Lee's Watch Thread for MM'ers of Impeccable Taste

The following warnings occurred:

Warning [2] Undefined property: MyLanguage::$archive_pages - Line: 2 - File: printthread.php(287) : eval()'d code PHP 8.2.28 (Linux)

File	Line	Function
/inc/class_error.php	153	errorHandler->error
/printthread.php(287) : eval()'d code	2	errorHandler->error_callback
/printthread.php	287	eval
/printthread.php	117	printthread_multipage

Lee's Watch Thread for MM'ers of Impeccable Taste - Printable Version

+- Madison Motorsports (https://forum.mmsports.org)
+-- Forum: Madison Motorsports (https://forum.mmsports.org/forumdisplay.php?fid=3)
+--- Forum: Lounge (https://forum.mmsports.org/forumdisplay.php?fid=6)
+--- Thread: Lee's Watch Thread for MM'ers of Impeccable Taste (/showthread.php?tid=11333)

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45

Re: Lee's Watch Thread for MM'ers of Impeccable Taste - JustinG - 02-15-2017

The crown rotates for scrolling like the Apple watch. Top and bottom buttons are customizable to bring up an app.

Re: Lee's Watch Thread for MM'ers of Impeccable Taste - JustinG - 02-16-2017

Good place to buy a 24mm Butterfly Clasp?

Looking for a Matte Black finish, may put it on this watch, but Amazon is showing em for like $30. Not paying that much.

Re: Lee's Watch Thread for MM'ers of Impeccable Taste - WRXtranceformed - 02-16-2017

JustinG Wrote:Good place to buy a 24mm Butterfly Clasp?

Looking for a Matte Black finish, may put it on this watch, but Amazon is showing em for like $30. Not paying that much.

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.esslinger.com/watch-band-clasps/">http://www.esslinger.com/watch-band-clasps/</a>

Re: Lee's Watch Thread for MM'ers of Impeccable Taste - WRXtranceformed - 03-07-2017

Weeeelp I got a piece stuck in my head, one of those itches you have to scratch and picked up another one tonight :lol:

The story: I've been searching around on the WUS forums and Reddit for possible "trade up" scenarios for my TAG. Still really enjoy it but no emotional attachment to it, was hoping to find someone looking to trade down (take my piece + cash) for something nicer. I've had a bunch of offers, none of which I liked enough to pull the trigger on and a handful of people willing to purchase it if I sell it outright. I don't think I'll be able to sell it for a while for what I have in it with the recent service, hence the desire to trade (trade values are higher)

While looking around on the forums I got to thinking "hey, you should look at crystal mods for your Seiko SKX007 again". In doing so I came back across Zagaz, a microbrand started by a Canadian expat living in Hong Kong. The owner Jake is supposed to be a really good guy and is really well known for high quality aftermarket parts for Seikos in the watch modding world. Apparently a few years ago he decided to get into small batch builds of his own watches that rival some of the large, well-funded brands in terms of quality and design. On his site I stumbled upon the "Aurora" and a review of it by Worn & Wound: <a class="postlink" href="http://wornandwound.com/review/dagaz-aurora-hands/">http://wornandwound.com/review/dagaz-aurora-hands/</a>

[Image: DAGAZ_AURORA_DIAL4.jpg]

Now it wasn't this version that rustled my jimmies, although I do think the "candy cane" effect is unique and is a great nod to Monte Carlo. Dagaz builds some dial and hand replacements that pay homage to the Doxa diver style. If you are bored and want to learn more about Doxa and their heritage, click here: <a class="postlink" href="http://www.doxawatches.com/">http://www.doxawatches.com/</a>. They have a very unique, retro-ish style and are quite expensive. My issue with Doxa is that while I could see myself wearing some of their models, they're too pricey for me to take a flier on one (ie there's a LOT of other watches in those price points that I would pony up on before going that route). But I like the unique styling and bracelets they have, especially the Caribbean.

In comes the "Aurora 2016", a new version with the Doxa-style dial and hands. Now the "UFO" style case is different for me and is a nod to Benarus divers but the hands and dial clearly pay tribute to Doxa's designs & styling. Aside from basically every review I read saying that they are impeccably built watches, the features packed into it are really solid. 200m water resistance, 120 click bezel with bright C3 lume, domed sapphire crystal with inner antireflective coating, reasonable size at 43mm, comfortable domed caseback, Citizen Miyota auto (28,800 bph with sweeping seconds hand, auto / hand wind & hacking, 42+ hours power reserve), more C1/C3 lume on the markers and hands and a well made bracelet. They went 30% off on an early spring sale so I caved and snatched one up as an early birthday present to myself Tongue

. I figured if I didn't bond with it I will just add it to the trade kitty since I should have some equity in it once the sale is over and these are sold out. The last one I saw sell in October went for $90 more than I bought this one for.

I settled on the blue dial with white and orange hands. I fully realize that a lot of people may not like this style but it struck me hard and I have a feeling it's going to look even better in person. Pics:

[Image: AURORASALE3.jpg]

[Image: 0bf5e106eb0cbc73db077c33266ce8ea.jpg]

I'll snap some more real world pics when it gets here!

Re: Lee's Watch Thread for MM'ers of Impeccable Taste - Ken - 03-07-2017

Wow that's really cool - I've been thinking of adding a diver style watch to my little collection as well.

What's a, "good" value for BPH? Is 28K the gold standard?

Re: Lee's Watch Thread for MM'ers of Impeccable Taste - SlimKlim - 03-07-2017

The only noticeable difference on a high beat watch will be a smoother sweep of the second hand. Older movements like the one in my '66 Seiko are 18,000bph, I think a lot of modern ones are 21,800 and then the "high beats" are 28k or 36k. A higher frequency will be a few seconds more accurate but I think they also need servicing more often because the balance wheel is being worked harder.

Re: Lee's Watch Thread for MM'ers of Impeccable Taste - WRXtranceformed - 03-07-2017

SlimKlim Wrote:The only noticeable difference on a high beat watch will be a smoother sweep of the second hand. Older movements like the one in my '66 Seiko are 18,000bph, I think a lot of modern ones are 21,800 and then the "high beats" are 28k or 36k. A higher frequency will be a few seconds more accurate but I think they also need servicing more often because the balance wheel is being worked harder.

Yep what he said!

To put it in perspective, most of the modern Rolex movements also run at 28.8k which is about 8 beats per second (the older ones run at 21.6k or 19.8k). It gives the seconds hand a nice sweep vs. the "tick, tick, tick" of a quartz watch. The ETA 2893-2 in my Ocean Forty-Four is also 28.8k and if you listen real closely it sounds like "tickticktickticktick"

Re: Lee's Watch Thread for MM'ers of Impeccable Taste - WRXtranceformed - 03-07-2017

To add to that Ken if you are looking at divers, let me know and I can give you some good ones to start looking at. I was really pleasantly surprised with my Steinhart, I think it is one of the best bang for the buck watches I've ever purchased. The Ocean Forty-Four is also finally back up for sale, it's hard for microbrands to get ETA movements because Swatch controls the entire market...they were sold out for over a year and a half: <a class="postlink" href="https://www.steinhartwatches.de/en/diver-watch/ocean-forty-four-gmt-blue-red.html">https://www.steinhartwatches.de/en/dive ... e-red.html</a>

Here's all of their diver styles: <a class="postlink" href="https://www.steinhartwatches.de/en/diver-watch.html">https://www.steinhartwatches.de/en/diver-watch.html</a>

Re: Lee's Watch Thread for MM'ers of Impeccable Taste - SlimKlim - 03-07-2017

Yeah I love the Steinhart, I just wish it came in a dark blue.

Re: Lee's Watch Thread for MM'ers of Impeccable Taste - Ken - 03-07-2017

WRXtranceformed Wrote:To add to that Ken if you are looking at divers, let me know and I can give you some good ones to start looking at. I was really pleasantly surprised with my Steinhart, I think it is one of the best bang for the buck watches I've ever purchased. The Ocean Forty-Four is also finally back up for sale, it's hard for microbrands to get ETA movements because Swatch controls the entire market...they were sold out for over a year and a half: <a class="postlink" href="https://www.steinhartwatches.de/en/diver-watch/ocean-forty-four-gmt-blue-red.html">https://www.steinhartwatches.de/en/dive ... e-red.html</a>

Here's all of their diver styles: <a class="postlink" href="https://www.steinhartwatches.de/en/diver-watch.html">https://www.steinhartwatches.de/en/diver-watch.html</a>

Awesome, thanks!

Although it will probably be a bit, as I made a typical "Ken lacks impulse control" purchase recently and snagged this:

[Image: 20170303_165042.jpg]

Joey had sent a GIF of one a while back and it had been stuck in my head. Saw a decent price with some Jet.com discount and pulled the trigger. First automatic and really liking it so far. Will probably change the strap shortly though, little too dark for my taste.

Re: Lee's Watch Thread for MM'ers of Impeccable Taste - WRXtranceformed - 03-07-2017

Nice, well played! I didn't know much about Orient until Joey got into them, a lot of value for the money there and some sharp looking pieces!

Re: Lee's Watch Thread for MM'ers of Impeccable Taste - WRXtranceformed - 03-18-2017

Oh man, Joey done did it....I'm sure he will post up some pics here shortly Smile

And not to be outdone, I decided that my SKX wasn't getting enough love so I addressed some things about it that I think need addressing. Just dropped some loot with Yobokies for a BoR (Beads of Rice) bracelet for my Deep Blue (will also fit my Seiko) and a new double domed AR sapphire crystal, chrome Type S hands, and a One Second Closer custom red tinted mineral crystal seethrough caseback - "The Bloody Morning". I haven't figured out yet if I am going to have my local guy do the mods or send it off somewhere.

BoR bracelet:
[Image: IMG_1386_zps2443383e.jpg]

Chrome Type S hands with red dot on seconds hand (C3 superluminova version) - originally I just wanted a different seconds hand, because the stock hand on the SKX has a luminous dot on the "non-pointer" end of the seconds hand...which I never understood at all, that tells me exactly nothing. But I'll make an executive decision whether to just go ahead and replace all three while I'm in there, it would be nice to have all of the lume matching and I couldn't purchase the seconds hand separately (I got the brightest one on the far right).
[Image: IMG_3154.jpg]

Double domed sapphire crystal (you can see the bluish tint of the underside AR) - should be a nice upgrade from the Hardlex, which already has a small nick in it that drives me crazy because I'm so careful with my watches. This should have a slight curve to it but doesn't extend much above the bezel surface so that it's mostly protected.
[Image: IMG_2178.jpg]

Custom caseback:
[Image: s-l500.jpg]

Re: Lee's Watch Thread for MM'ers of Impeccable Taste - WRXtranceformed - 03-27-2017

Early birthday present came off the boat from Hong Kong and was waiting for me this weekend when I got home from golf! Here's my writeup and some pics from the WUS forums:

Hey all! As a fellow dive watch enthusiast / addict I wanted to post up some pics of the unboxing of my Dagaz Aurora 2016 that just arrived in the mail and give my first impressions. I actually didn't know about this watch until I was browsing around on the Dagaz site looking at mod parts (I've got a bunch of stuff coming for a separate project on my SKX) and stumbled across it. I've always been a fan of the Doxa dial / hands style but never really wanted to take a 4 figure flyer on a Doxa to see if I would like it more than an Oris or Omega etc. Given the reviews I read on the original Aurora, Dagaz' / Jakes reputation for quality parts, the overall specs & look of the watch and the current discount I figured I would pull the trigger. A few weeks later and it hit my mailbox!

[Image: 20170325_155036_zpsf3koeuod.jpg~original]

[Image: 20170325_155036_zpsf3koeuod.jpg~original]

Awesome pseudo-Pelican case:

[Image: 20170325_155301_zpsuj8wdza9.jpg~original]

[Image: 20170325_155441_zpsljf7s5gq.jpg~original]

[Image: 20170325_155712_zpsyvuhk3sn.jpg~original]

[Image: 20170325_155736_zpsnbdeshty.jpg~original]

[Image: 20170325_160500_zpsn7h2m28p.jpg~original]

[Image: 20170325_160513_zpsjsjjpmya.jpg~original]

[Image: 20170325_161737_zps42sza4se.jpg~original]

[Image: 20170325_161800_zpsy2kgj3r5.jpg~original]

[Image: 20170325_162531_zpsrvalt1a9.jpg~original]

Lume shot:

[Image: 20170325_164241_zpsyvoe5ow7.jpg~original]

Sized up:

[Image: 20170325_172149_zpsnnmlbv15.jpg~original]

First impressions
Pros:
- Overall the build quality is seriously fantastic, it has awesome wrist presence
- It was a toss up for me between the blue and black dial, but I'm really glad I went with the blue dial. It's a beautiful matte blue and the grey rectangles on each side of the hour lume markers are very slightly raised, it's a cool touch
- I was hesitant about loving the "ufo" shape of the case but it really is stunning in person and super comfortable. The curved caseback sits nicely on the wrist and the brushed top / polished sides of the case and bracelet look awesome
- The Miyota 9015 movement winds and sets like a dream as you would imagine, it seems to be running about +10 sec / day and I expect it will settle down as it breaks in. Awesome sweeping seconds hand
- Domed sapphire is excellent, it fits flawlessly with the bezel

Areas of opportunity:
- Love the lume, especially the triangle bezel pip it glows crazy bright, but would have loved to see C3 used on the hands and the hour markers as well instead of C1 / C3 blend. The hands and dial markers just don't glow quite as bright or match 100%
- The bracelet also looks awesome, better than I expected in person, but it was a serious PITA to size. They are screw in links but with "double" screws on each side, so you have to kind of hold one end stationary with a screwdriver while you twist the other with another screwdriver. I've sized a bunch of my own watches but never one of this style, and while I was pretty proficient by the end I had some nice painful red circle marks in my palm from trying to keep one end of the screw from spinning
- The clasp on the bracelet was REALLY stiff when popping it open, I actually shredded my cuticle on the Dagaz logo keeper on one of the first times popping it open. It seems to be loosening up a little but it took a LOT of effort to pop it open probably the first 10 times.
- Unidirectional bezel, bi-directional would be nice but not necessary. Bezel is a little stiff but also not a huge deal.

For the money it's a fantastic piece, I learned how to size a new type of bracelet (ha!) and this one is definitely going to get a lot of wrist time. :thumbup:

Now I excitedly wait for some more parts to arrive from HK / Poland for my SKX project. I already bought the last Seiko Sumo movement that Northeast Watch Works had and had Duarte set it aside for me, that thing will be perfect when I am done with it 8) I think between this new Aurora and my Seiko project I should have scratched my watch itch for a little while at least :lol:

Re: Lee's Watch Thread for MM'ers of Impeccable Taste - Ken - 03-27-2017

Wow, really nice! Agree with you on the lume - i guess i see what they were going for by differentiating but it would probably look better all the same.

Re: Lee's Watch Thread for MM'ers of Impeccable Taste - SlimKlim - 04-12-2017

WRXtranceformed Wrote:Oh man, Joey done did it....I'm sure he will post up some pics here shortly

I forgot to post this here. I knew I wanted to pick up something new to celebrate getting my job offer, and I was looking at stuff all over the map as far as price range. A Seiko Presage for close to $1k, a Steinhart diver for ~$500, and some Zeppelin/Junkers pieces in the $500 range.

When it came down to it, I'm just not quite into the hobby enough, or rich enough, to really want to spend that much on a single watch, at least not when there's so much interesting stuff out there in the sub-$300 range.

I ended up ordering the Orient Ray II in Black (I originally wanted blue but figured black was more universal) on Amazon for $170, and then promptly picked up this Strapcode Endmill/President's style bracelet with solid end links which makes the watch a lot more comfortable, less rattly, and IMO looks a little more classic and reserved. The OEM bracelet has little polished sections to contrast against the brushed and I just didn't really like the look of it.

[Image: 4h0jmvS.jpg]

Surprisingly it's pretty much become my daily wearer. It looks great with everything, and you can do pretty much anything with it, if it gets dirty you just wash it in the sink. It's got a fantastic weight to it and could probably double as a self defense projectile weapon if you were really in a pinch. That being said its a 41.5mm case so it wears really well on my little manlet wrists. I definitely wouldn't want to wear anything bigger.

It has an in-house Orient movement that has both hacking and manual winding which is pretty rare at this price point. I haven't been keeping an eye on it lately, but during the first 10 days of ownership I only lost 10 seconds of time, which si absolutely insane for a watch this cheap. $5,000 Grand Seiko Spring Drives use an electronic regulator to get that sort of accuracy. I'm super happy with it and it's just sold me even harder on the Orient brand. My next purchase might very well be another one of their models, maybe the Bambino or the open-heart Esteem that Ken has.

If I was really pressed to find a complaint about it, it'd be that the day indicator doesn't 100% perfectly line up in it's window, which seems to be common around this price point. I'd also love if it had a ceramic (or just high gloss) bezel, and a sapphire crystal, but you just don't get those things in a sub-$200 watch.

I actually reached out to that Yobokies guy that does all the crazy SKX modifications about bezel options, but the only thing he can do is sell me a modified SKX bezel which would allow me to use a wide range of aftermarket inserts, but the SKX bezel sits much higher and doesn't slope down towards the edges of the case, which is one of the reasons I bought the Ray over the SKX in the first place, so w/e.

Re: Lee's Watch Thread for MM'ers of Impeccable Taste - JPolen01 - 04-14-2017

For anyone with an apple watch. This charging stand is so nerdy and cool. On sale today for $10 <a class="postlink" href="https://www.amazon.com/elago-Stand-White-Nightstand-Management/dp/B01MYNE2BM/?kinja_price=10&tag=kinjadeals-20&ascsubtag=8a9514a21451cc0b7a6f611d2611fbe44db2fc33&rawdata=%5Br%7Chttp%3A%2F%2Fdeadspin.com%2F%5Bt%7Clink%5Bp%7C1794291600%5Ba%7CB01MYNE2BM%5Bau%7C5727177402741770316%5Bb%7Cdeals">https://www.amazon.com/elago-Stand-Whit ... Bb%7Cdeals</a>
[Image: j7lx1rukuhfq8cayzela.jpg]

Re: Lee's Watch Thread for MM'ers of Impeccable Taste - Jake - 04-14-2017

I love reading through this thread, maybe some day I'll start trying to nab a couple of "real" watches but for now I'm still digging my Huawei smartwatch.

Justin, I want to try that LG on when we are at the track next. Love the dark blue finish. How does it charge? My one complaint about the Huawei is the charging pins will "click" into place but not be 100% aligned, so you wake up to a dead watch the next morning. Fully inductive charging would be a big benefit (I think the Apple watch does that...).

Still patiently waiting for Android Wear 2.0 over here. Should be coming soon.

Re: Lee's Watch Thread for MM'ers of Impeccable Taste - Apoc - 04-14-2017

JPolen01 Wrote:For anyone with an apple watch. This charging stand is so nerdy and cool. On sale today for $10 <a class="postlink" href="https://www.amazon.com/elago-Stand-White-Nightstand-Management/dp/B01MYNE2BM/?kinja_price=10&tag=kinjadeals-20&ascsubtag=8a9514a21451cc0b7a6f611d2611fbe44db2fc33&rawdata=%5Br%7Chttp%3A%2F%2Fdeadspin.com%2F%5Bt%7Clink%5Bp%7C1794291600%5Ba%7CB01MYNE2BM%5Bau%7C5727177402741770316%5Bb%7Cdeals">https://www.amazon.com/elago-Stand-Whit ... Bb%7Cdeals</a>

That's worse than a Martini Racing watch.

Re: Lee's Watch Thread for MM'ers of Impeccable Taste - JPolen01 - 04-14-2017

It's a charging stand for your house. No one needs to see it.

Re: Lee's Watch Thread for MM'ers of Impeccable Taste - Apoc - 04-14-2017

With any luck, no one will see it.