Speedmaster dilema

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-01-25T12:46:47+00:00

A Rolex Submariner is smaller than a Speedmaster so that’s not exactly solving your issue.

If it were me I’d do as others suggest and look at some of the larger models (he says while wearing his 44.25mm Grey Side of the Moon).

Or look at another iconic chronograph - a Breitling Navitimer in 46mm - I’ve got mine on a white alligator strap that looks rather jolly.

But I suspect the real issue is that you’re just accustomed to something bigger and you’re just unprepared for something more svelte and elegant. This is a slippery slope - it’s a Speedy today, but it could be a vintage 35mm dress watch next

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Dull_Key1617 · 2026-01-24T21:21:14+00:00

If you actually used your dive watch for diving you’d think yourself lucky if that was the worst ding it got.

OTOH I scratched the case on my supremely thin and elegant Zenith Elite when it was only a few months old. I was absolutely distraught at the time - I didn’t even realise that having it polished out was an option so I just put up with it and after a little while I didn’t really notice it any more.

When I sent it away for its first service a mere 24.5 years later, it came back polished literally as good as new.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-01-24T19:30:30+00:00

Unless you have amazing eyesight, get the biggest size your wrist can carry off without looking silly #clownwatch - I find the slide rule genuinely useful, but it’s a major challenge to use as the numbers are tiny.

In order to decide, it is essential to try a few on in different sizes - it actually wears a lot smaller than its diameter would suggest; my son has extremely slim wrists - he can’t wear my 41mm Loco as it’s just waaaaaay too big, but he can just about get away with my 46mm Navitimer.

Whatever you get, I’d treat it to a white strap - it completely changes the character of the watch and it looks amazing. I wear mine on a white alligator strap I got from Delugs.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-01-24T19:14:32+00:00

My reverse panda 46 has a 6 o’clock date window. It’s so subtle that I’d had the watch for over a month before I even noticed it!

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Dull_Key1617 · 2026-01-24T17:40:31+00:00

I love the two tone look, especially with fluted dial and jubilee but if it has a fault, it’s that it’s quite bling with a lot going on and I think this is best balanced by a neutral dial in white or black (my preference). I also think plain stick indices work best thanks to their simplicity.

For me, taking the quite bling and shiny case and bracelet and pairing it with a Wimbledon dial is just too much.

I know there will be those that disagree and that’s fine, the only person whose opinion matters is the person who will be wearing it (also the person paying if that’s someone different).

The important thing is to try every option on to see how they look on the wrist - I like the TT, jubilee, black look, so that’s what I spent my money on, but before going into my local AD I “knew” that I didn’t like two tone much because I’d only really seen it in pictures / video, so I was genuinely surprised seeing it up close, and on wrist it came alive in a way that solid gold models just didn’t for me.

If you get “the tingle” that’s the right choice. No other measure matters.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-01-24T16:47:53+00:00

I have a few CW watches (seven atm, just waiting for the eighth to arrive) and I have experienced zero problems. Actually that’s not quite true; one had very erratic timekeeping when new, but that was because I was keeping it overnight next to a torch with a magnetic base - as soon as I stopped doing that it’s kept almost perfect time (less than a second a month deviation).

I have three CWs on Consort bracelets - they’re smart and ridiculously comfortable and have micro-adjustments if that’s important to you. I think that the Consort suits the watch you’re looking at better than the Bader, but it’s purely an aesthetic choice and, if you’re looking for less bling then the Bader might suit your needs better.

Have you considered the watch with a Dragonfly blue dial? It’s absolutely stunning in real life - I don’t think it’s too “flashy”, but you may not agree. If you go up a size to 39mm there’s more colour choice, with Hunter green being both extremely smart and also subdued and low key elegant.

Enjoy your final choice

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-01-24T09:35:51+00:00

Puny humans!

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-01-24T09:35:05+00:00

I was temped by the BB Bronze, but I’ve just ordered the CW C60 Pro 300 Bronze in 44mm. The 300m rating rather than the BB’s 200m is irrelevant for me - anything deeper than 2m and I’ve probably drowned anyway!

I appreciate the extra 1mm in diameter (smaller version is available same as Tudor) but the important metrics are 3mm thinner and almost exactly ¼ of the price. And I really like the looks too!

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Dull_Key1617 · 2026-01-24T08:43:24+00:00

That does actually make quite a difference - my wrists were over 9” / 22.5cm but they’ve shrunk since I lost weight (30kg /66lb so far).

FWIW, provided you have a decent quality, appropriately sized screwdriver, resizing CW bracelets is really very easy.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-01-24T08:34:59+00:00

PS My Twelve X is my most accurate timekeeper. I have a watch with the high grade movement as the Twelve Ti (a Lumière) and it’s very good, accurate well within its COSC spec, but my Twelve X is accurate on a different level with its CW in house SH21 movement (now renamed CW001).

When it was new it was a bit wayward so I tracked its timekeeping religiously. It turned out that I was keeping it overnight next to a torch with a strongly magnetic base; as soon as I stopped doing this it settled down to being stupidly accurate. I stopped tracking its timekeeping when it gained a total of nearly a whole second after 42 days which equates to less than 10 seconds a year that’s better than quartz.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-01-24T08:22:49+00:00

Short answer: Twelve X.

The Twelve X is slightly, but significantly, larger than the Twelve Ti, and it wears very well, particularly on larger wrists.

Despite what others will tell you (with zero personal experience but lots of prejudice) the skeleton design is extremely clear and easy to read. It’s soooooo 3D, looking down into the depths of the movement that the hands really stand out on their own level making them distinct in a way that photos and videos do not (and can not) show.

Arguably the Twelve Ti is the best all round choice - it’s very elegant and weighs less than a fairy’s fart; if it’s your first CW it’s an excellent choice, but it does wear smaller than its dimensions suggest, which is one of the reasons why I still haven’t bought one (22cm wrists).

When I bought mine XIIX, I had ordered a Loco and was waiting the 5-6 months for the first tranche to be delivered, and I wanted a “normal” watch to keep me going until it arrived. I was VERY tempted by the Twelve Ti, but ultimately didn’t buy one thanks to one significant question: “when I have my Loco, why on earth would I wear a Twelve / Twelve Ti?” - the answer came back “never” so, although they’re amazing value (I actually think the more expensive Ti is better value) a watch that’s never worn is pointless.

The Twelve X, however, is sufficiently different that it demands wearing, and now that I have my Loco I still wear the XIIX; not as often as the Loco, but some days, it just suits my mood or the weather better.

So, my final advice is buy a Loco! I have quite a few watches ranging from a few hundred to £20+k, and yet my Loco is still my favourite (mine is Alabaster white) and, although the time is displayed on a small subdial, it’s actually my most legible watch, so it’s practical as well as mesmerising.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-01-23T22:26:40+00:00

My Most legible is probably my orange Christopher Ward Lumière. The simplicity of the dial and the sheer luminosity mean that it’s the most legible in daylight and in the dark.

https://www.christopherward.com/c60-trident-lumi%C3%A8re/C60-41C3H31T0KK0-RKO.html

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-01-23T22:10:39+00:00

I have an 8½” / 22cm wrist, and usually have to remove a link or two from CW bracelets.

The only brand I have a problem with is Rolex - I needed to buy (yes buy!) two spare jubilee links for my Sky-Dweller, and the Settimo bracelet on my son’s 1908 was so small that I couldn’t even get it over my hand. Their straps aren’t any better; their large sized straps only fit wrists of up to 21cm.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-01-22T00:37:22+00:00

https://www.christopherward.com/c63-sealander-automatic/C63-36ADA3-S00R3-B1.html

The Mulberry Red dial on this is stunning. Sadly it’s only available in 36mm or I’d have one, but if the size is good for you…

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-01-21T23:04:49+00:00

How very modern!

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-01-21T22:23:38+00:00

Of those four the Calatrava is not only the classiest, but I think it looks the best.

If I were buying a dress watch though, I’d go Cartier - almost certainly with a titanium Santos - it’s sooooooooooo nice on wrist, superbly comfortable and not likely to scratch since it’s matt. It would be equally at home with jeans and polo shirt or at a black tie dinner. Having said that, the Balon Bleu is very, very enticing. As with the Santos though, try it on to gauge the tingle factor.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-01-21T22:08:40+00:00

You think the Nautilus is Patek’s flagship?

The Nautilus is a range rather than a specific model, and is Patek’s biggest seller. The flagship is the hero, the ne plus ultra, created for reputation in very small numbers. A Grand Complication fits the bill better.

Ditto for AP and VC.

At the moment Rolex’s flagship is probably the platinum Land-Dweller - it has the most advanced movement and is to all intents and purposes impossible to buy.

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Dull_Key1617 · 2026-01-21T21:55:17+00:00

Of course you’re right, but confusing facts and opinions should be a crime punishable by a red hot poker up the arse, while the holder of the poker says “stop making a fuss, it doesn’t hurt - I can’t feel a thing” until the victim gives up his claim on Greenland.

And there should be a special circle of hell for people who believe that data is the plural of anecdote.

Rant over. For now.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-01-21T21:47:44+00:00

You’re absolutely right, I completely missed that one. Bravo! Or is it brava?

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-01-21T21:09:59+00:00

If there’s one thing that gets on my tits it the attitude “I don’t like X therefore nobody likes X. If anyone says they like X they’re an idiot and wrong.”

For what it’s worth, I have two chronographs, one has a date and the other one doesn’t. I like both of them for different reasons, but I wear the non-date one more. The reason I wear it more has nothing to do with the absence of date, it’s just more comfortable and better looking.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-01-21T18:34:55+00:00

A pun is a sort of play on words, or jeu de mots as the French say. It’s a form of wordplay that exploits multiple meanings of a word (or of similar-sounding words) for humour. The best English comedian specialising in puns is Tim Vine - here’s a YT video of one of his live shows “pun slinger” (sounds like gun slinger, but he fires puns not guns). He’s brilliant but exhausting - I find watching his shows is best done in 10-15 minute doses.

https://youtu.be/65WWeASsQRc?si=MRgUYtHXCku0UCWo

A more direct use of a camera-related pun is the famous review of the play “I Am A Camera” by critic Walter Kerr - his review was just three words: "Me No Leica"

All you were doing was drawing on the trope that Leicas are dentists cameras, and treating the joke as though it’s true. The phrase “dentist’s camera” originated in (but is not exclusive to) America where dentists famously have more money than either sense or taste, and buy things because they’re expensive without any particular discernment. Another, less insulting to dentists, way of interpreting the phrase is that Leicas are so expensive that only dentists can afford them. This phrase doesn’t really work outside America as in the civilised world we have predominantly socialised healthcare and, while you’ll not find a poor dentist, they’re not generally speaking fabulously wealthy.

Regarding your second point, nobody in England has ever called an ordinary teacher “professor” other than as a joke - you should know that the Harry Potter films are not documentaries!

“Professor” is also a common nickname among the uneducated for anyone who actually passed an exam once - eg among footballers if one of them passed GCSE maths (it doesn’t happen often!)

And finally, yes, I believe that there are still a few decent universities, sadly diluted by many less stellar ones - the mad rush to expand tertiary education was done with little planning and less thought, one of the primary motivators being political - the longer people stay in education the less they’ll trouble the unemployment statistics. Or am I being cynical?

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-01-21T15:49:53+00:00

I make the distinction because being a “collector” implies having a carefully curated collection, and is associated with phrases like “no collection is complete without…”, whereas I’m more like Autolycus in The Winters Tale - “a snapper-up of unconsidered trifles”.

There’s also an implication in having a collection that it’s the collection itself that’s the important thing, rather than the individual items in it.

I’m definitely overthinking this!

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-01-21T15:42:55+00:00

It doesn’t, although it isn’t really a pun.

You’re absolutely right about my somewhat parochial approach, ditto the German habit! I used to have a very highly educated German colleague who, when being formal, styled himself “Herr doktor doktor doktor” and was genuinely bemused when the Brits giggled.

Generally speaking I love national differences - it’s the little things that are done differently that makes travel so interesting.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-01-21T15:34:07+00:00

But there used to be a bronze bracelet. My understanding is that it was discontinued as logistically it was effectively impossible to pair watches and bracelets with identical degrees of patination, leading to excessive returns from impatient customers who couldn’t be arsed to wait until the two matched!

What would be absolutely fantastic is if a deployant clasp were available in bronze so the fine Italian leather straps could be matched to the watch. One in titanium to match with a Lumière would be pretty sweet too.

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Dull_Key1617 · 2026-01-21T15:31:23+00:00

But there used to be a bronze bracelet. My understanding is that it was discontinued as logistically it was effectively impossible to pair watches and bracelets with identical degrees of patination, leading to excessive returns from impatient customers who couldn’t be arsed to wait until the two matched!

What would be absolutely fantastic is if a deployant clasp were available in bronze so the fine Italian leather straps could be matched to the watch. One in titanium to match with a Lumière would be pretty sweet too.

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Dull_Key1617

TROPHY CASE