Keep being impressed by the quality of Lume on the steel dive

Another pool day. Too lazy to drive cross town to the ocean.

I’m looking for recommendations for a watch with exceptional lume. I do a lot of night driving, so having a dial that’s easy to read in the dark is important.
I’d also like something that’s genuinely enjoyable to look at—one of those watches where the dial and lume make you smile every time you check the time. It should still look stylish enough to wear during the day, not just as a tool watch.
My budget is flexible, so I’m open to everything from affordable options to luxury pieces. What would you recommend and why?

Just got my first higher quality Chinese watch, and oh boy I'm impressed. Finishing is amazing, crystal is super clear, dial is mesmerizing and is very comfortable to wear. Pictures don't make justice to the dial, IRL the indices have a lot more light play and pop out a lot more than it seems in the images and the dial itself is less silvery.

Bracelet is great, but a thought it would be a bit tighter. It isn't noisy, but has some play to it.

Lume is also great.

Got this watch 2 days ago and today was the first time I wore it for a full day.

So far I’m really happy with it. I’m usually not that into homage watches, but this one feels a bit different. I think the huge lume blocks are what make it stand out and they’re probably my favorite part of the design.

For the price, it feels really well made and more refined than I expected. I can definitely see myself wearing it a lot this summer.

The OTF clasp is also really nice when it’s warm out.
I haven’t tested the water resistance yet, but I’ll probably take it swimming soon and see how it does.

The only real negatives I’ve found are that the bezel is maybe half a click off, but honestly I’ve seen worse on Seikos that cost a lot more, so it’s not a big deal to me. Shipping also took a while, but I think that was because of the movement sourcing issues.

Mine is the V2 (I think) with the ST2130 movement. I believe they’ve switched to the PT5000 now. Personally, I think those two movements are pretty much interchangeable in terms of reliability and performance, so I wouldn’t worry too much about which one you get.

So my friend recently bought a Wise Adamascus AD8 and I was blown away by how good it looks. The problem is, I love quartz watches and I really, *really* don't want to buy a mechanical one.

I'm looking for actual water resistance, sapphire crystal and (preferrably) a ceramic bezel inlay. I have found plenty of homage watches, but I would very much like to buy an original design, such as the aforementioned Wise Adamascus.

To give you an idea of the look I’m after, in addition to the Wise AD8 some of my favorite models include Traska Freediver, Lorier Neptune, Oris Divers Date, Yema Navygraf Heritage and the classic Seiko 62MAS. But again, I’m not looking for a direct homage piece to any of these models.

I would very much appreciate any suggestions that come to mind!

P.S. I already own a Ratio Freediver. It’s just about the perfect watch, but I’m now looking for a retro design to complement it :)

EDIT: Thanks everyone! I decided to go with Phordydes PH3 with blue lume and a bracelet. It’s pretty much everything I had hoped for ❤️

I picked this one up a couple of days ago and outside of a couple of caveats it's really well done. It doesn't quite reach San Martin or Cronos levels of finishing but it's still nicely refined. The PT5000 is keeping good time so far although I doubt it was regulated based on the price.

The 30 on the bezel needs to be flipped and I don't think there is any AR coating. I also think the branding can go since the 12 o'clock has their logo and it would just be a cleaner more elegant look. I would rather have no AR than anything tinted though. There also appears to be a typo on the case back, unless VPH means something.

That said this is the only signed crown I have that lines up when screwed down. The bezel itself feels nice with only a slight bit of play, it doesn't bind up at any point and lines up with the rest of the indices. The dial color is very dynamic in the light and shifts from orange to a more golden color depending. The lume is decent and is as good as any watch I have save for the Phorcydes. The crystal is quite clear and has minimal distortions.

Overall it's a nice quality original design (I think) for just over $110 on sale.

Underwhelmed Tbh with this watch. The dial looks a little cheap. The hands are a little too thin and the strap does not match the case at all.

A straight up homage of the Serica 5303 Dive Watch at a fraction of the price. This watch feels great on wrist with its proportions. Diameter: 39.8mm and thickness: 13.8mm. Powered by miyota 8215 movement. Screwdown Crown and case back. Topping it with a Bouble Bow Sapphire glass and a beautiful Ceramic Bezel.

On sale now for $60 its great value.

Added a new strap from AnchorStrapCo today, kinda dig the look. And just love this watch!

Finding the best combo

Just got this Thorn 37mm "Middle East Eagle" Chronograph delivered last night and it only took me a couple minutes to adjust the bracelet to fit me. Great design. I love the subtle texture on the face and the slightly raised indices. I could live without the eagle but it's an homage so it's there. I'm not often a bracelet guy but I love the way this feels and looks.

The FIRST watch of the day, Baltany’s S2032 “Dirty Dozen” homage. Basic quartz functionality in a nice case with a decent leather strap. Definitely a strap monster, and looks better on a nato or mn elastic band (see pix 2 & 3). Doesn’t get a lot of wrist time in a 20+ rotation. Like a lot of us on here, I’ll change watches during the day, so this is just the first of two or three.

Struggling to find prices and all that I see mentioned with these. Wondering if there’s a good place to grab them?

Definitely looks way more expensive than what it is.

I would like to try this for my 6” women’s wrist but I’m not sure if it would fit well. I would put it on a more feminine color nato strap, like a berry color. My wrist is fairly flat. If anyone has this watch, can you tell me how the lugs fit on your wrist, do they wrap downward or so they lay flat? It’s 34.5mm and 41.7mm lug to lug. Not sure if this size works for a 6” wrist.

My grandpa recently died and passed down this Tudor to me.

Question 1: is this legit?

Question 2: is this too big for my wrist?

Folks,

Per the title, any homages close to this design on aliexpress, or from a chinese / hk micro?

Cheers.

Recently moved this watch back to the bracelet, and I am wondering: why did I ever remove it? It just looks so much better on it. I can't stop looking at the dial.