Sounds like you love the Ranger for all the right reasons. IMO your lust for the Rolex will lead to a short honeymoon period and then a lukewarm marriage that was mostly predicated on brand name appeal. Hold onto it a few years- if it doesn’t have a lasting sentimental connection at that point…Tudor would’ve probably made the smaller version that you can move to. Good luck!

Tag does this well. Love the Tag logo- it can be simple or busy, colorful or not depending on how they want to add or remove the typography. I also feel like it transcends watches a bit, like Breitling does (and maby a little like Rolex’s), this might be down to the 90’s nostalgia and constant add placement of the time in F1 and other places.

I would think it’s necessary for a custom sizing since this would be a defining measurement as to where the prong would connect to the hole and thus the overall correct circumference of the strap.

It’s always between Laco and Stowa, and then it just gets down to preference on the details. I personally like the Laco hands much better on these type A’s and also the Type B’s. I hear that Stowa might have them beat in quality/finishing, but I can’t attest to that personally. The subdial on this is awesome.

I’ll 2nd the recommendation for the Serica.

I have the Lorier Hydra Zulu. Love the watch, lume is super cool and unique (lume plots look like they are floating on the dial). The movement is much quieter than previous Miyotas I’ve had so it’s more enjoyable to wear. That being said I prefer callers. The functionality of a flyer is great for that 2 minute window when you land in a new time zone…but even with that, the lack of quick set date is really annoying and if you just want to track another time zone when at home then you have to set two different hands- first the gmt (that spins your hour hand) to get to the time zone you want to track, then the jumping hour to get back to your local time. I think flyer GMTs are pretty overhyped by the industry because of the Rolex lore and the idea that you are a jet setting pilot traveling the world in different time zones every day. Maybe the watch media is also biased since they seem to be traveling to Geneva every 2 weeks. In my opinion, just spend the extra minute it takes to spin the hour and minute hands all the way around to your new local time. 🤷‍♂️

I’m really loving it, it hasn’t left my wrist very often. Been wearing it with lots of different leather bands, natos and the mesh it came with always makes it feel dressier. I wasn’t expecting the blue on the bezel to be as glossy as it is, but I guess that was just my oversight on expectations, but it’s grown on me. Everything about the dial, hands, case size, lug chamfers feels really unique and special. I don’t even like divers all that much. This is my second Serica and I’m planning on getting a third. There’s something special about these that make them feel special in a way that I would imagine the watches of the 60’s would’ve been (but not in a retro way), maybe it’s an authenticity about them that I connect with. And I haven’t had any troubles with the movements or QC. Let me know if you get one and how you feel about it 👍. Cheers!