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

[WRXtranceformed]

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: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://wornandwound.com/review/dagaz-aurora-hands/">http://wornandwound.com/review/dagaz-aurora-hands/</a><!-- m -->






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: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.doxawatches.com/">http://www.doxawatches.com/</a><!-- m -->. 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 . 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:







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