If it were me, I would look for an Oris TT1 diver, or the Longines Hydroquest (I know you said you felt it a little understated).
Stowa Seatime (used) would also be a good option, and you might even catch a Tag Aquaracer just in that price range (used).
I have all of these apart from the Stowa, although I have two other Stowas, and they really are well put together,
For me, used is the way to go..
Lots of good suggestions but the Certina would tempt me if I could carry off something that size, which I can't. There's big and there's super big, the latter looks cool for a while but that can wear off quickly from what I've seen.
Pricing for these seems to be a bit all over the place (I've seen prices from around £900 to £2300) but the spec looks decent. This particular seller on eBay clearly wants to get rid of their stock of these and has massively reduced their price to just under £500 plus import costs so may be worth a look:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/181706258867
Last edited by Binsull; 8th February 2016 at 20:04.
These are lovely watches.
As is the Aegis from Obris Morgan and it's half the price of your budget so you could get 2
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1454957518.324429.jpg
^ this is a great suggestion, off to find out more about this model now!
I'd look at a s/h Longines or Oris but if Steinhart are still on your list you could always visit Neil at Chronomaster and try one on there. He's about a hour and half away from you down the M6. He was very helpful when I visited to buy my first Steinhart a few years ago.
Also take a look at the Fortis range? Keep us posted with what you decide!
Jon
There's been a few Oris divers around these parts recently. You can often find these cheap on ebay or grey dealers. Good watches
When you say presence do you just mean you want a big watch? Branding has a part to play. I'd get an Oris or Certina and go used if needed.
I have an Armida too, the 300m A1 though. An excellent watch for the money. Feels very well made and I would certainly say has good wrist presence. Mine came on a rubber strap, which I'm not a huge fan of, so it's now on a rather nice Strapcode Endmill, which suits it very well and if anything adds to the 'presence' you seek.
Last edited by pstruck; 9th February 2016 at 11:55.
I would say in the 4hrs I've owned my Oris it does have more wrist presence than any of my other watches although it could be down to it being a more well known brand and it looking slightly bigger than my hydro on the wrist!?
http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/a...psvadtehhv.jpg
I like the look of the Hydro Sub too.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/m.html?_od...c&_sacat=31387
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They're nice, but a bit too slim for my taste
Agreed. Great design and style goes a long way. But branding is often sidelined with watches as well as other luxury items as a valid reason to buy.
Take the new Land rover, like it or not it is an epic car and most definitely has presence. Now put a vauxhall badge on it. No less a car but now it has less presence. And if it was less than half the price I very much doubt I could bring myself to buy it.
Don't get me wrong, the other watches are truly excellent pieces. And without the smaller manufacturers and their loyal customers the watch industry would be in a dreadful place.
Branding gets overlooked too often. But if it didn't we wouldn't buy a Helson or a Steinhart etc.
Looking forward to seeing/hearing what you think tomorrow.
My choice would be one of these-
Helson Sharkmaster
Helson Turtle
Heuer 1000 980.006
The Triton 100ATM in Black.....
I do like the look of that... Certainly NOT understated. With such radical looks I'd want to know I could return it if needed. I wonder what it looks like with a bracelet?
Last edited by Binsull; 10th February 2016 at 17:28.
This is what my Oris looks like, its the older diver and has a bright blue face, unusual now...
Here's a pic of it getting invloved in a poker hand
and more recently back on the wrist
Lots of wrist presence, approx 44mm, but extremely comfortable, much more so than my 45mm Omega Planet Ocean.
And its a "premium" brand to boot...(Some might say Oris is not premium, but I think its much more so than the tributes and homages out there)
I definitely see Oris as a premium brand and In my ownin g experience, I don't see the difference between them and Omega other than the price.
This is what I like about the watch market. The market will stand the Omega price increases due to popularity and it's public profile. Leaving other brands like Oris in their wake. This not only strengthens Omega's brand profile but also illustrates the real value of a brand like Oris.
I would say though that Oris has been stuck int he midst of not knowing where to concentrate their brand over the last few years. The sheer amount of models that they produce, coupled with many discontinued models hasn't really helped them. Whereas arguably Omega have concentrated on their strengths by focusing their marketing playing on their heritage on a selection of their range.
Also to be fair Oris hasn't moved forward with their movements particularly in recent years. Don't get me wrong I'm not bashing Oris, I am in agreement in terms of them being great value for money but I don't think its exactly a good comparison. A better comparison I would see would be Tag and Oris as similar price point on some models and share some movements
Thanks for all the replies so far. Sorry I've not replied, not been getting topic reply notifications for some reason.
Davosa Ternos is one of the nicest circa £500 dive watches I've ever seen and handled.
Another (annoying because it's not auto) vote for the Tuna from me, best affordable diver, bags of character and a nice surprise when you actually get one because photos never seem to do them justice.
Auto wise the PRS 18A and a nice 6309 get my vote. Just about doable at £500 maybe.
Last edited by TimeOut; 11th February 2016 at 18:49.
Where can you get a SUMO for £280??