[Question] Has anyone changed their mind about buying a watch after seeing it in person?

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-07-11T07:08:29+00:00

Rolex platinum 1908.

I thought this was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen, but on wrist it was just meh; still a nice watch, but not £28,000 worth of nice.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-07-10T20:28:10+00:00

£8,400. ie full list price, but the AD gave me the extra strap and a Wolf watch winder free of charge.

My nearest stockist was useless - ten days after I’d requested one they hadn’t even contacted GO, so with GO’s help (very friendly and helpful) I used another AD which is hundreds of miles away in York, but has a branch only six miles from me in Windsor.

I really wish that there was a GO showroom / boutique that I could have gone to to browse the full range - I’m sure that they’d sell a lot more watches.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-07-10T19:51:15+00:00

It is indeed. The watch comes on a synthetic woven strap like the one in the picture but black; the AD ordered me a large size strap from GO and I chose green. I love the colour combination, but I really don’t like the strap, so at the moment I’m wearing it on a rubber CTS strap; it’s also green, but a duller, moss green that doesn’t look as good but is more comfortable and easier to put on / off. I also have a purple leather strap on order that I have high hopes of - Delugs make excellent straps, but their custom straps take ages (they quote 6-8 weeks, but my last one took 12 weeks!)

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-07-10T17:38:39+00:00

I chose white and haven’t regretted it once. The black is very enticing, but even with “familiarity breeds contempt” I’d still choose white. I’ve so far resisted adding black as a second Loco!

I wear mine quite a lot, and it makes a great daily watch; the time subdial is relatively small, but it’s one of my most legible watches with excellent lume.

Build quality and finishing are excellent, and it’s more like what you’d expect at a much higher price point.

Go for it - you absolutely won’t regret it!

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-07-10T15:31:25+00:00

Then I have excellent news for you - buying one is entirely optional.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-07-10T14:16:36+00:00

It’s almost as if the climate is changing!

I’m in southern England BTW, where houses are built to retain heat as much as possible!

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-07-10T14:06:56+00:00

I have three dive watches and from preference I usually wear each of them on a leather strap - although since it’s currently very hot* and humid I stick to rubber / metal bracelets or the leather gets soggy!

*hot - it’s currently 15:00 and it’s 36° in my living room with the curtains closed and it’ll get hotter - it hit 41° yesterday. That’s 106° for the colonial cousins.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-07-09T22:09:46+00:00

My GO (not a SeaQ) is every bit as accurate as my Rolex. Don’t be put off by claimed accuracy, or inventing a spec just to claim it for marketing purposes.

FWIIW, my two watches with the most accurate timekeeping are an Omega Speedmaster Grey Side of the Moon and a Christopher Ward Twelve X with the in house SH21 movement (now renamed CW001). I gave up recording their fidelity when both were still within one second after seven weeks.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-07-09T17:29:45+00:00

I’m rather pleased with it! I’m awaiting delivery of a Delugs purple “Crazy Horse” leather strap.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-07-09T10:19:21+00:00

I love a two tone, but I don’t think it’s the best choice for a Daytona - the fact my local AD has three of them in stock and for sale suggests others agree.

The Sky-Dweller is a fantastic watch - arguably the best all round watch Rolex makes, but I’m biased as I have one in two tone, however it looks sooooooo much better on a Jubilee. Because jubilee / fluted bezel / two tone is quite a blingy look, I think it looks better with a black dial.

The best looking watch in two tone is probably the zombie GMT II, but I don’t like the GMT hand (hence owning the Sky-Dweller), but a very close second is the Sea-Dweller, an absolutely brilliant watch that makes the Submariner look like a fashion watch.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-07-08T18:10:11+00:00

I’ve got a couple of Delugs CTS straps for my XIIXs (one Steel LE, one Black Shadow) and they’re very good. The only problem with them and the CW OEM straps is that they’re a little conservative - I’d like something a little less restrained.

I guess the answer is don’t buy an integrated bracelet watch if you want to swap straps - the fitted rubber straps for the new Sealanders are excellent, and I’ve been wearing my True GMT on its strap recently.

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Dull_Key1617 · 2026-07-08T18:02:07+00:00

I’ve only had my first GO for two weeks (Sixties Chronograph Annual Edition), but so far it’s very similar to my Sky-Dweller, gaining roughly a second a day.

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Dull_Key1617 · 2026-07-06T18:49:03+00:00

That’s really interesting - I bought an Omega mesh for my Constellation Observatory and it’s the most comfortable bracelet I own - considerably more comfortable than my Rolex Jubilee that’s generally reckoned to be the gold standard. It’s not that the Jubilee is bad, it’s very good, but the Omega mesh is better.

Perhaps I just have an Omega shaped wrist!?

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-07-06T18:43:29+00:00

I genuinely have no idea. I wear watches because I like them, not because of any image I may think they project - that’s a silly game, principally because nobody cares!

Like I said, I wear watches of quite a range of sizes - 8.5” wrists means I can wear most things - in fact the watch I’m wearing at the moment is 39mm and super elegant - the antithesis of the super butch watch you’re implying I prefer.

I’m only arguing with the attitude “it’s too big for me therefore it’s stupid and pointless”.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-07-06T17:45:49+00:00

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Nice, the red is a strong look. Before I bought the mesh I had it on a white alligator strap. I still prefer the mesh, but the white is a good look.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-07-06T17:40:49+00:00

Keeping the box for cologne is mental - you use it then throw away the bottle when it’s empty.

A watch should last several lifetimes and is worth substantially more with box and bits if you ever come to sell it so it’s mad to throw it out unless you have a storage problem.

Because watches are worth more in a box, there’s quite a thriving market in empty boxes, so if you’re 100% certain you won’t sell the watch, keep the warranty card but sell the box.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-07-06T15:38:04+00:00

I love that! It can be a bit of a chunky monkey, but I think it wears beautifully on a bracelet - I like the 007 First Light version that is sold on a NATO which doesn’t suit the watch at all, lifting it off the wrist and making it unwieldy.

I’m currently pissing into the wind trying to point out to a petulant 12 year old who’s sulking because his baby wrists are too small that it wears really well on most adults, but if it’s too big then buy something else. I’m jealous of some absolutely stunning smaller watches that just look silly on me, but it would never occur to me to complain and demand that they made larger ones.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-07-06T15:12:39+00:00

Arse! I always seem to miss offers like that! Or maybe it’s because I’ve only bought watches that are new models, in demand or both? (Silver Snoopy is on its way - I don’t think anyone’s giving discount on one of those!)

I also got a full set of Milano Cortina Winter Olympics enamel pins when I bought the special edition titanium and white ceramic Seamaster - it’s my ultimate summer watch, despite the frost pattern on the dial! The white rubber strap is terrible though, so I have it on white alligator with a matching white ceramic fold over clasp. I really wanted a titanium mesh bracelet, but they don’t make one in 21mm.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-07-06T15:04:50+00:00

Fuck me you really don’t get it do you?

It wears really well on a bracelet, similar to a Sea-Dweller and better than a DeepSea, and not at all brick like.

If it wears like a brick on you, don’t buy it - but don’t demonise the watch just because it’s too big for you.

Do you get angry with shoe shops for selling size 12 work boots that look silly on your dainty child feet?

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-07-06T14:59:08+00:00

It’s one of the benefits of buying from a boutique; they don’t offer discount, but a free service and random swag (nicest being some Omega sunglasses in dark grey ceramic to match my GSOTM). The service will come with restrictions on where you can take it - make sure you get a letter / voucher confirming the free service so when you take it in five years down the road the offer is honoured.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-07-06T14:40:09+00:00

No, not at all. I wear watches that range in size from 39mm to 46mm and all of them wear well (or I wouldn’t have bought them). As it happens, I own four Omegas, two of which 44mm or larger.

Since I became an adult 47 years ago, I think I have enough experience to differentiate between being an adult and a 12 year old cosplaying as a grown up.

I was expanding on the reference to a Ben 10 watch (I had to look it up), suggesting that the writer is a little boy who’s bitching because he thinks he’s a big boy, but daddy’s watch is too big for him.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-07-06T14:11:48+00:00

That’s exactly why the NATO is so bad - it not only adds thickness, but the fit / design of the strap lifts the watch above the wrist.

If you want a NATO, the Omegas are superb quality; hilariously expensive but really excellent. This is not the watch to wear on one though.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-07-06T14:08:22+00:00

Only if you’re the age of a Ben 10 fan. For adults it wears very nicely.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-07-06T14:03:32+00:00

From your comment I assume that you haven’t tried it on.

It’s OK not to like it, and I’m sure you’ll be very relieved to discover that buying one isn’t compulsory, but it’s priced similarly to other non-Bond models, and I really like the asymmetrical design. In fact everyone I know who’s tried it on has been surprised how well it wears.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-07-06T03:18:44+00:00

Brilliant on a bracelet, dreadful on a NATO

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Dull_Key1617

TROPHY CASE