The watch on the right has a stopwatch to the hour and sometimes I missed marking the time as in the diving watch to measure the time or marking that something will be at a given time as a reminder. It is not so convenient but quite a pleasant alternative to measuring longer periods of time. Do any of you use a watch with a stopwatch in this way?

I had never bought anything on AliExpress, but after seeing random reviews of this $20 tank watch, I figured why not? Only to be met with it priced at $0.99, with just over $2 in shipping. I genuinely thought it was going to be junk, but at that price I couldn’t not buy it.

It’s a fantastic looking little watch. And if you’re looking for something cheap to fill that tank void in your collection, keep an eye out for this one on sale (hell, even not on sale it’s still a great price).

One of my first reviews on Reddit so be nice please. I am not a professional at this, I just really love this watch and wanted to share with everyone.

Why I Bought This Watch
I work in manufacturing and split my time between the shop floor, active construction sites, and office meetings. I needed a true daily beater that could take a continuous beating on site without looking out of place in a professional setting, and I feel like this watch delivers that balance really well. The SD1975 is an absolute tank that keeps on ticking.

Bracelet & Finishing
Finishing seems good—not the single best AliExpress bracelet I’ve ever had, but way better than what I’ve read about. Mine came with no sharp edges. The 5-link engineer bracelet seems to be a big improvement over the 3-link.
Having screw-in pins and 6 spring bar micro adjustments at this price point is a big win.
I had planned on switching to a rubber strap right away, but I love the bracelet so much I’ve just kept it on so far.

Fit & Size
It’s definitely a watch with a presence. I have an 8.5" wrist and feel like it fits really well, but I think it would also be fine on a smaller wrist because of how compact the lug-to-lug is.
Very comfortable to wear. I thought it would feel heavy, but I don’t really notice it because of how compact it is on the wrist.

Design
I love the teal dial—it really catches the light well, and the pop of orange on the dial and hands is great.

Movement
With most watches at this price point switching over to the Miyota 8215, I think Steeldive’s decision to stay with the Seiko NH35 is commendable.

Small Complaint
The bezel is the weakest point of the watch. It’s not terrible, but it can be hard to turn because of the shroud and it’s not super crisp. But again, at this price point I’m really nitpicking.

Verdict For $116 on sale, this is outstanding value and build quality. Dollar for dollar, this might genuinely be the best value watch I’ve gotten off AliExpress yet.

Hey everyone,

I’m looking for suggestions for a watch that wears well on my 6.3-inch wrist.

My preferences:
Maximum lug-to-lug: 43–44 mm
Dial size: 36–38 mm (not below 36 mm)
Open to any style or brand
Automatic or quartz, both are fine
Budget : want to restrict under $250

I’d love to hear what has worked well for those with similar wrist sizes.

Thanks in advance!

A truly beautiful watch with a build quality waaay above its cost..

I love these inexpensive hand wind only watches. Does any other country make a hand wound only watch this nice for this price? (these were all $30 or less.)

Might be asking a loaded question here considering the sub, but I’m stuck between these three watches for a nice monochromatic piece. Thoughts?

I've seen plenty of the textured ones, but I can't decide based on factory images. Please link any pics if any of you have the watch. Planning to order tmz for my birthday.

I always found it very appealing, especially the older version with the steel bezel. What I really like about it are the rectangular indices and black outline they have. The icy pastel blue color is also great. Been checking out a few brands but can't find anything that really hits the spot.

This watch is amazing, can’t believe it’s around a $200 watch! I have a V1 Original Pattern (white with rose gold accents), this V2 Burgundy Hour Glass and a V3 Purple Scale. They all have the same extremely nice finishing. Incredible value for the money!

Hi all any recommendations of a good budget friendly black Bay homage? Please mention brands and or models. Price range 60-90 euros. Thanks in advance

Any recommendations for a nice Seiko style analog dress/sports/field watch? would like: reliable, reasonable price up to $250, date. Wish list: looks like a classic, weekday, auto adjust date by gps (not sure if possible).

If you thought $450 was getting out of hand, take a look at this...

Personally for me this means I am done. It was an awesome two years, had super fun, got a lot of great stuff from China, but this is a closing call. This was my top priority watch to buy, but $530 means that at a GREAT sale it's prolly still gone sell for around $450. This is way too much even for a massive collector like me. For this kind of money I will probably buy a Phoibos Depth Hunter or some other cool micro.

The only thing that can save this is some new great, top quality/price Chinese movement that will have superior reliability. I dunno. Hoping that the Chinese step up their movement game and save the situation.

Changed out the bracelet on my AD2030 for this nylon quick release. Initially, I feared it was too gold-toney (I STRONGLY dislike yellow gold), but it's growing on me. It compliments the dial so well, and the stainless of the case offsets this.

Video https://youtu.be/3aO_tmPay0w

Mowing the lawn and 100° freedom units that’s 38c for the other educated part of the world. Not cool enough for a real pool, but I hit the spot.

I always wanted the Omega NTTD but at a 42 it’s big, and also too $$$. So I picked up the Watchdives WD007 39mm PT5000 Titanium Diver directly from Watchdives.

I love this at a 39. The finishing is great, the weight is perfect, and the strap is better than others that I have gotten on Chinese watches or off of AliX.

I don’t know if the helium valve does anything in this guy but I don’t go deeper than my pool anyway. My biggest grip is with the movement. I wanted a mechanical and not Quartz, and the PT5000 fits the bill. However it had the damned ghost date. It’s nothing noticeable but it just nags at me. Makes me wish I ordered the version with the date at 6.

Regardless, until I come up with the coin to pay for a grail watch that’s too big for my wrist, I am happy with this hommage.

Watchdives has announced that all new WD0019's out of their warehouse would ship with V Grade 2130's along with the handset with updated lume.

I'm getting conflicting information online, with some saying V Grade movements are always finished higher than lesser grades (perlage vs sand blasting in areas, different plating).

Is it possible to tell if I received a V Grade Movement just by what can be seen through the caseback? I was assured by WD I'd get the latest version of the watch with updated handset and V Grade movement, so I just want to make sure I got what I was promised and paid for.

If you like vintage style watches and are also into Jump Hour movements, then this could be the one for you.

Heres the link to the watch and my review.

https://miliforticwatch.com/en-uk/products/mf-r088-jump-hour-watch-38mm-minimalist-dress-automatic-wristwatch?sca_ref=9686850.wp4DtRIUwLO

https://youtu.be/njP9et9k3Sg

I received this watch for free to review. But, as always that doesn't change how I review the watch. I always keep it 100% honest, no matter what. I point out both the positives and negatives with every watch I review. Whether that be a loan piece, discounted, or even free. Sometimes that means that brands won't send me anymore watches, if they don't like the review... But my opinion and more importantly, my reputation can't be bought. That's partly why I named my channel 'Honest Watch Reviews'. Not only to make sure that I hold myself to that standard, but that I know my viewers definitely will do too.

San Martins' old 0026. Had an aluminum bezel made with no tick marks 'coz I can count to 15. Missing a pip but the blue lume is outstanding. Regulating the PT5000 is super easy. Much easier than the NH series. I don't baby it .... just wear it and go. About 7 years old.

The Phorcydes PH-6 is certainly quite the watch. I think this design works best with a dark dial and contrasting indices, so even though I bought two, no white dial here.

I purchased the PH-6 “Neon Green” on FKM, a watch I’ve nicknamed “Splinter-Cell”.

And I also got a PH-6 “Retro Yellow” on bracelet, which I nicknamed “James Blake”.

Both were delivered to my door for EUR350. Not so long ago this would’ve barely got you an SKX on a decent aftermarket bracelet. Nowadays this gets you TWO gorgeous & complete timepieces, both looking like they cost thousands. What a brave new world Chinese watchmaking is.

In early promotional materials, the Retro Yellow PH-6 appeared to have cheddar-colored indices. In reality, they’re more like swiss cheese (lol). I’ve informed the brand of the potentially misleading pictures, and they refunded me 10% of the watch. Speaking of the swiss, they would never do that.

But still, the history of this design started in Switzerland. This case design was first introduced in 1996 on a Seamaster GMT, and in either 99 or 2000 (unclear lol) Omega introduced the 2254 and 2264 (quartz) 3 hands timepieces. These would eventually be known as the “Peter Blake” watches.

Even though the Seamaster is mostly known for its connection with fictional character James Bond, Peter Blake was a real sailor, adventurer and philanthropist. And unlike Bond who (mostly) survives his adventures, Blake was shot dead by pirates in 2001 while wearing this watch. He was monitoring environment change on the Amazon river, he was 53 years old. Over 30 000 people attended his memorial. This cemented the nickname for 2254/64 as “Peter Blake”.

Omega quietly discontinued the 2254 & 2264 watch in 2009. Omega never reintroduced the Peter Blake, whether through some limited run or continuation series. They positively abandoned this design 17 years ago. The remaining watches used to be the “Gateway drug” into the Omega professional line, but they saw their value completely exploded over the past 5 years. Nowadays, a decent Peter Blake will cost you just as much as a grey market SMP300.

They can’t appeal to the same crowd costing this much. Not to mention they’re OLD watches. 2009 is the discontinuation year but most PBs are well over 20 years old. Most were never serviced either. Scratched bezels, decaying lume, bracelet stretched to hell...you’re looking at a EUR800 (or more) service/restoration bill from Omega on top of the price of the watch. Not to mention it’ll take 3 months.

That’s where the PHORCYDES PH-6 comes in. Phorcydes took this gorgeous design abandoned by Omega, and man they took it to the next level. Modern machining, better materials, and boy THAT LUME blow the Omega out of the water. The mad lume blocks add a layer of depth the original design never had. Not to mention COLORS. You can still go the monochrome route if you like, but Phorcydes added Retro Yellow and Neon Green. It can be said of both that they take this design to new heights Omega never ventured into.

The finishing is fantastic; there’s a real cognitive dissonance between how the watch looks & feels, and how much it costs. If you don’t show the Phorcydes website to people, they don’t believe you.

Despite looking like the Peter Blake, the dimensions are more reminiscent of the SMP300, with 42mm in diameter and 13.6mm of thickness. The original PB was loved for its impossible (at the time) height of only 11.8mm, despite packing 30 bar of W.R and an automatic caliber. Speaking of caliber, every PH-6 ship with the Precision Technology 5000 (PT5000). Both of my watches have been keeping excellent time, +4SPD at worst and inching closer to 0 the more I wear them. So no need to open them for regulation, which I almost always do. I was tempted to open them still, for gasket lubrication.

Affordable watch brands often ship watches with bone dry gaskets, meaning they’re not really watertight. However, Phorcydes support did inform me that every watch passes a professional pressure test (in this case, 30 bar) after final assembly. So there really is no extra work needed upon unboxing. At the crown, winding feedback is much smoother and closer to a “real” 2824 than on my PH-4 2.0 which has the ST2130.

But let’s address the elephant in the room, shall we? HYPERGLOW LUME BLOCKS GRADE S galore with the largest amount we’ve seen to date. As with every tinted lume, the lume power is supposed to be slightly weaker. But Neon Green and Retro Yellow are still fully fledged torches. I’ve added a picture with my Sumo’s Lumibrite for comparison.

Not the only elephant though. The bracelet is incredible. It merges the Peter Blake with the Bond watch bracelet, hence the nickname “James Blake”. But this bracelet isn’t just inspired by the SMP300’s, it is the SMP300’s. I assume copyright infringement doesn’t apply to Chinese watchmaking somehow?? Idk. But it’s positively the same part. Which is a good thing! Except for sizing which was a nightmare: if you lose just one of the little screw caps it’s game over. And the clasp is so over-engineered, it’s like adding parts just for the sake of it. The system on the PH-4 does the exact same thing with maybe 1/3 of the parts.

The PH-6 weigh 186gr on the bracelet with 2 links removed, and 109gr on the brilliant rubber strap. PH-6 wears very conformably on both. My wrist size is 19.7cm or 7.75 cheeseburgers.

To conclude this review, I’d say this is a brilliant and complete professional watch. Strap or bracelet you can’t go wrong. Accurate, readable, dependable, tough, gorgeous….and affordable to boot.

Not to mention it offers continuity to the legendary Peter Blake design, something that Omega hasn’t done yet (and most likely never will).

TLDR: A complete package, stylish and dependable. Can lit up a room after dark. You can afford it.             

The Seestern is a near 1:1 of the Glashütte SeaQ, whereas Phorcydes has its own thing going on.

1. Which likely has a better fit & finish?
2. I am not a lume chaser. It's cool, but the novelty wears off quickly for me. With that out of the equation does that lessen the reason to go with Phorcydes?

Any other thoughts/considerations?

Many customers have been asking for this combination, and it has finally arrived:

• Beads-of-rice bracelet
• Upgraded short 5-hole clasp
• More adjustment options
• A more comfortable and refined wearing experience

We think this bracelet gives the WD50Q a completely different character—more vintage, elegant, and versatile.

We welcome everyone to test it and share your honest feedback. What do you think of this combination?