Great format John the Baltany is the pick for me and the mod project 👍 I remember Tactical Frog did the same bezel as the SD and due to the backlash rushed out a V2 with traditional bezel 😀
The NIW is cool! Those cheap Mysterious Code chronos look interesting. They're ultra vintage to be sure. There's a 40mm with divers bezel...and one even has a Hanhart style dial/hands!! Another is 38mm and has Baltic MR01 style dial/hands.
I'm disappointed with the SandS, I have the vc 2215 homage and I love it, bracelet not great, but amazing dial and I was looking fwd to this one. Ah well.
@@johnswatchjoint oh, and we appreciate it, the sad thing is they could spend another $25 fix the issues and charge $50 more and we would happily pay it. Good thing is the Maen has a 25/13 bracelet so the PP Nautilus leather bands on Ali fit it so I'm going to try one of those.
I like the Baltany most, in fact I love it! You're right about the red marker on the bezel, it should be larger. The Steeldive is OK. The misalignment on the Specht & S. screamed Seiko!! 😂
Oh John, I hope your better/well now and thank you for the reviews/update? The Baltany reminds me a little bit of my Omega Dynamic chronograph in it's simplicity, without the rotating bezel. The middle two watches are a very MEH for me! BUT, then there's the SD 1967 is a great looking homage, I have several of these Doxa homages, from Seestern and Tactical Frog, I wear a TF Caribbean 300T at work everyday and it just works, in the same way that a Seiko SKX would, but at a far lower price point? Please keep up the great reviews and health and happiness to you, your family and Molly of course!
Treasure blue is one of the best shades of blue I've ever seen on a watch. If it didnt have polished midlinks (swapping it out for a strap is not an option) I would be ordering one right now.
Awesome reviews as always. That Baltany is really nice. I need to pick up one of their watches at some point as they make some really nice classic ones. The Steeldive is also pretty cool but I've got enough dive watches, particularly in that period style. I agree with you that the way they've done the logo is pretty cool. Normally not a fan of it, but it suits that watch. Can't wait for that San Martin review. Wearing my blue version right now.
Hi John, do like the chronos but miss a runing seconds in the second one, which also looses with one of only two subdials being 24 hr. Also, and this is personal taste, I miss a little something being applied (maybe the logo) to give some depth to "all printed" dials. As for tue SD, the design of the hands has always killed the "Doxa" for me. Only Pagani did something different, but the overall quality seemed average. Nice review. Regards
I love how your cat gets in front of you to make sure there are no predators threatening his human. Glad you're feeling better, John and don't worry about putting health before watches. 👍
Haha. All is good and the stomach medication is helping greatly. I am feeling a lot better thanks. What you don't see is that Molly bats me with her paws on the way past. Often times she will nibble my knee during a shot just to get attention. She is a wee furry troublemaker haha !
Great video John,you should do more of these mini reviews. The S&S is disappointing, the rest are great..NIW is interesting. Oh, by the way, the SD 1967 is available on bracelet. Like you I got it very cheaply, at a different store...surprise,surprise, the bracelet is not bad at all! 😀
Great reviews, John. Each should have been great for your wrist. A more premium, properly articulating bracelet for the S&S and more AR on the crystal would really help it. The Baltany Type 20 mod to look like Hanhart is a brilliant idea.
Someone should make that first chronograph (Baltany) with an ST1901 in it. On the last watch (Steeldive), Doxa has been making watches in that blue color - which they refer to as AQUAMARINE - for many, many years, well before Patek and Tiffany collaborated on a watch.
Thanks for watching. Not sure about an ST19 in the Baltany as I will wear it daily. The Sea-Gull movement is cool but is not known for it's ruggedness. I like it but not in an everyday piece :)
For me the Baltany is their most appealing chrono to date but i generally find them a bit thick & pricey for an Ali quartz but it is nice , the Sp & So whatever its called only thing it has going for it is the dial set up period , the Niw is pretty & a bargain but i soooo hate that movement , Steeldive ... i'm in the no logo camp on this but a solid offering ,not a bad haul John .
Specht and sonne colour pallet shows an olive green, yours appears to be a more tradional bottle green, in fairness it should be no surprise as the watch appears to be poor.
I recently picked up that Baltany chronograph with the brown dial. It's a gorgeous watch, I have very few complaints about it. The underside edges are a bit sharp, but not so bad as to be any hazard of cutting you, and I figure that they'll smooth out on their own over some time of wearing, so I've not bothered to hit them with anything to smooth them down. The strap is 'okay', and I do really appreciate the Baltany branded buckle, but I'd intended to replace it from the start with a lovely chocolate brown Horween leather with contrasting cream stitching in a pattern matching the Breguet Type 20 Only Watch 2019 exclusive edition that it seems to be nearly directly based on. I'll be getting a "look alike" Breguet clasp to finish up the look as it's just something I want to have gone all the way on making it fit the style of the inspiration. I guess that'll leave the Baltany buckle in my stock of bits and bobs to be put onto another Baltany watch later, when I have one come without a branded buckle.
@@johnswatchjoint It might have been an earlier issue, or perhaps just didn't get polished up quite as well. It's kind of odd, really. Even the case back's 12 facets are sharp. :D
@@johnswatchjoint I wouldn't think so, from what I've heard of their typical standard of finishing, but this is the first I've bought, so I have nothing to personally compare it to. :)
I like that Baltany and I look forward to seeing what you do, paint one pusher red? The MC and Steeldive looked good value but the S&S look rubbish, none of the reviews of their watches have impressed me. Have a relaxing weekend.
Great video John! I have watched 3 reviews on the S&S now and they are all pointing to the watch being a dud. A shame really, that orange Tissot PRX homage looked nice. That steeldive looks great for the price. Nice to see you back in action
Nice watches. 👍 No snow there in Scotland. Wow. I can't wait to see the modding. Steeldive is 👍 good. I love their rubber straps. Reminds me of g shock vibes. Glad you're dancing with the cat. Man no snow? What? New Scotland is different from old Scotland.
Great stuff John, I'm a Baltany boy with several in my collection and I have not been disappointed yet, not got that one but I'm sure it's a great buy, What on earth is going on with that Sphincter and Sohne ? thanks for the heads up one to avoid I reckon.
Nice and throughout review! You did a really good job on all the details. Weirdly enough, I seem to have gotten a completely different S&S of the same model. Mine for example has a a single-domed crystal with blue AR and a framed date window. For the bracelet it seems to be the same as yours, however it did fit on my 7 inch wrist quite well. Thought it would sit better on smaller wrists aswell as my friend tested it on his 5'9 inch wrist. However it might have to do with how flat or round the wrist is rather than the circumference it seems. All your points are valid I believe and it is really good to have seen it on your wrist, I have also been advising S&S on how to improve the articulation, hope they deliver the update soon after chinese new year as they are working on it at the moment. But yes, seeing it on your wrist it is unacceptable... Thanks, I will take this in to account on my next review of my S&S reviews, might even have to update my reviews now seeing your video
@@johnswatchjoint thanks man, really! I have encountered a few negative people but I must say, the amount of positive supporters has been really over 90% of all people that left comments. I am really happy with the watch community in general, it gives me motivation to keep going. And let me tell you, you yourself have a great ability to spot all the technical details and it really shows with the trust your supporters, including me, have for your reviews!
Hardlex is basically the same with the same properties. It's mineral. They have listed the crystal as Hardlex. Most know they have exactly the same properties :(
That last watch is great. But what would annoy me is the bezel in feet. Pretty much everyone in the world uses meters for diving.... except for the Yanks. What would be really great would be if someone would produce a metric version.
You have to remember, this is a budget homage. Most people who dive will not wear this for diving purposes. I would never trust my life on a £100 watch :)
It looks like my comment got flagged again. 🤷🏻♂️ All I wrote was that the Specht and Sohnne needs a little more work, and the other three seem great. But I think I prefer my Seestern’s version of the Doxa 300 over the Steeldive. In case you’re wondering, I watch every single video you put out. Great reviews of course. Thanks John!
Hi Albert. I have checked the sin bin and there are no comments in there so I really don't know what happened there 😿? Thanks for persevering. The only word that causes real problems is sub and it's a word I have to keep flagged as it is heavily used in spam and porn comments or link types :(
Too bad that Specht & Söhne really did look unfinished, I got their Ingenieur homage and while the sides of the bracelets are a bit rough, the watch itself I'm quite happy with, one of the thinnest automatic watches I got at 11mm and the dial looks great.
Hi and thanks for the question. It would be difficult for me to equate the quality to the feel you want as it is very subjective. These are decent budget straps given the price of the watch. It was comfortable but maybe not as comfortable as say an FKM rubber strap as found on the Seestern 62mas but it was well made and durable with good hardware. I hope this helps 🤗
Love your channel and content! Yet please, it is not “siko”.. Sei-ko.,like “say-ko”🤷🏼♂️ The NIV is nit. Like looking at vintage Huer. That Steeldive was on my cart a few times.
@@johnswatchjoint I was polite, I started by complimenting you(in all honesty), I asked of you if you can pronounce it correctly-didn’t criticise or scold you. And I commented on the topics in the vid. So it is difficult to understand why you are reacting this way? Going personal and insulting? I’m not pedantic, I’m a loyal subscriber of the channel, if I interact it is always with respect, and I expected a much more gentlemanly response…………. Accept my apologies for any Ill feelings I caused.
Oh dear. We have missed each other. I was not being insulting either. It's a well known tradition never to correct a Scotsman on his dialect as he will scold you back, so I was being Jocular. Haha. No offence taken and none intended buddy ;)
I have the Specht and Sohne Enhineer homage. Same problems with the bracelet. How do you know which side the split pins come out? I bent a couple whole resizing. The steel band feels like a rough handcuff. No articulation and sharp edges oon the wrist. The dial looks nice, the Myiota movement is really accurate. But too many cons. I will get rid of it. That Steeldive Doxa homage, too many wrong things. The timing bezel that does not turn, the ugly logo, the cheap looking strap, the Steeldive branding font with serifs that ruins the design. Better off getting the Seestern. Much nicer, and with a functional bezel. The Baltany looks decent, but I wish it had no fake patina, after all the minute track is bright white, and the bottom of the dial looks empty. Why do they mess up these details? They should show the designs to potential buyers before producing a watch. It looks like these brands are good at copying the designs, but regarding branding, logos and aspects that are not copies they often fail. What was Specht and Sohne thinking about that bracelet without any articulation??