Not sure I get the drift of the fad of having a "dive watch’ as dive watches that actually are used for diving are not shinny and or pretty. You afford shinny things underwater due to barracudas and shark that are attracted to shinny movements. Now for a cool dress and casuals above the oceans depths, sure they are awasome. But if your serious about diving, watches/dive computers like this are more realistic. I’ve been using a Shearwater Teric Wrist Computer with Transmitter for a few years, my step son a now retired Seal, uses either a Luminox x Volition America or a Casio G-Shock.
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I like having an analog, non-battery-dependent, watch as a backup to my computer (Perdix 2 now, was a Perdix AI) when I’m diving. In that capacity, it serves purely as a bottom-timer. I don’t want to have to think about/maintain yet another item in addition to my dive gear - there’s enough of that already.
A nice dive watch fills that need, without having to go around with a fat ugly piece of plastic on my wrist and without having to carry “yet another thing” with me “just in case there’s a dive on this non-diving trip”.
For such opportunistic dives, that sometimes come up in a regular vacation, I’m happier with a watch and mechanical SPG and depth gauge and tables than with any of the puck-style el-cheapo dive computers (with their vague/cryptic displays and warnings). Even for repetitive dives … since it’s rare in those circumstances to do more than a couple of dives on a couple of days.
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At least 99.999% of dive watches are never used for diving. The diver style became a fashion standard with James Bond in the 1960s, and a technological throwback upon the release of the Casio G-Shock. I’ve seen many divers worn with business suits, and have done that myself too. There’s a reason why watches are sold along with jewelry.
That is a very good thing.
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Oh yes nice to have.
I love a good mechanical watch and preferably on the larger side.
These are my daily drivers (46 & 44 mm)
IWC Big Pilot (IW500912)
Panerai Luminor Marina (PAM 00111)
For sports I use a Garmin Tactix Delta and an Apple Watch Ultra.
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This should make you laugh …
I had some nobber try and sell me a “MoonSwatch” today for about $500 shy of the market price of an actual Omega Speedmaster “Moon Watch”.
The “MoonSwatch”, for those that don’t know, is a $260 “bioceramic” (aka essentially plastic) collaboration between Omega and Swatch, commemorating the original Omega “Moon Watch”. A bit of a pain to find - but not limited edition - just not currently sold online and not in all Swatch stores yet. Cool enough to pay $50 to maybe $100 over MSRP not to have to drive around looking for one, but not something I’d pay more than that for.
Best part …
The “MoonSwatch” he was trying to sell was (is) fake … which makes me chuckle even more, as HE paid more than MSRP for it hoping to flip it.
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I’ve seen a couple of those MoonSwatches in person, not sure if I’m totally sold on them to be honest. The bioceramic seems to lack a certain lustre. I saw them when I went to CanJam NYC and popped into the flagship Swatch store in Times Square. There were a couple other models on display that I really really liked there too. I wished I bought them on the spot cause I can’t seem to find them on Swatches’ website anymore unless my memory is totally failing me.
It sounds absolutely insane with such a markup for a Moon Swatch!
At least it’s a relief that he apparently is now getting his fingers burned on it 
I’ve looked at them myself - mostly because I thought it could be fun, but the last few times I’ve been traveling and came across a Swatch store, they’ve been sold out.
They told me that they typically get some delivered in the morning and they sell out immediately. The most popular colors, like Mission to Mercury, go first.
Last week, my brother called me from a Swatch store in Berlin - They had a couple left in the “Mission to Earth” color and he was asking if I wanted one, but I declined - I simply don’t think I would end up wearing it and also came to the conclusion that it’s just too small compared to what I normally prefer…
Go to aliexpress.com and search for “moon watch.” Dozens and dozens of vendors sell fakes for $20 to $30 each.
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I don’t think they’re anything spectacular - and certainly not a substitute for “the real thing” - but I do think it’s a fun and interesting collaboration. In the same way that I think the Casio/NASA G-Shock (DW5600NASA20) is neat (at least when you turn on the backlight).
Not things I buy to wear with any regularity - but just because I think they’re interesting. I have the re-issue Hamilton PSR, for example, which I will occasionally wear if I’m in a group that is interested in watches, but otherwise it’s just “neat”.
It typically looks more like plastic than actual, pure, plastic … at least the models I’ve seen in person.
There are always such jokers “trying it on”.
Chrono24 had a few at that price at one point, though I think that’s settled down to around the $400 mark, with the occasional plonker listing for >$1,000.
Even if it had been real, I was only up for paying maybe $50-100 over MSRP. My time has far more value to me than to spend it randomly visiting stores hoping to get lucky, or lining up to buy things that I can order online and have a few days later anyway - but beyond a modest premium I’ll just pass on things entirely.
No.
I’ve no doubt you can get fakes of anything there. In fact I’d be more surprised if anything was genuine/what it claimed (even mundane things like screws … I’d be questioning what they were made of).
Can’t think of any reason for me to buy anything there, ever.
Now, HE may have gotten it there - though he mentioned “StockX”. I had never heard of that and looking it up didn’t make me think it was any more likely he wasn’t just full of shit or that it was any more likely to be real.
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A while back I explored the microbrand / boutique watch industry. It turns out my heart isn’t into watches (see my comments above), but I looked at many US, EU, and Asian small brands in the process. Long story short:
- US and European microbrands rely on Chinese components, and often rely on Asian assemblers too. Most use Japanese movements, but some of those are made in places with heavy Chinese expat workforces (e.g., Malaysia).
- The exact. same. watch. can be offered at $400 to $1,000 from a US/EU microbrand as found for $100 to $250 on Asian websites. Exact. Same. Products.
- Some US vendors…err…Long Island Watches…seem to mainly contract out custom faces and then assemble these with random Chinese/Japanese parts.
- There are Beast Mode Chinese fakers who sell $700 fakes of $$$$$ Swiss models and routinely fool ADs, and that require disassembly to determine they are fakes. They even create movement covers that resemble genuine movements, with a random Japanese (Seiko, etc.) movement underneath.
- “Swiss made” is a loose term and far more suspect than “Made in USA” – a substantial percentage of the components in Swiss watches appear to be / are from Chinese vendors too. Shinola (from Detroit) also ran into trouble for near lies about its Asian components with US assembly.
- Many Swiss parts are made by robots today, not old men with bushy gray hair wearing lederhosen and watchmaker glasses in their mountain huts. [Also note that “Made in Italy” products sometimes employ migrant Chinese workers located in Italy…this was reported early in the COVID pandemic as a cause for why Italy became a hotspot.]
When I reference “my Swiss mechanicals” its more of a shorthand for the range of brands I own, which are from Swiss companies (regardless of where/how they make their watches), than any particular concern about the things being predominantly made in Switzerland.
I’m not worried about components being Chinese, nor even the entire watch - as long as there aren’t claims being made to the contrary. Which is not really a big factor among what I tend to buy. And definitely isn’t unique to watches.
Most of the US/Euro/Asian “micro brands” are, to me, uninteresting (or outright junk) regardless of where they are made. I’m generally not buying such things. These may not be the same brands you’re referring to when you say “micro brands”.
Anything in the $400-$1,000 bracket, that I’d consider, is either typically some special recreation (e.g. the Hamilton PSR) and/or an obvious Chinese piece. I have no issue with that.
I do have an issue when factories are selling the same product, without authorization, with or without the branding of the company they’re building them for. I don’t care to support that behavior.
…
I’ve a friend that “collects” fake watches. He calls them “reps”; they’re still fake or counterfeit. Some of them are, indeed, extremely close copies of the originals - and even have fully cloned movements (not just cosmetic overlays).
Clearly he and I buy watches for very different reasons.
I’m usually choosing my watches based on their heritage and/or linkage to the introduction of a new complication or step forward in general watchmaking/horology. Sometimes it’s something established, but with a new/more interesting aesthetic. Or, again, they’re novelties.
…
As for things being machine-made … that’s great. Hand-made is cool, to a point. If/where machines/robots/automation increases consistency and/or yields the ability to fashion things that would not otherwise be possible (either physically or economically), I see that as a positive. And there’s room for both.
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And on Aliexpress (and Alibaba … etc. …) specifically (but not watch related) … the one time, years ago now, I did go there looking for something that I couldn’t find anywhere else … the “Purchase Guarantee” was so ludicrous that I wouldn’t buy via them even if it didn’t matter if something was real or as-described or not.
It was something to the effect of: “If product faulty or no work, only pay 50%”.
WTF?
Utter nonsense, and something I don’t have the time or patience to deal with.
Years ago, when I first got interested in watches, I bought a couple of replicas (i.e. fakes) just to see what wearing a really fancy watch felt like before I actually invested thousands of dollars in one. The replica market is highly suspect, but IMHO so is the fact that they can apparently make basically the same exact watch (minus some mechanical sturdiness & water resistance) for a fraction of a fraction of the price. I still have the replica VC Overseas, though I haven’t actually worn it in years. I can’t quite bring myself to throw it in the trash because it’s just so damn pretty. lol
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Oh, no doubt much of the price of the legitimate versions of many “high-end” watches is more a function of marketing, artificial scarcity and perception than it is actual manufacturing costs, R&D overhead or providing service/warranty.
But then I don’t believe, in most cases, that the CoGS for the replicas vs. their ASP is a different ratio vs. the “official” luxury brands. There’s certainly more than enough margin in the setup for middlemen to accommodate picky customers even for higher-fidelity replicas.
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I finally looked up the moon swatch. All I can say is I’m tempted to buy mission to Uranus just because of the name but I won’t.
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With how this year is panning out, I am manifesting purchasing a Tudor Black Bay…but the issue is which one?
Pride and Pinion has a fantastic collection up now - I really like the Ceramic, the Pepsi GMT, and the Pro.
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My advice: go to an AD and actually see/feel/wear them in the metal. You might come away liking one that you weren’t sold on in pictures.
Also fwiw, IMHO the og BB58 all day every day.
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Yes, that’s the plan - just using online for reference now as I continue thinking about it.
Any colorways of the OG 58 I should keep an eye on?
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