Hi mothra, having gone through a similar journey and evolution in the short space of 3 years since I bought my first mechanical watch, I identify with many of your points.
I think the evolution of preferences is something all of us go through, till we generally stablise around particular preferences. Personally, I've realized that I'm much more a dress watch guy than a sports watch guy, I'm not a huge fan of chronographs (though I own 2), and that my sweet spot size-wise is the '
mid-size' of 36-39mm.
Like you, I've too branched out from Omega, and in the last 9 months, I haven't bought a single Omega but a few others from non-Omega brands. For example, thanks to Warren, I'm now in a JLC phase. Liking non-Omegas is of course not a bad thing at all as many members here own and love various brands and models, vintage and modern.
And finally, the slow creep upwards of my purchase prices bugs me a little too. I think we can't run away from the fact that some grail watches do cost more (eg. Pateks), but I'm fortunate so far that my depleted watch fund has allowed me to resist temptation for now!
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