RogueJSK, swapping hands, dials, movements, cases and crystals is pretty easy.

I’m not a rocket surgeon and managed to pick it up pretty quickly.

What were you thinking?


A Seiko Bumblebee is born.

Sweet custom Bumblebee! I'm a fan of the yellow-on-black color scheme. While I'm not usually a "brightly colored" kinda guy, I find that a small amount of yellow (like a dial) can go with just about anything, and looks especially good with black outfits.

Plus, you get the whole Batman vibe too.

I actually just picked up a super cheap Aragon Divemaster 42 in a similar color scheme. Got it for $80, because it was listed as just "Men's Watch" with no other details. This one's destined to be my "beater" dive watch, since at $80 I won't feel bad about scratching it up and knocking it around. I'll be able to treat it like I did my $50 Casio Duro, but it'll last longer thanks to its sapphire crystal and ceramic bezel.

https://www.aragonwatch.com/AR...c_NH36_p/a199yel.htm

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
What were you thinking?

I was considering grabbing one of those cheap Addiesdive H9s, and then ditching the gaudy rose gold hands in favor of silver/vintage yellow or black/white, similar to what the guy in the screencap I posted had done.

Maybe that would scratch the Goldilocks watch itch while I wait patiently for a lightly used green-on-black non-24-marked Glycine Combat Sub to pop up on eBay.

Interesting. I just tried to join one of the larger watch forums, where a guy has one of the green Combat Subs for sale. Within a few minutes of joining, my account was immediately banned for being a "scammer".

So... it appears patiently scanning eBay is my best course.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
If you could stretch your budget a bit...

A bit?

A bit?!

Hmm... Do I want to buy a car, or do I want to buy a Blancpain/Glashuette?

Mmm Glashutte, damn you r0gue.
Definitely on my shortlist, and that's a handsome model, but r0gue's was one of my favorites from this entire thread.

quote:

Originally posted by Johnny 3eagles:
Komodo Black with White:

Damn. That does look good! Man, their lume is ridiculous!

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
I'll be able to treat it like I did my $50 Casio Duro, but it'll last longer thanks to its sapphire crystal and ceramic bezel.

You killed a Duro?

No, it's still going strong, mechanically. Cosmetically, it's a little rough, because I treated it like a $50 watch.

New possible contender for the Goldilocks Watch: Spinnaker Hunley.

Alas, also discontinued, but just within the past couple years, so they're fairly available on the secondary market.




They also have the Spinnaker Fleuss, which is not discontinued, but is a bit further from exactly what I'm wanting.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
No, it's still going strong, mechanically. Cosmetically, it's a little rough, because I treated it like a $50 watch.

Ok, I was gonna say....

Stickman takes very good care of his watches. They Hamilton looked brand new when I got it, and now... it doesn't. I'm hard on watches. I try not to be, it just works out that way. To that end, I can show you what a Combat Sub looks like after a few years of wear by someone who thrashes watches.

https://youtu.be/mLAVHHgf3Hg

Well, that's not bad for a few decades of wear.

Wait, years?

()

To me, that doesn't look significantly worse than normal wear from frequent use over a few years. But then, maybe I'm hard on my watches too...

Haha

Yeah, I don't know how people do it, keeping watches looking pristine. I can't, that's why I have a few that are either NIB or basically unworn, because I don't want to see them bashed up. Guns, knives, watches, etc. I'm to the point now where with those, if I'm not going to use them, I'm selling that stuff off. All my stuff gets used, or I have no use for it. The honest wear just speaks to that, I guess. You just reminded me I have a Duro that fits in that category. Probably end up giving that to my son, wouldn't be worth the shipping to sell it to anyone lol.

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:
Yeah, I don't know how people do it, keeping watches looking pristine.

It's easy... You buy 365 watches, and wear a different one every day!


I'm only half-kidding. I do think having a larger watch collection is one way that folks keep their watches looking Instagram Fresh, by constantly rotating out the watches that are getting worn and spreading out the wear and tear.

But some people just baby their stuff. Cars, guns, watches, etc. Others, like you and me, view them as tools/objects to be used, and picking up dings and scratches along the way is just a natural part of the process.

Plus, perhaps not everyone is as clumsy as us oafs...

Another consideration might be to build/design your own modded Seiko SKX.

The sky is the limit with the level of customization available. You should be able to build one exactly to your taste and fall within your budget.

Maybe something similar to this.

That's a nice option stick.
Maybe with some more contrast for the hands.

More color eh? How about these P250UAS?





With Seiko the neat thing is the enormous size of the aftermarket. Pretty much any hand design that you can think of is available for the Seiko 7S/4R powered watches.

Watch cases are also an area that quality aftermarket manufacturers such as Namoki & Crystal Times have been expanding. They have Seiko SNK sport style watch cases and clones of premium brands iconic cases like the Omega Seamaster too if you don’t like their many Seiko derived diver style cases.

This is just one of many retailers that specialize in Seiko aftermarket parts.
Link to Seiko hand mod options



Seiko modding is not hard to do. If you can assemble a stripped AR15 upper and lower you can build a Seiko. Just like with AR assembly you will need some specialized tools but YouTube provides excellent videos to teach you the process.

That second one looks like a winner to me.
4 o'clock crown, check
Clean face, no cyclops, check
Could stand to add a date window, but I quite like the simplicity of it.

Dang, if I could just get this Vaer auto diver:


With this quartz Vaer field watch's dial (but with a date):


...I'd be a happy camper.

The Vaer is a very nice homage to the Omega Seamaster’s iconic twisted lugs and case.

Vaer’s case is closer to Omega but Namoki also makes a Seamaster style case. It looks like they also wisely abandoned the helium release valve at 10 o’clock.

Namoki Seamaster / Seiko case

The configurator at Crystal Times website is also fun.

Watch Configurator

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
The configurator at Crystal Times website is also fun.
Watch Configurator

Well, that's a fun way to kill some time & visualize some variants.

Oy. I should not have stumbled across Vaer today.

Their 42mm D5 is calling my name, hard. And it's on sale. And they offer a further very generous First Responder discount.

Sub-$400 shipped for a sweet USA-made diver from a company with a great reputation seems very tough to beat.

It may not have numeric hour markings or any visual frills, but it's still sexy in a classic way.

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
More color eh? How about these P250UAS?

Very nice! Looks a lot like watches offered by Marathon!