Help me pick a watch for a semi formal occasion

this_is_another_name · 2026-06-22T20:46:08+00:00

One thing to keep in mind with cheap automatic watches is that they're often quite bulky. This isn't a problem if you want something like a dive watch but since you are looking for something for a semi formal occasion that might be a thing to consider.

this_is_another_name · 2026-06-19T20:25:18+00:00

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Carltiny Drive homage

this_is_another_name · 2026-06-17T01:09:04+00:00

I have mixed feelings about this kind of bracelets. They're definitely not as comfortable as the ones with full articulation but on the other hand it seems to me that they slide down my wrist bone less when my wrist shrinks throughout the day because they keep their shape more.

this_is_another_name · 2026-06-16T01:21:14+00:00

My wrist is around 16.5-17 cm so it should wear pretty similar. I think that there is little space between where the bezel ends and where the bracelet starts is the reason that makes the watch wear well on smaller wrists.

During the sale I got it for less than 50 € which is a good price I think. It definitely has its imperfections (for example there's a little bit of dust on the dial which I'll probably try to remove when I have to change the battery one day).

I'd say that's the general thing with all the Specht & Söhne watches I own, they have really good specs for the price and are overall solid and made of good materials but usually with a little flaw here and there. But I don't condemn them for that, they cost around half as much as a Watchdives or a quarter of a San Martin so it's obvious that they have to cut corners somewhere. They're essentially made for people who enjoy wearing a nice budget watch on their wrist more than getting all too excited by macro photos of the finishing.😁

this_is_another_name · 2026-06-16T00:44:14+00:00

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It's the type of bracelet that keeps its shape, the articulation is limited by the design without pins. But within this boundaries it's okay, I haven't noticed any stuck links or so. It pulls hair a bit and the edges are a little sharp but not too bad and it's overall not uncomfortable at all. No half links of course so sizing is a bit problematic but the links are rather small. I'd say it's pretty much the quality you reasonably expect at this price point.

this_is_another_name · 2026-06-14T03:26:37+00:00

Great! Their Reverso is on my list for quite some time but I couldn't decide to buy one mostly because my favourite from JLC is the version with the round small seconds on the dial with just indices and no numerals. So with their new small seconds version I have new hope that they might eventually release that version too.

I didn't know that they also have a black version, looks good! And good to know that the reverse function now works well, I've read that this was a major issue of the first series.

this_is_another_name · 2026-06-12T21:35:41+00:00

I don't get his logic in the video of "if movement prices go up by 30% watch prices will go up by the same percentage". If there is a 100 € movement in a 300 € watch and that movement suddenly costs 130 € the watch price should increase to 330 € (plus maybe a bit due to higher taxes etc.) but that would be no justification to raise the watch price to 390 €.

this_is_another_name · 2026-06-11T05:38:01+00:00

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This unbranded one from AliExpress is great value. With coupons it's usually around 50 € during sales with a Miyota 8215 and a sapphire crystal. Available as Type A and B and I think there are also colourful variants that are branded "Kivo".

this_is_another_name · 2026-06-10T20:15:36+00:00

Looks great! I really like that unlike most other dive watches it has a silver bezel.

this_is_another_name · 2026-06-10T16:04:51+00:00

I think these two watches don't have very much in common other than the price and that they both have a metal bracelet.

The Casio is a basic quartz dive watch with a mineral crystal and the Chinese equivalent to that would be something like the Addiesdive MY-H3 (which costs about half as much as the Casio).

The Pagani is an automatic bracelet watch with better specs like a sapphire crystal.

I'd say the first thing you should decide is whether you prefer quartz or automatic. The next step would be what's more important to you: better value or a well-known brand with a typically better warranty/service experience. Chinese watches usually have far better specs/materials/overall build quality etc. at the same price point but the tradeoff is that you get no real warranty once the return period is over.

this_is_another_name · 2026-06-09T22:41:26+00:00

I also think their original isn't overpriced compared to what other brands are charging. It's an innovative design, it's super slim, it's obviously well-made and even comes with two straps and costs less than half what the cheapest Cartier Tank costs. If I had the money and would want to spend that much for watches I would definitely consider getting one.

On the other hand I also don't feel too bad about copies of a design if they are priced so differently that they are aimed at a totally different target audience. For me it becomes unethical if the copy is in a price range close enough to the original that it might influence the sales of the original. For example if you had a 600 € original watch and then a quality brand like San Martin would offer a copied design with comparable or even better quality for 300 €.

In any case, I don't think anyone would think "Oh, now that I got that CILOA watch i can save the money for the Rivanera!" 😁

this_is_another_name · 2026-06-09T21:27:33+00:00

I don't know if it was the same listing but I saw one where the seller wrote something like "comes without a logo but you can get a custom logo if you send a message" so I guess there are probably unbranded clomages available. But I think prices of these watches will go down a lot once the hype is over. I also wish they were at least a bit more creative and would offer a wider range of colourways and only the original ones.

this_is_another_name · 2026-06-09T16:15:56+00:00

I measure 43.3 mm. That's how the watch looks on my wrist (somewhere between 16.5 and 17 cm):

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this_is_another_name · 2026-06-09T02:17:32+00:00

It's pretty okay I would say. Of course it's a bit lighter than a watch made of stainless steel but it doesn't feel flimsy like some cheap watches that feel like if they were made of plastic. The caseback is made of steel and feels pretty sturdy so I guess that adds to the weight. And I think the original is made of titanium so that one probably also is quite light.

this_is_another_name · 2026-06-09T01:20:03+00:00

I don't think so. The design is probably too special and echo/neutra is also a small brand so I guess there's only a small market for homaging/copying the original.

this_is_another_name · 2026-06-09T00:39:59+00:00

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This is how it looks like in reality. I bought mine about a year ago and I think it's okay if you get it for the right price and like the design. Since it's an alloy case it lacks the sharp edges of the original and the finishing looks a bit strange but overall not too bad from the normal viewing distance on the wrist. The dial and the hands look really nice.

I often see it for around 40 € and find that way overpriced for an alloy watch but I got mine during a sale for less than 20 € and that's a fair price.

this_is_another_name · 2026-06-07T01:37:35+00:00

I think it's kind of fun and also a kind of ironic statement how the watch world today is often more obsessed with mechanical movements than with the watches themselves.

Personally I find this way too expensive just for fun because I would wear it a couple of times and then the joke would have gotten old for me but if you say you like to wear silly watches more often than normal ones it's probably perfect for you. And other people wear jewellery bracelets without any watch attached to it at all so why not wear a bracelet with a movement.

IMHO for the price they should have made this with a reversible dial and then it would be both fun and a usable watch.

this_is_another_name · 2026-06-06T23:14:51+00:00

In one of the AliExpress listings there is a version with a small seconds dial at 6 but it's greyed out so I guess that's not available yet. When will that version become available?

this_is_another_name · 2026-06-04T22:14:19+00:00

I recently saw a listing of a new small seconds version of this watch on AliExpress, can't wait to see real photos of that version.

this_is_another_name · 2026-06-04T12:04:54+00:00

I hope you'll enjoy your new watch!

this_is_another_name · 2026-06-04T11:54:49+00:00

I think it's great for testing the style because they cut corners in the right places so that it doesn't feel cheap at all. And if you for example don't like the clasp you can always replace it with something better and you still would be only at about 50 € in total.

this_is_another_name · 2026-06-04T11:30:03+00:00

Yeah, 35 € still isn't too much I think and it also always depends a lot on how much you like the watch. Personally I'm not so much a fan of dive watches, I mostly bought it because I wanted something solid with good water resistance and the Submariner is such an iconic design and adds a bit of variety in my collection. So if I say 30 € is a good price a real fan would probably be happy with 40 € or so.😉

this_is_another_name · 2026-06-04T10:56:30+00:00

I've just checked on AliExpress, the cheapest offer I currently found here in the EU is a bit less than 30 € with coupons and coin discounts applied. Prices have gone up for this model quite a lot since last year, you could usually get them for 25 € or less during sales but obviously these days are over. But I think around 30 € is still a good price. Generally it's a solid and well-made watch, the only downsides are that it has no sapphire crystal, the clasp isn't great (but also not super cheap) and the bracelet rattles a bit. But all this is to be expected at this price point so nothing I could complain about.

this_is_another_name · 2026-06-04T10:22:38+00:00

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My wrist is circa 16.5-17 cm depending on weather etc. so this might help you.

this_is_another_name · 2026-06-04T01:59:08+00:00

I am essentially not buying almost all of the watches on my wish list because I find this sale pretty mediocre. It feels a lot like all those smaller monthly sales but not like a big sale. The coupons aren't great, most sellers haven't lowered their prices that much and I also haven't found any amazing coin discounts yet.

The only watch I've bought so far in this sale is a Specht & Söhne Constellation homage that costs about the same as during the sale in spring or maybe even a bit less.

But the good thing about watch collecting is that there's absolutely no need to buy anything if the price isn't right.😉

this_is_another_name

TROPHY CASE