IXDAO creates the only watches that make me want to take endless photos of them.
Here's a gif that highlights the dynamic nature of the dial. Paired with the best AR in the biz, this watch is taking over my phone storage hahaha
The meteorite dial is so dynamic!
IXDAO Space Warrior on my 6.25 inch wrist.
Merkur G.91 on my 6.25 inch wrist
My Seiko grail! There are really beautiful and intricate clocks around England and France that would look great on the wrist. I know a few brands are doing this, but it should be more common!
After trying on the reissue in 37mm, I still felt that the original 34.5mm fit my 6.25 inch wrist best.
The most uncommon design in my collection. The asymmetrical clam shell case, retrograde dial, and beautiful lugs makes this super special. It was a gift from a friend and worn on special occasions.
One of the designs that pioneered the use of titanium as a case material. I love the integrated bracelet and the simplicity of the dial with the golden accents throughout.
A 1990s reissue of the 1930s model but with a quartz movement. I love the interesting lugs, but it is 50mm lug to lug!
The color matched date wheel with the golden accents just make this such a well put together piece. Every detail seems intentional.
The IXDAO X02T was released in July 2023 and the Lorier Astra was released in November 2023. The lumed ring on both were a big draw for me to come to own both. And both have since been discontinued due to difficulty in sourcing enough parts (Lorier has stated the lumed ring being the most difficult aspect of the watch to produce).
I had difficulty deciding which one to wear today but ultimately chose the diver. Which one would you have chosen?
IXDAO X02T titanium diver on my 6.25 inch wrist today.
SH09 on mine today. My newest addition and currently the darling!
I've been meaning to compile a giant post of all the models of the most popular homages. The post kept getting pushed back because of the sheer size of it so I thought I'd start by just making a post for each homage. The goal of these posts is simply to be a record for reference for anyone interested. As such, please comment with your opinions to help future readers' decision-making.
SH SH09 - £155/$209
- Inky black dial
- Tasteful slightly yellow fauxtina (giving it great contrast against the dial)
- Great sharp printing on the dial
- Good AR
- Lowest rehaut of the 4
- Automatic PT5004 with smooth sweep and no ghost date
- Open caseback
- The cathedral hands are not 1 for 1 with the original
- The hands are a matte grey and will not reflect light
- Signed push/pull crown
- Lume is acceptable only
- Comes with bracelet
- Lug to lug 44.7mm
- 11mm thick
Militado ML08 £76/$103
- VH31 quartz movement
- Fauxtina is more orange than yellow
- Broad arrow logo (this is either a pro or con depending on your tastes)
- Unsigned screwdown crown
- Lume is acceptable only
- Comes with bracelet
- 10mm thick
- Lug to lug 44.4mm
- Terrible AR or none at all
Milifortic M059 - £160/$216
- Automatic ST2130 movement
- AR not as good as SH09
- Does not come with bracelet
- Deeper rehaut
- Good lume
- Unsigned screwdown crown
- 39mm case width versus 38mm for the other 4
- The 4 borrows from the Oris BCPD 4
- The Arabic font is different than the other 4
- Lug to lug 46.8mm
- 12mm thick (thickest of the 4)
Escapement Time £55/$74
- VH31 quartz movement
- Hands are painted white
- Hour hand is closer to the Oris BCPD than to the Hamilton Murph
- Deepest rehaut
- Most orange print
- Does not come with bracelet
- 11mm thick
- Lug to lug 47mm
- Cheapest option
Edit 1:
Specht & Sohne SP0034 £100/$135 (Not pictured)
- VH31 quartz movement
- Lug to Lug 45.8mm
- 8.8mm thick (maybe not including crystal height)
- Many unknowns as only just released at time of post
Edit 2:
Tandorio £67/$91 (Not pictured)
- VH31 quartz movement
- Titanium case
- 39mm case width
- 12mm thick
- Lug to lug 48.5mm (longest of the 5)
Edit 3:
Hestur RX8006 £144/$195
- Miyota 8215 automatic movement
- 12mm thick
- Lug to lug 46mm
- Comes with bracelet
- Date window option available
- Customizable dial
TLDR:
If automatic movement is a must, go with SH09.
If quartz is a must, go with ML08.
For lowest price, get the ML08 without bracelet.
For the best dial, go with SH09.
For the best AR, go with SH09.
For the best lume, go with M059.
For the shortest rehaut, go with SH09.
For the best fauxtina, go with SH09.
For the hands closest to the Murph, go with ML08.
For thinnest case, go with ML08.
SH09 on my 6.25 inch wrist!
I've been eyeing the rerelease of this model, but after trying them all on, the original 34.5mm case size still looked best (to me) on my 6.25 inch wrist!
The slight patina also makes it warmer and less flashy than the icy silver of the new L2.537.4.72.
I've been wearing this for the last couple of hours and this watch brings more joy than other watches that are many times its cost. Bravo Militado!
Just got it and am absolutely loving the size of this chrono! Correct me if I'm wrong, but at 36.5mm, it is the smallest chronograph available on Aliexpress.
It's unlikely we will see something as good as this again for a good while!
The Hamilton Wilshire Registered Edition was a rerelease in the 80s and 90s of their models from the 30s and 40s.
It's got very distinct lugs that are hinged as they are a drivers watch (I think). Interestingly, the lug design is also two tiered.
Can anyone enlighten me if the straps should go under (like pictured) or over?
For whatever reason, this Ming homage went under the radar for most (including me) upon release.
I recently saw it on my friend's wrist and it blew me away! The purple dial is so subtle that it's almost black in most lighting (which is exactly what I want).
There's this super premium feel when you handle it and wind it that is really hard to describe. The 80 hours power reserve is also something rarely seen amongst Chinese brands.
Some have mentioned that the lume is weak, but it's good enough for me as a dress watch. The lume design is also incredibly cool in the dark (very retro futuristic [oxymoron I know]).
Does anyone else here own one?
Edit: pictured on my 6.25 inch wrist
The 80s were the quartz crisis for Swiss brands. IWC, like others, were struggling, but found opportunity to partner with Porsche Design (by Ferdinand Alexander). They pioneered the use of Titanium in watches and had some interesting bracelet designs/mechanisms.
A lot of these bracelet mechanisms were innovative but eventually proved to be the first point of failure in the designs. The integrated pins often got stuck and became inaccessible. They moved from Version 1 to Version 2 until they finally just decided to not reinvent the wheel and just went back to friction pins in Version 3. Mine is Version 2 and they were a pain to adjust but finally got there in the end... (For many other owners, when they contact IWC to fix their integrated bracelets, IWC says that no extra parts remain and their suggestion is to swap out the entire case+bracelet!)
I love the simplicity of the watch with the golden flourishes that saves an otherwise boring design! It wears so light and so thin on the wrist and the darker tone makes it super stealthy.
32mm case (excluding crown) on my 6.25 inch wrists. (Why do we use mm for watch dimensions but inches for wrist sizes??)
This is a homage to Omega's Seamaster Professional (Peter Blake)!
Watchdives did it first, but has since sold out and never restocked. Watchdives' twist was that it used titanium for the case. But I was never attracted enough to this design to pull the trigger until Phorcydes released theirs.
Some thoughts after 1 week of daily wear:
Phorcydes' signature lume blocks are simply game-changing for dive watches. I want to see every iconic dive watch design with these lume blocks. And I can honestly say that I've been able to read the time at any hour of the day/night this whole week!
The retro yellow is super cool! It has enough vintage feel without crossing into pumpkin territory. It actually glows green but my phone's white balance overcorrected it to blue in the photo.
The lumed date window is also a great overkill in the lume department. There can never be too much lume hahaha
The sword hands (imho) is an upgrade from the skeleton hands. They look more classic, substantial, and proportional all at the same time.
The lollipop seconds hand is better sized for this 42mm watch than even the original. On the original, the lollipop is miniscule relative to the dial. On the PH-6, the lolipop orbits perfectly right up to the indices without overlapping it.
The red tipped seconds hand is a great match for the retro yellow and goes right up to the outer minute track.
The grey text is a great design choice and I much prefer it over the usual white. Your eyes are drawn firstly to the dial rather than the branding.
The stainless steel case makes this a hefty boy haha. When I tossed it to my friend, he remarked how heavy it was and that it must be expensive. (some equate density with luxury). He was shocked when I told him the sticker price! The stainless steel material also has the added bonus of being consistently textured unlike the titanium crowns and helium valves on the Watchdives.
The wave textured dial is really subtle and inconspicuous. (Interestingly, the wave dial on the PH-5 has a glossier effect and catches the light differently than the dial on the PH-6.)
The scalloped bezel makes this harder to use the bezel than other dive watches and my fidgeting with it is much less than I'd like. It's hard to fault Phorcydes for this though as this is the same design as the original.
I was worried that 42mm would be too big for my 6.25 inch wrist, but it actually wears beautifully! This being a dive watch, the dial makes this wear much smaller than the case size would indicate. (All photos taken at 4.5x zoom)
Phorcydes is basically my go-to brand right now. I'm collecting all the lume colors like they are Power Rangers. I've got blue, green, retro orange, retro yellow, and neon green already. A white lume block with a white glow would be the ultimate lume for me!
It's not a watch for everyone, but it is somehow so charming to me. I usually only wear it for special occasions, but today I'm visiting the friend that gifted it to me, and that is occasion enough!
This model was from the 80's but the art deco vibes are strong with this one.
The retrograde hands snap back to zero like old radio dials. It also reminds me of the floor indicator of grand elevators. The clamshell case shape with the stepped bezel that seamlessly wraps around and transitions into lugs are just a chefs' kiss.
Jean d'Eve is no longer producing watches, but I hope other brands would attempt to put out watches in this same vein. It's a shame that there are no modern equivalents available (Or is there? Please let me know if you can think of one!)
I do have more watches than these in my collection, but these 4 are considered as my core collection that I would never let go. I realize that I gravitate towards vintage quartz with gold accents and some levels of quirkiness. But I'm curious what others think about it!
Seiko 5P30-6150 (on brown ostrich leather)
My Seiko Grail! It was a collaboration with the Franklin Mint in 1987 and homages Big Ben (or more accurately, the Elizabeth Tower). There are many Seiko models that would be nice to have, but this was the only Seiko model that I HAD to have! I finally tracked a good example of it down recently and is the one that brings me the most joy when I have it on.
Jean d'Eve Sectora Retrograde (on green crocodile leather)
Featuring minute and hour hands that reset to zero, an asymmetrical clamshell case, and beautiful lugs, this is the one that I wear on special occasions.
Longines Conquest
My daily! Perfectly symmetrical with the Day window at the 12 and the Date window at the 6. I love the color matched day and date wheels with the dial/case and the golden accents/fonts throughout.
Tag Heuer 972.613 (Moondust)
This is the oldest watch in my collection overall as it was gifted to me by my cool uncle when I was a teenager! I wore it daily throughout high school and college and holds a special place in my heart despite my preference in watches changing throughout the years.
The blue Moondust dial paired with the uniform gold accents just makes this my favorite Tag! (Even the date wheel is golden or is just me?)
Tag Heuer was going through some changes during this period. The later models featured the red and green logo but I prefer this simpler logo.
At 37mm (including the crown) and only 8.5mm thick, it wears so well on my 6.25 inch wrist and slides underneath the cuff with ease.
Pic 1: Taken inside under warm lighting
Pic 2: Taken outdoors in the shade on a sunny day