My Next Purchase?

Over the last few months I've been thinking about which watch I will buy next. My eBaying is going well and I've got about £1100 so far towards my next purchase, but what exactly that might be is so far undecided.

I have tried a few watches on over the last few weeks, and one in particular stands out as being my favourite.... the only trouble is the price. I visited Bicester Village where there is a TAG Heuer boutique (basically a place where they sell new 'old-stock' models for knock down prices) and tried on a beautiful Monaco 24 Hrs in black and silver. It was absolutely stunning, I mean seriously gorgeous... but even with around 40% off the price it was still over £6000 and I just don't know if I can justify that kind of money. It is incredible though.

CAL5113.FC6329

Another watch I haven't actually tried on yet, but has caught my eye is the Aquaracer Black Phantom. This is available as either a 41mm three-hander or as a 43mm with a chronograph. I prefer the look of the simpler model but the size of the chrono, so that's a bit of a quandary to start with.

WAY218B.FC6364 & CAY218B.FC6370

Having tried on a different Aquaracer with the same case (also black) I know how the 41mm version would look on the wrist (size wise anyway), so I really need to try on the chrono. The only thing is both watches have a cyclops over the date and I'm really not a fan so that places a question mark over both watches for me.

Controversially... I have also tried on an Oris. I know, I feel dirty. But I've kind of come to the conclusion that it's the strap rather than the actual watch that appealed to me. I mean, the watch is nice, but... it's not that exciting. And when I see the Aquis on a bracelet it doesn't work for me at all, however on the orange strap it definitely has a bit of the old X-Factor.

While I'm confessing my infidelities to the TAG brand, I also picked up a Breitling catalogue in Goldsmiths recently. Again, I really like the rubber straps with 'Breitling' moulded into them, but for me every Breitling I look at, there's always something about them that puts me off. Some of them are too shiny, some have those horrible bracelets that aren't straight, some have nasty looking numerals or this new 'aged lume' that they seem to be putting on everything, which looks somewhere between beige and pink... it just seems like there's always a 'but' with a Breitling.

Another watch which has recently come on my radar is the 300M Aquaracer, both the steel version on the black/yellow rubber strap, or the black PVD titanium version on the nylon (both automatic Calibre 5), but also the older quartz model shown below (WAB1110.BA0800)

It certainly ticks the 'Rolex Submariner' looks box, my only issue with it is that it is 39mm and I think that's going to look too small on my 7" wrist. I see that Watchfinder currently have one in stock and as I am planning a visit to London in the next few weeks I hope to get a better look at it. It is a quartz though, and I'm not crazy about adding more quartz pieces to my collection, but on the other hand it is below £900. But I still think the size is going to be a problem.

So, with all that said, what do I think I will actually buy next? Well, my money is on the Black Phantom. I don't know which one mind, and I will have to address my feelings about the cyclops, but I have to say if you haven't seen one in the metal then you really can't judge from a picture. I wasn't overly fussed about it from the images I saw on the internet, but when you see it close up and you see the way the light reflects off the hands and markers and you see how nice the case looks (not to mention the Black Phantom is a limited edition of 2500), I think it will either be that or it will be a long hard road to the Monaco 24Hrs, but the problem there is that by the time I get £6000 together there's no guarantee they will still be available at that price.