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Thread: Inspiration needed - Dressy Sports watch

  1. #1
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    Inspiration needed - Dressy Sports watch

    I don't think these "suggest a watch" threads are always well received but I've found them useful in the past so here goes :)

    Being the sole-earner with 2 kids and a mortgage I don't find myself in a position to spend big on a watch very often, but I'm about to sell something and have the green light from the mrs to spend the proceeds on a watch. Budget will be about 3k and due to the nature of what I'm selling it would be nice if this were to become an heirloom for the kids so it would be nice to buy new, but not essential since it will restrict my options.

    The criteria:
    -40mm preferably, possibly 42 but depends on lug-to-lug being less than 50mm, 48mm being the sweet spot.
    -something distinctive/different from the norm
    -Dressy but not an all-out dress watch. Maybe a polished sports watch or a Nomos style that combines dress and sports watch.
    -Really like blue dials so that would be good ... and if it had a red seconds hand even better! :)

    Some photos of what I've been thinking so far:

    SOH42


    Omega Speedmaster broadarrow - Love this but not sure if it will fit:


    Nomos Ahoi - this is cool but I don't like the lugs, Nomos Club is nice too:


    And a safe option, but i do like these also I could buy brand new, not a fan of the bracelets though:


    So something a bit flashy but not shouty, sporty, left field, could be something with some gold in it maybe ... any ideas?

    Thanks

  2. #2
    Grand Master Dave+63's Avatar
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    I was going to suggest an Explorer but even the 39mm one is too small unfortunately but a Milgauss would just fit the bill (although may be just over budget).

    The Superocean or the SOH are good calls or possibly the Tag Heuer Autavia. There’s a brand new one on sale at my local AD for £3045.

  3. #3
    Master
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    Have you considered a Grand Seiko?


  4. #4
    I think the Super Ocean Heratage takes stone beating - classy but solid.
    If your not planning on reselling then perfect (Breitling residuals are not the best, but 15% off should be easy).
    Classic like a sub, but different and never mistaken for one.

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  5. #5
    Craftsman RS404's Avatar
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    Omega Aqua Terra would probably be a more versatile watch than the SMP, very smart on a leather strap, sporty on bracelet or rubber.

    http://www.watchfinder.co.uk/Omega/Aqua%20Terra%20150m%20Gents/231.10.39.21.03.002/26741/item/112435
    Last edited by RS404; 17th May 2018 at 07:39.

  6. #6
    Grand Master RustyBin5's Avatar
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    i think this has bags of character - comes with a great nato to give it a more casual look also and certainly a unique iconic design in its own right. I love the GS SMPc and Breitling suggestions as well, but this Tudor I think is prob the most versatile choice

  7. #7


    The Blue Dial 42mm Oris 65 on a bracelet is a nice looking thing.

    Then so is the Black Bay Blue.

    For something less sporty and more dressy I'd go for something without a Dive bezel.

    Black Bay 41 / Oyster Perpetual 39 / Aqua Terra.

  8. #8
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    The GS GMT is a great call! I love that watch and had always put it on the back-burner as I couldn't afford it, but definitely an option now. Would love to see one in the flesh before buying but not really an option in NZ unfortunately.
    Aqua Terra, very nice watch but just needs something a little extra. Love the Tudor, nice splash of colour and colour is definitely a good thing in my book, I think they're a bit big though for me. Oris look good too, nice classic look.

    I was also tempted by one of Piers', beautiful watch:


  9. #9
    Grand Master
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    I like the blue SOH. The mesh is second to none imo and its nice and timeless.
    Only other thing that springs immediately to mind is waiting for the tudor gmt or BB 58 but they're black dials. I think you can "dress" sub styles with anything tbh.

  10. #10
    Master
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    Well below budget but a Longines Conquest Sport, I think the automatic is about £800 now, only 39mm but 300m WR


  11. #11
    Perhaps too left-field, but Nomos Ahoi Atlantic? Blue dial (very, very dark blue), 200m WR and great lume on the hands.




  12. #12
    Tudor Black Bay GMT would do it for me, I think its around that budget?

    Mark

  13. #13
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    I mentioned the Nomos in my OP but didn't put a picture up, I love it, not sure i'm man enough to carry-off that strap though! :) looks well finished and put together too but I'm just not keen on the lugs... having said that it does tick the brief in every other area. Do you know what the lug-to-lug is?

    Longines is great for the money, will have a quick google to see if there are any other colour variations.

    Thanks everyone for the suggestions so far
    Last edited by edfuller; 17th May 2018 at 10:22.

  14. #14
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    Oh and the Black Bay, I do like the style and the amount of colour options but I tried one on in an AD and found the case to be a little chunky for me.

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by edfuller View Post
    I mentioned the Nomos in my OP but didn't put a picture up, I love it, not sure i'm man enough to carry-off that strap though! :) looks well finished and put together too but I'm just not keen on the lugs... having said that it does tick the brief in every other area. Do you know what the lug-to-lug is?
    You asked nicely, so here you go! It's 51mm. Nomos watches are often long, lug to lug, and a NATO can help disguise that. This Ahoi is a special watch, far more than the sum of its parts. It's been the watch I've worn most this year, and its got a lot of competition.


  16. #16
    Grand Master RustyBin5's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by verv View Post
    I like the blue SOH. The mesh is second to none imo and its nice and timeless.
    Only other thing that springs immediately to mind is waiting for the tudor gmt or BB 58 but they're black dials. I think you can "dress" sub styles with anything tbh.
    ill second that. This and the Tudor Chrono are my Goto summer wears

  17. #17
    Master
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    The SOH is a lovely clean watch


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  18. #18
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    Longines Hydro/Conquest are great value for money and look great blue-faced. Dressy on a bracelet, sporty on a rubber strap, and will be significantly under your budget. I've had a few and always liked them.

    Having said that, if I had the money to spare I'd probably go for the Black Bay.

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  19. #19

    Inspiration needed - Dressy Sports watch

    Quote Originally Posted by edfuller View Post
    Oh and the Black Bay, I do like the style and the amount of colour options but I tried one on in an AD and found the case to be a little chunky for me.
    This year at Basel they launched the Black Bay Fifty Eight. This is a Black Bay with an in-house movement and a smaller, thinner 39mm case. I can’t recall the exact dimensions, but I believe it was similar to the traditional Submariner in size, so c.12mm thickness and c.47mm lug-to-lug. That should wear well on all but the smallest of men’s wrists.

    Not sure when they’ll be in shops, but can’t be long now.

    Not *dressy* per se, but a really handsome watch which would look fine with a suit in my opinion.

    Not a blue dial either, but the gilt dial, bezel, and red bezel marker avoids a plain, monochromatic design.

    http://watchesbysjx.com/2018/03/up-c...nd-better.html
    Last edited by Dark Side of The Loon; 17th May 2018 at 14:18.

  20. #20
    Master
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    That SuperOcean on the milanese is lovely but it would have to be s/h and a black bezel for me. that Longines is lovely.

  21. #21
    Grand Master Onelasttime's Avatar
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    Below budget (not necessarily a bad thing), but what about the Archimede Outdoor Protect?



    Maybe not dressy enough but 39mm, hardened case and bracelet, and available in black, white, sand, green and red dials:

    https://www.archimede-watches.com/wa...r/protect.html

  22. #22
    Craftsman Exiztence's Avatar
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    What about IWC Mark XVIII Petit Prince? New Black Bay "Explorer" can be had in blue dial too...

  23. #23
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    I think Omega Speedmaster broadarrow.

  24. #24
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    Maybe a little too left field but your thread title caught my attention.

    I have recently acquired a pre owned Dornbluth 99.2 that I am most taken with. I raise it here as it is it's versatility which I like the most.
    Whilst I believe these would normally be considered to sit on the dressier end of the spectrum. This particular one has a matt black dial, painted lumed numbers to go with the lumed hands. The original owner also selected a mostly brushed case.
    As such, I find it to occupy the middle ground between sport and dress very successfully, at least in appearance. So much so that I have chosen to put it on a black sailcloth strap. No doubt this is probably not to most peoples taste for this sort of watch, but I really like it.
    It also came with the rare Dornbluth metal bracelet which is very impressive. I haven't tried it yet, but I guess that would be yet another push in the 'sport' direction.

    My only concern, and maybe someone with more knowledge than me on these things could advise...
    Whilst I find it sporty in appearance, and believe that it came with a basic waterproof rating when new. It occurred to me whilst being bounced around on my bike, due to the sorry state of Britiish roads recently. That I may be being foolish subjecting a 15 year old handmade watch to such roughness?

  25. #25
    Grand Master zelig's Avatar
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    May I suggest something from Chronoswiss?

    A quick strap change dresses up or down.
    And Available in several dial colours - black, brown, blue, white in 2 case sizes. Here’s my Pacific in Blue.



    z

  26. #26
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    Few year old aqua terra, or this year's has a 70hr power reserve and right sort of price. Bremont do some in that price range, like the airco due out soon. https://www.bremont.com/watch/airco-mach-3/27242

    Muhle glashutte have some in this style but below budget.

  27. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by RustyBin5 View Post
    ill second that. This and the Tudor Chrono are my Goto summer wears
    :O, gorgeous! Is that the 45mm?

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  28. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by Qatar-wol View Post
    You asked nicely, so here you go! It's 51mm. Nomos watches are often long, lug to lug, and a NATO can help disguise that. This Ahoi is a special watch, far more than the sum of its parts. It's been the watch I've worn most this year, and its got a lot of competition.

    Thanks very much for checking, beautiful watch but the lugs are just a little too long for me, my wrist if 6.5 or 6.75" and while I probably could get away with it I wouldn't find it comfortable.

    Holy Moses - The Dornbluth is stunning, a step above and one which I was starting to think I'd break the budget for but at 42mm for a dress watch it will be too large for me.

    zelig - I love that Chronoswiss, did you buy it new? I'm googling but not finding it for sale, Joma have some but not the blue dial, maybe they don't do it anymore. Mido do one very similar which looks good but may not be on the same level in terms of quality.

    Dark Side of The Loon - Thanks for the info on the BB, I think that would be the sweet spot size wise but I'm starting to lean more to the dressier side.

    Front-runners so far, Breitling SOH, possibly a GS if I can find one in budget, Chronoswiss blue, Dornbluth looked great but too big so maybe a Marine Chronometer style, Stowa/Steinhart do versions but they're possibly UNDER budget, never thought I'd say that! :)

    Also having a sniff around JLC although they pretty much all break the budget.

    Must admit I'm quite taken by this but at 42mm it's probably too big:

  29. #29
    Master deerworrier's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by edfuller View Post
    but not really an option in NZ unfortunately.
    I'm working down in Whiby at the moment so can bring mine along and a few boys from Welly and Kapiti have various others you can check out

    forgot to mention that partridges now carry a selection of GS at there Welly and CHCH stores.
    Last edited by deerworrier; 18th May 2018 at 04:29.

  30. #30
    Grand Master zelig's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by edfuller View Post

    zelig - I love that Chronoswiss, did you buy it new? I'm googling but not finding it for sale, Joma have some but not the blue dial, maybe they don't do it anymore. Mido do one very similar which looks good but may not be on the same level in terms of quality.
    I bought new from amazon.
    It’s still available here - http://www.gemnation.com/watches/Chr...-BL-36312.html

    But bide your time & you should find one cheaper.

    z

  31. #31
    Grand Master RustyBin5's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Doive88 View Post
    :O, gorgeous! Is that the 45mm?

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    No it’s the 42mm. The 45mm has date window at 6 o’clock

  32. #32
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    Quote Originally Posted by deerworrier View Post
    I'm working down in Whiby at the moment so can bring mine along and a few boys from Welly and Kapiti have various others you can check out

    forgot to mention that partridges now carry a selection of GS at there Welly and CHCH stores.
    Awesome thanks very much for that, do you come down to Welly much?

    Didn't know partridges did GS, will go take a look, cheers

  33. #33
    Master deerworrier's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by edfuller View Post
    Awesome thanks very much for that, do you come down to Welly much?
    a few of us try and get together every month or so at Munchen on queens wharf, we are probably due a gathering so i'll let you know. i have had a few GS, currently have a spring drive GMT, few boys have dress watches and im pretty sure there are a few 029 divers around. I'll PM you next week

  34. #34
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    Sounds great! thanks for that :)

  35. #35
    Grand Master jwg663's Avatar
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    May I suggest you have a look at Ulysse Nardin? Maxi Marine, Marine Chrono, San Marco & Classico should all be just about do-able in your budget.


    For examples:


    CHRONO24
    Last edited by jwg663; 18th May 2018 at 17:25. Reason: Typo.
    ______

    ​Jim.

  36. #36
    Master
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    This is the only watch in my collection that I consider "Dressy", it is also a secret pleasure as most people think it's just another Seiko.


  37. #37

  38. #38
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    Thanks for the suggestions everyone

    jwg663 I had totally forgotten about UN, they are the just the right combination of "out there" designs and craftsmanship ... having said that I'm drawn to one of their more conservative models, unfortunately most of their line-up are 43mm but this one is stunning at 40mm:



    Then I started looking at speedies again, the good thing about their endless special editions is that there has to be one out there to suit everyone, I think this is the only gold watch I could wear:



    But obviously too expensive, but then I saw these:





    The blue is almost perfect, it doesn't have a date window which people will argue makes for a cleaner dial but I really miss a date when I don't have it, I'm too thick to remember it no matter how hard i try :) but it's not hard to find it out so it's certainly not a deal-breaker ... and it's 40mm!

    I think I actually prefer the black, I like the high contrast and the love the red seconds hand but it has that stupid pulsations text on the bezel which would niggle me. I don't care about having useless scales like tachymeter etc because they look cool but that text just puts me off. Seriously, can people not count pulses to 15 seconds and then times by 4? :) Is it something used so frequently it needs to go on a watch? So for that reason I'd go blue in this case. They're about GBP1500 over budget though so probably a moot point :(
    Last edited by edfuller; 19th May 2018 at 01:49.

  39. #39
    Journeyman Seal-Dweller's Avatar
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    Another vote for the Speedmaster Broad Arrow - I really love mine.



    The white-faced Milgauss is one of my favourites too, both beautiful, elegant pieces IMHO.


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  40. #40
    Not sure if you have discounted the Omega AT completely but IMO this is a first rate dressy sports watch. Mine gets loads of wrist time and compliments. Depending on whether worn on bracelet or steel it offers great versatility with fantastic looks.






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  41. #41
    Master blackal's Avatar
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    For me - it would be a classic (pre fat-frame) non-date Submariner.

  42. #42
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    Breguet marine 5817 big date

  43. #43
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    Milgauss looks great in white, not considered one before.

    The AT is a beautiful watch and I have considered one in the past, just fancy something different this time around.

    Regarding the sub, I've had one before but sold it as I also have a GMT and they're too similar, great watch but poor bracelet for something commanding that price IMO

    Breguet marine 5817 big date - Beautiful watch and I would definitely consider it if it weren't for those lugs, just too big for me.

  44. #44
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    Rolex Explorer.

    Although not the correct size, it has a nice presence.

    Works well with everything.

  45. #45
    Craftsman marcus.furius's Avatar
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    How about a Constellation as something a little different?

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  46. #46
    I really don’t like Breitlings, but I saw one of these in the metal today and was impressed. A little derivative, but perhaps that’s why it’s the first Breitling I like:


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