50th Birthday - Help!

Gonna throw one from out of left field at you:  Grand Seiko.

• SLGA009 - White Birch dial is mesmerizing.  Spring drive is mesmerizing.  Fit, finish, technology...  easily blows away anything within the price bracket
• SBGJ255 - Titanium, GMT functionality, hi-beat movement

I’m glad you mentioned GS. I have looked at them and they still remain a possibility. I’m a fan of titanium and have admired the snowflake for a while. The new White Birch with the 5-day Spring Drive is a fav, but I’m going to take a look at your recos.  Luckily, I have a local retailer.  Thanks!

Absolutely recommend the Cartier Santos or Santos Dumont. Signature timepiece for the more refined time of your life. 

My biggest question about Santos is medium or large size. Don’t necessarily need date, so more a question of legibility/wearability. won’t know till I try. Thanks. 

Agree. The Cartier Santos epitomizes the “dressier side of sport“ and wears well in every occasion.

I would go in to an AD and try them. I have an 8” wrist so it’s a large for me. But if your wrist is 7.5 than a medium or a large would both work. Also the Large Dumont would be a good choice. Good luck!!! 

The Speedmaster Pro is "only" 50m water resist but I recommend not counting it out. Many online battles have been waged over whether you can wash your hands or swim with a Speedmaster on (can't count the number of posts I read regarding "dynamic pressure), but Omega's official position is 50m is 50m.

If the Speedmaster is out, an Aqua Terra is on the top of the "go anywhere, do anything" list for many. 

How about Longines? I have lusted after this one since it came out.

https://www.longines.com/en-us/watch-the-longines-master-collection-l2-793-8-78-3

GMT 2 white dial? Seems like it would suit your needs rather well (it's my grail but I've never held one in the flesh so take it with a pinch of salt) or a Cartier Santos (same as before)

My vote is for the Cartier "Santos de Cartier". I had  been considering the blue dial version of that one for months, and recently had a chance to see the WSSA0037 version with the black dial and  ADLC bezel at a small get together of some local watch enthusiasts. I fell instantly in love with it, and ended up ordering one for myself, with delivery scheduled for next week. It combines both sportiness and dressiness in one watch better than any other I've ever seen.  Also, between the thinness of the watch, and the way that it curves around the wrist, it feels awesome to wear.

I had purchased the Omega Speedmaster Professional 3861 sapphire sandwich last year, and while I would think it could be a great option as well, it only has 50m of WR. As @s0ckpupp3t  mentioned, you may want to keep it in the running anyway. I had purchased mine as an impulse buy, and although I initially had some buyers remorse, it's turned out to be one of my favorite watches in my collection. 

At your price point you have a ton of options available. Good luck with your selection.

Get a watch in rose gold…… that’s what I’m thinking for my 50th….

Cartier Santos, Omega Seamaster or planet Ocean. dont overlook the Aqua Terra. Such a great watch. 

For 2,000 more (or on budget at a discount), you can own the Bvlgari Octo Finissimo stainless steal. Dressy/Sporty ✅ Gerald Genta design ✅ Thinnest, lightest SS and most comfortable watch on bracelet you will ever put on your wrist. ✅ Unique design thank looks like nothing else ✅ 

My wrist is 6.75 inches and still wear fantastic. 

Speedy Pro is another superb choice. The new version on bracelet with sapphire sandwich is 🔥. 

I am not so sure I would push that budget to the end. There are some great choices in the $1000-$4000 bracket, and after that there are diminishing returns for sporty dress watches. There's also the question: do you want a dressy sportswatch, or a sporty dresswatch? They get very close in looks and function, but there's still a distinct design choice. Here are two of my favourites of either kind, a Sinn and a Union Glashütte, both well within budget

Thanks. I don’t have a chrono yet and hard to argue against the moon watch as an iconic piece.  The WR is enough as I’ll maintain it and I have divers for swimming or more.  The Aqua Terra is a great one watch option, but as logical a choice as it is, I find it hard to get excited about it.  I want to love anything I buy at this price point. 

Admittedly, I LOVE the Octo Finissimo. I’m in Canada and the exchange is a bit dear on their pricing, which pushes it beyond my budget, but this is one I’d love own own. If I could find a retailer that would work with me, this could be the one.  I suspect if I put one of the wrist, I’d be done. 
 

Thanks for feeding my addition. Incredible choice.  

Thanks. Both brands I respect. I’ve eyed up several Sinn over the years but haven’t pulled the trigger yet. May need to take another look. 

From what I hear, ADs here in the US do give a discount on these still, which I read after I purchased mine from Bvlgari. 

I’d check your local Bvlgari ADs. You might be able to get it in your range. You definitely won’t be disappointed with it.  
 

happy hunting!

I'll be happy to post photos of the Cartier de Santos when I get it. In the meantime, here is a photo I had taken at last weekends get together when the owner graciously allowed me to try it on. FWIW, even though most photos show lots of reflections, they aren't as noticeable in person. Also, the dial on this model is much more interesting than photos suggest, changing from a nice grey tone to black depending on the angle. One of the reasons I opted for this one over the blue dial was a concern for scratches on the bezel - the SS bezels on these appear to be huge scratch magnets.

As far as the Speedy is concerned, one of the reasons I purchased it in the first place was for the sapphire caseback showcasing the movement. I've wanted a sapphire sandwich ever since seeing a Wathfinder video "Can You Tell The Difference Between A Cheap And Expensive Chronograph?". Even though the Speedy was the "cheap" watch in that video (comparing it to a Breguet Classique 3237 and a Patek Phillipe 5170J), I was enthralled by the beauty of the movement. 

If I could only choose one of these two, I'm not sure which one I'd go for. Chronographs are my favourite complication, and being able to admire the movement is a big deal for me. But, damn, that Cartier appeals to me in a way that no other watch has ever done. If there is such a thing as a watch to complete a collection, this could be it for me.

Here's a link to that Watchfinder video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1HhRPDmCgw

Came to say Cartier Santos based on your criteria -- turns out I'm echoing others. My Medium fits my 6.75" and my wife's 6.25" wrists. You could swing either M or L with a 7.5" wrist but might find a strong preference after trying on side-by-side.

how did you feel about the size of the Cartier?  This is the large, correct?

This is indeed the large, and because of how slim the watch is (9.4mm), and how it hugs the wrist, I was quite happy with the size. I certainly wouldn't want it any larger,  but I think the size is perfectly reasonable for my 170mm (6.75") wrist. Although I find that the 39mm size of my BB58 is pretty much ideal, most of the watches I like tend to be a bit larger, so most of collection is in the 40-44mm range. The Speedy is 42mm, and I have no complaints with it, but the squared off shape of watches such as the Cartier may make them look larger.  FWIW, the large Santos is 39.8mm across, 47.5 lug-to-lug.

The medium Santos is currently only available with a white dial as far as I'm aware, and although the white dial has an awesome classic look to it, I personally love the way that the blue or black dials add a level of sportiness to the watch. I would have loved to be able to try on both for comparison, but there is no local Cartier AD here in Winnipeg, so I had no way of doing that. I hope that I don't regret opting for the large if/when I get the opportunity to try the medium.

I tend to prefer watches without a date window since so many date windows mess with the symmetry. For the Santos, the date at 6 o'clock is so well integrated into the design that it doesn't detract from the look, and I must admit that a date display is a nice feature when done correctly.

Luckily I have an AD here in Calgary.  Hopefully they have some stock so I can try both on the wrist. Thanks again for your comments.  It’s a beautiful model that I think will find its way into the collection at some point. Colour might be the hardest decision. 

I've been struggling with this question myself.

I also have a 7.5" wrist with an overabundance of dive watches. I have been going back to my roots looking to transition to more dress watches.

I've been going back and forth between the Santos large and the Glashutte Original Panomatic. Both have great heritage, but in the end, the hand-made finishing on the GO is outstanding. The bezel of the Santos will get scratched up, but I was planning to pick up a spare bezel to polish and keep a replacement and swap out occasionally. 

In the end I decided to go with the GO. Take a look at the exhibition case..my knees went weak when I look at it.

Here's a great review...

https://monochrome-watches.com/glashuette-original-panomaticlunar-review-price/

Teddy B also did an excellent review a few months back. 

In the end, it's all up to you. I wish you much luck on your quest. Looking forward to what you land on.

Another amazing and underrated brand. GO doesn’t get enough love. Thanks for bringing them back into view. I considered a GO Chrono a couple years ago but it was more than I’d ever invested in a watch so didn’t pull the trigger. Ironically, a couple years later, it’s likely in play. Oh, how this hobby escalates!  😂 

I still have the photo I kept at the time. I now have another brand to re-visit. Cheers. 
 

Yes...it escalates pretty quickly. It seems I'm always looking for the next piece even before I receive the new one! Just added the Omega World Timer to my collection...absolutely stunning watch and is very versatile.  It may be worth a look-see. 

So, I went and checked out the SLGA009 today. Went in to inquire and they just received it. Wow, is all I can say.  If I was to list all the desired features I’d like in a GS, it ticks them all, other than titanium.  However, on bracelet it is so balanced, the added weight wouldn’t bother me.  It will be hard for it to be toppled from the pedestal. Great reco!

JLC Geophysic True Seconds.

Such a good watch geek watch. Need to check again. Thx 

Great! 

I hope you find precisely what you're looking for for the big Five-0!

Yeah, it's funny, but GS's market position is incredibly interesting.  Check this out:

https://www.fratellowatches.com/grand-seiko-fratello-paris-event-photo-report/#gref

They went from 24th to 5th in revenue in the U.S. from 2016 - 2020 (they excluded Rolex from the chart, otherwise it would have taken up the entire graphic!), without a single dime of advertising, without any ambassadors, without any significant retail presence...  They leapfrogged the likes of IWC, Panerai, and Tag Heuer, solely on the strength of their product, and the resulting word of mouth from enthusiasts.

My assertion is that relative to the relevant competitors in their price bracket, GS simply offers a much higher quality product - better finishing, better technology, better...  everything.  When you put a product into the marketplace that consumers consider higher quality relative to competitors, but sell at the same price, you end up taking marketshare, which is precisely what we see here.  

All the recent online commentary is of the sort:  "GS is raising their prices!  They used to release watches at the $5k - $6k mark.  Now they're pushing $9k."  But, I suspect that those commentators are missing the key insight:  GS was previously severely under-pricing their product.  They re-launched the brand relatively recently, and sold exclusively in Japan for some time.  And Japan has experienced 30 years of essentially ZERO nominal GDP growth!!!  Like...  can you imagine 30 years of recession / stagnation???  Only when they finally separated GS USA as a stand-alone entity did they finally realize, "Oh, hey, in a normal economy you can actually charge real prices for luxury products!"  Too funny.