Watches that surprised you, good edition.

It was the Seiko turtle for me....On the pictures it's nothing special

But IRL the size and the wrist presence along with the bling effect of the Manta Ray model was a completely different story than the pics online

If I say Hublot, can we still be friends?🥺

I was surprised by those too. I had only read opinions from people but I really liked the classic fusion a friend had. I get the designs can be polarizing but you can't argue about the quality and feel of the watch.

Through a series of mishaps, misunderstandings and misinformation I ended up with a Tissot Gentleman that I would have never chosen for myself. Why? Because I'm an idiot. It's a fantastic watch and hasn't left the rotation since I got it. I am, in fact, wearing it today.

I was introduced to the Citizen EcoDrive BM6400-00E (which is very much a Promaster Tough 'wannabe') and I am really impressed with just about everything about this nifty little tool watch. Case is well thought out, dial is simple and straight forward, just some really clean lines and it is not trying to be anything else. Just a great tool watch. (BTW, I really want a Ray Mears Titanium Tough)

Same...bought my first Turtle (SRPE93) after it was suggested to me...didn't get it until I put it on...one of the most comfortable watches...great rubber strap...everyone should have one IMO

Just happen to be wearing it today 😀

The Gentleman is a better watch for the money from Tissot. Just overshadowed after the PRX release. It is a great all-round watch for the price and the finish is great for the price. Apart from the 21mm lug width and lume, it is a great GADA watch. Somedays I regret selling it.

I was surprised by the Loreo Submariner homage. For the price, it’s such value for money. I will probably always be a Swiss fanboy but the Loreo has not turned me off Chinese brands at all. Quite the opposite. Good entry point for trying out all kinds of watches.

I had never heard of Sector before. I bought one at a reasonable price to flip. I researched it and yup I can make a couple of bucks. I don't deal with high end watches so I bought it. It came and I am in love. The weight and sturdiness of it. Being an automatic with a tachymeter on a watch with a cheaper price range. The case is thicker but with it's shorter lug length it sits perfectly comfortable on the wrist. My favorite shade of blue with the design of the dial. Needless to say it made the private collection. To top it all off in the year and a half of owning it, the value of it has almost tripled. Sector 650 automatic "No Limits" my most favorite of all.

Hands down, my Shark Hammerhead. I expected a capable watch, but was over-joyed when I received it. It’s one of my all-time favorite watches.

Another for me was a pagani designs pd1692. I got it in a trade thinking I'd move it along quickly but it was fairly comfortable on the wrist so I did a bit of building and ended up with this.

Didn’t expect much from my Pagani Design watches, bought them quite cheap second hand on eBay, but they are arguably what finally tipped me over into watches as a hobby, and hanging about on here. Part of that is because they are actually significantly better than a lot of various comments (and snide aside ones) on the YouTube videos I was watching will have you believe. They also make you remember to not really judge something like a watch until you have actually held the thing.

For reference, I think I paid fifty quid for the Mechaquartz chrono, and seventy for the automatic, but they aren’t that expensive by the standards of most watches even at full price. (About ninety in sales, and a hundred and something — thirty or sixty, the price of everything is up since I got them — new.) With Sapphire and Ceramic and decent third party Japanese movements.

An Orient is observably better in key areas, but part of that is taste, and that’s my other watch that surprised me — it was a surprise Christmas gift for a start, and now my favourite watch. Considering I am not big on numerals, my wife took a risk as to how much I would like it. Turns out I love it, it’s like a more elegant Planet Ocean in areas of it’s design:

This watch (citizen eco-drive e870-s015278) was one that I waffled on purchasing. The salesman was pushing it, and my wife convinced me to get it, though. It has grown on me, despite the fact that it has a very busy dial, and color I was not crazy about. Too, it has Roman numerals, which is usually a no go for me. Now, however, I quite like it, and it is a regular part of my rotation.

I had a mako for awhile. It's a great watch for the money. I did a bezel swap on mine and really thought it was a looker.

For me it was the PRX. I used to chuckle at it in the display cases then it started to grow on me. When I tried it on, I bought it. Now I love it.