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HoustonHorn

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Posts posted by HoustonHorn

  1. Been following this thread since TOS and I would  appreciate any suggestions.  
     
    Little Nigel is graduating high school this week and I would like to give him his first watch as a graduation gift.  He is playing football and running track in college so I would like to get him something sporty that is nice enough to wear most anywhere but that he could run routes, catch passes in as well (I know much of that has to do with the band).  
     
    Would like to keep it in the hundreds but can go higher than that if it is worth it.  Tissot, Citizen, Hamilton, etc. are where I am starting.  
     
    Thank y’all for any help!
    If you're willing to look beyond major brands check out RZE. https://www.rzewatches.com/

    Fully titanium case and bracelet for under $700. Lightweight, clean modern look, comfortable, on the fly adjustment on the bracelet, good lume. Comes with an UltraHex coating on the titanium which increases the hardness and reduces wear and tear. Field, Dive, Pilot style watches available. The first photo of the Endeavour has a GS White Birch style dial, but they have more traditional dials. The Resolute Pro comes with enamel dials which look great. That's the second photo.

    Two other brands to look at are Direnzo and Nodus.

    Direnzo DRZ03
    https://direnzowatches.com/drz-03-v2/?v=77c15b8369ec

    Nodus
    https://www.noduswatches.com/sector-series2024_0516_16414600 (1).jpg2024_0224_14495000 (1).jpg
  2. Threads is a loss leader for them.  It's a drop in the bucket compared to Instagram and Facebook, and as more people continue to join and they roll out new features, they see it as a long-term play against twitter and a few other services.
    Fire now, I agree. But the opportunity to monetize will be there eventually as Elon continues to deconstruct Twitter. It may take a few years, but it will definitely happen. The allure will be too strong.
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  3. And in the meantime, they are about to start charging a lot more for paid verification on Instagram. Meaning that only big brands that can afford it will actually see promotion. The current plan is $15/month and will now have added tiers of $45/$120/$350 per month.

    Instagram has been complete shit lately, likely to increase people's willingness to pay these increasing amounts. I have no doubt they will do the same thing with Threads.

  4. Do people hate the rolex cellini? Its kinda nifty
    With the Cellini, you lose the most important aspect of owning a Rolex, other people don't know you own a Rolex.
    • Like 1
    • Haha 3
  5. I tend to go for a simpler, more classic look. My two current auto watches are an Aqua Terra and a Stowa Marine. I tend to be biased toward brands with a significant watchmaking history.
    I've had my eye on an IWC Pilot lately, but also thinking about getting something less expensive now and then something else in a year or so. Hence the post.
    Nomos is a great suggestion, I love their aesthetic. I also like that Horage in your 2nd post, but not as familiar with that brand. That probably gives you an idea of where my head is at.
    The AT is a great watch. I'm not into historical significance as much. I appreciate the history but it comes at the price of limiting creativity to maintain consistency with the historical catalog.

    Of the major brands, IWC is my favorite. But if I have to go with something from one of the major luxury conglomerates it's Glashütte Original. Nothing in the sub-2k category though.

    I really prefer small independent watch brands and watchmakers.

    Horage is making a name for themselves. They designed the K1 and now K2 movements and they are regulated to COSC standards. But they are a relatively young brand. I do like the Multiple as it's clean but the grid on the dial keeps it interesting while still being relatively subtle.

    I'm probably not the best person to recommend watches for what you're looking for as we are almost polar opposites on what we like. But to each his own.

    Here are a couple clean, simpler looks.

    Oligo Blue
    Rashid Tsoroev

    And because I'm a Texas fan, the orange Nicholas Hacko Mark II. The guilloché is incredible and everything is titanium which is incredibly difficult to work with.




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  6. Stowas Flieger (pilot) then. Comes in different sizes. And that brand was one of the original ones contracted by the Luftwaffe to make pilot watches, before IWC was involved. 
    Stowa also makes the Bauhaus style watches like Nomos.
    And Stowa is an excellent suggestion.
  7. Sooo, maybe I can spoil him anyway. I showed him the Monta Noble and he was intrigued. We have an anniversary approaching so I'm filing that little bit of info away to check out as a possibility. He seems to prefer the 'plain' watches and this was the one I marked:
    image.thumb.png.bfdcada7aea9e6f031a59d043465baf8.png
    It's got the second hand sweep (a must) and the date (preferred).
    You'll get the sweep from any mechanical watch. The ticking is quartz.

    I don't really like homages for the most part, and the Monta is a little too Rolexy for me. I especially think Rolex knockoffs like that are simply a way of saying you want a Rolex but can't afford one. And it's basically trading on someone else's design without any real inspiration. But I'm also pretty biased against Rolex in general so take that with a few grains of salt.

    Check out Traska, or as a step up, Formex is a great option. Direnzo makes great affordable watches, but might be a little too different for your husband. The DRZ03 and DRZ04 would be more in the typical style.
  8. The Sphaera, my Straum Opphav which I don't like as much as the Jan Mayen but I still really like, the Formex Essence 39 which I failed to mention previously, and the Horage Multiply.

    2024_0427_22245600(3).thumb.jpg.5c8f2b2e6af671cfb4a75fc9c57c7e43.jpg2024_0418_22592200(1).thumb.jpg.87edf048222395da704770b4c49745d4.jpg2024_0309_15512000.thumb.jpg.e22c766914c788ce926e700b04d1bfce.jpg2024_0217_21391200(5).jpg.376702483f38b745089e4053f77b37c6.jpg

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  9. Been out of this thread for a few years. What brands do y’all like in the $1k-$2k range these days?
    What type of watch are you looking for?

    I love my Sphaera and the new release looks great too.

    Straum makes a very good watch, although I like the Jan Mayen more than the release happening today.

    Nomos if you're looking for a dressier option they have some in the upper part of that range, or pre-owned.

    I really like the Maen Ultra thin is you like rectangular watches. But I don't have one so can't speak to the quality.

    The Nodus/Raven Trail Trekker.

    Colorado Watch Company is the sister company of Vortic (which make some really badass watches based on vintage pocket watches) and the watches look cool with a more industrial aesthetic.

    Damasko is a very good option for a Sinn look at a more affordable price.

    The Horage Multiply Small Seconds is slightly higher than that but really nice.

    • Hook 'Em 2
  10. I would love to buy the white dial Treiber for my husband but he would kill me. I prefer the pale blue/green dial for the aesthetic and the cool factor but again, that would be a no go. It's a shame as we could afford for him to have a nicer watch than his daily but he is the 'if it's not broke why fix it' type and I respect it. But, yeah, it's a beautiful watch and I'd love to spoil him with it. (actually compared to some of the other watches I like and would like to buy for him, the Treiber is not that expensive really).
    Probably moot as I don't see it getting funded. He's a great watch designer but he needs a 3-4 month promotional tour on Instagram with a lot of top photographers/watch accounts to generate interest. He also needs to get it reviewed by some of the big watch blogs/websites.

    Plus he needs to be realistic about how many watches he can sell at over $1k on Kickstarter. It isn't going to happen. Sucks because he's a nice guy and the watches are really cool. Just a bad plan.

    There's another account on IG @talkingabouttime who is a buddy of mine here in Houston. He has some amazing shots of them from a few days ago.


  11. Those pics are very very nice.
    Thank you. it's a really well executed watch. Treiber does a fantastic job with the design and his integration of the features and elements of the cars is really unlike anything else I've ever seen. There are a strawberry red and a white as well. These are prototypes I had to send back because he is at a watch show in San Francisco this weekend. Hopefully I'll get one or two back to get additional shots.

    I hope this gets funded on Kickstarter because I'd really like to have one. I own the first one based on the'57 Bel Air and it's fantastic.
  12. For vintage car people, there a relatively new brand Treiber Timepieces, that designs watches based on old classics. The first watch was based on the '57 Bel Air. They are about to have a Kickstarter for their second watch based on the 300SL Gullwing.

    The dials recreate the speedometer, but the case and lug design is asymmetrical and mirrors the eyebrow arches over the wheels. The crown replicates the radio knobs.

    Very cool watches. 2024_0427_18280500.jpg2024_0426_20165400.jpg

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    • Like 1
  13. Stumbled across this on Reddit.
     
    If you're interested in an Arcanaut, I know those guys personally. Just hung out with them a few weeks ago. They will show you the dials that are working on and you can pick one out. They have some that are linear and then some that are ripple milled and are 3D looking.

    One of the main guys is James Thompson who is known as Black Badger. He is kind of a mad scientist and works on some crazy lume shit for some super high end brands.

  14. Yeah, RGM has a location right down the road in Mount Joy, near the old Hamilton Watch Factory that closed down when Hamilton shifted operations to Switzerland.
    The museum has some cool exhibits, including a large model of a watch movement for kids to play around with, an exhibit on old Japanese pocket watches (in traditional Asian watches the dial rotates as well as the hands), and an exhibit on James Bond's watches that was unfortunately undergoing renovation when we were there. They also have a large pocket watch collection, as well as a fully reproduced 19th century watch shop.
    They also used to have an intricate handmade wooden clock, but some idiot destroyed it.
     
    Very cool. They took one is their guilloche machines to WatchTime and demonstrated how it worked. Amazing stuff. I would like to get one someday.
  15. I was critical of Jack Mason before. They were basically a mall brand. But they have recently been really working to reform the company. A few people I know have been very impressed with the Strat-O-Timer GMT and I was able to check that out along with the new Ellum last weekend. While neither is for me for different reasons, they are impressive. The linen dial on the Ellum is excellent.

    Credit where credit is due.



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  16. I received an email from AnOrdain this week for a show in Atlanta.  My email said the event was free entrance, but I had to RSVP.  If you get email from AnOrdain, you want to check it if you are in the area.  If it were in the HTX, I'd figure out a way to go. I find the Arcanaut brand is piquing my interest.  Here's the link.
    Atlanta — Intersect (intersectwatchshow.com)
    I'll be at the Atlanta show and I'm going to talk with them about having a show in Houston in the future. Several great independent brands at the Atlanta show including anOrdain, Arcanaut, Vortic, and Fears. Great microbrands as well. The Dallas show last year was good but only microbrands. I know the guy who runs the Atlanta Watch Society and he really busts his ass for that group.

    I didn't have a Vortic, but I want one. Not inexpensive though. Here's the other three though.

    2024_0310_00090400.jpg2024_0225_08344000.jpg2024_0208_15361400 (1).jpg
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