Recommend me a wristwatch.

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Mesquite

It is what it is.
Mar 5, 2008
28,776
3,750
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~Hemel Hempstead~
I'm in the market for a watch with the following requirements

1 Must be an automatic, though I might possibly consider solar powered. Battery powered definitely won't be considered.
2 Must be analog
3 Stainless steel body.
4 Visible dial more than 30mm. Ideally it should be around 35mm to 40mm
5 Excellent luminosity on the dial and hands
6 Stainless steel wrist band
7 Has a date feature
8 Must be water resistant to at least 250 mtrs
9 Under £250

I've had a Steeldive SD1953 for about 9 months and it ticks all the boxes apart from the visible dial. That's only 28mm and not the 41mm the description says as that includes the bezel.
 
Yes the diameter given is always the case diameter, as that's what most people are concerned with in terms of size on wrist (even though there are plenty of factors like visible dial diameter, lug to lug distance and nature of the bracelet's end links). I'll have a think.

Edit:
You're going to really struggle with this because your specs are firmly in the dive watch camp but your dial diameter requirement then means the watch will be incredibly large due to the inevitable timing bezel the specs bring.

What you're likely after is a dress watch with good lume, as they're usually styled to be more dial than case, so don't get daftly large on wrist as the case diameter itself doesn't need the extra beyond the dial.

May I ask why a lower WR watch isn't good for you? Your price bracket certainly doesn't indicate it's being used as a backup watch for serious scuba/SAT diving so the WR level is rather wasted in this circumstance. I venture into the tech rec realm and am happy with a 100 or 200 m watch, as it's a back up to my dive computer (soon to be plural).
 
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Given the size you're after and your price bracket, I can only think of Invicta.

Have a look at what they have to offer, as they are very large, but that's what your dial diameter and WR requirement is bringing about.

Edit: another Steeldive type brand, this one may well meet your requirements given no rotating bezel on the 39mm case. Cannot comment on quality, but any automatic watch at this price point, plus steel bracelet, is going to be cutting corners somewhere:

200m 39mm stainless automatic
 
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Bands can be switched, I have watches that came with silicone or stainless steel and are now on nylon or leather.

Lume can be custom refreshed.

The requirements for depth rating, price and automatic are a problem together. The Seiko Tunas tick some, but are more expensive, even secondhand. The more affordable ones are solar, not automatic.

Why the absolute requirement for 250m resistance? That puts most inexpensive options off the table with 200m being more common.
 
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The Seiko Tunas tick some, but are more expensive, even secondhand.
There’s a Steeldive Tuna, massive great lump of a thing.


Or Heimdallr Sharkey Monster, an homage to the Seiko, 30mm dial.

 
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Yes the diameter given is always the case diameter, as that's what most people are concerned with in terms of size on wrist (even though there are plenty of factors like visible dial diameter, lug to lug distance and nature of the bracelet's end links). I'll have a think.

Edit:
You're going to really struggle with this because your specs are firmly in the dive watch camp but your dial diameter requirement then means the watch will be incredibly large due to the inevitable timing bezel the specs bring.

What you're likely after is a dress watch with good lume, as they're usually styled to be more dial than case, so don't get daftly large on wrist as the case diameter itself doesn't need the extra beyond the dial.

May I ask why a lower WR watch isn't good for you? Your price bracket certainly doesn't indicate it's being used as a backup watch for serious scuba/SAT diving so the WR level is rather wasted in this circumstance. I venture into the tech rec realm and am happy with a 100 or 200 m watch, as it's a back up to my dive computer (soon to be plural).
My close up vision is poor without glasses and at night time I struggle to read the dial on my steeldive so need something I can read easier at night.

As for WR, I need a bit of robustness as I tend to bang up my watches. I'd happily reduce the WR if the dial size and luminosity are good.
 
There’s a Steeldive Tuna, massive great lump of a thing.

That's a good possibility
 
That's a good possibility
Aliexpress have Steeldive Store. A good seller and a whole lot cheaper than anyone UK. Also, there are usually colours there that haven't made it here.

The green lume used on Steeldive is exceptional, I think the SD1970 won a Lume Wars comp a few years ago.
 
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The Marathon GPM is good if you don't find exactly what you are looking for, and available cheaper than RRP


A good banger, though lacking a lot of what you are after, except it is very easy to read and is water resistant, is the Casio MW240. But, it is battery run, no date etc and doesn't have some of the other things you spec. It is $20 though and there is a lot to be said for that.

There's a green one for a bit more money:


The other thing to try is to go to Chrono24 and do a search on 'Seiko Military' or just 'field watch'. Here's an example of what you'll see in your price bracket. There's loads of options:

 
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Here's another big Steeldive, SD1961. An homage to the Seiko Samurai it uses the same Seiko movement used in the Samurai but this is the NH36 day/date variant. Nice touch.

 
This is as close as I can find for quite a tough spec list, and it's still (just) over budget. No details of actual dial size either.

 

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