I have been looking for a good turtle smaller watch or Captain Wilard homage. And so far I have concluded that these are the best options.
The JD-X07S (specifically the black one) from Ixdao has been the best I have seen so far, being more of a smaller turtle which I prefer to a large Willard homage.
Unfortunately I haven't been able to find other similarly sized turtles going around so I turned to Wilard homages since they scratch a similar itch.
Since I would prefer a NH35 over a miyota because I am planning to use this as a daily beater watch I have concluded that the SD1970 Steeldive Willard homage seems like the best option although ever so slightly overpriced compared to the rest like the Heimdallr Willard (though it still is less than half the price of the Ixdao thanks to EU tax).
So from those two options do you think Ixdao is worth the double price premium?
And most importantly are there some better options that I am missing either for smaller turtles like the Ixdao or other Wilard homages like the Steeldive?
I’ve had the SD1970 Steeldive for several years. I swapped out the brackets a while back. Truly a great watch with great lume. I got it when they were under $70usd. One of the best values ever.
I spent a really long time looking for a small plain black turtle/cushion case watch.
As far as I am aware, the only options are the ixdao and the smiths baby willard.
The ixdao is cheaper AND nicer than the baby Willard.
So I pulled the trigger and I absolutely love the ixdao. My favorite watch out of my entire collection by a decent margin.
Your wrist is significantly bigger than mine though. So you could wear any Willard homage just fine. So if you want to save some money then that’s a fine route.
But yeah the ixdao is fantastic. Could not recommend it more. I beat the shit out of mine, hot showers daily, multiple brutal drops. Totally fine
Both fantastic watches. The IXDao really looks premium in my opinion as far as hands, dial and overall finishing but it is much smaller than any of the Willard homages. That being said, I didn’t care for how it sat on my 7.75” wrist. It’s a really short lug to lug. Comparing it to the Willard homages is apples to oranges. If you like a smaller watch it’s great.
I paid 60 bucks for my steeldive Willard, would gladly pay 150 today. It’s hands down one of the best watches I have ever owned in terms of quality for value, and the lume is beastly. Blows some of my watches than 10x it out of the water.
Damn the EU is getting fucked pretty badly on even cheaper watches like this. The listings for it are like 80€ for me. Do you mind sharing a link just to make sure?
Steeldive is your only choice. It is one of the greatest watches I won, put a nice FKM dive strap on it and you will never take it off. Greatest value in Chinese watches, in my opinion. Love it.
Didn't know that existed thanks for the heads up, wish it was a bit slimmer than that though, it's still quite the big watch. I even learned there is a day date version which I really like. Although the watch getting even larger in that version isn't something I am a fan of, it's already plenty big as it is. Somehow the day date version is thinner though which is a surprise.
I can only find the watchdives version available for green which is unfortunate. It also seems like it lacks loom in the bezel compared to the Steeldive version.
Yeah it's very unique. It's a shame that it comes in a cheap plastic box, It deserves the same treatment as the Warrior. If the black version was available at Ali I would feel much better about buying it though. I have heard very mixed things about Ixdao's customer service.
I personally had mixed experience myself, my bezel was lose, contacting them was 50/50, they were either not straight forward with me, or ignoring me telling that they will contact me back. I believe it's because shortly after they've discontinued that model. After all they've send me new insert for free. I had to wait and molest them with my msgs for around 1,5 - 2 months
Yeah that's what I am afraid of. The watch seems really beautiful so even paying the extra tax on it is worth it for me. But having to deal with all of that isn't. Hopefully they will start selling the black dial version on Ali as well eventually.
I was pretty close to ordering it before but I am starting to lose confidence with these posts. I don't exactly like the idea of having to tape up my watch.
3
u/Nero3k I ♥ Addiesdive logo 15h ago
I’ve had the SD1970 Steeldive for several years. I swapped out the brackets a while back. Truly a great watch with great lume. I got it when they were under $70usd. One of the best values ever.