After Shishy's excellent but depressing post (we've all been there and some of us took a bath on the resale) how about grail watches that DID live up to the dream?

The only criterion is you have to have owned for at least a year -- no honeymooners, please!

Mine is the SM300.



Why? What's so great about it?

1. It just looks perfect. In particular the vanilla tritium (in this case sympathetically relumed) and acrylic crystal give it a warm, soft aesthetic.

2. Large and legible layout -- increasingly important for my aged eyes -- with fat hands and simple flat "printed" dial -- no fussy furniture, subdials, extraneous text or other "embellishments")

3. Simple and stylish (three hander, no date, no pushers, no frills or "features")

4. Lume. Large plots and wide hands means it glows like a torch in the dark (again, important for men of a certain age who need to pee at 3am -- thank you, SuperLuminova!)

5. The case: A diver with the Speedmaster's lyre lugs combined, still slim enough to slide under shirt cuffs, no bling. 20mm lugs and almost as much of a strap monster as the Speedy (I've had it on bracelets, Bonklips, NATOs, leather etc)

6. Pressure-tested with decent WR

7. Automatic (cal 552: solid workhorse, does the job without complaining)

8. Solid pedigree (including as an issued mil watch) from one of the most venerable Swiss manufactures

9. The white seconds hand with the lumed tip really "pops" against the matte black ground.

10. It flies just far enough under the radar to avoid unwanted attention (very few people comment on it and that suits me just fine) while being a stone cold classic that always gets the nod from those in the know

Sure, you could wear an old Sub and get most of those features -- but a price! Plus, I think the SM300 is nicer in every way. And it's an Omega, a brand I have a great deal of respect and affection for.

I don't think I've worn a single watch so much in the last 15 years: it really is my "go-to" / "goes-everywhere" accessory; I can't see how it could be bettered. It's iconic and Omega could do worse than to remake a 1:1 perfect reissue, especially now since the watchco sources have dried up.