u/leicfox85

Absolutely love my engineers, this one is my fav for sure.

Absolutely mental this one, one of the best for sure. Looks great on both the supplied bracelet and straps, personally think the watch head pops even better on a strap. For those interested, this is a Maikes “Rolex” strap with curved ends, croc style. Maikes produce quality leather straps, at an affordable price.

This landed this morning - having owned the larger version (silver dial/case) I knew this one would be a hit. 36mm, titanium nitrate gold PVD hardened, giving it a slightly duller gold look to fit the vintage vibe. I must emphasise this is extremely well done.

Stock strap isn’t that great but I always planned on putting aftermarket on - so bought a few 18mm straps at the same time, this being the pick of the bunch.

It was a really tough choice to pick which dial to go for, I knew I preferred the arrowhead indices over the thinner baton style on the S4107 as I had the larger version before. Really pleased with my choice of Gold, I felt the gold complemented the style of watch the most out of all the options.

The dial is now completely brushed with a sunray effect, and actually it’s more champagne gold than I thought it would be which is a very welcome bonus.

Really tough to get pictures of the dial as it just washes everything out unfortunately and I’m not a pro photographer 😆

The crystal is what you expect from Baltany absolutely phenomenal, proper clear with a lovely box dome enhancing the vibe further. Same quality as the previous version.

I thought the gap at 3 where the date is would bug me but actually it doesn’t at all, not noticeable when looking down on wrist and I know one of the OG refs had this exact layout too.

All in all an absolute steal especially when I get my cashback from TCB!

That’s me done now. With the Erebus Ascent HAQ and Ginault Expeditioner landing in the last two weeks, my collection is complete (25 in total)!

Last new arrival until next year!

I swear.

Got my Ascent HAQ pre order from Dec last year delivered earlier this week. One word - Amazed.

This has everything I love in a watch with the added bonus of it being a HAQ in a collection of more than 20 mechanicals.

The case design and finishing is superb. The broad mirror polished flanks combined with the female end links make the watch wear smaller than the 39 it measures. It’s just comfortable on the wrist.

The hands are frickin amazing considering the price. The j style bracelet is very comfy and in my opinion suits this watch style better than the O. It has a smaller OTF clasp which gives the best of both worlds too.

An added bonus is that the seconds hand hits each marker about 75% of the time, which I’m more than happy with.

The colour?! Impressed more than I hoped.. I love it. In lower lighting it’s not as potent, but it certainly achieves its hot pink look when the light increases. For ~ £300 I’m very impressed, and yes whilst it is made in China I don’t give a fuck. Happy to pay the extra to a “microbrand” than a factory brand (I have those too).

This was my first Erebus, and probably my only one as nothing else really interests me from their designs, but this one for sure is a keeper. Well done Jody and team.

As my Chinese collection has reduced significantly, since the start of the year, I’ve only got a handful to select from but they’re all belters. Two of which are banned from the group which is a shame. Having splurged on the Baltany pie pan yesterday, it got me in the mood for one of the best. So what’s on your wrist today?

I’ve swapped out the bracelet for two different styles of FKM (both orange) but I think this one with the curved strap just hits the mark better than anything else. Movement running well at +4spd, I filed the crown down gently so no more discomfort and this reduced case thickness is making it a joy to wear.

I saw Matt from Beaucroft wearing his sunset orange on a white FKM a few weeks back, so I decided to switch things up a bit myself.

Put my CW Aquaflex White strap on it, and I’m very impressed with the look!

Received my PH4B yesterday, placed order on 24th April, only after getting confirmation from their sales team that the clasp would be signed. My package was picked up on 13th May.

Many of you will have seen the updates from their rep over the last week or so, so I was hoping I would be one of the luckier few who received the upgraded bracelet as well as the signed clasp I was expecting as described.

I was fortunate..

Initial impressions are that it is well built and finished. The bracelet is smooth all over no sharp edges anywhere on the links (I know the previous version had sharp edges hence the upgrade). The screws were fine too, well machined, and the screw driver provided fitted my screws (although I used my own for comfort).

The watch sits low on the wrist which is both good and bad.. I’ll explain later. The thickness has of course been reduced, and the overall look is excellent. They’ve used a really nice double domed sapphire crystal which just adds to the retro vibes.

My bezel is pretty much perfectly aligned as far as I can tell, so I was pleased with that, the action is pretty good too, one of the better ones I’ve had from China. The clasp is well finished, signed, and each side is nicely bevelled with a polished chamfer. The movement is running well , after almost 24hrs it’s +4s. I’m happy with that.

Gripes:

The crown - Although mine is signed (lucked out again) it looks like they’ve not accounted for the reduced case thickness and how low this sits on the wrist. The crown has given me some discomfort, due to the grippy nature of it, and the finish. This morning I’ve used a nail file to soften the contact points. It feels better already, though I might have another go later. On my FKM strap the watch head doesn’t sit as close to the arm so it wasn’t as noticeable.

The end links - no idea what they’re doing but I know from seeing the NH versions the end links sat flush against the end of the lugs. On mine (and others with the ST movement but v1 bracelet) the end links protrude at an angle. It’s not a huge issue but it seems this and the crown is an oversight on Phorcydes part.

The lume - I knew everyone raved about the lume, but honestly, I’m a bit underwhelmed. Maybe my expectations were too high. I chose to go with the green lume as I felt the daylight tinge of green on the markers would add to the look of this retro styled diver.

The initial brightness intensity is awesome. No doubt. However, within 15 mins it dies down, making it not very noticeable in a dimly lit setting. I should caveat, in a dark room it’s still very much visible. If you’re looking for the potency, go for blue. My Englemaan Wraith UTC (sold) with printed markers had just as good lume using similar if not the same hyperglow tech, that was blue.

Overall for £150 it’s good value for sure, and I’ll be using this as my holiday beater 🏖️

Picked this one up in the March sale recently, my 4th and best San Martin purchase. I only have this one in my collection as sold/gifted the others (Sub, SN0116 Root Beer GMT, SN0144 original JianZhan in blue) and don’t intend to add any others really.

Smooth all over, the finishing is as you’d expect from SM, and runs less than 1s per day. Was torn between this and the blue dial, I think I’d have been happy with either really.

Been a week now, gained 10s (with two days sat in my watch box) where typically my watches gain lots of time and looks great on a range of straps. Looks beautiful, feels beautiful, and makes the wearer just marvel at it. All for $500.

Posting some pictures from yesterday where I had an office visit, so decided to put it on the dressier croc style strap.

Bonus pics for today’s wrist shots.

Enjoy.

Been a few days so why not 🤣

Bought a bunch of new straps from WatchGecko, a few different options for this beauty now.

This one is a beautiful, soft and supple Tuscan leather, “Bordeaux”, which I feel complements the dial very well.

I repeat this one most certainly is an incredible watch for the money. It was still ticking away after more than 48 hours of not wearing it, which is an added bonus.

Holding its own amongst my other chronos.

I noticed there was a drop at the weekend, and most were sold out shortly after the drop, it’s a shame but there’s not much that anyone can do.

I got mine in November’s drop, they stayed in stock longer on that occasion it seems. Decided to give it some wrist time today, it’s been a couple of weeks since I last wore it.

A simple, well built and finished watch, keeping good time out of the box, worn as part of a larger rotation.

Still looks like new thanks to the hardening treatment all over too which is a bonus.

Absolutely certain this is the real deal. Just over 48hrs since I set it to the atomic clock, and currently 1s ahead.

This thing is just gorgeous, and as another Redditor commented, it has no right to be this good!!

I put a top grain rally strap on my Lorier Olympia earlier, someone asked how I’d compare it with that - easy, finishing and looks wise it’s as good if not better.

The movement is obviously different, and I hope it lasts well for me. I love the Hesalite crystal on the Lorier which adds plenty to the look and feel of the watch, I actually wish Farasute did the same here - that would be killer.

Also, I’ve not mentioned this before but the rehaut on the Trackmaster is incredibly thin, just as the whole watch is for what it is. This just adds to the premium feel of the whole package. This is where it beats the Lorier, obviously (albeit the Lorier also wears very well especially this series 2).

I promise no more posts, just the occasional picture 😍

Enjoy.

I know it’s prime honeymoon time, but this thing is just crazy good.

I’d decided before ordering the watch I’d like to wear this mostly on a leather strap, so decided thanks to some good recommendations on the croc style from Maikes. I know their quality is up there, having had the blue full grain on my Lorier Olympia.

This morning I’d spent some time sorting out straps, and trying some of my new ones on this. This looks the best on the dark brown Maikes for sure. The others are real cheap and came well recommended by some helpful Redditors (Wine Red and Red/Brown)

As for the watch, the chrono works brilliantly, the movements running very well. It’s been more than 24hrs and it’s running spot on. It gained just over 2secs overnight resting 9 side. Before putting it down for the night I was just under 2s slow. Therefore back to atomic clock.

The dial really is the star of the show, I love the sub dials, they draw you in like nothing I’ve seen before at this level. The markers are small but well finished, a chiselled end that’s high polish which captures the light beautifully.

I was a bit worried about legibility with this dial and handset, but no concerns here.

For all those that commented/upvoted on my previous post, thank you, and here’s some pics on leather 😍

Oh and a couple bonus pics showcasing my new blue Maikes strap on my Smiths Transglobal 😍

Wow.

Simply wow.

Nothing less.

Oh my good lord.

PHENOMENAL.

Just received a couple of hours ago. This is punching well above the price point. As an owner of a Longines auto chrono and Lorier Olympia 2 chrono, I can already tell you this one is fantastic considering the price.

Early thoughts, I absolutely made the right choice for the dial option. Those sub dials are just gorgeous. The dial changes from black to brown effortlessly. This fills the reverse panda void I had perfectly but with a twist. And I fucking love the twist.

Will share more thoughts in a few days, when I’ve also swapped the bracelet out for the strap I bought specifically for this.

Had my strap haul the other day. I bought this brown Maikes leather strap and the blue one as well as some others. Thank you to u/D1sguise for the recommendation and friendly private chats.

This one is primarily for my newest arrival which should get to me tomorrow, but for now I thought I’d wear it in on the Thorn (hence a bit tight) so it’s primed for the new piece.

I’ve had my Thorn on the Hemsut Horween strap for months, and I love it on that.

This dresses it up a little, another good option.

The beautiful IXDAO with SW200 for me. Runs super accurate, in fact less than 1spd fast.

I did think about moving this one on as it doesn’t get much wrist time because of my collection size and it evolving. However, each time I put it on, I’m reminded of how much I like it!

With a dual purpose bezel (tracking my parents who are on holiday in Bali) which is useful, and a diver look that can be used in smart settings, and beautiful execution all over, what’s not to like! Win win.

Couldn’t add pictures to my previous post, so here’s some pics..

Don’t wear this one as much - got it last year. I have a large collection of what I consider quality pieces, even though I sold more than 20 pieces since Jan!

Added a half link in this morning to get a better fit since we’re out of the UK winter. It’s been really nice here the last few days. Love it.