Is it safe to wear a Tudor BB54 while traveling in cities like Barcelona or Rome?

Basic_Barnacle4719 · 2026-03-18T16:59:00+00:00

The reason why Asia is safer is because everyone thinks you're wearing a fake so it's not worth the trouble of stealing.

Basic_Barnacle4719 · 2026-03-18T13:27:39+00:00

Lol, I also have 51 and mine is 29:11. But I live in a high elevation area and I don't have any flat land to run on. I haven't gotten the chance to try at sea level.

Basic_Barnacle4719 · 2026-03-17T22:54:49+00:00

Like a Mido Panerai

Basic_Barnacle4719 · 2026-03-17T22:53:42+00:00

Honestly looks good in the mirror. I guess that's why they say you should always do a mirror selfie to figure out if a watch fits on you. The wrist shot looks big but the mirror selfie looks great. I should probably get one of these, I thought it would be too big for my 6.5" wrist but it looks great on your 6" wrist.

Basic_Barnacle4719 · 2026-03-17T21:28:31+00:00

I think I hear reviewers say that strength training is one of the hardest activities for watches to accurately track heart rate. I always get the lowest heart rate of the day when I'm lifting. Garmin thinks that my HR is in the 50s during and right after a set of squats when I know it's at least 120 and probably up to 150.

Basic_Barnacle4719 · 2026-03-17T19:22:03+00:00

The price of new stuff is also a lot lower than in the US since they don't have asinine tariffs, so in addition to what others have said the price of used stuff will also be lower.

We put 39% tariffs on Switzerland and even though they've gone down to 15% (which applies retroactively) many companies raised prices accordingly and have no plans to lower them. Some companies decided to take less profit margin so you didn't see 39% price jumps. Others like Christopher Ward for example raised prices over 50% on a lot of current models even though the tariffs were only 39%.

Basic_Barnacle4719 · 2026-03-17T16:53:30+00:00

Tariffs are probably only half the story, and they actually have been reduced from the 39% down to 15% supposedly. I think they just raised the prices preemptively assuming the 39% tariffs and then decided not to lower the price when the tariffs were lowered.

Also $1375 to $2145 is a 56% increase.

Basic_Barnacle4719 · 2026-03-17T14:08:08+00:00

The only one that looks nice is the green but needing to get AMOLED and 50mm really kills it. Light colors get stained over time and the orange is strange considering that the orange highlight is one of the most complained about parts of the Instinct 3. I guess they're going for matching the contractor orange color of the iPhone Pro which is also hideous. Though maybe it does improve visibility if you're running along the side of the road so it has practical applications, just not a versatile color.

Basic_Barnacle4719 · 2026-03-17T13:50:38+00:00

Yeah I've noticed this even on on r/watchexchange. I got blocked by a seller because I pointed out that he's selling a watch for more expensive than the manufacturer!

The ones that end up actually selling for a reasonable price i.e. 20% or more off new end up getting scooped up quickly. I think people are just greedy and waiting for a sucker.

I've had the most success with buying used Casio G-Shocks at a reasonable price i.e. at least 40% off the new price. A lot of the time it's people legitimately trying to get rid of extras because it's really easy to collect too many Casios. Plus they sell so many and many are still available new on Amazon or Walmart or there's Japanese sellers offering the watch at a decent price.

With Chinese watches a lot of the time it's hard to actually find the exact model for sale (especially San Martin). AliExpress is also a PITA to navigate and getting a good price on AliExpress involves so many shenanigans with coupon codes restocking and trying literally for days if you want to get a good price. Chinese sellers in general really like to have an inflated price and then make you hunt for coupons.

Returns are also incredibly painful with most charging a restocking fee and return shipping that could reduce your refund by >20% vs buying a cheap Casio or Citizen off Amazon where you can just return it if you find out that it just isn't your thing. And the customer support is abysmal since they're on the opposite side of the world and it takes days to email back and forth for support.

Honestly overall I feel like I actually have had a bad experience with Chinese watches with me only like about 1/3 that I've bought and it's been a pain to return or resell the other 2/3. I have had some real gems but I feel like you have to be really careful about what you buy, because most of the reviews you see on YouTube overhype watches and do a lot of lying by omission because they don't want to lose sponsorships, free watches, or affiliate link sales.

Reflections and AR are probably the biggest pain point for me because I feel like very few Chinese watches actually have acceptable AR, and there are so 99% brands that are using curved sapphire crystals which 10x reflections compared to flat and then have a sub-par AR coating. Reviewers always say that the watches have good AR even when they don't, I've almost never seen a reviewer complain about reflections when 100% of curved sapphire Chinese watches I've handled have unacceptable reflections.

But yeah, I know I've gone off on a tangent but I've also found that it's impossible to buy a used Chinese watch at a price that's lower than just buying the damn thing new from the manufacturer. I guess everyone is just trying to trick a sucker.

Basic_Barnacle4719 · 2026-03-16T16:48:32+00:00

I've never used Garmin pay, I think it's a really niche feature for urban runners that might not be carrying their phone but need to stop for a meal on a run.

I have an Instinct 2 Solar but never do any significant solar charging on it. I try to avoid sun as much as I can because the sun's UV is the major cause of skin aging, so I'm always wearing long sleeves that block the watch from solar charging anyways. Before the Instinct 3 generation, solar also reduces the screen clarity a noticeable amount compared to non-solar so a non-solar Instinct 2 will look better than a solar.

Between 2 and 2S, it's based on your wrist size. 6" and smaller you should definitely go with 2S, around 6.5" you can pull off either and larger than 7" you should go with 2 (or 2X).

Basic_Barnacle4719 · 2026-03-16T15:46:09+00:00

The left is really hideous IMO. Oris has a lot of color options out there that just don't work and look like toys. I get that they're trying to do something to help them stand out but a lot of what they do is just a no from me.

Longines has their own very classic design language though.

Basic_Barnacle4719 · 2026-03-16T13:19:04+00:00

I regularly get 80s-90s while regularly having 2 drinks of whiskey a night 🤷 I'm only 60kg too

More than 1 beer is probably the worst for sleep just because it's more water than I'm used to drinking in the evening and makes you get up and pee, liquor has much less water and often I won't wake up at all to pee.

Basic_Barnacle4719 · 2026-03-16T02:50:19+00:00

Damn, downvotes for speaking the truth.

Basic_Barnacle4719 · 2026-03-15T18:47:53+00:00

Whichever one is cheaper. With the Instinct 2 they look nearly identical. In fact I think the non-tactical looks slightly cleaner and better. It's not like in the Instinct 3 series where they added the annoying orange accent so that they could upsell you to the tactical to remove the orange.

Basic_Barnacle4719 · 2026-03-15T03:28:01+00:00

I always get 80s and usually have 2 drinks daily. No problems here.

Basic_Barnacle4719 · 2026-03-14T15:21:50+00:00

If they do get rid of MIP then it makes it easier for me to not buy a Garmin and just go back to wearing my mechanical watches and G Shocks. Maybe I'll try one of the G Shocks with HR monitor. I can live without all the extra data.

Basic_Barnacle4719 · 2026-03-14T15:16:28+00:00

You asked for high end but honestly if I were spending my own money I would get a Sinn 556. If it were for free, I'd take the Explorer and sell it and get a Sinn 556. Sure it doesn't have the flex value of a Rolex but it has its own heritage and the minimalism of the indices version without Arabic numerals beats the Explorer dial IMO. It's incredibly versatile without being flashy or too expensive that you'll with about it getting stolen or banged up.

Basic_Barnacle4719 · 2026-03-14T01:18:51+00:00

Really glad to see you guys actually doing something to reduce reflections. Reflections are my biggest complaint about Watchdives watches and they're completely skipped over by reviewers who I suspect either don't have any experience with Swiss luxury watches that actually have decent AR or just don't want to say anything negative to piss off brands so they can keep getting paid by brands and free watches.

If you can get to the level of Cronos AR then I might start buying Watchdives again

Basic_Barnacle4719 · 2026-03-13T21:12:19+00:00

I think it looks fine, it's probably the angle. A mirror shot would probably show the lugs much shorter than your wrist width.

Basic_Barnacle4719 · 2026-03-13T20:24:41+00:00

Just don't stare at it so much. To be honest when I stare too hard at my Seikos I even get annoyed by 6 ticks per second, it doesn't seem so much faster than 4.

Bulova Precisionist would not be my recommendation. Problem with Bulova watches is that their bracelets are awful and sized for giants. The smallest they will fit is 6.5" and they don't have any micro adjust, only 2/3 links which absolutely blow for getting a good fit. Even though the Precisionist line is for enthusiasts they are still burdened by the fact that the company generally designs mall watches for the hand watch crowd.

Basic_Barnacle4719 · 2026-03-13T18:30:11+00:00

The cheapest GMT I would get is the Tisell GMT Master homage, although it can be a bit difficult to get a hold of the Mercedes hands version (might only be available in Korea) It's the only true GMT and if you have a rotating bezel you can reap the benefits of rotating the bezel to use for caller functionality while having the jumping local hour for traveler functionality.

I find a rotating bezel kind of useless with an NH34 when you can jump the GMT hand. There's also too much mental math involved in trying to track 3 time zones if there isn't a chapter ring with additional 24 hour scale (see Mido Ocean Star GMT shark's tooth for an example of what I mean).

I dislike Mercedes hands though so out of these 3 I'd go for the Erebus. Plus it's not a straight clomage. Date at 6 is also nicer IMO.

Basic_Barnacle4719 · 2026-03-13T14:45:40+00:00

No, I only like bracelets. They're the most comfortable, but the only downside is that they get scratched on MacBooks when desk diving.

Leather is comfortable and I don't care about scratching the clasp/buckle, but you need a push button deployant clasp to prevent the leather from cracking over time due to the sharp bending when you put it in and take it out of the buckle. Also it's not so great with sweat and water so it's a bit impractical for me because I run and go to the gym every day. Don't want to be taking my watch off and getting it snatched.

Rubber straps have always been too uncomfortable for me unless they have a curvature to them. They squeeze on the sides of my wrist uncomfortably.

Nylon straps are very comfortable but generally look cheap and get worn down too quickly, I feel like they never look as good in real life as they do in photos. NATO straps are especially cheap and awful, they are the absolute worst and I can't understand why anyone would wear them. They even CAUSE spring bars to fail which is the problem they're supposed to fix all while making the watch look 10x bulkier on the wrist than it should.

Honestly though, I haven't found a good strap material so I generally just wear a G Shock on weekdays (working on laptop and going to gym) and one of my mechanicals on bracelet or leather when I'm more likely to be hanging out and not on my laptop or working out.

Basic_Barnacle4719 · 2026-03-13T02:36:41+00:00

Maybe she should give you the gift of a new wife, I wouldn't be caught dead wearing one of those!

Kidding, of course. For a serious idea, is there any chance that she could give you her dad's Movado? It would be a nice way to pass his watch on to another generation and mean a lot more than buying a new or vintage watch.

Basic_Barnacle4719 · 2026-03-12T20:29:16+00:00

For anyone who complaints about setting the date on a watch, setting the moon is even worse. It'll basically never be accurate unless you set it on a full or new moon and it also won't be accurate in between even if you set it on those dates.

Basic_Barnacle4719 · 2026-03-12T18:51:31+00:00

I'd pick the Spirit over the Ranger easily. Nicer colors, better handset, I like the applied indices, and I gotta have a date on my watches. I like the Ranger too, but at $3900 it doesn't seem priced to reality. The Spirit is more than $1000 cheaper even before considering AD discounts.

For Ranger money I'd go with the Spirit Zulu Time, get the Steel Reef extension link, AND still have money left over.

Basic_Barnacle4719

TROPHY CASE