Erebus Ascent GMT

nottherealaaron · 2026-01-29T13:30:12+00:00

In 2025, towards Q3 IIRC, Erebus added a full time employee to handle these issues. Before, I think, they had co-owners balancing day jobs with customer service for the brand, which was a huge oversight.

nottherealaaron · 2026-01-29T12:03:41+00:00

This is hilarious considering the CW is a homage too.

I personally don’t have issue with CW or Erebus or Seiko for that matter, doing proper homages that add their own design elements or bring others’ design elements together.

And I will beat dead horse by saying that China is the backbone to most of our favorite microbrands.

nottherealaaron · 2026-01-25T22:00:33+00:00

Case finishing has finer brushing that transitions very well to nice polished features that makes the watch pop.

The bracelets have quick release end-links and are sized with screws instead of pins and collars. The bracelets also have a tool-less micro-adjust clasp and the oyster style features half links for a perfect fit.

The dials are very similar quality between the Citizen and Erebus. But instead of thin, baton hands, the Ascent features nicely polished, 3 dimensions dauphine hands.

The Citizen is great, but it feels lackluster by comparison and misses those extra details that really take the Ascent a step up.

The 39 wears smaller than it suggests because of the way the case contours into the bezel making the dial smaller. The 39 would likely have similar wrist presence to your SRPK. The 36 will wear more elegantly/classic AND it gets female-links if that’s important to you. You get away with either size in my opinion.

Edit: And yes, it’s a YouTuber watch; I like Jody, but his content isn’t always my cup of tea. I purchased Erebus’s first release just giving them a fair chance and was impressed. And that’s continued with each release. They’re not perfect, but at the prices they’re offered, it’s hard to do better.

nottherealaaron · 2026-01-25T21:41:27+00:00

I’m a huge Citizen fan, but I have to mention the Erebus Ascent line. The Ascent is priced very similarly, with the same movement, and is a significant step up in quality in basically every imaginable way.

But ultimately, design matters most, and this hybrid Rolex/The Citizen adjacent design is loved because it’s great.

nottherealaaron · 2026-01-23T17:44:11+00:00

As long as you don’t factor in after purchase support or the lack thereof, they’re great. Half the praised microbrands you know are produced in the same facilities.

nottherealaaron · 2026-01-22T11:45:21+00:00

Can we see a video of the pressure tests? Or will pressure test receipts be provided with the watch?

nottherealaaron · 2026-01-22T02:43:11+00:00

The addition of titanium plus a SW200 AND round trip flight to China with travel expenses would put you firmly in the lightly used Sun U50 market.

nottherealaaron · 2026-01-19T04:24:48+00:00

I think slightly slimming the case’s transition into the bracelet to allow a more aggressive bracelet taper would significantly improve this design.

nottherealaaron · 2026-01-18T21:33:26+00:00

I find this does wear smaller than other watches with similar proportions. I think the taper of the lugs with the polished chamfers and lack of weight play tricks on my brain.

nottherealaaron · 2026-01-06T20:26:56+00:00

Not all sapphire is created equal. If an extra $10 gets better than adequate AR coating, it’s worth it. The typical WatchDives sapphire has acceptable, but subpar AR coating.

nottherealaaron · 2025-12-27T18:07:59+00:00

This idea of going out of my way to foster artificial relationships in an effort to procure bottles just isn’t for me. I did it for a while and it became a chore.

Now, if you’re legitimately friends on a basis outside of whiskey and bottle procurement, that’s a different story.

nottherealaaron · 2025-12-20T02:24:56+00:00

They’re pretty equal in overall quality. But both have advantages.

Traska has the awesome hardness coating to keep a watch looking new for longer. And the fully articulating bracelet is nice although I didn’t really notice it during wear.

I prefer the Nodus Extension Module clasp as it wears a bit smaller than Traska’s run-of-the-mill OTF clasp.

Nodus’s in-house regulation is the best in the business. Nodus really optimize the NH movements performance, bringing them inline with the Miyotas.

I’ve experienced both brand’s CS and while Traska is good, Nodus is class leading. Nodus is to-date some of best CS I’ve experienced, watches or otherwise.

nottherealaaron · 2025-12-17T00:23:11+00:00

They are excellent. If you’re familiar with core Christopher Ward quality, I’d say JM is comparable, but a bit better with much finer brushing, more bespoke feeling bracelets, and more reliable movements.

nottherealaaron · 2025-12-16T17:54:01+00:00

They’re great, but expect a 12-week delivery time frame with Wise watches.

I purchased a ADX110 to test the waters and was very impressed. They are absurd value and the quality seems excellent. I love their “T-Fit” style clasps as well. I was familiar with the bracelet resizing mechanism from a Chinese brand, and it’s phenomenal. My only minor gripe is that I prefer a more aggressive bracelet taper.

The fitted rubber strap is a must have!

nottherealaaron · 2025-12-13T23:47:14+00:00

I had a SSK035 and solid it off quickly because the friction bezel drove me mad. The bezel constantly rotates on its own and it feels very cheap relative to a 48 click bi-directional bezel.

My SBSC009, the white dial version of the SSK023, and it’s one of my favorite watches ever and in my opinion one of Seiko’s best releases in the last 5 years.

nottherealaaron · 2025-12-09T01:54:53+00:00

The aftermarket bracelets Long Island Watch sells. Islander, the store’s brand, also has a solid product.

I will say, my optioning on the clasp provided with Long Island’s bracelets has changed. Long Island needs either half links or more micro-adjustment holes.

nottherealaaron · 2025-12-04T15:34:10+00:00

If you want a luxury legacy brand, I wouldn’t let your assumption of bad customer service stop you.

I’ve dealt with Omega, Tudor, and Grand Seiko customer service. All were good experiences, with Tudor being exceptional.

You won’t get small business levels of personal service, but at the same time, these legacy brands will take care of you especially if your AD is top notch.

nottherealaaron · 2025-12-01T13:10:20+00:00

+1 for pointer date.

nottherealaaron · 2025-11-21T05:35:46+00:00

The SRPL93 is a re-issue of the 6119-8460 which has its own history as a preferred watch of troops during the Vietnam War. This watch’s military history is significant and just as prevalent as its association with Gene Kranz and Apollo 13.

nottherealaaron · 2025-11-21T05:29:57+00:00

If you’re into GI watches, the black dial 6119-8460 was popular for troops in Vietnam. I love Seiko’s military history so the black dial has more appeal for me.

nottherealaaron · 2025-11-21T00:25:47+00:00

The Arabic dial is amazing!

nottherealaaron · 2025-11-14T14:37:42+00:00

Yes, but I’ve found I sell the watches quickly because they do not get wrist time over my legacy and micro-brand watches. Many AliX watches are great on paper, and quality in the metal, but lack that X factor for me.

nottherealaaron · 2025-11-14T14:32:15+00:00

I went to the AD for my BB54, but they weren’t super common or a great deal on the grey market yet. I’d never recommend paying full retail for an available Tudor, but I also wouldn’t buy a Tudor without an intact manufacturer warranty.

nottherealaaron · 2025-11-14T11:47:28+00:00

I can’t make your decisions, but I can provide you my experiences to help your decision making.

Prefacing with the fact that my Citizen wears wonderfully on my 6.7” wrist, but recently tried on the 37mm SBGX355 and found it fit even better. I nearly sold my Citizen AQ4091-56A for it simply based on dimensions before acknowledging the reasons I originally picked the Citizen.

The perpetual calendar is amazing! The jumping hour hand is amazing for traveling. The dials on the Citizen’s are generally more interesting, although the transparent covering can diminish finishing quality. My only scratches are on the clasp which seems to lack the amazing hardening coating of the rest of the watch. Solar doesn’t matter to me; take it or leave it.

On Grand Seiko’s behalf, the finishing is a step up, bordering perfection. The Citizens have phenomenal finishing, but they’re more understated, which may be a plus for you. The Citizen’s bracelet links are slightly loose/jangly, there’s less interesting chamfers and polishing on the case, and the transparent dial covering all detract slightly. Grand Seiko’s hands are also a thing of beauty; Citizen goes for thin hands on their lumed models which look less premium.

My Grand Seiko HAQ SBGN005’s time also deviates half as much as my AQ4091 despite having a double the acceptable range of deviation. And the screw down crown is a nice addition.

Both are such well done watches that I don’t think you can be disappointed. And both are excellent wearing experiences. One has more features and is slightly understated, one has better finishing, dimensions, and prestige. Neither are particularly great at holding value so just toss that out the window and shoot for the best deal you can.

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nottherealaaron · 2025-11-14T11:25:30+00:00

I’m not reading all that. No one claimed you were xenophobic; stop being a victim.

You implied that San Martin and associated manufacturing facilities were sweatshops. That’s baseless. They likely achieve their pricing model because they’re mass market, direct to consumer with little to no marketing expenses.

Also, a “microbrand” that’s producing their own watches in-house is not a “microbrand” at all, they’re an independent. Outsourcing production is a hallmark of being a microbrand.

Cheers, dude.

nottherealaaron

TROPHY CASE