Do you have any watch deal breakers?

I can't chose one, because I have no problem with any of the options. Lol.

You should add "None of the above". For me, it is helium escape valve on Omega Seamaster.

Lol, wont let me add another option. You must have a large collection if you're not as picky as me 🤣

Bad lume. 😕 It's my gripe with (allegedly, God tier) Casios.

Ok I changed it 😆

I hated that too, but somehow I ended up buying two of them 🤣

Nop i have no problem, If I like the watch and I have the money I will buy it whether it is with a date at 4 o'clock or in house caliber, cyclops or candy bar

Integrated bracelet/straps

Overlapping subdials

Pink dial

Diamonds

Day/date subdials

In quartz I agree, but in automatics this is more a disappointment for me, not as much as a deal breaker. I believe Lume eventually fades away? I loved the lume in the marathon Gsar, but because of my ocd, didnt buy the watch because of the mis-centered date 🤣

I pretty much agree with you except I'm ok with day and date just so long it's centered 😁

Yeah. Forget the lume. My deal-breaker is Seiko misalignment... ie about half of their dive watches. Grrr. 😠

Hence one of the reasons why I sold my Samurai srpb51 and replaced it with my Seiko 1968 reissue on which everything lines up perfectly 🤣

Digital readout.

Screw down crown is a big negative to me but I've let it slide a couple of times.

I judge every watch on a case by case basis. There’s no single deal breaker if the sum total of the watch works well.

My biggest deal breaker is bad behaviour by the brand management.

Display case backs. Those are so corny. I finally ordered a solid case back for my Seiko 5 to turn it into a more serious watch and not a fruity geegaw.

My current watch has 50mm lug to lug, i definitely can't wear anything with longer lug to lug than that with my 16cm wrist, so 50mm should also be my maximum lug to lug

Like most things, the entirety of the whole must be considered.

A stretched out bracelet. I like vintage gold and two tone watches where stretch is an issue.

Iced out anything with too many pave diamonds.

Only deal break I can think of is a watch California numerals (half Arabic half Roman)

A deal breaker for me is a butterfly clasp on a bracelet. All other aspects of the watch have to be perfect for me to buy a watch with that type of clasp which would immediately be replaced by a strap. The watches I have previously bought with a butterfly clasp are all sold or are worn on a strap

Slanted numerals.

I always thought no date was a deal breaker for me however recently after trying a few on with no date window and enjoying the symmetry of the dials I think I might have just been being too picky 😂

Deal breakers can greatly limit our enjoyment of this hobby IMO. Try to look at the watch as the whole package and not just a list of features or specs.

Dates aren't a deal breaker for me, but I'd take all my watches without a date if I could. The symmetry without the date can be so tasty.

Roman numerals

Jangly bracelets (feels cheap), huge crown guards (unnecessary and ugly in my opinion), misaligned bezel and chapter ring (looking at you Seiko and Invicta), bezels that are hard to turn (looking at you Orient), ridiculous case thickness (feels like wearing a UFO on the wrist), stamped clasps instead of milled (stamped clasps lack durability compared to milled clasps in my experience), no micro adjustment on the clasp (looking at you OMEGA AT), cheap feeling NATO straps (very uncomfortable to wear), date window at 4 o'clock (looks out of place), a day/date window (throws off the proportion of the dial), weak lume on a tool watch (defeats the purpose of a tool watch), push pull crown on a dive watch (needs to have a screw down crown), folded links on a bracelet (pain in the ass to adjust)

Good list, agree with most except for some reason I don't mind the 4 o'clock date if done right. I thought I was going to hate it, but after buying my seiko prospex it's grown on me 🤣

I'm just glad they seem to only use them in dress watches 🤣

Oh, I do have quite a bit...

• Mineral crystal. Sapphire or hesalite, please, mineral blows. I'd make an exception for what can be modded with a sapphire.

• Lume on the hands, but no lume on the dial. Unfortunately, a lot of brands commit that travesty.

• Miyota 8-series movements. Away with that pile of sheet metal junk!

• Integrated bracelet combined with a butterfly clasp. Sorry, but in my book, these clasps are junk, both in terms of wearing security and of adjustability (or rather a lack thereof...)

• Badly executed date window and/or - more importantly perhaps - a date window that doesn't go well with other dial features.

• Dive-style watches that aren't actual dive watches. No "5KX" for me.

• Tachymeter, telemeter or pulsometer scale on what isn't a chronograph.

• "Mechanical" text on the dial of a hand-wound watch.

Agree with your list 💯, sounds like you've been collecting for a while. It seems the longer I collect, the pickier I get. Trying my best to learn from past bad experiences, ex. crappy movements, and embrace newer experiences like buying my first chronograph. Loving the hunt and look forward to discovering something new 😁