Describe your ideal watch
Discussion
The watchmaking fairy has just appeared and they will build you a custom watch on the house. You can have anything you want with your own design and they will blend together other watch styles to make your perfect watch.
What would describe your ideal watch to be? Accuracy would be a given with it keeping perfect time (unless you wanted otherwise!).
Mine would be a Rolex Explorer (original Rolex Explorer not the new blingup up version) on a 36mm size with a date and somekind of system with an alarm and countdown timer (maybe even aerospace style or as it's a watchmaking fairy something mechanical).
What would describe your ideal watch to be? Accuracy would be a given with it keeping perfect time (unless you wanted otherwise!).
Mine would be a Rolex Explorer (original Rolex Explorer not the new blingup up version) on a 36mm size with a date and somekind of system with an alarm and countdown timer (maybe even aerospace style or as it's a watchmaking fairy something mechanical).
rjfp1962 said:
I have my ideal watch.. Will be the lowest of bars for many, but I really like my Accurist Solar 120. Great timekeeper, good looking and as I'm not one for chronograph watches or ones with rotating bezels, it's "Ideal"...! And less than fifty quid 

Happiness is having what you want - congrats!
My ideal watch is available off the shelf; Rolex GMT Master.
- Water resistant
- 2/3 Time zones with ‘true’ GMT function
- Date
- 40ish mm
- Slim (ish) profile
- Comfortable bracelet
- Classic and simple design
- Suitable for all occasions
The only thing I’d like would be a diving bezel for timing my cooking and BBQs. That’s where my Chronomat 44 GMT comes in. Bought on a whim because it was VERY cheap, it’s now my go-to watch as it just does everything - including having the chrono for timing my BBQs!

So I think if I was designing a watch it would be a blend of the two.
- Water resistant
- 2/3 Time zones with ‘true’ GMT function
- Date
- 40ish mm
- Slim (ish) profile
- Comfortable bracelet
- Classic and simple design
- Suitable for all occasions
The only thing I’d like would be a diving bezel for timing my cooking and BBQs. That’s where my Chronomat 44 GMT comes in. Bought on a whim because it was VERY cheap, it’s now my go-to watch as it just does everything - including having the chrono for timing my BBQs!
So I think if I was designing a watch it would be a blend of the two.
Chronograph
Solar
Sweeping seconds hands (looks nice)
Gmt
Dive bezel
Iso dive rated (at least I know mine will have been tested)
Titanium construction, mix of shot blasted and brushed finish..no polished surfaces mega hardened.
Nuclear levels of lume
On the fly clasp adjustment
Sapphire crystal
42mm ish, 48 lug to lug, 12mm thick.
22mm lug width taper to 18mm, quick release bracelet with a spare nice rubber strap titanium hardware with adjustable clasp
Left side crown/pushers (even though wear it on left hand).
Solar
Sweeping seconds hands (looks nice)
Gmt
Dive bezel
Iso dive rated (at least I know mine will have been tested)
Titanium construction, mix of shot blasted and brushed finish..no polished surfaces mega hardened.
Nuclear levels of lume
On the fly clasp adjustment
Sapphire crystal
42mm ish, 48 lug to lug, 12mm thick.
22mm lug width taper to 18mm, quick release bracelet with a spare nice rubber strap titanium hardware with adjustable clasp
Left side crown/pushers (even though wear it on left hand).
Ceramic divetime bezel, bidirectional, scalloped
Eta 2892 movement
Double domed sapphire crystal
100m WR
Screw down crown
Epic lume
Sword hands (anything other than Mercedes hands really)
9mm thick
40mm wide excluding crown
No crown guards
Decent bracelet
All brushed stainless
Cheap
Eta 2892 movement
Double domed sapphire crystal
100m WR
Screw down crown
Epic lume
Sword hands (anything other than Mercedes hands really)
9mm thick
40mm wide excluding crown
No crown guards
Decent bracelet
All brushed stainless
Cheap
Edited by Barchettaman on Sunday 8th May 22:31
I quite like the idea of a JLC reverso which has a nice, simple time and date mechanical movement on one side and the other side is an Apple Watch. Plus the whole thing is kept charged/wound by an auto rotor and it’s all only 10mm or less thick. And 200m water resistant.
Plus the Apple Watch part miraculously never gets technologically abandoned or obsolete.
Plus the Apple Watch part miraculously never gets technologically abandoned or obsolete.
I have a lot of watches I like. They all do things differently for different reasons etc… and its easy to point out the preference flaws than the perfection. I don’t think there is one watch that can optimal in design.
JLC Grande Reverso Duoface – GMT, for dress or casual. Day/white dial, evening/black dial. Really like rectangular watches. Own.
Laurent Ferrier Classic or Galent in white metal (round case only) epitome of under-stated style, taste and elegance. Wish list.
Patek Gondolo 5124G-011 currently the most desirable watch I want to acquire for my collection. Again good for dress or casual. Difficult to find a good one. Patek servicing is ridiculous. Wish list.
Breitling Navitimer GMT Chrono. Tad to big. Needs to be 40/42mm and less than 13mm thick, no water resistance (including annoyingly rain water). Used the slide rule often. Had once was a poor watch because of no WR.
Omega AT Chrono 150m GMT. Too big at 43mm, needs to thinner. All the AT line looks bulbous and fat which is due to the twisting lug shape. Not as elegant as a Rolex OP. The Case/Bracelet interface is also too messy. Omega need to round-off that design in all SS/Bracelet watches. Darn accurate watch though. Own.
Omega Seamaster PO. Too big generally, too thick. Needs to go back to 39/40mm and thickness less than 13mm. Needs more models in this small size and in titanium or ceramic to keep the weight down. Wish list
Girard Perregeux Laurento Infinitie. My idea of a better looking GG design with integrated bracelet. Wish list
Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Traditionnelle. White metal, black dial. Elegant. Wish list.
Ulysee Nardin Freak. Have an X, which is well sized (small fitting 43 that wears like a 40) and very light/comfortable in Titanium. However, UN need to clean-up this whacky design and make is smaller (Freaks are big watches) and the hand arrangement more elegant.
Mechanical watchmakers need to use more titanium in my opinion. Nice metal to wear. They need to get rid of spurious stuff like always going to the moon (when NASA cant) and He escape valves when dipping into the holiday hotel pool in the deep end.
I think the luxury market should sell SS watches with interchangeable bands/bracelets where possible and appropriate (a la Vacheron C. Overseas). This simple accessory can make a watch change character as required.
JLC Grande Reverso Duoface – GMT, for dress or casual. Day/white dial, evening/black dial. Really like rectangular watches. Own.
Laurent Ferrier Classic or Galent in white metal (round case only) epitome of under-stated style, taste and elegance. Wish list.
Patek Gondolo 5124G-011 currently the most desirable watch I want to acquire for my collection. Again good for dress or casual. Difficult to find a good one. Patek servicing is ridiculous. Wish list.
Breitling Navitimer GMT Chrono. Tad to big. Needs to be 40/42mm and less than 13mm thick, no water resistance (including annoyingly rain water). Used the slide rule often. Had once was a poor watch because of no WR.
Omega AT Chrono 150m GMT. Too big at 43mm, needs to thinner. All the AT line looks bulbous and fat which is due to the twisting lug shape. Not as elegant as a Rolex OP. The Case/Bracelet interface is also too messy. Omega need to round-off that design in all SS/Bracelet watches. Darn accurate watch though. Own.
Omega Seamaster PO. Too big generally, too thick. Needs to go back to 39/40mm and thickness less than 13mm. Needs more models in this small size and in titanium or ceramic to keep the weight down. Wish list
Girard Perregeux Laurento Infinitie. My idea of a better looking GG design with integrated bracelet. Wish list
Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Traditionnelle. White metal, black dial. Elegant. Wish list.
Ulysee Nardin Freak. Have an X, which is well sized (small fitting 43 that wears like a 40) and very light/comfortable in Titanium. However, UN need to clean-up this whacky design and make is smaller (Freaks are big watches) and the hand arrangement more elegant.
Mechanical watchmakers need to use more titanium in my opinion. Nice metal to wear. They need to get rid of spurious stuff like always going to the moon (when NASA cant) and He escape valves when dipping into the holiday hotel pool in the deep end.
I think the luxury market should sell SS watches with interchangeable bands/bracelets where possible and appropriate (a la Vacheron C. Overseas). This simple accessory can make a watch change character as required.
pistonheadforum said:
What would describe your ideal watch to be?
The only thing I'd change on this would be the date window. Which I would either remove (as I don't ever need my watch to tell me the date) or make much larger so that I could tell what it's showing (old man eyes). No date would be preferred.The size, lume, bezel and bracelet are, for me, perfect. I've worn it daily for the last 8 years, and nothing I've seen since I got it has made me want to swap it out.

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