¶ Welcome and Wrist Checks
Hello and welcome to this week's episode of Fratello Talks. I'm your host Nacho and today I'm joined by Dan and Thomas and we're going to be putting together a list of our picks for the best watches under 5k available today. We're not doing anything pre-owned for this list. Oh, did you not get that? Already. Well, that took the best part of 20 seconds. I thought, uh-oh. No, but it should be okay. I think it's going to be okay. Okay, perfect. That's very reassuring.
Of course, before we get into the picks, let's get into wrist check. Thomas. Well, I'm actually wearing my obvious pick, which I can't pick because it would, I don't know, it would be a bit self-indulgent on the nose. So I won't pick it, but it is my pick. It's worth a mention. I think it's handy that you're wearing it. I mean, you're always wearing it. I'm always wearing it. But in this case, it was formerly disqualified in our picks under 2.5K.
but it would be certainly a great choice. I think it was more because there was no competition. It was also slightly over in terms of price point, I think. So that was the grounds for the disqualification. But yeah, I think... Disqualify it again. It's my VPC type 37HW for those not watching with images. But yeah, obviously that would be my pick, but it's not.
But still, an honorable mention right off the top. Is the one, I mean, this will be published a week from now, but is the one Dove Grey remaining one sold already? Or is this still just the one? left no there's the one left but if i go by the rhythm that it takes probably by the time this airs it will be gone so the gelph gray will then be sold out which i think it's
I mean, it's not a positive thing, but it's a big milestone for the brand to sort of sell out the first. First sold out model. Nice. Got to leverage that FOMO. Perfect. Nice. So, Dan, what about you? What is on your wrist? Something under 5K? Well, it's not bad on the pre-owned market, actually. I think you can get close.
really okay uh it's the breguet 5907 so 34 and a half millimeters white gold case and gold dial which is silvered and then uh beautiful guillochet and brushing yeah i can look around 5k well my i think uh on my corona 24 i think it says seven and a half k okay but i i always feel a chrono 24 is a bit uh well it takes the average price right yeah so it's always a bit over a bit over maybe yeah so it could be it's really good value actually it could be less but it's insane yeah i really i love it
Beautiful. And it's freshly serviced, right? It is, yes. Super clean, super new. It looks shiny and fresh. And what's the strap? It's the Malkin strap. With a little buckle, yeah. Lovely, good stuff. Yeah, and I'm wearing my spoilers for what's to come, my Tudor Pelagos FXD USN, so the black version. I'm wearing it on an NDC strap, which is an elastic strap. This is a black one. Normally, it's the green one with the yellow stripe made of new old stock elastic from French Navy.
parachute bags if i understood it correctly uh but this is a boxer short it was not it's not it's not from the no although that could be an idea you know hit up all the surplus stores and just cut those up uh no but this is uh yeah and this is a black version with a with a
¶ Dan's First Pick: Holthinrix Ornament
black buckle but um i think it matches the fxd uh rather nicely so it does yeah that's my that's my pick for the day uh cool so we start with our our picks for best watches available i guess available at retail today uh under 5k yeah cool dan you kick us off i kick it off um i think i've already mentioned this uh in this podcast once or
in another category but i i would like to mention the whole thing signature ornament again um because i think under 5k it's one of the most original watch designs and also craftsmanship pieces that you can get for the money yeah it's um there's how much is that it's 3750 euros and um yeah you get a highly well customized case with the very flowy lugs, curvy lugs, that really remind you of the fenders of a car, of an older car.
and i really i really like the design and uh yeah the vision behind it doing something completely different and there's i think there's a sellita movement inside which is also highly customized yeah the rotor rotor is customized and also the finishing on the on the bridges and the movement is yeah a lot more than what you get usually so for i think 3750 that's a really
Yeah, solid pick. Special watch to get. Really nice. I think it's cool when brands like Holthinrix, where normally the watches, like the proper high-end stuff that they do, is really...
Out of reach for most of us, at least. That they do something like this that sort of gives people a taste of what the brand does without necessarily being as exclusive as some of the other pieces. Some might say that that... maybe you know takes takes away from it but i think at their level at their um you know for a brand like holt henryx i think it's great to be able to kind of you know allow people uh to step into the brand uh without having to necessarily
jump into the deep end. Yeah, it's really nice. They are kind of like watch enthusiasts themselves as well. So they know exactly how the people out there feel about their watches maybe and they want to give people with a little less money than people that are able to.
maybe a ford watches that are 40 50k yeah uh also a little bit of the whole thing design so yeah i think the good thing there is that it's it's still a real whole tin rigs yeah yes that's it that was maybe some of the beef I personally had with the Groene as the sort of...
Oh, yeah. The lower-priced version for Grunewald, that it felt so disconnected from the brand in almost every respect. That's not the case with the Holtenrills, which I think is a good thing. I think there you could almost, like just to play devil's advocate, you could... almost say, well, it's a different...
brand on the dial. So it kind of allows a little bit of room there. But I do agree. I was trying to think of other examples of brands that have done this. And I think the most obvious and probably the most popular one is MB&F with the MAD project.
that they've done and now obviously it took a different form recently so it's yeah I think that it's cool when brands do that and allow people to have a taste without yeah having to set the credit card on fire basically so that's uh yeah it's not not as hand finished as the the higher end pieces but uh yeah more machining but yeah still
Kind of the charm that you get from the... Yeah, all the spirit of the brand is still there. So, yeah. Cool. Solid first pick. Thomas, what about you? What's your first pick? My first pick is a Tudor.
¶ Thomas's First Pick: Tudor Black Bay 54
Oh, all right. Again, as always, we didn't check, we didn't coordinate our lists, so we may have some overlap here and there. In any case, I... kind of try to envision what you would pick and then do something else. Right. I think it was pretty obvious. Yeah, exactly. So I would have picked that as well, probably. So I went for the Black Bay 54.
oh cool okay which um the new uh no no no definitely not that the the original black one um and it's It's a weird one for me because I do suffer from vintage fatigue and I do still feel that my criticism of it stands, that you might get bored of it quite quickly because it is so... vintage inspired that it might not please you as much and as long as a real vintage watch
or a contemporary watch would. But still, I think it's really, really well done. And I spent some time with it and I really enjoyed it. And it's just a very attractive watch. It's really handsome. I like the size. It's not too small. I don't have particularly small wrists anymore. And a different topic there.
But it still looks good. And I don't know. It's an attractive one. And it costs 41.20 euros. Oh, okay. I thought it was a little bit more expensive. Yeah, me too. It's quite well clear of the 5K mark. And yeah. How much is the 41?
The Black Bay, Black Dial, Black Bezel, the Metas version. I don't know, to be honest, but it should be under five still, right? That's the thing. I think seeing Tudor at this price point, within this price segment, it should be... no surprise because it's basically as close as you get to 5k in some cases now going a little bit over but yeah like like as close as you get for 5k but getting a really solid solid watch so yeah i think it should come as no
surprised that Tudor is featured here. And I think the Black Bay 54 is a great choice. I mean, nice and slim. It's, yeah, yeah. The build is great. And you also get a rubber strap with it, right? For that price, I think. With the Nthink thing. I'm not too fond of. I think it looks a bit too modern on such a vintage watch. Yeah, but it's a nice deal.
It's a nice... Yeah, all things to consider with how much OEM straps usually will set you back. Exactly, yeah. It's a decent thing to consider. I was going to say, have you seen the Black Bay 54 mod? There was one floating around where somebody took the second hand and a few other elements of it and modified it just so that it would be even more faithful to the original.
And they really did an amazing job. We'll put a picture up on the screen, but it's really interesting. To the original Rolex or the original Tudor? No, to the original Tudor from the 50s. It's a really nice thing. Throw it up on the screen for the viewers, and I'll show you in a bit. Cool. So let's get on to my first pick.
¶ Nacho's First Pick: NOMOS World Timer
I'm going to go with the NOMOS that I have selected, which is the Club Sport Neomatic World Timer. So that's actually one that came out this year. You just opened your own watch box, didn't you? No, no, no, not yet, not yet. Yeah, I have placed an order for one of those, and it should be on its way. So I'm very excited about that. I'm really looking forward to it. It'll be my first Nomos, and clearly the brand has done something special with this world timer.
sort of praised uh all across the board when it was released at watches and wonders um in in both two um colorways standard colorways as well as um the special edition i don't know how many of them there are i think something like six dark blue and gray is a standard and then six six le's yeah Yeah, with sort of bright colorways. I've gone with one of those. I won't give it away today, but yeah, got to keep some mystery, right? But that's the one. And the price tag on that is €3,940.
which all things considered, I mean, you're getting, I believe it's 40 millimeter case. waterproof with a screw-down crown to 100 meters. You get this sort of world timer that's not quite world timer functionality. It's more of like just a second time zone with a city ring. But I have to say the execution is fantastic.
Action on the pusher. It's been kind of something that people have talked about before, but it's really a satisfying click. And obviously you have a movement that, you know, Nomos are producing in Glashütte. And yeah, it's kind of a great one, all things.
considered and and the elephant in the room is the 47 millimeter lug to lug yes but i'm not scared of that no but oh no yeah true it's shorter it's shorter it's really short 47 is not not scary because i just uh reviewed or uh introduced the new ahoy oh yeah and it's 38 and a half millimeters but it has um a lug to lug of 49 millimeters yeah which makes it uh yeah more difficult watch for uh yeah exactly
that's it but on the world timer it's uh and it's very thin as well that's it it's under 10. i think it's 11 something or is it under 10. i think it's under 10. okay okay But yeah, either way, for a complicated watch, it really comes in at a great size. And I've always, for me, the club sport and club campus have always been the most appealing of Nomos' offerings. There was a white dialed club.
club campus that almost got me to pull the trigger. And I have to say, this is the one that's going to be for me. I got it on the bracelet. um i don't know how often i'll wear it on the bracelet uh it's obviously nice to have it but i think it's going to be uh one that goes on a strap i really like the textile straps from normals as well two-piece kind of nylon
Yeah, really nice. Those are really cool. I recently wrote an article on Fratello, a two-tone watch for people who don't like two-tone, about the Longines 1925. And I feel this is... the gnomos watch for people who don't necessarily like gnomos because it's a little bit less Bauhaus it's a little less sort of surgically clean it's got a little bit more charm and a little bit more play to it
especially limited editions yeah yeah definitely they've always been great with color and color combinations and i think that this is just a prime example following up on the tangentes from the year before i mean it's uh yeah really uh really good so i'm i'm i'm that's going to be my first pick and I'm very excited to get mine in and finally be able to wear it. Dan, what is your second pick? Cool, yeah, my second pick is the Fierce Arnos. Ooh, nice. The rectangular stainless steel case.
¶ Dan's Second Pick: Fears Arnos
with a round dial right in the middle of a hop nail cnc machined hop nail dial yeah and um yeah i really like it it's it's it's based on their uh one of their vintage models from the 20s and um and i think this is a really nice execution it has a solida sw thousand um
automatic movement inside which i really like for a watch like this because you you would expect a hand wide movement yeah but because it's a more dressy option and yeah it looks more vintage but but actually it's automatic and yeah i really think it's a really nice option for um 4350 pounds Okay, not bad. I'm glad you picked it because I forgot it. Oh, yeah. I thought of it yesterday. Like, oh, yeah, that's the one. And then I forgot to put it in. This is really good. Yeah.
In my mind, it wasn't under 5K, so I didn't even think about it. I had a chance to try it on at Time to Watches earlier this year. Yeah, me too, yeah. And it was really, it's nice and slim, and it just fits the wrist well. It's got the curved back, but for the rest it has...
Yeah, there are a lot of rectangular watches out there, but this one has something special. How did you feel about the straps? Because they had it on two different options. They had it on a leather, and they also had it on a rubber strap. Yeah, they also do the D-Lugs. D-Lugs, yeah, that's a rubber strap.
straps yeah i don't know yeah well it looks sophisticated still a rubber strap on a watch like that it's not the common thing to do i guess but i would rather put it on a on a nice leather strap but i'm not sure about its water resistance actually but if it's water i guess it might be water resistant yeah that's it so maybe
10 30 meters something like that just rainproof if it's a british brand it's got to be at least rain exactly i mean otherwise what are we doing oh but that's a that's another really solid pick that's a that's a great one and fears is a uh yeah yeah i think i think uh yeah a really cool brand that uh yeah really sets itself apart from a lot of the maybe smaller brands out there and yeah cool solid pick thomas what's your second
¶ Thomas's Second Pick: Cartier Tank SolarBeat
my second is it kind of triggers the question like what is the best watch in a sense like what what even is a good watch it's there's so many things you could go for that could be appealing is it the specs is it the build is it my second pick really isn't great in terms of value for money It's not great in terms of specs. And the only thing basically it's got going for it is that it's an absolutely iconic model from a very big brand. And I absolutely love it from a design and aesthetics.
point of view okay um it's the karchet tank solar beat ah okay okay it's it's ridiculous because it's it's priced 3800 euros now That's the solar one? Or is that the regular one? No, that's the solar one. Really? Wow. Okay. Which I can't justify in any way, except for the fact that it is a Cartier Tank. And I've spent some time with it, and I've come very close to buying one.
um it was actually a practical reason why i didn't because at the time they were struggling to get them to market and i was trying to buy one and couldn't get it done and then by the time i could i had moved on to other things and you know it kind of it's the one that got away in that sense but it is apparently it is a watch that i would own and that i really really like but i mean i i can hardly say that it's the best watch under 5k i mean it's not
It's not great by any objective measure. The most iconic and most practical. Not even practical. No, it's not practical. But I really like it. I really do. So yeah, there it is. I'm a little bit biased as I own my own cardio tank with the quartz movement. And I have to say, to be honest, other than now, it's been stopped for a few months and I really need to get around to changing that battery. But it's great.
kind of watch you put on maybe not every day at least for me it's never been an everyday watch but it was always great to have that option of just you know, putting it on, it's always on time, change the time twice a year. And then, you know, it's ready to go for dressier occasions or whenever you feel like maybe doing that juxtaposed dress watch with a sportier look kind of a thing.
And I have to say, I would, and I don't know if this will be a controversial opinion or not, but when it comes to that offering from Cartier, I would almost always rather go for a quartz model than a mechanical one. Just because then it's, you know, it becomes a very easy to wear, a very easy to maintain and yeah, just a lot more affordable, right? So it's almost okay that you don't wear it that often because it's less money that you're putting in.
to it. But yeah, it's hard to complain about that at the price point, to be honest. Really good pick. Well, at the price point? I bought one. I bought my wife one when it wasn't... sold at this price yet. It was a bit more... It was always expensive. It was always expensive for what it is. She wears it every day and the sun just charges it. Very easy. That's it. Nothing to think about in the next 16 years, I think it is. Yeah. That's nice.
¶ Nacho's Second Pick: Tudor Pelagos FXD
Amazing. Cool. I'm going to go with my second pick, which is, well, it's the one on my wrist. It's the Tudor Pelagos FXD reference M25717. What a surprise. Yeah. Never do references for Tudor, but since I wrote it down, I figured... I figured let's put it on there. And yeah, it's, you know, 4,390 euros, titanium case, 200 meters of water resistance. For me, one of the best bezel actions at this.
well, I would say probably of all time. Tudor is very good with bezels. It's good, right? It's nice and crisp and it has a little trick up its sleeve, which I think people don't, oh yeah. Usually doesn't work, but let's see.
I don't know if that'll work. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, yeah, you'll have either heard that or not. Yeah, it has a little trick up its sleeve, which I think Tudor hasn't communicated about. And I don't know if a lot of people have realized this. But when you turn... the bezel without looking, there's a little bit more resistance at 12 o'clock.
So I find that you can very easily reset the bezel without looking. It's almost like it catches when you bring it around to 12. You can almost just turn it and then there's like... There's like, well, there it didn't, but yeah, it's, you can almost feel it and it does kind of catch, you know, so it's an interesting feature. I don't know if it's something that they've engineered or if it's just that there's a grain of grain.
of sand in there or something um a very well placed very well no i think i think it's i think it is on purpose uh i haven't confirmed it but uh but yeah i think it's a great watch it's very uh uh yeah sort of uh business uh business first and uh i think that it's
It's nice that it's set aside by the fact that it doesn't take a bracelet. You're basically just limited to straps. There's no date. It's very, yeah, just pure dive watch really. And I like it a lot and I wear it a lot. So yeah, that's my second pick.
¶ Dan's Third Pick: Bulgari Aluminium GMT
Cool. Done. Just with your third pick. My third pick is the Bulgari. It's now called Aluminium GMT. I think this series of this collection was called Diagono before. It's the aluminium quirky cases with the rubber bezel and the rubber strap.
the articulated strap which looked like like a skeleton almost but i have rj's chronograph here yeah and um it the chronograph is a bit more expensive it goes over 5k right but the gmt is uh is just over 4k and there's a blue and a black version and i'd say i'd go for the black because it has a nice uh coke uh colorway and a beige beige dial and i quite like it there's a i think there's a sellita based movement inside so
same as for the cartier and i'm not sure if the money really makes sense but or the price makes sense but in terms of original design i still think this is this is a really nice option yeah and they wear quite nicely actually yeah which you wouldn't expect when you see it from uh from afar
Yeah, definitely. It looks a bit bulky, and the strap with the articulation looks a bit like it might not be the most comfortable to wear, but I can confirm, having had at least this one on my wrist before, it's a good watch, and it certainly stands out. It's not something you see every day, but still a very impressive watch. Yeah, it almost feels like...
And I mean this as a compliment or at least not as a dig against it. Yeah, you know it's good when I have to preface it with that. But it feels almost like something Swatch would do. Yeah. It feels like very 90s, very... I feel like Swatch has done aluminium watches before, and this would almost be like a... Like one of these swatch models from the 90s, but obviously then with a little bit more.
clout and a little bit more luxury too but you've been actually looking at buying one right i mean yeah first time i've heard you talk about it oh no they're in my uh like uh watch list um but i'm looking more at the because the current collection of the aluminium watches for men
uh only comes in a 40 millimeter size and i like the 38 a little bit better this is 38 this is 40 this is 40 okay and i like the 38 a little bit better so i'm looking at uh pre-owned models yeah but they go for around like 3k if you find a good one And I'm looking for more of a bargain. So I'm just waiting my time out and see if it works. Very nice. And that would be a time-only one, right? Well, that's actually a chronograph.
Chronograph, okay. So I would go for the 38mm chronograph. So pre-owned, it's also well into the under 5k price point. Yeah. Nice. We'll allow it. We'll allow a mention of a pre-owned one. No, but the GMTs are also really nice. How did you guys feel about that collaboration they did with Fender?
Not your son, but the guitar brand. Yeah, they did a brown one, right? That was the chronograph, I think. It was like a sunburst colored dial. It was an interesting looking thing. I kind of liked it, but... It's a bit much as well. It's like already the design is quite bold and then to add that on top of it was laying it on thick. But yeah, I mean, obviously Fender is a brand I really like and so it kind of, you know...
pulls the heart strings in a bit of a different way, right? Yeah. Cool. Nice. No comment. I'm not into guitars.
¶ Thomas's Third Pick: Sinn T50
Thomas followed the approach of if you have nothing nice to say, I don't say anything at all. That's not typical for me, but I did. No, no. Okay, perfect. Personal growth. He held it in. Personal growth. Cool. Perfect. Let's swiftly transition from that. I think I may have ruined that after all. No, it's fine. It's fine. Cool. So let's go on to your third and final. You called both my first two picks solid picks. And with this one, you didn't say anything.
It's also a good one. And Thomas just didn't say anything. I'll just take the hint and shut up. No, I told you earlier. Oh, never mind. Hey, I think there's a beauty in having a lot of different tastes, right? If we'd have all just picked three tutors, it would be a very boring list. Exactly. We still did pick two. Thomas, what is your third and final pick? My third pick, and I do have honorable mentions because I'm torn, but anyway, I have a third pick that's...
Sort of the polar opposite of the Cartier in why it would be a good watch. And it's the ZIN T50, which is basically a titanium, very hardcore, specs-heavy dive watch. i'd pick it on a rubber strap i'm not a huge fan of the bracelet on that um but it costs um i have to cheat a little bit 3380 euros So it's about 400 cheaper than the Cartier Tank. And I think it's about seven times the watch. Yeah, when you put it that way. Yeah.
But still, you know, that's not what watches are always about. But in this case, I thought I'd feature... What I like about it is that it is a hardcore tool watch, but it's also relatively thin. i don't have the number uh at hand but it's a nice wearing one and it has this vibe of Oh, hold on. I'm about to go on a dive and weld something at 150 meters on an oil rig or something. It has that really hardcore kind of vibe to it. Yeah, I really like it. It's really no nonsense. It's a 12.3.
millimeters thick i believe um and uh and yeah but it's just i mean they wear really nicely actually yeah they wear thinner let's say yeah the case is a little bit smaller than obviously they had the u50 which is quite a chunky thing and then they went down to the uh the to No, actually, no. U50 is the U, I'm thinking of the U10, I think, or something like that. Or U, what is it?
Yeah, the UX, I think. UX. Yeah, the U models were to the steel ones, Ubo Stahl. And there was a really big version. I think it's U10. I don't know. I'm blanking on my Zins here. But yeah, I think the T50 is amazing. When I got my Seamaster, my 2254, the Zinn came out shortly after, and I was almost like, ah. If I had waited a little bit, would I have gone for that? And it really was like a...
Yeah, it would have been a solid competitor for that spot on the wrist. They both have sword hands. I do like titanium, but like the titanium version of the 2254 less than the Zin, because it... has a big titanium in like italic font engraved on the side of the case. Yeah, very 90s slash early 2000s of Omega to do that. Blanc Pan-ish. Yeah, very Blanc Pan as well. But I have to say...
Yeah, T50 is a great watch. Really great watch. Yeah, I figured it would get your nod of approval. Yeah, well, it's also in my honorable mention. You don't like the H-Link bracelet? No. No, I don't like the look of it. I'm not a big fan of Agelink.
bracelets i don't like the lack of taper i don't like the way it feels and rattles and i really don't like the clasp so there's basically very little about it that i uh that i appreciate i i think it's it's cool because you can recognize it from afar like when you see a zinn you or when you see an aging brace it's often a zinn what i don't like is the is the really really big clasp on the rubber strap actually
Yeah, but they have different models. They have ones with smaller clasps as well. Yeah, I think it depends on whether it's the dive extension or not, or something like that. Otherwise, it's like wearing a grand tie Reverso on the underside. Yeah, it's like, yeah. I have to say, I would also, I would go, like, I agree with Don, I would go for it on the bracelets, personally, just because those rubber straps, they're kind of shaped.
and quite stiff so i've never found them to really sit that comfortably on my uh on my wrist so a little bit like a doxa's uh rubber straps it would just be uh yeah not something i would go for i'd go for the for the bracelet even though i agree with your critique of it it's it is yeah i mean i think an update is overdue sin being so specs heavy and being so built that's it first
sort of mined it, I think it's about time they did a really, really solid new bracelet. I get that they stick to the formula. Because it's like, you know, it just works. It gets the job done. Those things are probably indestructible. But at one point, it is nice to kind of lend a bit of a...
you know, a little bit of ergonomics. And there's the psychological side of it as well. It doesn't feel indestructible. It probably is, but it feels quite delicate, I think. Especially in titanium. Yeah. And I think... Yeah, I think it's time for something that feels as indestructible as it is and to really drive home the point of it being a hardcore watch. Definitely. Cool. So speaking of Doxa, my third and final pick is the Doxa Sub 250T GMT.
¶ Nacho's Third Pick: Doxa Sub 250T GMT
which was disqualified also from our previous episode of watches under 2,500 euros by, I believe, just 90.
euros that one so yeah it's it's this is your opportunity to this is my opportunity to put it in there it's it's only 90 euros above the previous price point so yeah you're you know you have plenty of plenty of money left for for straps here uh which is good and uh yeah some beers as well why not um and and yeah i would probably either go for the sea rambler or the caribbean um we had them here and i think that uh
I knew I would like the Sea Rambler. That tends to be my... It's a silver one, right? The silver one, yeah. Silver Dial tends to be my favorite when it comes to Doxa, but I was surprised at how much I really liked the Caribbean, the navy blue. Blue, yeah, yeah. Because it just combines really well with the markers. It's got a bit more contrast in the dial. And in the case of having that sort of skeletonized GMT hand, I think that it lends itself really well to the overall design.
And again, on the Beads of Rice bracelet would be my choice. So yeah, that's my third and final pick. A little bit of Doxa. Well, I can jump in there. My honorable mention, one of the two, is also a Doxa.
¶ Honorable Mentions and Discussion
And it's the Sub 300 Carbon. Oh, yes. It fills out the budget a bit more. It's $41.90. Okay. But yeah, I love the Forged Carbon Doxa Sub300. Morgan, our photographer, our previous photographer, he recently got one. I think I'd pick the Diving Star.
the yellow oh nice because i think it's a really nice harsh contrast against the the carbon and uh yeah that's a really good watch too very cool very cool i love a carbon doxa the the the this like sort of very thin case band and everything just it feels like a like a It's just an amazing watch. And the carbon case is super impressive. Obviously, I think the one Morgan got was the limited edition with the Poseidon or Aqualung logo. And I think that that one's just...
Oh, it's so good. It's a carbon dial with a yellow accent. I mean, yeah, we were nerding out about that one while he was still here working for us in the office. And yeah, I'm very glad that he got that one. So yeah, I hope he's enjoying it. Um, yeah. Any honorable mentions? Uh, yeah, I am. I just did an introduction for the Amida Digitrend OpenSapphire, which is a limited edition of 150 pieces and it sells for 4,500 euros, if I'm not mistaken.
and uh that's just a crazy piece for under 5k it's uh yeah the typical driver's watch where you can look at the time through a prism yeah which uh yeah Projects the time from two transparent hour jumping hour discs. It's just cool orange accents. Big curved sapphire. Curved sapphire. Alcantara strap.
Perfect watch to impress. It's really impressive with that sapphire case now. I mean, the previous model was a little bit more reminiscent of the Gerard Perigo casquette. Yeah. And now with this... sort of uh sapphire it's like a bit like sets it apart yeah it's the convertible casket right or the convertible uh yeah digi trend really very very cool and then i wanted to mention christopher ward
Because I think they do the Belcanto C12 Loco and the 12X, which is the skeletonized 12. Yeah, in titanium. In titanium. And they all...
Well, the Belcanto, you can get on a bracelet and a strap for under 5K. The other two go slightly over on the bracelet, but they are under on the rubber strap. But I think those are really also very... special or impressive pieces for uh just under 5k or just over 5k absolutely i thought they uh they deserved a mention here definitely definitely well well earned shout out to from christopher ward um i have
Two watches that I'd like to shout out. One is a Zinn, which is the 144ST Diapal, which is a little bit, it's one of these kind of Orfina Porsche design chronograph one-esque. So a bit of like a hooded lugs kind of case. This one has a gray dial and some red accents. And it's just, it's really like all Zinn watches, very no-nonsense.
And I really like it. It's one that I featured on some of the list articles we've done in the past where we've picked watches under 5K. I haven't checked. I guess it's still under 5K today. Or it was a limited edition that's also... No longer available, so kind of bending the rules here, but it's an honorable mention, so I can get away with it. And the other one is one that I believe you own, Thomas, which is Grand Seiko. Maybe not the exact reference, but it's the SBGW231.
that is my exact there you go and i think you still have it i still have it you still have it never wear it but i still have it That's my, that's one of my, that beside the Grand Seiko that RJ was wearing last week. I think that that's, or the week before, depending when this comes out. No, last week.
That is a real sweet spot for Grand Seiko for me. And I think price-wise at €4,600, I believe it is today, it's a great watch. I didn't even think about Grand Seiko because I thought they're all going to be over 5K. The black dialed version of that is over 5K already. So this one is kind of like probably your last chance to get a brand new Grand Seiko under 5K if it is even available. I believe it is. But I love that thing. It's great. We did a...
We did a swap back in the day where you wore my Cartier Tank and I wore your Grand Seiko. And I have to say, it really warmed me up to a brand that I had otherwise not really spent too much time thinking about. I have one more honorable mention. Sure. um which i wanted to encore the encore yeah i wanted to do this one last time but it's 150 over last time's budget it's 2650. it's the lorca number two chronograph
I featured the number one. I only just noticed. I featured the number one last time. Okay, come on.
it's a really nice uh vintage inspired chronograph and um you know jesse when he he was developing it he came to the office showed it to us and we were all very impressed i remember because you can just see that it's it's which is i think the appealing thing of a micro brand like that it's a very singular vision an uncompromising idea executed by one person with an obsession and a passion and it results in something that's
I don't know why you're laughing, but... Sounds familiar. Dan got in my head, but it does sound like something familiar. Yeah, I mean, you've got to respect guys who do that, right? I mean, I think you probably lose a lot of sleep over it. And I mean, when he was telling us about what went into getting the bezel just right.
that it had to be it couldn't be uh stamped it had to be uh injection molded or or the other way around or something like that it was it was really just he was telling us like like how obsessed he was with that and and you know in the end made it happen and and then you just see that it's unlike anything else right sometimes you take on a challenge and you make something that that's not being done by anybody else because yeah no one else wants to kind of
jump on it and it's a divisive watch i know not everybody likes it but that's i think that's a good thing because it is very much of a singular vision and it's not a um a design by management sort of thing so Yeah. Shout out to Lorca. Yes. Perfect. Cool. I think we can wrap it up there. Comment of the week. Yes. Head on to our comment of the week whose username is...
¶ Listener Comment and Wrap-Up
Much appreciated because it's a very easy to pronounce and read out loud, which I personally appreciate, but it's also kind of relevant to one of the themes that have been running through this podcast. So heart over specs comments. Entertaining episode. Already a fan of this guy or girl. Talking about the previous week's episode on styling watches or watch styling or something. I don't know. You wear clothes, you wear a watch.
has to make sense at some point so that's the yeah but he says uh or she says entertaining episode uh but at the end of the day just wear whatever you want And I think that, yeah, that should be at the end of the day. That's why we all got bare ankles again. Oh, yes. We're going to get the comments. We'll catch some hate for that again. It's okay. There were a fair few comments. It was an interesting discussion. I mean, obviously for us.
us it's it's not like the biggest thing but uh but i think that that still sometimes there's a little bit of um mindfulness when it comes to how you how you might wear your watches but uh yeah there's a mindfulness about the ankles yeah we might We might have to get out in the sun in a second and make these a little bit more present. Well, Don doesn't. No, yeah, Tan Dan is the tan man with a plan. Okay, perfect. So let's wrap it up there. Thanks, guys, for your picks under 5K.
As always, leave your picks under 5k in the comment section below. Did we miss one of your favorites? Well, I'm sure we did. Let us know. We almost certainly did because we didn't go with that many. But yeah, as always, join us next week for another episode of Fratello Talks. See you then.