SOTC 2022 - A year to remember

Not only was it the year my first child was born - 2022 was also the year I really started expanding my watch collection. The really high-end pieces on my imaginary wishlist are still missing, but with the Lunar Pilot I finally managed to check one of my grail watches off that list.

My other highlight was the PRX - a watch that really caught me off guard. Went into my local Tissot AD one day, just to see how a PRX would look and feel on my wrist. The lady gave me the blue 40mm quartz one, and it really was "love at first sight". I bought this thing in a heartbeat and left the store after just 8 mins.... 😅

Not much was happening on the Casio front, except for the legendary F-91W. As a Casio fan, I just HAD to get this one!

A real beginners collection wouldn't be complete without Invicta. Hence, I treated myself with a Pro Diver during Black Friday week. For a 69€ watch, the level of finishing is exceptional. The only dead giveaway is the bracelet, which is why I replaced that awful thing with a third-party one.

Cadisen was yet another manufacturer to catch me off guard. That golden Day-Date homage (which I also bought during Black week and was meant as a bit of a joke initially) is finished to absolute perfection, and apart from its lack of hacking, the Miyota movement is performing exceptionally.

We've all heard of Pagani Design. But did you know that most of those weirdly named chinese brands on Amazon and Ali are in fact just sub-brands of PD?? One of them is Duka, and I managed to get a pretty nice Datejust homage for 80€ during black week. For that price, you're getting a jubilee-style bracelet with exceptional finishing, a Glidelock-style clasp, a NH35A movement with screw-down crown and a beautiful sunburst dial!

Last but not least, we have to talk about the elephant in the room: My Tsar Bomba. Being the newest addition to my collection (apart from the Lunar Pilot which I got for Christmas), it already got a lot more wrist time than I expected. Because despite its enormous size, it wears pretty comfortably and the VK67 inside is doing a great job displaying the time nice and clear on this otherwise confusing dial. Ooh, and btw: Tsar Bomba is yet another sub-brand of Pagani Design. The more you know....

Final verdict: Collecting watches is a lot more fun than I expected before I got into this hobby back in 2020. Even if you're on a budget like me, there's plenty of options to choose from that will definitely surprise you. I'm looking forward to 2023 and will keep you updated!