Took a gamble and it paid off. I’ve been trying to find the right strap for my purple Helix-dial Erebus Ascent, and it’s been weirdly difficult. Most purple options either look cheap, too loud, the wrong shade, or just completely miss the watch. Found an Etsy maker in Vietnam doing custom straps and decided to roll the dice on a ~$60 custom build. What showed up today? Honestly... kind of absurd for the money. - genuinely excellent finishing - soft leather right out of the box - zero uncomfortable edge bite - clean stitching - quality brushed hardware - quick-release spring bars - presentation that felt way above the price point And most importantly: the color absolutely works with the watch. This was one of those "internet gamble" purchases that could have gone completely sideways. Instead, I may have accidentally unlocked a dangerous new custom strap rabbit hole 😅 UPDATE: Here's the Etsy maker's link: https://www.etsy.com/shop/tlhandmadevn2103?ref=yr_purchases You can message him and spec out exactly what you want before ordering. He's EXTREMELY responsive.

Ever since purchasing the Ascent GMT I've been wondering about how it and the San Martin GMT stack up, I've done a few side by pics. So the San Martin is a 39mm and the Ascent 40mm but the 1st thing you notice is that the Ascent wears like a 39 and the San Martin like a 40. When you handle them I feel like the San Martin edges out the Ascent in almost every department, everything feels just a bit more premium but then the Ascent just comes together a bit better giving you a better overall wearing experience. All in all they're incredibly close but if you factor in that the San Martin cost about $300 less than the Ascent it takes the best bang for your buck title. If I had to keep one and sell one, it would be tough but the Ascent would be the one I'd keep.

Still raining but I think the worst is over.

After this challenge I almost couldn't decide what to wear but settled on the Steinhart. Is it just me or has anyone else noticed that with the wrist roll video you get a better idea of what the watch actually looks like?

The last day of the challenge has finally arrived and I've been sitting on this watch for a few weeks, as you can see by the box I was quite excited to open it, its been absolute torture to not wear it and share it. I cant believe its taken me this long to finally purchase a Seiko and probably would not have done so were it not for someone in the group harassing me in my DM's😂. Lets see who can guess which Seiko it is? @James Milson @Todd Jarger @David Denham Jr @Brett Sutton @Sean Kavanaugh @Joe MacAfee the pics have been updated to reveal the winner.