For weeks my CEO has had me drooling over IWC’s Portuguese collection of exquisite watches - he owns a few, including a $77,000 model which is so rare it apparently grows more in value than a New York City apartment (dollar for dollar). He knows a dealer in LA that would be able to strip 30% off the retail price, yet I would still be left with having to fork over almost $5,000.

Probably not the kind of “investment” I need to be making in my life just now.

But while I was browsing a very reputable site called WatchClick.com I came across Baume & Mercier’s collection, and was immediately drawn to their Classima Executive line. At a quarter of the price of an IWC, I’d found what I wanted. This particular watch had the details I loved about the IWC Portuguese - the large open face, the thickness (just shy of 1cm thick), weight, and overall Swiss quality - and I wanted a manual wind piece also - something I always admired about my granda’s old watch. He used to let me wind it up for him when I was a kid.

The watch is gorgeous, and it’s something I will enjoy wearing for years to come. I’ve had my Tag (Kirium) for around 9 years now (bought with my first ever commission check in England), and I’ll wear it for non-dressy occasions.