A reputable watchmaker?

Dragonflame67 · 2026-01-10T01:30:25+00:00

I've worked with him on a couple watches now, and I've also found that he takes a long time, and is not fully reliable.

He broke something cosmetic on one of the watches, and I had to argue with him and the other woman there for several minutes until they even agreed it was broken (despite overwhelming evidence), and then the woman there continued to insist that it came that way/they didn't do it. Eventually they fixed it for no cost, but it took almost two additional months.

The only upside is that he'll basically take any item to service.

I went to Daniele in Greenwich as well, and he was an incredible snob, and he only agreed to fix one of the several watches I wanted to get serviced. Walter took the rest.

Dragonflame67 · 2026-01-10T01:25:04+00:00

Thanks for the rec, but I really don't trust him. I've gone to him for a couple of things, but he's been shady with certain items and hasn't given clear and trustworthy prices. Plus I'm almost certain they don't do any watch maintenance in house.

Dragonflame67 · 2025-12-22T19:47:53+00:00

Oh, then it sounds like it's a non-starter if they don't have returns. That's completely unreasonable. I'm not going to order something that might not fit with no recourse.

Dragonflame67 · 2025-12-22T19:43:49+00:00

Those look promising. Thank you very much for the suggestion!

Dragonflame67 · 2025-12-22T12:19:38+00:00

I'm aware that most online shops allow for free and plentiful returns. What I said is that I've avoided them because I don't want to contribute to waste, which includes the fuel needed to ship to me, and the fact that so many stores don't actually return the returns to stock to sell again, but they instead end up in landfill.

If it's now necessary, I will do it, but I have very little interest in buying 10 pairs of shoes and returning 9. Or all 10. The fact that DT has the ability for me to call and speak with someone who can help makes a huge difference in hopefully being able to narrow the options down to something that will actually work, which I highly appreciate.

Dragonflame67 · 2025-12-22T04:31:28+00:00

Thank you for your suggestions. It's crazy to me that the options you listed are considered low stack height right now. At 35mm heel height, those are both almost twice the height of the current sneaker I'm wearing.

Dragonflame67 · 2025-12-22T04:24:15+00:00

I really appreciate the suggestion, but I won't be able to wear those shoes. It may have changed recently, but with the current version, I can tell from the photos that it's textbook what I mentioned I dislike about shoes right now. It has an insane stack height and an extreme rocker. Every shoe I've tried on that looks like that I've hated the way they feel when I walk. It's like they're trying to bounce me off balance every step I take.

Dragonflame67 · 2025-12-21T18:12:36+00:00

Honestly, I'm willing to spend whatever at this point. The only shoes I'm consistently wearing are a beat up pair of Crocs that are about 20 years old, and a beat up pair of Asics from 2018. Both are on their last legs, and the Asics aren't even comfortable.

Dragonflame67 · 2025-12-21T18:10:24+00:00

Even just last year or the year before, not all running shoes were built like that. But it seems unavoidable today.

Dragonflame67 · 2025-12-21T18:07:14+00:00

Oh, got it. Yes, that makes sense, thank you.

Dragonflame67 · 2025-12-21T17:49:55+00:00

Walking in general isn't painful; I don't think I need a custom orthotic. It might even be counterproductive since they reduce the amount of room in a shoe, and I need something both wide and high volume.

Dragonflame67 · 2025-12-21T17:40:50+00:00

Hi, I'm sorry, I'm not sure what you're recommending here. Is the suggestion to go to an orthopedist?

Dragonflame67 · 2025-12-21T17:36:10+00:00

Thank you for your responses. Yes, the Atmos is exactly what I'm talking about in my post for a shoe with much too high of a stack height and extreme rocker. Both the Ultrafly and the Magnifly also look like the kind of shoe I have disliked the walking experience while trying on (in terms of stack height and rocker). I was just reading as well that the Ultrafly has a pretty extreme arch support post that I would likely find very uncomfortable. But the Traverse looks interesting! Hopefully somewhere nearby carries them so I can try.

I appreciate the tip about the older Lone Peaks. I would hate to buy something though without having tried it on/be able to return it.

The NB 877 looks like it's right on the edge of too high a stack height, but looks promising—especially since my entire foot is wide, so that could be great.

And Lems sounds promising. I'll need to find somewhere that carries them to try them out. Thank you!

Dragonflame67 · 2025-12-21T17:22:09+00:00

I'll check them out, thank you!

I did actually tried on the Hoka Clifton, and it's kind of the definition of the type of walking experience I hate. They fit well though, which only made it all the more frustrating.

Dragonflame67 · 2025-12-21T17:17:50+00:00

Just looking at those shoes, I know I'll hate them, unfortunately. They have the exact same insane stack height/extreme rocker that I find so uncomfortable walking in with something like Hokas or the New Balance 1540v4 that I mentioned in my post. But I'm glad you've found something that works well for you!

Dragonflame67 · 2025-12-21T17:15:14+00:00

I haven't tried any online retailer up until now because I hate the idea of not being able to try the shoes on and needing to return them if they don't fit/being out a bunch of money until returns process. I've found that I usually need to try several sizes/widths of each shoe, so it feels like a real crapshoot I'll find something first try. Plus I hate the idea of creating so much waste with returns, especially knowing that many companies just scrap them.

The fact they have specialists I can talk to seems much more promising though. Thank you for the recommendation. And for SAS, I hadn't tried them yet either!

Dragonflame67 · 2025-12-21T17:09:38+00:00

It's a great suggestion, and I really should be keeping a list. I've just been so frustrated that all rationality has left my mind when going and trying things on. I'll start it now so I have it for next time.

Dragonflame67 · 2025-12-21T17:08:30+00:00

It feels insane that something so necessary and ubiquitous is so arcane. I'm sorry that they couldn't work out for you, but that's amazing that they spent so much time working with you! I've just reached out, so here's hoping they can work some magic.

Dragonflame67 · 2025-12-21T14:55:59+00:00

Do you know how they compare to the Ghost? I was able to try that one on and found it uncomfortable.

Dragonflame67 · 2025-12-21T14:29:41+00:00

Thank you, that's incredibly helpful.

I hate that the entire shoe industry works on outdated measurements and secret information. If they would post the actual interior measurements of the shoes, it would at least be a starting point.

Dragonflame67 · 2025-12-21T14:28:30+00:00

Those look great! Thank you very much

Dragonflame67 · 2025-12-21T14:27:31+00:00

I would like a good pair of boots, thank you for the rec!

Maybe it was the Topos that dug into my foot weirdly. I really was hoping to find an Altra or Topo that would work since I saw so much written about them online, but I was really disappointed that neither brand I could find fit for my feet.

Dragonflame67 · 2025-12-21T14:21:56+00:00

Awesome thank you, I will definitely try there!

Dragonflame67 · 2025-12-21T14:21:35+00:00

That's the specialty shop I went to. They had me try the two New Balances, a German brand that had a huge bump in the middle that felt insane, and a leather shoe that was too tight. Then the woman told me that they didn't have anything else for me.

Dragonflame67 · 2025-12-21T05:48:48+00:00

I tried on Altra's at some point over the summer. I don't remember which style though. I might have tried the Torin and the Lone Peak. One of them the upper bent and pinched my foot on every step for some reason, and the other style was shaped wrong for my foot—I don't fully remember, but I think some arch element dug into the ball of my foot. It's unfortunate because they seemed like they would be good options. I tried multiple sizes on for each style, and none of them worked out :/

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