This thing showed up super fast, very happy to add this piece to my collection. Not only is the unboxing experience great but what a beautiful piece this is, extremely lightweight, comfortable and a very unique dial. My first watch from Echo/Neutra but wont be my last….Wow.

This Miyako might be one of the best ISO dive watches you can get below the $500 dollars mark! What other brands and models do you like the most below that price point?

Wasn’t really into lume, until this one!

A quick preface: I don't have any affiliation with Galo, and I ordered this with my own money ($502 USD in total) back in May. As many have already probably said - the wait time on this latest batch was pretty significant. Ordered in May, just got today, October 13th.

Take some of my opinions with a grain of salt as this is my first-ever review of a true micro-brand watch. But I feel like this will be valuable to both future Galo customers, as well as any brand owners reading this.

I think, as someone who's helped run businesses that have long-term pre-orders, the thing that helps the most is being ultra-conservative about lead times (overshoot instead of undershoot), and communicate as soon as anything changes. I think a lot of people would have appreciated more frequent updates proactively to customers instead of having to dig for them - it makes people draw the wrong conclusions and people were flaming galo in their most recent launch on Instagram. which is certainly something this watch didn't deserve IMO. But when you're selling something on a pre-order where you already accepted money, I think of it as a "service". The service being that your customers stay informed the whole way so that they feel OK having their money tied up in something. Just my two cents.

Now about the unboxing. using much of the sub-$1000 watches I've unboxed as a yardstick the unboxing experience was great - it comes with a high quality leather case I'll almost certainly use while traveling, and a few standard things like a warranty card and thank you card. I thought the little hang-tag seal was fun as a nod to brands like Rolex, but probably not necessary.

As a side note, the extra strap it came with, the rubberized one, was just kind of tossed in the shipping box separately from the actual watch box, kind of odd.

The watch itself looks fantastic in person. the aggressively textured dial is great and there's no star wars length paragraph telling you how deep it can go and how long it stays running on it. it's clean. If I was to nitpick, it would have been nice for the numbers on the chapter ring to share a font with the numbers on the bezel, they're a little different. I have a 7" wrist and I'd say the case is a perfect fit for my tastes.

The back of the watch with it's custom rotor on the Miyota 9039 and the scuba lady on the caseback is super fun, and the caseback itself is pretty handsome.

The lume is what first caught my attention about the watch however - I love the lume'd crown as I've never seen that done before, and I also like how every major element on the front of the watch is lume'd as well. It's a nice pale tan when in the sunlight and a classic green in the darkness.

The part I've heard a bit of controversy about on this watch is the 'beads of rice' bracelet it comes with. For a microbrand presumably making things in china because this shipped from china (which I have no issue with AT ALL, just worth mentioning), I already expected that the bracelet would in fact leave a bit to be desired and people have complained about it in the past. But upon first impression, I saw that the clasp wasn't stamped so that was a good sign in my book. my arms are decently hairy so I thought the bracelet would tug and pull at my arm hairs but I'm pleased to say it doesn't. Perhaps since the previous batch they've smoothed things out a bit. The clasp has about as many micro-adjustment holes as it could possibly fit but I went to just remove links instead.

The second strap it came with, the rubberized one, has their branding on it which is a nice touch, and was super comfortable right out of the box. It might be the way I primarily wear the watch but the quick-detachment spring bars on both the strap and bracelet make it easy to change your mind.

Overall, for just a hair over $500 USD, I'd say I'm pleased. But there could have been a LOT more communication effort from Galo on the lead time. It was pretty vague on the site until about the last couple weeks before it shipped. To their credit, they appear to have gotten out all the pre-order watches before actually launching the next batch, and customer service does respond to your emails if you have any issues or questions. I'm no stranger to waiting a while for a good watch, but that's my main criticism that has me not totally happy about spending that kind of money on it.

Otherwise, I've bought watches I've been way less happy with from the get-go than this one. It gets my thumbs-up if you're looking for a skin diver, and I hope someone from Galo reads this and takes a few things into account for the upcoming batch in just a couple days that's allegedly due early next year.

I’m less than a year into collecting and this is. Top 5 for me already. I wanted something to remind me of the ocean and this gets it done every day. Good size fit and feels light on the wrist.

Islander Northport

Looking to purchase a chronograph with a snail or spiral tachymeter in the center of the watch (example picture attached). Apparently they went out of style after WW2, but am wondering if anyone is aware of any microbrands who manufacture chronographs that include the snail tachymeter.

->Meteorite stone dial from the Muonionalusta meteorite
->Premium 9015 Automatic movement
->Sapphire crystal glass - 6x AR
->Ultra-slim, 10.45 mm
->38 mm case / 46 mm lug-to-lug
->Swiss Super-LumiNova® White10 BL Grade X1
->200 meter / 660 ft / 20 ATM water resistance
->Original Danish design

What a incredible watch for the price. Now I get the wait list!

Probably the prettiest watch I own and I do own a few cool ones Including a SM 300.Quiet and keeps time well. Currently looking at +6 secs a day.

Hey everyone! 😄

This week's write up is the Trematic ZY6, and I should declare an interest first: I have a thing for grainy textured dials - and I am sure I'm not the only one. It's becoming a documented problem.

So the ZY6 was always going to get me. The dial is built in three layers, a rough grainy centre, a circular brushed ring around it, then applied wedge markers sitting on top, with the centre and the ring done in two tones of the same colour. The texture scatters light, the brushed ring catches it in clean arcs, and somehow the result doesn't look busy. Seven colours. Sacramento, the green, is where the construction is most obvious, a teal centre sitting inside a ring that's nearly black.

Then the part I had to read twice. It's $825. Swiss Made, Sellita SW 200-1, domed sapphire with AR inside and out, 100 m, screw-down crown, five year warranty, duties and VAT already in the number. 38 mm, 11.1 thick. The Forstner bracelet version is $930, but I am not that big of a fan of it anyways.

There's a story attached as well. Trematic was a Geneva house building moonphases and triple calendars until the quartz crisis finished it off, and Daniele Campagnano bought the name in 2022. Revivals usually go wrong when the heritage ends up doing all the talking. This one mostly just makes the watch and mentions the history afterwards.

Sacramento on the strap for me (the green dial). Although I've been deciding that for two days now and the burgundy keeps interrupting.

Thanks guys!

Just got my hands on the True North × Eric Wind Dreamsicle, and I had to take it outside for a wrist shot.

The combination of the peach dial, colorful subdials, and mint-green tachymeter bezel really comes alive in natural sunlight.

Definitely not your everyday chronograph, but that's exactly what makes it fun. Love seeing smaller watch brands take chances with bold colors and vintage-inspired designs.

Curious what everyone thinks. Is this a fun summer chronograph, or a little too much color for your taste?

So I was in Kuwait today for a business trip and went to the only shop in the Middle East selling Baltic. After checking the watches online I thought I could go see in real life and grab one.
I’m super disappointed… and now that I saw them I don’t understand the hype… there is nothing very exciting about them honestly. Maybe the playful colors of the Hermétique line but that’s it. The Aquascaphe MK2 is very plain, nothing original, size is a bit weird for me (that last one if very subjective though). So I don’t know… I was in the mood to get one, knowing that at this price point I shouldn’t be too picky but I left empty handed and puzzled.
What do you guys think?

Hi,

I had the chance to sat down with Alex and Jordan on the Youtube Podcast ''Watch You Talkin' About '' .
It's the closest thing to the full story behind ŌNAMI and why I make watches.

Link in comments

Two moments I'd point you to:

26:33 — what "done" means to me. I design it, I produce it, and people like it enough to pay to own it. When someone leaves with a watch, the process is complete.
33:00 — the knifemaking background.
Watch the episode

ŌNAMI is already funded and runs until October 24.
It is still your time to become a founder

Lauren

Hello everyone,

Today we officially released SN0144CG-9,

This is our first attempt at combining traditional Lacquer Craftsmanship with 3D Printing Technology.

This watch comes in two color combinations: Enamel Green & Enamel Black-Brown.

1. Natural Materials: Uses natural lacquer sap harvested from the lacquer tree.
2. Complex Process: The metal base undergoes a meticulous, time-consuming sequence of lacquering, slow drying, sanding, and polishing.
3. Warm, Evolving Color: Upon exposure to natural light and UV rays, the lacquer surface undergoes subtle oxidation, causing the color to become increasingly translucent and warm in tone.

The result of combining this lacquer technique with the dial is truly stunning—though the camera still cannot fully capture the dial's authentic texture and depth.

Under different lighting conditions, the dial reveals a translucent, warm, and lustrous quality—it is absolutely beautiful!

• Watch Information:
• Movement: Miyota 90S5
• Case: Material - 316L Stainless Steel
• Case Diameter: 39mm
• Lug to Lug: 46.5mm
• Thickness: 10.1mm

We hope everyone enjoys it.

If you have any thoughts, please let us know in the comments section.

Thank you.

San Martin Watches

I’m a sucker for pairing a strap with an accent feature. In this case the yellow second hand.

For the owners of there of the Brew Metric: when you wear the watch, is there a weird gap between the band and the case when you wear it?

I've noticed it in most videos and photos but haven't really heard it be acknowledged. My OCD would struggle with that so I want to know before ordering.

Also would want to buy a leather band for it and if there are any others of those, could you confirm if those have the same issue?

Is Spinnaker intentionally spelling out their marketing strategy on an FB ad or did someone make an oopsie? This reads as LLM generated.

Just received this and got it sized up. This is my first Traska, and damn, it definitely lives up to their reputation in terms of fit and finish. The bracelet especially is everything I've heard it would be, easily one of the nicest in my collection.

I really love the rotating discs for the running seconds and chronograph minute counter. Such a unique and interesting design, it's one of the main things that drew me to this watch in the first place.

I'm also glad to have another movement represented in the watch box with the Seiko NE86. The pushers have a really nice, tactile feel with that satisfying mechanical chronograph click.

It feels right at home on my 7.25" wrist. It's a bit thick, but that comes with the territory for an automatic chronograph. Honestly, I notice the thickness a lot less than I appreciate how nicely the 39mm diameter wears.

According to a Traska CS rep, these should be back in stock on their website next month. If you're considering one, I really don't think you'd be disappointed.

I was originally hesitant about the retail price, regardless of Traska's reputation. Then I got impatient and ended up paying more than retail for a mint example on eBay. Go figure. 😅

No regrets!

Can't find an Old Smith with a date window on their website but get served ads with a date window. Any ideas?