Francis Urquhart

If you are coming from a G-shock and thinking of spending £3500 on something different but are not sure what you want, I'd say buy something like this Seiko ssc147 for £145 (in the sale at Creation Watches) and see if you get on with it. If you do like it then you'll have a pretty indestructible spare for when you don't want to risk your nice watch; and if you don't you'll be able to sell it on or give it away without taking too much of a bath. You might also go wild and maybe buy a similarly cheap diver (say a Seiko SKX007) and dress watch (Orient perhaps) for contrast, wear them in rotation for a few weeks, and see how each feels. That should help you make up your mind as to what you are looking for.

Gosh yes they are alike aren't they. Here's mine.

The lady on reception in my local Land Rover dealer not only noticed my Omega Geneve Dynamic but also noticed that I didn't wear it when I went in for the next service. That rather surprised me.

I don't much like the turquoise. So for me, switch to the blue. There's probably a reason why they are discounting one more than the other...

It looks dreadfully tacky to me. If any brand can claim a legitimate association, it would be Rolex with the Explorer that he did actually wear in the novels. For Omega to claim an association is just wrong. However, according to commanderbond.net: In correspondence dated June 5, 1958, Ian Fleming responded to a fan by the name of B. W. Goodden, stating that the practice of James Bond, “in fact, is to use fairly cheap, expendable wrist watches on expanding metal bracelets…”

That would be my view. I can see sense in paying a premium for a watch issued only to astronauts, deep sea divers, special forces etc. that might give fantasists a bit of a thrill. But I can't help thinking the Dominos Pizza logo rather takes the shine off a lot of Rolexes. I don't think we have been told the branding that will be applied but I suspect in 20 years time it will as likely be abandoned and unloved as thought of in revered terms.

At least they have a nice format for the 'Christopher Ward' and have put it in the right place. That's better. The Sandhurst one with the brown leather strap looks best to me.

To get the hands to stop at ten past ten and look pretty?

No, god no. It hasn't rotted away in the last 100 years, so is unlikely to change much before your time in this mortal coil is up. Just don't keep it somewhere airtight where any emission will be trapped.

Keep what you have and buy something totally different. Maybe simple, elegant, perhaps vintage. But it's your arm so get what you like.

A vintage Omega is a lovely choice, but will it survive until death do you part? Something new, or nearly new, might be more resilient as a long term reminder of when you tied the knot. And when it is your diamond wedding it will be vintage.

Ball, assuming you don't already have some other permutation of the common or garden diver. Jean Richard if you have but want something radical. But it looks like a child's toy to me.

One application of a bit of leather dye from a car upholstery repair kit later... I am much happier with this. Thanks all.

I've been lusting after one for a good few years but never seen a good steel one anywhere close to £400. Even three times that seems to be a very competitive price. But they are beautiful, in limited supply,and a classic, so I suspect prices will tend only to increase (especially as the fashion for oversized watches seems to be waning).

Depends on what you get up to, but a Reverso would be on my list for a nice non-Rolex that could be worn on any occasion. Maybe not so much if you are a plasterer, or deep sea diver, even in its reversed mode.