"Interestingly, the watchmakers I have dealt with disagree with it, and I'll go with watchmakers over "common knowledge" on the internet." ... I'll trust the consensus of the internet over your watchmaker that I do not know. ;)

But "appeal to authority" fallacy aside, in all seriousness, we are both arguing from a position of ignorance, as neither one of us has any legitimate empirical data to support either position. Are WR ratings snake oil sold to make more money? Maybe. Or maybe the ISO standards actually do mean something based on diving data, and the change from 100m had a legitimate reason.

This would make a fascinating Youtube series, testing various watches with various WR rating in real world conditions. That, or look up how many of Jacques Cousteau's watches failed him.

"Best watch I own is a Timex Snoopy Space Station with the indiglo backlight. That or the Vacheron, it’s difficult to decide some days." ... Ya, the best car I own is my old 2001 Honda civic with its 35 mpg. That or the Ferrari, it’s difficult to decide some days.... ;)

"Where would you draw the line? Tag it seems." ... Me personally? No. I agree with your take on the 1887 issue, I was simply recounting what happened, for any that do not know. As for using other stock or modified movements, you are absolutely correct here: Tag got put under the microscope for practices nearly everyone else does. Hell, the Omega Seamaster's movement ranged from a bone stock ETA 2892, all the way to the in-house 8800, with lots of iteration in between. The issue I personally have with TAG right now is that some of their models are expensive for what they are. An Aquaracer is a pretty diver, imo, but $2500 for a Diver with a totally stock Sellita SW200 seems like a lot, considering you can get similar specs with unique design for half that.

"So the microbrand comment - I think the watch market is completely saturated" ... I agree, but I don't think that is a bad thing. As you point out, the number one thing on a watch for most people is that "its gotta look right," which makes me rather surprised you would care that anything uses an NH35... Regardless, the more options there are, the more likely you will find a look that you personally like. So I won't complain about that.

"I also don’t like the NH35" ... "but if your watch is boring or ugly, or fails in what it sets out to do, I couldn’t care less what the movement is. ”Oh but it’s quartz”, yes" ... So you don't care what the movement is... unless it's an NH35? ;) ... In all seriousness, I really don't understand the NH35 hate. The movement runs fine, is reliable, and has decent accuracy. For someone who likes a Sistem51 and basic, cheap quartz movements, I really don't understand why you single out the NH35 OTHER than the fact that everyone uses it. 

Timex and Swatch do get a lot of grief, probably because they make stuff that is cheaper than a Casio. It's just snobbery and I tend to ignore that. But thank you for elaborating.

"I think we often hate on quartz just because it’s cool to hate on quartz." .... This may be true for some people, but I do not believe it is the majority.

When people "hate" on quartz, what it really means is they prefer an automatic. There are several reasons for this:

1. Battery: While I realize autos need servicing, the reality is many will go a decade without actually need one. Whereas quartz will almost always run out of battery in 2-3 years, at which point, many people will opt to simply buy a new watch. Anecdotally, Citizen actually became very popular because of their EcoDrive... the watch that literally never needed any maintenance at all.
2. The second hand: The auto/mech sweep just looks more premium. People like it more than the quartz tick, especially if the second hand rattles at all each tick, or if it doesn't hit the markers consistently, as is the case in even the nicest quartz watches.
3. Craftsmanship: A mechanical movement is simple more difficult to manufacture and more impressive than a quartz circuit board. And one of the reasons many people wear watches is precisely for that premium feel, as watches are basically jewelry to most people. Humans also have a thing with equating weight to quality, which is why Titanium watches often feel cheap to people, even though they are not.

The fact is, people who like automatics like them because they are an impressive piece, rather than a reliable tool, which is often what watch enthusiasm is about. It doesn't mean quartz watches are bad.... it just means the autos are usually more sought after.

The logo was actually one of the selling points. I love it. Particularly on the case back, which, on the newer model, isn't just etched on, it is actually well engraved like a high end watch. Entirely subjective, I know, but I love the Octopus logo.

"I think you're a bit harsh on timex and swatch" ... On the contrary, I actually made no opinionated statement of any kind regarding these brands... I simply pointed out that neither did the OP. He just said "these are good"... So I asked what about them specifically. My only personal experience with either lies in a Timex Ironman, and I felt it was a nice watch. Is. Is a nice watch. I still have it and just put a new battery in it.

"Microbrands..." ... They are really hit or miss, and the term is overly broad to make a generalized statement about them. Despite the humble NH35 heart, I love my Phoibos WaveMaster because it is a capable diver with a relatively unique, if not a mishmash homagey design that is well crafted and comes from a company that listens to criticism and iterates. My Aquacy 1769, on the other hand, comes with a very nice Miyota 9015 in probably the thinnest Rolex Sub homage case around... but it also is basically impossible to remove the bezel (confirmed by Aquacy support) and I destroyed it when trying to remove it, as the insert was misaligned (another ding). The movement also has a tendency of hanging up while in the winder. My experience from that did teach me that the one thing that is fairly widespread on the microbrand market is that service and replacement parts are lacking: Aquacy basically told me they did not have any spare bezels to sell me.

What I said about Seikos is accurate imo, though my language was charged. This is because I know what the sum of the parts costs, and I do not find their designs worth the extra cost, thought that is entirely subjective.

Finally Casio. I don't have a whole lot of love for them generally, as much of their product offerings cut corners on things I would rather pay the extra for, but they are hardly the only company guilty of this. I have similar feelings towards Orient: just put a damn sapphire crystal on your automatic diver featuring an in-house movement, I'll pay you the extra fifty bucks. In Casio's case, their new Duro replacement diver has some upgrades, but at double the cost, it doesn't even have a bezel that actually rotates. It is fixed. In a Diver. With a bezel that still has the coin edge to grip... so you can grip the bezel that you can't actually rotate. WHAT THE HELL, CASIO!?!?!?! That said, I am a HUGE fan of their Oceanus line, though it's damn expensive.

The NH35... is hideous, no argument there. 

Cheap? Depends on what "cheap" means to you. It's more expensive, and premium, than a basic Miyota 8215, and far better than the Chinese off brand stuff like DG. Ironically, a lot of the Chinese market has ditched both in favor of the NH35, though I will say, I have been impressed with Miyota's dressed up 821A.

Crappy timekeeping? Compared to what? Ya, it's not COSC certified, but nothing is at this price point. It's not great, but fine for the money.

Seiko? Ya seeing $600 "regular" Seikos still blows my mind... I still feel like they are an Orient competitor, and should be priced as such, and that isn't even considering the more recent QC issues.

I like Citizen a lot, particularly for their EcoDrive not only being extremely convenient, but also sort of creating a resurgence in the Solar watch market without sacrificing the dial to look like a solar panel. That said, I feel like they are starting to fall behind. Other brands, like Seiko and Casio, also have competent solar offerings in arguably better designs. My primary gripe with Citizen is, in addition to favoring highly complex (noise) designs, particularly on Chronographs and divers, they also REFUSE to make smaller men's watches. The vast majority of their men's watches are at least 43mm, which is just too damn big for me. I would like to see them have more watches that are 40-42mm, especially divers, which are all 44mm and up for them.