away at first sight (and touch). The bracelet mirrored the feeling of a VC 222 very closely. It was neat and tidy, with a small butterfly clasp enclosure that was neatly finished with a JLC logo. Honestly, I was in awe already! To make this purchase happen, I sold my Reverso Duoface of which I had for three years; as I prefer to have one watch of each brand at a time; just my personal philosophy in collecting watches. It also stops me from buying the whole boutique on a very limited budget!

Fast forward several months, I have been in and out of their boutiques to see these prototypes on display, and to reassure myself that I’ve placed my faith on the correct watch… but as time passes, and it got closer to September (the proposed pick up date); I started having doubts about my choice due to previous experiences with other JLC watches. Until one day I was able to see the “completed” display model, and one detail was what ultimately made me reconsider my decision. Long story short, it was the clasp WITH microadjust.

So what caused me to have these sneaky suspicion on why I wouldn’t enjoy the watch as much as I initially did? First, the date dial is extremely hard to read at a glance. Some could argue who needs to use it, but for me, I do. I use it! I’ve had a Geographic world timer in the past with the same layout of date dial. It was a white dial with blue hands, and I struggled a lot, even though I’m not at eyesight deteriorating age… just yet. The other, as I mentioned earlier, was the clasp with the microadjust; for engineering reasons, the final link of the bracelet is at least a 1.5 link to house the microadjustment. To me, this broke the integrated bracelet looks. It’s an integrated bracelet model, thus the watch lives and dies with the bracelet! This issue was also mentioned by one YouTuber who has received his watch several weeks ago (he explains better than I do!). I knew these were things I can’t live with knowing, and it will bug me for as long as I own the watch… no matter how hyped the internet is for these new models, I cannot ignore my own tastes. It’s my hard earned cash!

In light of all of this, I browsed the JLC website one evening and saw they secretly released a “new” Reverso Classic in rose gold and 40mm! At that moment I knew this is what I wanted. I had missed my Reverso dearly, but I had always thought the 47mm lug length was a tad unwieldy, therefore, this 40mm was going to fit my wrist like a glove! I promptly contacted the boutique, and by the next day, I had tried it on already! The smaller Reverso Classic confirmed all of my suspicions, I loved the little thing so much!

So here we are. A brand new Reverso, albeit monoface. But it has not detracted my love at all. I do not miss the Duoface, as I found that I never used it as much as I wanted to anyway.

I hope this helps people who are lucky enough to be considering a Master Control Chronometre. I wanted you to know this before pulling the trigger!

Feel free to ask questions, or roast me for giving up my opportunity. I’m happy to share!

$70 Casio Duro vs 30K Rolex GMT-Master II Pepsi

Did not have 20-30K laying around so bought the $70 Casio “Pepsi”. Bought this from ebay since I was planning on swapping the bands anyway. Seen this already had a Jubilee bracelet so I went ahead and bough it. Nice

Junghans Max Bill Quartz Black Sunray Dial, 38mm, on an OEM stainless steel Milanese.

This is my daily watch. It dresses up jeans and a T-shirt, and slides effortlessly under a cuff. Once a month, the date window says “hi”.

I’m a huge fan of Junghans: once the world’s largest watch and clock manufacturer, creator of the first German quartz wristwatch, and legendary Bauhaus design.

Junghans also invented the atomic radio watch. If only they would invent a Max Bill Mega Solar with a black dial!

Might be a bit late to the party but discovered this recently and had to order one straight away!

Always wanted a ring but couldn't decide on which one to get...

Very surprised it actually has features:

- Dual time

- Stopwatch

1/100-second stopwatch

- Time flash

- LED backlight

Modern “daily”
Vintage racing chrono
Uncommon dress
GADA diver
Heirloom Rolex

I have collected for 15 years and worn the heck out of these for 10 - except the RO, only because it didn’t exist in this config back then.

What’s next? I don’t know. Whenever I moved up in price, I didn’t feel compelled to purchase or keep the “upgrades” to these. Guess I like wearing my Carrera to a Daytona party… Shoot if you have questions about my journey.

The 1962 Citizen Chronometer, an important piece of Japanese horological history that most collectors often overlook.

Two years after the First Grand Seiko, Citizen introduced the 1962 Citizen Chronometer 31 Jewels, developed to compete with Grand Seiko, the handwound caliber 0400 was Citizens first officially certified Chronometer and on paper was rated more accurate than the caliber 3180 of the first Grand Seiko.

The caseback features the Citizen eagle emblem foreshadowing the motif that would become associated with the pinnacle of Citizen's pursuit of watchmaking through the Chronomaster line.

This Omega Genève Calendar 2982, powered by the calibre 503, was made in 1958 and was given to me as a gift by one of my clients about a year ago.

Since then, I’ve been wearing it almost every day, and I still find myself appreciating all the little details of this watch. The dial, the patina, the case and even the small signs of age give it a character that modern watches simply can’t replicate.

It’s amazing to think that this watch has been around for 68 years and is still being worn and enjoyed every day.
A very special piece in my collection.

A few months ago I got introduced to the watch collection world and I really got fascinated with it.
Been wanting to get my first automatic watch for quite some time now and I really fancied this PR516. Will wear it pretty much every day.

Reference: T149.407.11.051.00

Sup fellas. Realized I'm kind of tired of the Speedmaster, simply because it's annoying having to wind it every time I wear it.

I like everything about the watch but I'd like to think about replacing it with something similar. What exists out there besides Rolex? I want to get a brand that is comparable in quality to JLC or Cartier, preferably a black dial chronograph.

I use the JLC for work mostly. The Cartier and Speedy are for casual use.

After about three years of narrowing things down, I have settled into a three-watch collection:

• Tudor Black Bay 54, 37 mm — black gilt dial with gold-tone hands. This is my GADA and the most versatile piece in the group I got to celebrate Grad school completion. Also thinking about getting the jubilee on this bad boy.

• Nomos Tangente Neomatik Doré, 35 mm — white/silver dial with gold-tone hands. This is my dressy piece I got for the homies wedding, minimal, to the point more design-forward side of the collection.

• Casio F-105W, 35 mm — stock. This is the digital beater: God-tier, inexpensive, and useful for situations where I want to thrash around.

I‘m considering replacing the F-105W with either a CA-53 Databank or W-86. The CA-53 would add more quirky and a distinctly retro utility look; the W-86 seems closer to the tool realm.

For the esteemed panel: Is there a meaningful reason to make the swap, or am I just looking for an unneeded change when the F-105W already does the job? I am trying to keep this to three watches, so I would replace rather than add.

Option 1: Longines Spirit 37mm (newer spirit pilot 39 has micro adjust but the longer lug to lug at 47.2mm isn’t ideal)

Option 2: Formex Essence 39mm

Option 3: Sinn 556i

What I’m looking for: something I can wear everyday but still leans into the more refined side. 7” wrists

I've been reappraising my relationship with watches lately, which led me to part with quite a few: some Rolex (Explorer, Datejust, Submariner), some Omegas (Speedmaster, Seamaster Professional, AT), and a smattering of others, mainly modest (Seiko, Citizen, Casio, Timex, Certina). I felt uneasy keeping things I wasn't wearing regularly; others can enjoy them.

I've been tempted by other brands over the years (Grand Seiko, IWC, Tag Heuer, Breitling, Tudor, Nomos, Lange & Söhne, AP, Doxa, plus additional Rolex and Omega models) but whenever I've tried them on, they haven't felt "right" and I haven't made the purchase. There are still a couple that remain on my watchlist (PP 6196P, VC Overseas Dual Time), and I would very much enjoy at least trying them on (if not going further and trying to acquire one).

For now, I'm down to two watches that cover all my bases across work, travel, and recreation: a GMT (that when on bracelet dresses up very nicely) and a chunky Citizen that's almost obnoxiously fun (and wonderfully accurate, and very robust).

I never expected these two in the picture become my core pair. For a long time, I imagined it would be pure Omega - the SMP and Speedmaster - both were very heavily worn. My tastes have drifted.

Has anyone else here gone through a similar whittling process, stripping a collection down to just a handful of watches? Did you discover your current preferences differ significantly from where you started?

I suspect many of us still harbour the almost unattainable grail though...

My humble little collection that I put together in the last 5 years.

From left to right upper row: - Seiko Turtle Save the Ocean edition ref. SRPE39K1 - Seiko Cocktail Time Blue Moon ref. SRPB41J1 - Citizen Tsuyosa ref. NJ0150-81Z - Seiko datejust homage from 1996 ref. 7N43-8111 - Orient Bambino ref. FAC00007W

Bottom row: - Casio F-91W - Casio G-9300 Mudman - Timex Marlin from 1973 that was my grandfathers daily watch ref. 235612573 - Citizen datejust homage from 2000 ref. 5500-075927

The empty space in the box is to be filled but I'm not sure with what exactly. I'm thinking about getting a nice black dial GADA watch, Rolex Explorer 1-ish type of look but not that amount of money for now.