"I don’t need another watch" ... lol, so say we all. I get it.

"it fills the empty void in my soul that only watches can." ... QFT!

"I will admit I have also been sheepishly avoiding the Seestern 300T Doxa homage (I know - I am such a hypocrite)" ... This is why I love the watch community. We all can have objective and subjective opinions, while still getting what we want, seemingly in defiance of the academic observations we make. I have strong opinions on homages as well, yet I still bought a Pagani Daytona ... just... because. I dunno what I'm even going to do with it, but it is a damn nice watch that really gave me a new respect for Rolex: The Daytona really is an excellently proportioned watch that fits me like a glove, dare I say, better than my beloved Seamaster... but I'm not paying 30 grand for one. Just get the Seestern... it'll be fine, I promise %)

Islanders are cool, and I really do think I am going to pick one up soonish... QUITE possibly the design by committee blue one featured on his channel (I voted in every episode). My only gripe is all his bezel inserts are flat, which, I get (Seiko and all). But I also want to build a custom one, which would be with parts sourced from both Islander and namokiMODS, as the latter supports sloped bezel inserts. I have held off on that because I am still trying to figure out what I want to build. Blue bezel on silver sunburst dial is the top design right now. Fell in love with that color way when Omega shipped theirs, and no one else is doing it.

I have enjoyed this back and forth as well.

Couldn't help but notice the majority of what you mentioned are field watches, and the one diver is ... clean? :P

Your examples are actually helpful because I think I can surmise two things: 1) You generally seem to go for clean, modern, and more simple designs; I don't see much in the way of elaborate design work in your watches. 2) I think your primary motivator is watches that are unique. That sounds a little hipstery, but I think the sentiment is genuine, and not motivated by the typical disdain for mainstream, so I respect that.

That said, I feel like you may still be plagued by a touch of the anti-mainstream fixation. See, while the Paulin Neo C is unique, I am with you on the cost: 400 quid for an NH35 equipped watch is just too damned expensive, the design is not worth that much of a premium, imo. But then you go onto say you are trying to convince yourself OUT of the Axios Pathfinder. Why? Seems to fit the bill. It's your style. The price is completely reasonable for the specs, given the build quality is there. Again, your only issue seems to be the NH35. Not, mind you, the NH35 for the money... but JUST that it has an NH35. Maybe this is your cheeky way of relenting that there are NH35 watches you would buy, but, if not, this is where I think you are unnecessarily dissuading yourself from getting things you like. Just my $.02, but I fully appreciate I may have misunderstood your sentiment on that one.

Anyway, thanks for sharing your thoughts. I certainly hyper focused down one rabbit whole of a more complex thought, and it was precisely my aim to dig myself out of that rabbit hole, so thank you; I certainly understand your preferences better now.

I am happy to agree to disagree on the NH35 itself, however, I used the word "hipster" quite intentionally. I have never found any criticism of something based solely on how "played out" it is to be a particularly compelling argument, so I'm glad it caught your attention, though it was not meant to be disrespectful, but rather, to simply further the discussion. 

I guess I still fail to understand what objective measure makes a watch, that you otherwise like, undesirable JUST because it is run by a movement that a lot of other watches use. Frankly, you can make the same argument for an ETA 28XX, as the majority of much loved Swiss watches and high end microbrands use said movement, either stock or as a base. That same argument can also be levied for virtually every quartz watch as well.

I mean, would these watches that caught your interest continue to hold your interest if they ran a Miyota 821A? A Miyota 9015? Maybe an Orient F6922? And would an NH35 powered watch hold your interest if it was a rarely used movement? Honest question: What financially feasible movement would have to be in a microbrand for you to not dismiss it?

Believe me, I am not trying to be annoying, I am just genuinely curious where your mindset is. As someone who dabbles in watch building and tinkering, I am truly interested to see what affordable automatic movements interest you.

Oh I believe you... just wanted to mirror how that statement sounded ;)

...and no, I do not have a Ferrari. 

Seagull only proves my point: they can consider themselves on par with Swiss all they want, but they still mainly just copy Swiss movements. Impressive? Sure. But not innovative. As for watch designs? Their chrono 1963 is a "reissue" and everything else is either simplistic, or a copy of something else (looking at you, breitling super ocean homage).

I was gonna offer a counterpoint... but honestly? I can't. Displaying internals is always cool, but I completely agree, displaying an obviously unfinished movement is a bit silly and looks horrid. The Miyota 821A in my Laco is their solution: it is a dressed up 8215 with hacking, and looks relatively decent. I have the same issue with NH35's. They are not pretty, so I am glad my Phoibos WaveMaster has a very nicely engraved caseback instead. NamikoMods amusingly sells a decorated rotor for the NH35.... but it costs more than the NH35 sooo....

I will say, however, your ETA 2801 notwithstanding, most swiss movements, particularly ETA and Sellita, generally put enough finishing to their movements to make them worth displaying. Still, as much as I like display casebacks, proper, deeply engraved casebacks are far more interesting to me. I just cannot stand lightly etched ones, because they feel so cheap. 

"I struggle to get excited about the lack of variation." ... I wanted to start with this, because I truly do empathize with you here, it is always nice to see new and innovative stuff, and the ubiquitous use of the NH35 leaves little in the way of thin case microbrands.

"That is pretty much it; I single out the NH35 as it is the de facto choice for microbrands." ... buuut here is where I kinda gotta call out the "I hate this because it's mainstream" or "it's been done" hipster argument. I never saw the ubiquitous usage of something as a bad thing, but rather, a testament to what makes it great. The NH35 is the LS engine of watches... everyone uses it because it is cheap, reliable, and relatively accurate. Without it, many microbrands simply would not exist due to the cost barrier to entry. 

Before the NH35, the low cost options were a Miyota 8215, which at the time did not have hacking, and some of the DG Chinese movements, which are atrociously inconsistent: they are a total mess on the time grapher. The NH35 presented a quality, consistent movement at a cost that was feasible for a microbrand sector to flourish, as well as create cost effective options for people to get into the watch game. This, to me, is not a negative, but rather, a massive positive that one little movement could do so much for watch enthusiasm.

This is not to say the NH35 is perfect. My gripes are that it is very thick, making slim watches difficult, it is not at all attractive, and the big one: I am a stickler for high beat movements so 21500 is a bit light. I am happy with an NH35 in certain kinds of watches, but I also really like to see options like the Miyota 9015, because they can lead to a more premium feeling, slimmed down watch.

"Tag have gone off the boil in recent years, I agree." ... Cheers. Sucks, because I really do like the design of the Aquaracer... I just cannot justify it for the money.