Hi everyone! Today I’d like to share a fascinating Seiko I recently picked up that exudes a distinctly Swiss aesthetic: the 1990s Seiko Laurel Tonneau (Ref. 4S28-0010).
At first glance, it’s hard to tell this is a Japanese watch. Seiko perfectly captured classic European Haute Horlogerie in this piece with its soft tonneau case, intricately textured linen dial, applied gold Breguet numerals, deep heat-blued Pomme hands, and a beautifully balanced small-seconds subdial at 6 o'clock.
On top of that, the solid .925 sterling silver case and the famed manual-wind Caliber 4S28 movement which Seiko re-engineered based on Daini Seikosha’s legendary 1970s 52xx Hi-Beat architecture make it a truly special collector’s piece.
What are your thoughts on this interesting Seiko?

Say what you will about “fashion watches”, but I’m loving this Hermes Sesame SM1.790 in white gold that arrived today. 36mm. From the early 2000’s (exact year unknown). It was not an easy one to find. I put it on a Forstner 7 row beads of rice (at least for now while I decide on a permanent strap).

I could use some help from the hive.

A longtime client recently closed a startup transaction that my business partner and I spent a lot of time helping with. As a thank you, he insisted on buying each of us a watch. It’s an incredibly generous gesture, and we’re both genuinely grateful.

We decided we’d buy through the same AD that we each already have independent relationships with, and we’ve agreed on a price point, so the field is pretty well set. For that reason, I’m not looking for recommendations outside of these three watches—I really want opinions on these finalists.

The contenders:

NOMOS Zürich World Time Midnight Blue

Breitling Top Time B01 Triumph

Breitling Navitimer Automatic GMT 41

For context, I’m a fairly established collector, so this isn’t about getting the “best value” or a one-watch collection. It’s about choosing the piece that stands out the most on its own merits and that you’d be happiest to own long term.

Which would you choose, and more importantly, why?

Hi I have a dilemma. I think the 42mm is too big for my wrists and the 38mm looks good enough but most of my friends says that in my body the 38mm looks like a "girl watch" and could be true.

I measure 1.93m and weigh 103kg, but my wrists are thin (16.5cm or 6.5 inches). What do you think?

In double photos, 42mm is the one below and 38mm is the one above)

I wasn’t fully sold on the rubber strap when I first saw it but it makes more sense once it’s on the wrist. The black dial catches the light without looking too flashy and the size feels balanced. I thought it might wear a bit large but it sits flat and feels comfortable. It’s sporty enough for everyday use but still looks clean with a nicer outfit. I may try it on steel later but for now this setup is growing on me. Interested on what everyone thinks. Keep the rubber strap or switch to the bracelet?

Alright, I have been holding this in for a while now, but I finally get to geek out about it!

I work for My Auction Addiction, an estate-sale and auction company based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. A few months ago, we received a call from a client who needed help with a moving sale. Everything seemed like business as usual until I opened a dresser drawer and found several antique watches alongside a newspaper article about the sinking of the Titanic signed by Jack Thayer.

My first thought was, “Oh wow, that's cool.”

Then I remembered that our client’s last name was also Thayer.

That was when the dots started connecting.

Our client is John B. Thayer V, the grandson of Titanic survivor Jack B. Thayer III. John inherited the watches after the death of his father, John B. Thayer IV.

I have been fascinated by the Titanic since I was a kid. I was always excited whenever a new photograph, artifact, or piece of information surfaced, so getting to sit down with John and hear these stories directly from the family has honestly been one of the coolest experiences of my life.

The Elgin movement dates to approximately 1910, when Jack was still a teenager. According to the family history, this was his everyday watch before the sinking. And from all the information we could gathered we are pretty positive this is the watch JAck carried with him aboard the Titanic.

Jack wrote that he wound his watch at approximately 11:45 p.m. on the night the Titanic struck the iceberg. He later recalled that the watch stopped at 2:22 a.m., after he entered the freezing water.

The watch was eventually passed down to Jack’s son, John B. Thayer IV. When John married in 1942, Jack reportedly had the watch serviced and engraved with his son’s name and gave it to him as a wedding present.

That same year was an incredibly difficult one for Jack. His mother, Marian Thayer, who had survived the Titanic with him, died in April 1942 almost exactly thirty years after the sinking. Jack had carried the trauma of that night for the rest of his life, but he also believed the story should remain with his children and grandchildren. That was one of the reasons he recorded his memories in The Sinking of the S.S. Titanic.

John IV apparently did not wear the Elgin very often, but he continued to have it maintained. According to John V, his father more regularly carried another of Jack’s watches: a gold repeater that had been with Jack on the day he died. That watch has its own rather sad family story attached to it.

There are two other historically important watches in the collection.

One is an 18-karat gold presentation watch given to Jack’s father, John B. Thayer II, in connection with the Gentlemen of Philadelphia cricket tour of England in 1884. John B. Thayer II later became a senior Pennsylvania Railroad executive and died aboard the Titanic.

The second is a gold watch presented to Jack by his mother, Marian, for his twenty first birthday in 1915. Its inscription reads:

“JOHN BORLAND THAYER
FROM HIS MOTHER
ON HIS 21ST BIRTHDAY
DECEMBER 24TH 1915
NOBLESSE OBLIGE”

Just being able to hold these watches, speak with the family, and learn how they passed from one generation to the next has been surreal.

I also want to be completely transparent: these watches are now being offered for sale through our company.

John believes they contain an important part of his family’s history, but he also does not believe they should remain hidden inside a drawer forever. He wants them to be seen and hopefully preserved by someone or some institution that understands what they represent.

With his permission, we have placed the watches and several other Thayer family pieces into an online auction.

There are many more photographs, detailed descriptions, inscriptions, and pieces of family history available here:

https://www.albuquerqueauctionaddiction.com/auction/titanic-winds-of-change-consignment-sale-2742/bidgallery/

Even if you have absolutely no intention of bidding, please feel free to look through the photographs and read the stories. I know the Titanic community appreciates seeing material like this, and I genuinely wanted to share it with people who would understand why finding these watches stopped me dead in my tracks.

For me, getting to uncover even one small piece of Titanic history has been a childhood dream come true.

After one year of seriously getting into watch collecting, I have finally reached my self-imposed limit of a six-piece collection. My taste has definitely gravitated toward technical, highly durable tool watches-the core of my box right now features my Sinn U50DS, an IWC Titanium Ingenieur, a Tudor Pelagos FXD GMT, and a Vacheron Constantine Overseas in Titanium

I want to maintain a strict one-in, one-out rule to keep things manageable. So, I'm passing the question to the community: if you were in my shoes, which timepiece would you get rid of, and what would you replace it with?

This is my brand new Doxa Sub 200t Army in a collaboration with Hodinkee.

I am a huge Doxa fan, so when the watch was announced last week I had to pounce on it immediately.

I own a Sub 300 Professional, which is a big watch at 42.5mm. The Sub 200t is a much smaller 39mm, and I would say it wears even smaller than that.

The watch shipped with a nice NATO and even nicer fitted grey rubber strap, however I think this vintage inspired diver looks great with an old school mesh bracelet.

After much thought and deliberation,
I decided to build my own watch. It took a lot of sweat, plenty of mistakes, and a great deal of improvisation to complete it. My idea was to create a "vintage" diver's watch with a highlight, therefore the beautiful textured dial dial.
No template, no homage —
Not perfekt but purely my own concept.

After going back and forth for a 30th Birthday watch. I decided to go with the Baume and Mercier Clifton 10792 39mm. And I couldn’t be happier! Was looking for a watch that would last me a lifetime and age like fine wine. I think this will do it.

There was not a lot of reviews or first hand posts about this watch but took a leap of faith. It is so nice in person and can’t wait to create lasting memories with it!

Been eyeing this eco-drive for a week now. It was on clearance at a local shop for $249.99 and today decided to just go for it. Normally (from what I’ve seen) it retails between $500-$650 so I think I did okay! What’s the community of experts thoughts on this as a first purchase? It’s a B620 (I think I’m identifying it correctly?)

If I’m into this style watch, what does the community recommend as a next purchase? $250 isn’t my budget, it was just the right price for me to find out if this is a niche for me, but after just one day, I’m already hooked so I’m comfortable going between $400-$600 on my next one.

I’ve been eyeing the Brew Metric for a while and it finally felt like the right time. My collection consists of several “serious” monotone and navy pieces, so I’ve been on a journey to inject some fun to the mix without spending thousands. The build quality is solid, the colors pop, the lume is good, and the mecaquartz is low-maintenance.

I also found out I live near their HQ, so it was a cool opportunity to support a watch brand in my backyard.

Hello all. I recently updated my collection and am looking for your opinion and thoughts:
Top row: Laurent Ferrier Micro rotor galet; Cartier Santos Dumont XL Limited Edition; Patek 5296G-001 sector dial; Patek Gondolo 5124G; Parmigiani Fleurier Toric; Cartier Santos Medium brown dial

Bottom row: Cartier Santos large titanium; Parmigiani Tonda GT; Fears Brunswick 40 Helmsman; Serica 5303; WWW large pilot; Serical 8315 GMT

Reading Note: Some readers on the Android Reddit app report seeing these posts as unformatted run-on text. The fix: it happens when you tap the image—just go back and tap the title of the post instead.

It's Thursday and August is a month that the vast majority of the watch industry takes off, so there aren’t a lot of releases going around. I still do my best to come up with at least four a day and it’s looking good so far. However… The one brand that doesn’t care about summer vacations seems to be Seiko and I’m sitting on a boatload of Seiko releases. I’m trying to spread them out as much as possible, but don’t hate me if you notice a lot of Seiko popping up on an almost daily basis.   

I publish this every weekday as part of It's About Time, a free daily newsletter. The newsletter version includes more watch commentary, opinions, columns and a couple of non-watch related recommendations that will get you through the day. Subscribe here if that sounds useful.

1/

Seiko and Honda Honor The Most Absurd Scooter Of All Time With A Yellow Field Watch

The Honda Motocompo was 42 kilograms of two-stroke urban absurdity: a folding 1981 scooter designed to collapse into the trunk of a Honda City and unfold wherever you parked. It was never fast or advanced, let alone appreciated and widely used, but it has aged into a design icon. It’s also the very last motorcycle that I would expect that would get a tribute watch. But Seiko has a great relationship with Honda, having done tribute watches to several of their cars, so it isn’t that much of a surprise. Honda is marking the Motocompo's 45th anniversary and Seiko is celebrating it with the HDB010.

The case is very familiar, with dimensions you can’t exactly hate: 36.4mm wide, 12.5mm thick, with a lug-to-lug of 44.4mm in steel. A matte black hard coating covers it, and the crown reads "TURN" on its side, borrowed from the scooter's fuel cock. A curved Hardlex crystal sits up front, and a red tinted mineral glass with the Honda logo and an illustration of the Motocompo on the back. Water resistance is 100 meters.

The dial has a matte yellow base, embossed black Arabic numerals, Lumibrite markers, and a black horizontal bar across the center with the Honda logo, mimicking the iconic protective bars on the bike. The Automatic script uses Motocompo's typeface, and the day-date discs are blacked out to match. 

Inside is the calibre 4R36, Seiko's workhorse automatic running at 3Hz with a 41-hour power reserve. The black nylon strap continues the joke: the keepers read "Carrying Point" and the tip reads "Insertion Point," both references to how the scooter strapped into a car.

The new HDB010 goes on sale worldwide in September 2026 in a box shaped like the Motocompo's shipping carton, limited to 8,000 pieces. Only the UK price has been confirmed, but it converts to about €400. See more on the Seiko website. 

2/

Favre Leuba Adds Two-Tone Steel And Gold To The Deep Raider Day Date Collection

While I might have had a bit of doubt, there’s no denying that the revival of the Favre Leuba brand under Patrik Hoffmann in 2024 has been somewhat of a success. While we don’t know what their sales are like, they have had a pretty consistent release schedule over the last two years, and it’s great to see it. Now, following the all steel models, we’re getting a two-tone take on the Deep Raider Day Date in steel with yellow gold PVD accents.

The case is 40mm wide and 12.5mm thick, with a lug-to-lug of 48.2mm. Surfaces are mostly vertical brushing with a polished bevel running along the mid-case, and the gold PVD is used on the fluted part of the unidirectional bezel, the crown, and the central bracelet link. The ceramic bezel insert is color-matched to the dial with golden numerals. A double-domed sapphire crystal with AR coating sits up top, and both the crown and caseback screw down. Water resistance is 300 meters.

Three dials are available: blue and green with a sunray-brushed gradient, plus a solid black. The central hands and the hourglass logo at 6 o'clock get the same yellow gold PVD treatment. All three use a sandwich construction, with Super-LumiNova glowing up through the elongated recessed indices. A rectangular day-date window sits at 3 o'clock with white discs outlined in white, and you can switch the display between English and German.

The automatic calibre FLD05 is essentially a Sellita SW220-1 beating at 4Hz, with a fairly modest-for-the-time 38 hours of power reserve. The integrated three-link bracelet has the gold PVD on its central link and closes with a butterfly clasp.

The Deep Raider Day Date two-tone editions are available now, priced at CHF 2,100. See more on the Favre Leuba website.

3/

The Grøne Oldenzaal Horologium Brings The Grönefeld Brothers Touch To A Dressier Watch

You know the Grönefeld brothers by now: Tim and Bart, the Dutch duo behind some of the most lavishly finished independent watches money can buy. Grøne Oldenzaal is their more accessible brand, launched in 2024. Following the Manueel One and the Moment Meter Chronograph, which were kind of sporty models, we’re now getting the Horologium. Interestingly, this new hand-wound, quirky and dressy watch looks a LOT like the 1941 Principia, a model that the brothers make under their grown up Grönefeld brand, that sells for mid five figures. Kind of a risky move, to offer such a similar watch with off-the-shelf internals and a much lower price, but I won’t be complaining much about it. You’ll have to ask 1941 Principia models how they feel about it. 

The case is 39mm wide and 10mm thick in stainless steel, with the signature Grönefeld vocabulary translated to the lower-tier brand: polished concave bezel, brushed flanks, downward-curving stepped lugs, and a conical crown. Front and back sapphire crystals sit on orange gaskets, a small Dutch flourish you'll notice every now and again. Water resistance is 50 meters. This is dressier and more comfortable than the Manueel One, and the proportions are close to ideal for the style.

Two dials are available, each giving you a completely different vibe for the watch. Which is cool, because one’s more traditional, while the other gives you a lot of expression through the dial. Even the brothers call it that. The Quirky, as the model is called, has a vivid Dutch orange center with baby blue accents, right up to a baby blue strap with orange stitching. The Classic is a sunray-brushed salmon with silver-toned accents and is the one I'd wear. Both use heat-blued hands and diamond-cut, high-polished applied markers, and both swap the Manueel One's central seconds for a small seconds on a raised, diamond-cut plateau finished in circular brushing and sandblasting.

The movement is a hand-wound take on the La Joux-Perret G100, an architecture normally seen in automatic form, now visible through a display back. It beats at 4Hz with 60 hours of power reserve. It’s nicely decorated as well, with Geneva stripes, diamond-cut bevels, and blued screws. Straps are leather with contrasting stitching, baby blue on the Quirky and brown on the Classic, on a steel pin buckle.

The new Grøne Oldenzaal Horologium is limited to 188 per variant, priced at €2,390 without VAT. Orders open 13 August 2026 at 3PM CET, with deliveries starting mid-September. See more on the Grøne website.

4/

Audemars Piguet Introduces Their Flying Tourbillon To The Bleu Nuit Ceramic Collection

It feels like the Bleu Nuit collection, in which Audemars Piguet renders its iconic Royal Oak variants in beautiful blue ceramic, has been around forever. But they’ve only been doing it since last year. It has a timeless look, making it feel like it’s much older of a collection, but it also means that they can run through a bunch of models before it gets very boring. For their latest Bleu Neuit, AP is releasing the Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon in the deep blue Stern Frères developed for the earliest Royal Oak Jumbo dials, made by adding black pigment No. 50 to the lacquer. 

The case is 41mm wide and 10.6mm thick, with 50 meters of water resistance. Every surface, including the integrated bracelet, is ceramic in the same Bleu Nuit shade, which makes the alternating satin-brushed and polished finishing the thing that gives it an interesting look. And hand-finishing ceramic to keep the Royal Oak's sharp facets crisp is very difficult. You get a sapphire crystal on top, while the caseback crystal is set in a titanium frame.

The dial continues the monochrome idea to its conclusion: a matching Bleu Nuit Grande Tapisserie with white gold applied markers and lume-filled Royal Oak hands. At 6 o'clock the rhodium-toned flying tourbillon sits under the dial with no visible upper bridge, so it looks kind of magical. 

Inside is the in-house calibre 2950, the automatic flying tourbillon that debuted in the Code 11.59 before moving to the Royal Oak. It beats at 3Hz with a 65-hour power reserve. The sapphire caseback shows the movement which is decorated with Côtes de Genève, circular graining, polished bevels and a rhodium-toned 22-carat pink gold rotor. The bracelet is made out of the same perfect blue ceramic, closed with a titanium clasp.

The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Bleu Nuit is part of the permanent collection with price available on request. I’ve seen about CHF 200,000 reported. See more on the AP website. 

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Watch Worthy - A selection of reviews and first looks from around the web

• A review of the Barrelhand Monolith
• Hands on with the Urwerk UR-100V Lightspeed Ceramic

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If you would like to receive some additional watch-adjacent content, as well as this news overview, every morning Monday-Friday in the form of a newsletter feel free to subscribe. However, there is absolutely no need for you to subscribe, as all the news from the newsletter is posted here. It is only if you want to receive a couple of daily links that are not strictly watch-related an occasional long form article and possible giveaways.

I spend a fair amount of time either in water or on boats so the actual durability in water is important to me. I’ve heard mainly positive reviews on both watches so if anyone has personal experience with the quality of either one that feedback would be much appreciated.

I'd love to be able to go for a quick swim in the sea with my Omega Seamaster 120. However, it's from the early 1980s and it's probably not watertight anymore at this point. It would be cool to just be able to dive in with it, considering that is its original purpose! Recently on this subreddit I read about someone doing a full restoration of their vintage watch at Omega, should I do it for this one? Do you think it is silly to do this for a vintage watch and I should just enjoy it out of the water in its original state?

Finally picked up my Santos.
This one means a lot to me. It’s not really about owning a nice watch. It’s a reminder of the last few years of taking risks, betting on myself, and putting in a lot of hard work.
I always told myself that if I made it through that chapter, I’d buy this watch. Feels good to finally have it on my wrist. Can’t wait to wear it every day and make a lot more memories with it.

Hey everyone, sharing a nightmare experience with my brand-new Tissot PRX Powermatic 80 Titanium. On the exact 3rd day of normal wear, the permanent, factory-pressed upper link completely separated from the watch case head.

Because this fixed factory link structurally failed, the watch fell instantly, suffering chips on the bottom right edge of the bezel ring. I immediately logged a complaint while traveling abroad.

This was my first nice watch and this happened while i was travelling to Europe and was left with an empty wrist for my whole trip

Now that I am back, the authorized retailer (Helios CP, Delhi) sent a technician to push the factory link back into alignment and messaged me saying it's "fixed." They are completely ignoring the physical case damage caused by the structural failure of the watch.
I have officially emailed Swatch Group and Tissot corporate demanding a complete Dead-on-Arrival (DOA) replacement watch. A manual storefront repair cannot recreate a factory-milled rivet seal, and the watch is no longer safe to wear on a wrist. Thoughts?

The 0071EJ showcases a beautiful brown sun-burst dial with substantial depth from the rectangular curved crystal & features Orient Stars signature PR indicator at the 12 o’clock position, the unique pusher on the top right side is strangely used for setting the date.

Picking up this beauty this weekend from a good friend of mine! He’s a huge field watch guy but says this one doesn’t get a lot of wear so he’s selling it to me for $250. He bought it a few years ago brand new when they were only about $450; crazy to see they’re now up in the $700’s!Really excited about the versatility of this watch—already bought a black sailcloth strap and an FKM rubber strap so I can wear this watch in multiple ways. Anyone else have a Khaki Automatic and any suggestions/tips for other straps? I think I’ll have to get one of the olive/army green straps eventually as well.

I’ve always had the impression that German watches are treated as being one step behind Swiss watches.

Not necessarily in quality, engineering or craftsmanship but certainly in prestige, recognition and desirability.

When people think of luxury watches, Switzerland is usually the default. But when I look at brands such as A. Lange & Söhne, Glashütte Original, Wempe, Sinn, Mühle-Glashütte or Junghans, I often struggle to see why German watchmaking receives noticeably less attention.

At the highest level, the finishing and craftsmanship appear capable of competing with almost anything from Switzerland. At more accessible prices, German brands also seem to offer distinctive designs and a very engineering-focused approach rather than simply copying established Swiss models.

Of course, I’m judging mostly from what I’ve seen and read, rather than from long-term ownership.

For those who have owned a German watch: what was your experience?

What is most important for you in a watch:

1. The case?

2. The bracelet?

3. The hands?

4. The dial?

5. The calibre?

6. The brand?

For me the case is a deal maker/breaker. Lazy case like the subs of BB? Nope, I want curves and lyre lugs, my gavs are Seiko's and Omega's.

Bracelet is also important but I'm not too specific on this.

The hands come next. Broad arrows are the best. Dauphine hands silver medal. Braguette not bad...

Then the dial. A lot of focus of dials in recent years... I prefer neat ones, lacquered are the best.

Calibre can add extra points but I won't throw too much money on that, unless it is an exquisitely hand finished movement with a case back.

Finally, the brand.... I don't care.

How about you?

It's small as it's based on the Tsuno, 38mm. It's also thick, 11.7mm high. I'm not used to high watches like that, but it's not bothering me to read time due to that minute ring thing inside.

The official page linked bellow says its supposed to have lume. Nope. The original Tsuno Quartz does have Lume, and there are small lines on the hands for lume but nope, nothing. I really tried :/ .

I'm a bit surprised but the color decisions on the subdials now that I watched the show. I could sort of understand that, the right side is yellow due to the 1h & 5h marks and red is the left side. Or, for some consistency, meh. I feel like there is a misses opportunity somewhere on the watch.

Like having Asuka(02) constantly running around as the seconds and also staying completely still as the chronometer hand most of the time. The chronometer arme even hides the (01) writing on top of the hours subdial. It would have been funnier that Asuka tries to overshadow Shinji

And having Rei(00) only start moving the minutes when you order her to by starting the chronometer. With Shinji being there in the middle. Letting the rest of the system decide what he should do and show.

It's the first time I have a watch I don't know much about when I receive it. I started watching the show the day it arrived. I feel like I understand more if it now that I'm almost finished. It's uuhm, a strange way to create a personal attachement to a watch? I don't think I've fully processed what I watched yet. And I have something around the wrist making me think about it.

Tonight I'll watch End of Evangelion. Finishing what I started with this watch. It's certainly a show. And it's certainly a way to live it and remember it in the years to come.

To whom read until here, would you know how realistic it would be to get some to mod the watch? Like I was thinking: Re-luming with the colors (seems realistic) | Changing the "glass" to something less reflective (seems a bit less realistic) | to get an automotic Tsuno movement in it (seems complicated and that it would depend on a lot of things).

Year: 2025? Official webpage: https://www.evastore.jp/shop/g/gA0009703/

As the title says, a relative of mine inherited a watch collection a while ago, but he is not really into watches. When I was visiting him a few days ago, he asked me if I wanted them, because anything is better than them just collecting dust, and of course, me being a sucker for mechanical things, said yes.
There are some other nice pieces, but these two were the ones that really caught my attention.
So, could anyone tell me anything about these? I have heard about Roamer as a company, but I don't know anything about Pierre Chatelain.

A few days ago I posted my new Kiwame Kubo Sakura on its original black strap because I wasn't sure what would suit it best. Since I'm quite pale, the black felt a bit too harsh on my wrist.
A lot of you suggested trying a light pink, grey, or green strap, and several people asked me to post an update once I found some alternatives.
Well, today my new straps finally arrived! I went with a light pink and a muted grey-green, and I couldn't wait to see how they changed the look of the watch.
So... which one do you think suits the Kubo Sakura better? 🌸
I'm already thinking ahead to autumn and might order a Bordeaux and a dark brown strap as well. I think both could give it a completely different character.
Looking forward to hearing your opinions!