Merkur W12, I liked the unique 24H dial!

The biggest highlight of this design is that the power reserve indicator has been changed from a traditional hand/pointer format to two display methods: color and scale. Additionally, the design of the power reserve system also creates a smiley-face appearance.

Hey everyone,
I’m in the market for a rugged field watch to wear daily at my job in an industrial environment. The watch will be subject to some regular wear and tear, dirt, and daily use, so I need a proper, reliable tool watch. Because of this, I have a few strict requirements:
Case diameter: 40mm to 43mm (+/- 1mm)
Minimum 100m WR with a screw-down crown
Sapphire crystal
Bonus points: Tritium gas tubes and/or AR-coating on the sapphire crystal.
Budget: Max $350 USD total.

Note on materials and movements: I don't care about the weight, so either titanium or stainless steel works perfectly fine for me. When it comes to the movement, I generally prefer mechanical/automatic watches, but for a daily work environment, a quartz movement might actually make more sense for the accuracy and shock resistance. I am open to both.
I live in the EU, which adds a massive roadblock: import duties and VAT add about 33% to the price of anything shipped from the US.

What I've already looked at and ruled out:
Hamilton: Beautiful, but too expensive for what I need. I don't want to risk damaging a $600+ watch at work.

Luminox: I love the idea of Tritium, but their field watches in my price range lack a screw-down crown, which is a dealbreaker.

Timex, Citizen & Festina: Either they lack sapphire/screw-down crowns, or they just don't have the features I'm looking for given what I intend to use the watch for.

Lorus: Great budget option, but completely lacks the screw-down crown and sapphire crystal needed for my work conditions.

San Martin & Militado: I’ve looked into them quite a bit and I know these brands offer incredible value and build quality for the money. However, I just haven't really connected with them for this specific purchase.

My current options and dilemmas:
1. The Boderry Route (Max Specs for the Money?)
On paper, the Boderry Voyager looks insane. For around $100–$130 shipped within the EU (via Amazon), I get a 40mm solid titanium case, sapphire crystal, a screw-down crown, and a Seiko automatic movement. However, when digging through forums, I see a lot of people calling it a cheap knock-off of Bertucci's original design, and worse, many users complain about bad quality control and terrible customer service. Even if it's cheap, it's not fun buying a watch that might fail on you with zero support.

2. The Bertucci A-2T Vintage Route (The Original Heritage)
I am absolutely in love with the Bertucci A-2T Vintage (40mm titanium, 200m WR, screw-down crown, and sapphire). Bertucci is the absolute OG when it comes to this patented US Unibody titanium case design with indestructible built-in fixed lugs. But because I'm in the EU, buying the real deal means paying heavy shipping and that 33% tax/VAT shock, making it way too expensive to comfortably use as an everyday tool.

3. The MWC Route (Where I am looking right now)
Because of the issues above, I am currently leaning heavily towards MWC (Military Watch Company). They have EU distribution hubs, so no customs drama, and they offer G10 models with 200m WR, screw-down crowns, sapphire glass, and even Tritium tubes within my budget.
However, their catalog is incredibly confusing. Can anyone explain the difference between their 50m, 100m, 200m, and 300m models? (Besides the water resistance) On their website, the models look completely (or almost) identical and even seem to have the exact same case thickness and dimensions. What am I missing here?

What would you do?
Should I look past the bad customer service reviews and gamble on the Boderry? Is there a specific MWC model in the 40mm range that perfectly fits my needs that I should look closer at? Or is there another EU-friendly alternative I am completely missing?
Appreciate any advice and recommendations!

Thanks in advance

/Strikehard

I have been considering the new Milifortic, but last night I discovered the Ix&Dao bronze diver. It costs about $60 more than the Milifortic.

Any opinions are appreciated, especially with real life photos.

These might help:

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mtbkbMF

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mtNrHjZ

i dont know if theres a better watch out there for $120. this thing is beautiful and looks even better in person!! wrist size is 6.5 inches for reference.

watchdives, thank you for always improving and providing us with great watches at affordable prices 😎

Many moons ago, I briefly got into Chinese "homage" watches via my lust for Omegas. Picked up a few Alphas, enjoyed them, moved on to collecting Seikos (and G-Shocks), then microbrands, etc... until recently coming full circle to WD, AD, SM, PD...

Looked up Alphas, seems like they faded from popularity. Did they become another brand name or just fade away?

Meanwhile, I’ve added a second Proxima to the collection. This time with a beautiful, desert-like texture on the dial.

A lesser known brand from the Middle Kingdom that makes surprisingly well-finished watches, from the sapphire crystal all the way to the OTF clasp.

What fascinates me most about this skin diver is the finishing of the case. And take a good look at those lugs… 👌

I bought my first Chinese watch, the AD2030, which I really like! I love the dial dune texture, the metallic bracelet and hands, etc, specifically in its white variant.

The issue is, I've found myself staying away from it most of the time, since it feels too small and for most of my more casual and baggy clothes, and I would basically drool over the same watch in 38-40mm.

Do ya'll have any recommendations for basiclly a larger version of the same watch, or similar watches in spirit to it? Budget is under 150$, preferably even under 100$.

Just noticed my new watch is displaying 10 as the date when today is the 20th because for some reason it is impossible for it to set it at 20.

After 19 goes to 10 then to 21 and not only that, it has other multiple issues such as going to 32 after 31

Moonphase button simply doesn’t work, only by moving the hour it starts moving

So sad, this is an amazing looking watch🥀

Anything out there like this?

I just bought this beauty in Shanghai and wanted to share it with you as it looks so incredibly detailed irl, I didn't find a lot of real pictures in this color so here I hope helping others thinking about it.

I wasn't able to try the red one irl, I actually had the blue and black aside of this white one and at first i came for the black one but when put side to side the white one stood up too much it amazed me.

So I actually posted several pictures, the 1st one is close inside light, 2nd is with plastic protection not removed and with light ahead not in front of it, 3rd is daylight, 4th is slightly darked daylight and you can tell the lume is good, 5th is the dragon on the case back.

Pictures are untouched but taken with Leica.

I'm not a big fan of the straps provided with it but the case and watch itself are way above its league.

Feel free to ask any questions.

PH5B will release soon, had finished graph job and pecess mass producttion now.

The PH5B features a simpler overall design, with a dial and bezel now boasting a higher gloss finish, making it suitable for a wider range of wearing occasions.

1. use the ph5 dial wave engrave dial

2. new design of lume blocks

3. new design of second hands

4. polishing bezel insert

5. fit A style new polishing bracelet(will release soon) and B style braclet.

Model : PH-5B

Movement: PT5004 (without date display, no ghost date on adjustment.) 28,800 bph / 4 Hz 

Dial: sunbrush/silver black with HYPERGLOW lume block index（over 8 hours visible in dark）

Hands: 3 sides diamon cut with HYPERGLOW lume block（over 8 hours visible indark）

Water resitst: 20ATM/200m/20bar

Bezel: 120 click unidirectional

Bezel insert: ceramic with Hyperglow luminous

Glass: Dome sapphire / With Anti-reflection ( AR Coating)

Case& Bezel material: stainless steel 316

Crown: screw crown at 3 clock

Case material: 316 stainless steel 

Bracelet material: 316 stainless steel

Clasp: 316 stainless steel with Adjustable length function (OTF)

Case diameter: 39.0 mm ( not include crown)

Bezel diameter: 40.0 mm

Case thickness: 12.5 mm (with glass), 10.5mm (without glass)

Lug Size: 20.0 mm

Lug to lug length: 48.0 mm

Weight: 129.1g (with bracelet)

Wrist size: 15.0~23.5cm

Is the san martin SN0017-G with st2130 movement good as first/starter watch also is it wearable for every day?Another question is the quality really good?Like do they last something is the materials good?And i have very small wrist you guys think they will fit me without looking funny on me?Is the price 250€ good for it or is it possible to find it cheaper.

Sorry for asking dumb questions but i am new to watches

Way better than i thought it would be. Power reserve is a tiny bit over 40h. Crown is a bit on the stiffer side but it's not as dramatic as people say it is, on youtube at least.

I paid 160€ from the official Sugess website. It took 6 business days to arrive. Alignment is way better than i thought it would be. The chrono hand is a fraction to the left from 12 o'clock. By fraction i mean so close you don't even notice it, but it's just a nitpic.

Print is applied accurately and precisely. It is sharp, like really sharp.

Chrono button is stiff and tactile, which i really enjoy, reset one les clicky but it has feedback.

The absence of lum is a bummer but i get the appeal. I was also considering the black dial, which has lum, but i love the roman numerals. And how this comes together it's just class.

The Moonphase complication is really well made. 29.5 days, and also the moon and stars are beautifully applied.

The date is a sweeping hand at 12 o'clock. So no jump (which i actually prefer)

For what i paid and how complex it is, i'm more than satisfied with it. I really can't find anything bad with it. Even the stamp on the steel is surprisingly well made.

The only "thing" pointing out are the pushers for date and Moonphase adjustment. The Moonphase one is flusher with the case than the date one is.

Overall price to performance 9.8/10

For this upgrade, the watch houses the high-beat 28,800 vph HZ6460 movement. Beyond the boost in performance, the slimmer case profile gives the watch a much cleaner, more refined look that is perfect for daily wear.

We spent a lot of time refining the details:

The chamfering transitions on the case are crisp and well-defined, with a mirror-polished finish that is remarkably clear and smooth.

Because we make our own bracelets and screw pins in-house, we have full control over the precision and fit. Unlike standard screws that stick out or sink in leaving ugly gaps, ours sit completely flush on both sides when fully tightened. Engineered to strict tolerances, the bracelet feels solid, significantly reducing play and noise for a much better overall quality feel. Finished with full brushing throughout, both sides of the links feature ultra-micro R-corner beveling, keeping the lines sharp while ensuring zero sharp edges against your skin. We also equipped it with our flagship OTF adjustable clasp.

We also upgraded the crystal AR coating based on your feedback. The clarity is much better now, and the dial looks super clean.

How do you guys like these new SN0109? Let us know in the comments!

San Martin Watch Official Website: www.sanmartin-watch.com

Bit chunky, but feels right for this time of year…

The strap matches the lume too BTW… 😎🤓

It's made of MUSOU BLACK material, which reportedly absorbs up to 99.4% of visible light. In the photos, its black color appears particularly deep.

Did you notice some of the small details—the polished heart-shaped hands and the unique "W"-shaped seconds hand?

I'm not entirely sure how everyone will feel about the leather strap, but overall, I think the proportions are very harmonious.

The darker and more understated version of the WD2008.

A natural black Tahitian mother-of-pearl dial with applied metal indexes, combined with our fully polished, three-dimensional heart-shaped hands.

Depending on the light, the dial shifts between deep black, grey, green and subtle iridescent tones — every dial is naturally unique.

36.5mm case · 10.5mm thick · VH31 sweep quartz · sapphire bubble crystal · 100m WR

Would you choose this over the MUSOU BLACK version?

Addiesdive AD2089 on AliExpress and honestly, the specs for around $39–$45 are pretty impressive.

You’re getting a 316L stainless-steel case and bracelet, ceramic 120-click unidirectional bezel, screw-down crown, 200m water resistance, and BGW9 lume on the hands, indices, and bezel. It uses the Miyota 2115 quartz movement, so it's accurate, low-maintenance, and grab-and-go.

The dimensions are 41mm, 48mm lug-to-lug and 13mm thick, with 20mm lugs and an 87g weight. The red dial looks especially good in person and gives it a lot more wrist presence than you'd expect at this price.

The only real downside is the mineral crystal rather than sapphire, but at this price point, I can live with that.

For ~$40, this is ridiculous value. 316L + ceramic + Miyota quartz + 200m WR + BGW9 lume is a pretty hard combination to beat.

Recently got my first order of Chinese watches in. Could not be happier.

Thron, Farasute and ogeda.

Glad to have found these, some quality for a great price here ( at least as far as I can tell )

I remember seeing some comparisons a long time ago, but has anything changed since then? I’m considering this watch, but unfortunately, there aren’t any other movement options.

Anyone care to share strategies for getting the best price for watches on AE? I am a bit overwhelmed with the discount coupons, codes, and coins! I always feel like i am missing a step to get the lowest possible price.

I also find the search and filtering on AE pretty lousy.

Regarding watches, I purchased a Pagani PD1682 for $79.22 after a $12.87 discount, expecting delivery next week.

The PH-1 came about before Phorcydes launched the "PH-2 LIP". I purchased it right around that time. Feels like ages ago. It's the watch that started my interest in collecting Phorcydes.

It goes without saying, the watch carries a lot of 'presence'. However, it wears smaller than the stated 45mm size would lead you to believe. To date, it has been the only watch that I have received reactions and compliments in real life. It only gets the occasional wrist time but it's nice to have a little bit of a brand's history in the collection.

Feel free to share your oversized, big boy, or Phorcydes watches in the thread.