what would be your ideal watch be if you could come up with your ideal spec?

I need to add lume on the bezel please?

Wow thats a very specific Grand Seiko.

My ideal watch: 38mm to 42mm.

Any movement.

Price: It has to be expensive.

yes very specific and GS takes up a bulk of my collection so the movement I would like to pick from GS's parts bin.

I do not think there is such at thing as an "ideal" watch. Our tastes change, our perspectives change, our views change and our bodies change. So, what was "ideal" yesterday will no be "ideal" tomorrow. You probably should be asking what is an "ideal watch for me for today".

For me, today, the ideal watch is Omega Aqua Terra with teak green dial.

no "ideals" don't change for people, especially not daily. The definition of "ideal" is something that only exists in your imagination, so...which means what I described above is my fantasy watch and will remain as fantasy. Unless I launch a watch company and make one for myself but I don't have the $. lol! and yes I have 30+watches in my collection that I swap daily/weekly and to me picking a watch is something that fits the activities of that day/week. The ideal watch is something to me that can do it all.

I think a CW C63 Sealander with an ETA F06.412 would be about ideal for me.

Maybe a Sealander with a LJP solar movement, like in the TAG Solargraph would be acceptable.

Oh and the Horage Supercede came very, very close to my "ideal" watch. It checks my boxes more than any other out there but not quite there.

I disagree that "ideals" do not change. Not daily, maybe not even yearly, but they change. My "ideal" car used to be a Corvette. But with age I realized that my "ideal" car is a limo with a driver. Both are fantasies that are destined to remain fantasies. It took about 30 years for that to change. So, I think, if you create a detailed enough list of attributes of your "ideal" watch today, and then create a list 30 years from now, they will not be the same. Unless it is something nebulous like "a watch that fits all of my activities", then yes, you are correct.

Perhaps the word you're looking for is "suitable". What is "suitable" for today, and it’s your Aqua Terra. Mine is GS GMT. Collecting over 20 years and my ideal watch has not changed.

Again, it is a matter of time. Your 20 years of collecting is just not long enough. If you were collecting for 26 years, your ideal would have changed. You mentioned spring drive movement as an ideal, but in only came out commercially in 1999. In 1998 spring drive could not be part of your ideal. If you were collecting for 40 years, your ideal would not have a ceramic bezel, because it first came out on Rado Sintra in 1986. Who know what innovation will be next in the watch world. Something will definitely come up that will change our ideal.

Most/all of Nomos, with smaller lugs 😝

ok mr. pedant you win. You're taking this waaay to seriously.

GS Quartz 39mm and Omega AT 41mm. I don’t need to worry about creating my own specs. Both of these watches did it for me. 👍👍

I’d buy that Paul (or at the very least, I’d overthink it to the point of getting a doctorate hahaha), sounds like a really cool GS.

Mine would be, 38mm diameter, 45mm l2l, 11mm thick. Matte black dial with white /fauxtina sword hands. Thin pilot bezel with a quartz movement (can be HAQ but honestly even an off the shelf quartz is fine). If anyone knows a watch like this, please let me know. I think one that comes close is probably a Hamilton Murph or a Sinn 556.

just for s#its and giggles, AI rendered me this based on my input. llol!

Okay, here we go:

40mm with 20mm lugs, 11mm thick and 48mm lug-to-lug.

Orange furry dial with googly lumed eyes and a cat nose on the pinion with the mouth below, surrounded by Roman numerals inscribed into the gold plated bezel. Very lumed Breguet cathedral hands. Green and purple camouflage faux leather strap with gold hardware. Drilled lugs for quick strap changes, and a stainless steel case with very polished and rounded edges everywhere except on top of the lugs which would be brushed. Brushed caseback so that scratches don't show, and a Seiko NH38 inside. Screw down crown and water resistance of 301m to make it better than a Rolex Submariner.

I tried to get AI to make a render of it, but it didn't do it properly despite several attempts.

All of these would do though.

Those cat faces are frickin awesome 🤣😂🤣

omg I'm dying, lol!!! greatest use of AI.

It would probably be a 38mm sports watch with no less than 100m of water resistance. A single domed sapphire crystal, good lume, a white guilloche dial, a decent Swiss movement, a quality bracelet with an on the fly clasp, and a screw down crown. My grail watch is an Omega Aqua Terer, which is about the closest thing I can think of

On Chrono 24 right now there is a JLC Odysseus, that just sings out to me as one of the most beautiful watches I have ever seen, I could put it on affirm, or , send food aid to Rafah.

I know this is not a political site, but this could be a flashpoint that ignites as Israelis are protesting to keep people from delivering food to 1.2 million people pushed into this tiny space. Actually I am not at all sorry at all that I said this. To buy a grail like this would be a lifelong joy, however

My ideal watch could be sourced from the Citizen parts bin:

NB1060 case with matching Duratect platinum treated bracelet (but ideally 20mm strap width)

Washi/full lume sandwich dial

Eco drive movement with radio signal for perpetual calendar and accurate moon phase

Moon phase/pointer date subdial at 6

= The ideal dress watch for rare occasions that won't require setting