Skin diver, no date, no nonsense
By Dave Kowalski, Chicago ยท
Lorier's Neptune is about as clean a vintage diver as you'll find. 39 mm, 11.4 mm thick, 20 mm lugs, black dial with no date, rotating bezel, steel bracelet, sapphire. 200 m. Miyota 9039 with 42 hours. $700.
The 11.4 mm thickness is the reason to buy it over a lot of similar micro divers. It sits LOW. Feels like an old 60s diver, not a modern chunky one. Lorier also likes a domed crystal, which gives it that vintage glint.
The catch. $700 is fair, but the Baltic Aquascaphe is a similar idea, has a similar movement, and costs about the same (sometimes less). It comes down to which design you like better. I'd flip a coin. Also the no-date thing: if you like having a date, this isn't your watch.