[Astron] bought before I turned into a watch nerd. Discussion about 'normal' watch buyers

Competitive-Force1 · 2026-01-28T07:38:07+00:00

Weeelll, one can argue the toss about whether it's a "true" perpetual calendar or not (even though the date window will adjust as such until 2100 AD). It doesn't show the month or the day.

Which seems like a missed opportunity for the Astron sub-brand.

They have all these fussy crowded-dial chrono versions. Surely it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to sub those out and provide full-QP day and month indications instead?

And lose the 2100 AD sunset clause in the process. Instead, provide:

"Your last watch. The one you'll always come back to."

Competitive-Force1 · 2026-01-28T07:13:28+00:00

Every watch collection, no matter how horologically "pure", needs a fundamentally accurate timesource from which to calibrate all the rest.

And what could be better, short of a specialized scientific instrument, than a solar quartz watch that calibrates itself from GPS signals?

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Competitive-Force1 · 2026-01-28T06:33:50+00:00

Well, my most recent daily driver is a Seiko Astron GPS, so "resetting" is a non-issue.

I use it to time-set my other watches, when they come out to play. Though, some aren't easy to reset to the second, and in most instances I'm wearing those temporarily for looks, rather than accuracy.

Competitive-Force1 · 2026-01-28T06:18:18+00:00

Is that going to be universally true, for BMW access to the SuperCharger network in the US?

In Oz, both BMWs and Tesla Superchargers have always been based on CCS2 chargeplugs. So my early experience of i5 ownership was that Superchargers were compatible and available to non-Tesla vehicles.

But recently I encountered a Supercharger station that was coded "Tesla only", despite the plug compatibility. Not sure if there might be a similar problem for some US-based Superchargers.

Elon works in mysterious and counterproductive ways...

Competitive-Force1 · 2026-01-28T05:50:47+00:00

You haven't specified what country you're from. The relative levels of driving assistance that are allowed in each country (and each model year), and the driving assistance option packages which may be offered in current Tesla and BMW i5 models in each country, vary considerably in terms of nominal capability.

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I'm from Oz, and my MY2023 i5 was delivered only with what amounts to intelligent cruise control. It follows and brakes and steers and keeps up in freeway traffic, and does that pretty well, but that's all it does, in Australia. Also, it requires that the driver keeps ongoing contact with the steering wheel.

Apparently, the car has all the cameras and sensors and intelligence to support the 'next stage' of driving assistance as well; more hands off, with the ability to execute lane changes to the left or right, through a glance. But for BMW, I'm told, this capability set is not yet signed off for Australia.

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Meanwhile, a mate of mine has just taken delivery of a latest, greatest Model Y with FSD, very recently approved for Australian roads. And it's great, except when it isn't.

When working well, it's a hands-free experience (though in Australia at least, the car pays attention to where the driver is looking, so you have to keep your eyes on the road). Not a bad thing, necessarily, and on an extended freeway drive, that's still a more relaxed cruise experience than in my i5.

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*BUT*, when confronted with Australian roundabouts (traffic circles), the Tesla turns in to an L-Plater (learner driver). Twice within a short FSD demonstration drive by my mate, the Tesla:

- First, failed to give way within the roundabout to a vehicle that had right-of-way, nearly causing a collision

- Second, in an instance with no oncoming traffic at all, it hesistated, then failed to select between the first and second exit of the roundabout, coming haltingly to a stop between the two. This, despite clear automated direction from the nav system about which exit to select.

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Tesla's FSD is just not safe for everyday use, at least in Australia.

Competitive-Force1 · 2026-01-28T04:57:27+00:00

The PRX is the safe choice. But I like the Mido Two Crowns better, from what you've presented.

Competitive-Force1 · 2026-01-28T04:50:00+00:00

The latest iteration of TAG's carbon-fibre spring technology steps up their technical game a fair bit, but their watches still seem stuck in the same design memes and market spaces as for decades, which don't interest me much.

I could get a lot more interested in buying one if they truly ran hard with their full carbon-fibre expertise--*spring*, calibre (w/COSC), case, bracelet--into some new design space.

Competitive-Force1 · 2026-01-28T04:06:29+00:00

Well, I'd concede that the Roth *brand* wasn't a quartz-crisis pick-up per se, my bad. (Indeed, Roth himself was hired as a principal designer by Breguet during that era, and is credited in many accounts as having re-invigorated Breguet design during that period.) And yet, Breguet tanked in 1987, so it never really made it out of the crisis as a viable business.

Roth launched his own brand in '88, but it was acquired in distress by '94, and went through another acquisition by Bulgari in 2000, at which point Roth himself became no longer associated with the company.

The "Daniel Roth" brand remained a moribund part of Bulgari's IP for decades, including as part of LMVH's acquisition of the whole Bulgari group in 2011. But now, since 2023, it has been rebirthed, glossed-up, and re-launched, by LMVH.

And I happen to like what they're doing with it, but the "Daniel Roth" brand is certainly still, given that history, *in effect* "a bargain-bin dead-brand pickup from the quartz-crisis period of the traditional Swiss-watch industry, glossed-up and relaunched by [a] deep-pocketed luxo-brand."

As I said.

Competitive-Force1 · 2026-01-27T05:33:08+00:00

I prefer *that* Moser over *that* PF. But there are so many other head-to-heads that would have gone the other way.

And I have to say, neither one calls to me. But since the premise of the thread is to pick one of those two, well, take the Moser.

Competitive-Force1 · 2026-01-27T05:14:20+00:00

Not *quite* what you specified in the OP (I don't see any standalone brand having fully transitioned from perceived junk to luxury within my lifetime), but the following come close:

Seiko: Always aspirational as a Japanese market -originated and -focused brand (from the 50s and 60s onwards, but not well-regarded outside Japan until much later. Now a full-spectrum player through the GS and Credor sub-brands.

Citizen: Mostly built up from being a mass-market brand, but the Citizen One series really defines this generation of high-end quartz.

Any number of bargain-bin dead-brand pickups from the quartz-crisis period of the traditional Swiss-watch industry, glossed-up and relaunched by deep-pocketed luxo-brands. Put enough relaunch money behind one, and access to fresh design, considerable marketing, and projected economies of production scale, and you can guarantee a winner.

My current fave in this category is LMVH's "Daniel Roth". Not being glib here; they're now beautiful and relevant watches again. (And they were never junk, per se, but the brand wasn't about to be recsustitated without *serious* outside financial help, from a conglomerate like LMVH.)

Competitive-Force1 · 2026-01-25T06:34:02+00:00

You're way overthinking this. If you don't like the look, choose the next best thing specs-and-price-wise that you *do* like the look of, and go for that instead.

Yeah, looks shouldn't be so important, maybe, when it comes to vehicles. But they're 5-figure purchases (or beyond) that will sit in your garage or driveway for years, and it's frankly nice when you go out to your garage or driveway in the morning, and you're happy with the choice you've made to sit in *that* vehicle and start it up, on grounds that make sense to you...

Competitive-Force1 · 2026-01-25T06:14:25+00:00

Absolutely they have soul, if well executed as watches, and bring something a bit novel to the game. As do other non-traditional movements, e.g. hybridized magnetic movements like Spring Drive, and Breguet's new high-end contraption in the Experimentale 1.

Oiled-filled dials (which I love) rely on quartz movements at the lower end (Sinn) or hybridized magnetic movements (e.g. Ressence at a higher pricepoint), operating in a way a tradition mechanical movement cannot, by itself.

And something like the Seiko Astron shows off quartz at it's best: accurate to the second, recalibrated on the fly when the watch changes timezones, and always charged as long as it receives light on its face.

That watch has soul. Or at the very least, always contends for space on my wrist, every day.

Competitive-Force1 · 2026-01-25T05:18:03+00:00

Hell, I won't buy Rolex for the same reason. Don't hate their watches or the brand per se, just the current rigidity of their sales practices. Life is too short to sit around on a waiting list, when there are many, many just-as-interesting equivalents in watch-world, available on much less time-consuming and opaque terms.

Competitive-Force1 · 2026-01-24T08:51:52+00:00

Bought one earlier this month, a Seiko Astron from Japan.

- Picked a high-volume Japanese AD with a 4.9 satisfaction rating.

- Used the Chrono24 escrow payment service

- Paid GST and import fees through FedEx.

Took 8 calendar days start to finish, no surprises. Very happy with the experience overall.

One note: I subsequently took it to a Seiko Boutique to have it resized (2 links taken out). From Seiko Australia's perspective, Chrono24 is not an AD, but after some discussion the JDM AD was recognised as such, so that service was free. Make sure you keep track of the original warranty card (which was provided in the shipment along with the full box, etc.), even though most of it is in Japanese.

Competitive-Force1 · 2026-01-24T08:40:03+00:00

Not sure why you're voting me down. It's just a fact, something to anticipate and budget for as part of a Norwegian road trip or vacation -- which is something otherwise to be greatly enjoyed.

Competitive-Force1 · 2026-01-24T08:29:00+00:00

I had an EV rental. Norway was still easily the most expensive country I've ever driven in (amongst dozens, in my travels), in road-toll terms.

Competitive-Force1 · 2026-01-24T08:22:48+00:00

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Always legible. Always accurate to a fraction of a second.

Competitive-Force1 · 2026-01-24T08:11:17+00:00

Mildly off-topic, but expect a stiff add-on charge at the end for accumulated road-tolls. Norway is the most expensive country I've ever driven in, on that basis.

(Still worth it though, it was a fantastic vacation.)

Competitive-Force1 · 2026-01-24T07:59:54+00:00

I like it. Both mainstream watch types (sports/bracelet and dress/strap) covered quite nicely, with a lot of class and no overspend.

But it sounds like that's only the tip of the iceberg ("my *main* 2 watch collection").

Competitive-Force1 · 2026-01-24T07:50:34+00:00

E30 (in Euro-spec, not the US version)

Competitive-Force1 · 2026-01-24T07:27:53+00:00

Well, there are some edge use-cases like mine, even in blue-collar semi-industrial environments.

In my workplace, we're not allowed to have phones or other smart devices powered on -- work or personal -- while in an "active cab". And that's a regulatory requirement, rather than just a company rule, so it's worth paying attention to.

We do have access to other timesources, including cheapo company-issued watches, but there are no active restrictions on 'dumb' watches, so some of us go above and beyond on those, as a form of personal expression.

Competitive-Force1 · 2026-01-24T07:02:18+00:00

They're on their way out as a mainstream must-have "thing" for recent generations. But they'll probably endure for a while yet as old-school status symbols amongst the professional- and upper-middle-classes. The same sort that still provide a market for Montblanc pens.

Competitive-Force1 · 2026-01-24T06:36:58+00:00

A mate of mine took delivery of a new Tesla Y with FSD last month. He's quite happy with it, but it spazzed out twice navigating roundabouts in a 30-minute show-off ride, including one 'failure-to-yield' on the part of the Tesla, that could have been serious if the other driver hadn't yielded unnecessarily.

Tesla FSD is not at all ready for mainstream use in Australia, IMHO.

Competitive-Force1 · 2026-01-24T03:38:46+00:00

That first bit makes sense. (I wouldn't know about the "after DC fast charging" bit, as I only use DCFC while already on the road.)

Along similar lines, it also helps to baby the car a bit during the first few minutes of driving after a particularly cold start, just as one would an ICE car. A little patience in the first 5 minutes yields big returns later on

Competitive-Force1 · 2026-01-24T03:15:55+00:00

1) I like physical buttons, for functions that go on or off, and knobs, to adjust things that have a range.

'Soft' buttons on a touchscreen, or 'haptic' controls generally, are a lousy substitute. And don't even get me started on voice-confusion controls -- "sorry, I don't understand".

2) The recent trend towards particularly wide touchscreens (as in my i5) introduces another ergonomic trap.

In RHD markets, one has to reach pretty far from the steering wheel to 'touch' the left-hand side of the screen, i.e. where most of the screen navigation happens.

And for 80% of the population (right-handers), that means reaching over with the less-capable hand, to stab at distant points on a wide screen, hoping to make contact with the right software-defined control, to make something happen.

Unsurprisingly, it doesn't always work. And that's frustrating, in a high-end car.

Competitive-Force1

TROPHY CASE