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 is my Rangemaster. Love the look, the fit, and the sweep of the Miyota 9039 movement second hand. At 10mm thick, it is also thin enough to easily fit under a cuff.

I knew I would like it, but I was not expecting it to become one of my top watches. It may actually be my new favorite in my entire collection, although that is really hard to determine. It is definitely top five. I was not expecting that.

I have to say that I am also surprised at how much I am already liking my newest addition, this Spinnaker/Islander Hi Beat Croft.

The fit is excellent, owing to its 39mm diameter, and I love having a sport/dive watch that is only 12mm thick. The Miyota 9039 movement allows for a much thinner profile than most other sport/dive watches.

The San Martin 37mm 62MAS (model SN007-G-X).

I bought it after being disappointed with the Seiko SPB147 and the bottom line is that except for case finish the SM blew the SPB out of the water.

We need to learn to switch off that selective hearing loss protocol occasionally! 🤫 "Coming, I am just finishing my work emails, babe!" 🤥😁

Ok excellent! Glad you like it. Might be on my radar for an upcoming purchase.

I saw the review of three Ranger "homages", or lookalikes, on Just One More Watch. The cost for just getting an NH35 was a little iffy for me. I might would buck up and order the SW200 in the Proxima model.

I went looking for a BB58 and came home with a Pelagos! About to get a PO1. The pro and Ranger are both on my radar. In the space of a month I have become a Tudor obsessive!

It's my favourite eco drive and my best grab and go watch. Very light to wear titanium.

The 5-link bracelet on the 00s Seamaster (2531.80) is the most comfortable of any I have ever worn. I don't know why they changed it, the bracelet on my AT is terrible in comparison.

My Orient Kamasu was significantly better than what I had expected. It gets some good wrist time.

Mine is my Breguet Marine. Crazy story how I crossed paths with it, but basically was kind of trying not to buy it. But man I love it. Grade 5 titanium really is significantly different from any other metal even other titanium grades.

Second Hour Mandala MK2 and Lorier Hyperion S2 GMT. So much so that I have two of each in different colors.

I fell in love with this catalogue image of an Ochstin dress watch. My expectations were low, because it was just £25. But it looked just as good in the metal. I had kind of expected that they lied about this having a sapphire crystal, but my diamond testing tool definetely reacted to it.

For me it was this watch, my green Maranez Samui. I didn't really like this Doxa style case, nor beaded bracelets in general. The style was just "not me". I had even read many Dirk Pitt novels and saw pictures of them on-line but it wasn't until years later that my taste somehow changed and I took a chance. Now it's my standard issue Weekend watch. I like it so much I got an orange Titanium Samui with boxed sapphire crystal to boot.

I may never afford a Doxa but I am sure happy with these beauties.

Wear what you love. They aren't my cup of tea, but that shouldn't stop your enjoyment. I couldn't afford them anyway.

The Calibre Perpetual is one I'm on the hunt for. I saw it on a brown leather strap and fell in love with it.