Opinions... everybody has one. I research and then buy what I like, regardless of the opinions of others which I suppose is a contributing factor in making my watch collection the eclectic mess it is! It can be disappointing to see reviewers disparage something you own and like but they are free to have a differing viewpoint (and to be wrong in it ).

For me a watch purchase is 5% specification, 5% functionality, 5% build quality and 85% aesthetics. They are not precise figures of course but I'm sure you catch my drift!

The first two are factual, black and white aspects and no review is required. Build quality can be assessed by personal inspection and the last one, and by a huge margin the biggest factor is aesthetics - what does it look like on your wrist, how does it make you feel when you wear it. These are both totally subjective and to a large degree emotional.

If it ticks the first three of your boxes on spec, function and build then the only review required is your own.

Most of the reviews I’ve seen recently aren’t reviews so much as they are rote recitations of the company’s marketing bullet points accompanied with new videos of wrist shots and macros of the hands. YoureTerrific is a notable exception.

But man, watching a Teddy Baldassarre video is essentially watching an advertisement for the brands he was able to secure AD rights with. Zero critical content, just shilling.

NationOfLaws wrote: ↑Mon Jan 16, 2023 6:37 pm But man, watching a Teddy Baldassare video is essentially watching an advertisement for the brands he was able to secure AD rights with. Zero critical content, just shilling.

There’s a simple answer to that. Don’t watch them.

Amor Vincit Omnia wrote: ↑Mon Jan 16, 2023 6:40 pm

NationOfLaws wrote: ↑Mon Jan 16, 2023 6:37 pm But man, watching a Teddy Baldassare video is essentially watching an advertisement for the brands he was able to secure AD rights with. Zero critical content, just shilling.

There’s a simple answer to that. Don’t watch them.

I don’t anymore, but it’s gotten to the point where there are vanishingly few sources for actual reviews.

jkbarnes wrote: ↑Mon Jan 16, 2023 4:12 pm

vokeyuk wrote: ↑Mon Jan 16, 2023 3:33 pm …but when the ones you trust say things you don't want to hear, it tends to dissuade me from my purchase (which is both right and wrong i suppose).

The catch-22 of reading reviews! I deal with this by always waiting a reasonable amount of time before making any purchases. If I still want it in a month or so, then I’m not being swayed by good reviews or dissuaded (<— that’s a word, right?) by outlier bad reviews.

That's not a bad solution, though patience has never been my strong suit

The forum has plenty of people who will be only too happy to school you in the art of patient resistance, intensive research and avoidance of the Influenzas.

The only trouble is: how do you identify them among all the duplicitous rakes, who will tell you to stop dithering and get it bought?

Aye, there’s the rub.