The Under £200ish Watch and occasional Opera Thread! Vol2

[SWoll]

RSTurboPaul said:

Christmas is coming, plenty of opportunity to fill up that small gap via the medium of mince pies

Exactly my thought.

[Barchettaman]

SWoll said:

Always an issue with rubber straps with a butterfly/deploymnt clasp.

I've had a Zuludiver 400 turn up this morning I picked up on EBay for £25. It's a tiny bit loose once fitted but I'm tempted to leave it alone rather than start cutting it down for the sake of a couple of mm. Annoyingly as standard the micro adjustment is already at it's shortest setting.

That’s a really nice looking watch. Were you the threadist who got all the amazing deals on Alpinas?

[SWoll]

Barchettaman said:

That’s a really nice looking watch. Were you the threadist who got all the amazing deals on Alpinas?

Guilty. Picked up 3 within a month or so at silly prices post last Christmas. 2 in thread budget and the other £50 over.

.

[Alex_225]

SWoll said:

Alex_225 said:

Only two criticisms I'd have is firstly, you have to cut the strap to size. Admittedly, replacements are £8 from their store so hardly a deal breaker. But you don't want to cut it too small. Mad that the Patek original also needs the strap cut down and I suspect they're more than £8 to replace

Always an issue with rubber straps with a butterfly/deploymnt clasp.

I've had a Zuludiver 400 turn up this morning I picked up on EBay for £25. It's a tiny bit loose once fitted but I'm tempted to leave it alone rather than start cutting it down for the sake of a couple of mm. Annoyingly as standard the micro adjustment is already at it's shortest setting.

Yeah I've not actually had a watch with a strap like this so never gave it much thought. Although resizing the mesh bracelet I put on a Vostok Amphibia was a total b*stard of a job haha.

Nice looking watch that. Like you say for the sake of a few mm it might be best left, especially as pointed out, Christmas (and food) is coming haha.

I also find in warmer weather my watches are tighter, even though I have relatively and ironically svelte wrists. lol

[waynedear]

Bought a blue car... Wife bought me a blue watch.

[Ninjin]

SWoll said:

Guilty. Picked up 3 within a month or so at silly prices post last Christmas. 2 in thread budget and the other £50 over.

.

I love the Alpina's had a GMT4 before but I just found it too big for my current tastes. Had to grudgingly let it go on ebay last xmas.

If only they would bring out soemthing inbetween 40-42mm

[BrokenSkunk]

You lot are enablers, you know that. You're the sort of people who'd hand out free kilo tubs of Ben and Jerry's at a clinic for the morbidly obese.

Sigh.

So AliExpress celebrated that ancient Chinese tradition of Black Friday, and you lot had to blab about the deals on SteelDive. Problem is, I don't care what it does to me, I love Ben and Jerry's. And I'm lactose intolerant. Explosively intolerant as it happens. At least I don't get fat.


So, the SD1953 arrived yesterday. Weirdly I'm not in love.

It looks like a nice watch, I should be chomping at the bit to tear off the stickies and size the bracelet, especially as Mr BrokenSkunk wasn't around to guilt trip me when it arrived, but I just don't have the urge to.

For starters it's far too big. I've a 7 1/4" wrist, that's fairly average isn't it? I have a few big watches, a 42mm Parnis, an RLG Atlanticus (Dick big dick - also 42mm) a Cartier Roadster and a Seiko Recraft SNKM97 at a whopping 43.5mm. The Steeldive is supposed to be 41mm, but it feels much much larger.

Then there's the bezel. It feels very clicky, when rotated it sounds like you're winding an old clockwork toy. There's a bit of backlash (slop) in the indexing too.

I dunno, at the moment I just don't feel the joy. Perhaps the above is me looking for reasons why, maybe I'm making it all up to justify my lack of lust.

I think I'll unbox it again in a few days and see if I'm in a different mood.

[Ninjin]

BrokenSkunk said:

You lot are enablers, you know that. You're the sort of people who'd hand out free kilo tubs of Ben and Jerry's at a clinic for the morbidly obese.

Sigh.

So AliExpress celebrated that ancient Chinese tradition of Black Friday, and you lot had to blab about the deals on SteelDive. Problem is, I don't care what it does to me, I love Ben and Jerry's. And I'm lactose intolerant. Explosively intolerant as it happens. At least I don't get fat.


So, the SD1953 arrived yesterday. Weirdly I'm not in love.

It looks like a nice watch, I should be chomping at the bit to tear off the stickies and size the bracelet, especially as Mr BrokenSkunk wasn't around to guilt trip me when it arrived, but I just don't have the urge to.

For starters it's far too big. I've a 7 1/4" wrist, that's fairly average isn't it? I have a few big watches, a 42mm Parnis, an RLG Atlanticus (Dick big dick - also 42mm) a Cartier Roadster and a Seiko Recraft SNKM97 at a whopping 43.5mm. The Steeldive is supposed to be 41mm, but it feels much much larger.

Then there's the bezel. It feels very clicky, when rotated it sounds like you're winding an old clockwork toy. There's a bit of backlash (slop) in the indexing too.

I dunno, at the moment I just don't feel the joy. Perhaps the above is me looking for reasons why, maybe I'm making it all up to justify my lack of lust.

I think I'll unbox it again in a few days and see if I'm in a different mood.

Welcome to my watch history on AliX!

Luckily I manage to stop myself from buying... however, when it does go through and the watch arrives, I usually have the same sentiments as yourself.

Welcome to the club.

[Bobberoo]

BrokenSkunk said:

You lot are enablers, you know that. You're the sort of people who'd hand out free kilo tubs of Ben and Jerry's at a clinic for the morbidly obese.

Sigh.

So AliExpress celebrated that ancient Chinese tradition of Black Friday, and you lot had to blab about the deals on SteelDive. Problem is, I don't care what it does to me, I love Ben and Jerry's. And I'm lactose intolerant. Explosively intolerant as it happens. At least I don't get fat.


So, the SD1953 arrived yesterday. Weirdly I'm not in love.

It looks like a nice watch, I should be chomping at the bit to tear off the stickies and size the bracelet, especially as Mr BrokenSkunk wasn't around to guilt trip me when it arrived, but I just don't have the urge to.

For starters it's far too big. I've a 7 1/4" wrist, that's fairly average isn't it? I have a few big watches, a 42mm Parnis, an RLG Atlanticus (Dick big dick - also 42mm) a Cartier Roadster and a Seiko Recraft SNKM97 at a whopping 43.5mm. The Steeldive is supposed to be 41mm, but it feels much much larger.

Then there's the bezel. It feels very clicky, when rotated it sounds like you're winding an old clockwork toy. There's a bit of backlash (slop) in the indexing too.

I dunno, at the moment I just don't feel the joy. Perhaps the above is me looking for reasons why, maybe I'm making it all up to justify my lack of lust.

I think I'll unbox it again in a few days and see if I'm in a different mood.

How very dare you!?!?!?
You know full well it's always cream cakes outside the Fat clinics!!!!

[Barchettaman]

BrokenSkunk said:

So, the SD1953 arrived yesterday. Weirdly I'm not in love.


I think I'll unbox it again in a few days and see if I'm in a different mood.

Size the bracelet and try it again when you’re in the mood for a Sub-u-like on your wrist.

I wore mine all summer 2022 and it performed admirably at depths up to 2 metres below the surface of the pool. Plus I thought it looked good.

Is yours the one with the better clasp and lume pip? In any case you can only have what, £60-ish into it, so why not keep it around for a bit.

On a different subject, what are your thoughts on the RLG?

[BrokenSkunk]

Barchettaman said:

BrokenSkunk said:

So, the SD1953 arrived yesterday. Weirdly I'm not in love.


I think I'll unbox it again in a few days and see if I'm in a different mood.

Size the bracelet and try it again when you’re in the mood for a Sub-u-like on your wrist.

I wore mine all summer 2022 and it performed admirably at depths up to 2 metres below the surface of the pool. Plus I thought it looked good.

Is yours the one with the better clasp and lume pip? In any case you can only have what, £60-ish into it, so why not keep it around for a bit.

On a different subject, what are your thoughts on the RLG?

It has the Ceramic bezel, but no lume pip. Yes it's got the 6 hole "milled clasp", not sure why they call it that, it looks press formed. Is it because it has the logo milled into it? Bit cheeky if so, but then for what it costs you've got to forgive them.

Yes, that's exactly what I intend to do with the SD1953. Resize it another day and see what I think then. It does look like a good watch, incredible for the money. But that doesn't mean it's "me".

In a 1 in 45 chance coincidence I'm wearing the RLG Atlanticus this week. I strongly like (not quite 'love') it. Lume is amazing. It's a bit big, but it's well proportioned. The lume is awesome, I know I'm repeating myself, it really is good, but bear in mind that most of my collection is at least as old as I am, and like me they no longer shine as they once did.

The Atlanticus claims to be a 200M dive watch, but the plastic 'sail cloth' strap is finished with a leather liner. The winder at 4 o'clock has a screw in crown, but the bezel adjuster at 2 doesn't. I don't dive, so I don't really care. I wouldn't swim with it because of the strap. I quite like the look of the strap & it's comfortable, but it's cheap, one of the keepers split within a few hours of use.

It is a cool watch, but I'm fairly sure I saw exactly the same watch on AliExpress (sporting a different logo & case back) for a fraction of the cost of the RLG. Mine was an as new second hand purchase, so I don't feel as cheated as I would otherwise have done.

I paid just over £100 for mine. At that price it's superb.

Wasn't the Atlanticus one of the Watches I brought along when you, me and Bobbers met up in the Dancing Man. I vaugely remember us explaing to Bobbers why RLG swapped from putting their full name on the dial to just the initials.

[BrokenSkunk]

Bobberoo said:

How very dare you!?!?!?
You know full well it's always cream cakes outside the Fat clinics!!!!

The more it hurts Bobbers, the truer it is!

[r159]

Poor photo of my new (and first Pagani). Not bad at all.

[RSTurboPaul]

That is lovely

[Barchettaman]

+1, I do like that Doxa design but not at Doxa prices.

In other off-topic news, I’ve just scored a €500 e-bike kit from Swytch, brand new in box, for the price of postage (€25). A guy in Austria hadn’t got round to fitting it and was going ti throw it out.

Obviously completely non-horological but I know you guys love a bargain and a few of us are into bikes. Next project: find a cheap cyclocross bike and convert, I think!

[CharlesdeGaulle]

r159 said:

Poor photo of my new (and first Pagani). Not bad at all.

Bracelet shocker.

[SWoll]

Ninjin said:

SWoll said:

Guilty. Picked up 3 within a month or so at silly prices post last Christmas. 2 in thread budget and the other £50 over.

.

I love the Alpina's had a GMT4 before but I just found it too big for my current tastes. Had to grudgingly let it go on ebay last xmas.

If only they would bring out soemthing inbetween 40-42mm

That's lovely.

The Alpiner I'm wearing in the photo is 42mm. I share the watches with my lad (19) and have since sized the bracelet down a link or two as he wears it a lot more often than I did and rotates it with the pilot chrono. I always find myself picking up the Seastrong diver or Glycine Incursore so works out well.

Pretty pleased with the current collection at < £1k for the lot. Keep looking at more expensive stuff but can never bring myself to hand over the cash when the time comes.

[Ninjin]

Barchettaman said:

+1, I do like that Doxa design but not at Doxa prices.

In other off-topic news, I’ve just scored a €500 e-bike kit from Swytch, brand new in box, for the price of postage (€25). A guy in Austria hadn’t got round to fitting it and was going ti throw it out.

Obviously completely non-horological but I know you guys love a bargain and a few of us are into bikes. Next project: find a cheap cyclocross bike and convert, I think!

I fitted a switch to my friends Whyte hybrid. With the power of the drive on the front wheel and the battery on the handle bars, made it extremely front heavy. Then the torque steer too.....

I guess you can only get the bike to suit the wheel size that comes with the swytch but I would recommend getting a more upright bike.

[r159]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

r159 said:

Poor photo of my new (and first Pagani). Not bad at all.

Bracelet shocker.

I think it would look good on a shark mesh as well, but sticking with the beads of rice

Having worn it for a day if I had the funds (wish) I would go for a 1500t rather than the 300….not that I have to worry about it.

Edited by r159 on Saturday 2nd December 16:44

[carlo996]

Really tempted by this JDM chrono. I think its the same module as my Wave Ceptor.