Horological Meandering

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it is actually the main priority for me now irrespective of how beautiful a watch is. And thank goodness with my small wrist, the number of watches that would fit comfortably on my wrist is reduced tremendously or else I would be robbing banks to finance this passion!

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Except I only have one vintage piece because although vintage pieces have so much character and are wonderfully small relatively, I tend to worry about their reliability. Some are ok, some are not. My 1943 Patek is currently in Geneva for a service that will take 20 months. That was last year before this year's virus outbreak so maybe it will now take much longer.


My Patek 1530A

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and then I have to decide whether or not to keep it 

I don't like the Urban Jurgensen for its dial color, hour hand, the lugs and foremost its size which I find far too large for a basic dress watch. 

May I congratulate you on your 3998P!  I have a good friend who wears his 3998G proudly which for me is the most attractive watch in his large collection so I can imagine your 3998P having a similar impact.  The 5022P is a good looking watch but I once owned a 5022G which I did not appreciate as I felt the dial was too white. I guess I would have the same problem with the 3960G. Yes the UJ 's 40mm case is stretching the limits of a dress watch in my opinion too and at this moment of time, I am leaning towards the Murakamo as I feel it has the perfect dial.

....and beautiful watches, all three of them.

My view on each:

Patek:
+ gorgeous case (hunterback)
+ strongest brand
- a tad too small (but white color makes it bigger)
- subdial cuts into "6"

Nakagawa:
+ beautifully elevated (3-dimensional) numerals
+ beautifully recessed dial
+ very good (IMHO perfect) case size
- quite pricey

UJ:
+ beautiful case
+ appealing dial color
- size

The 40mm size kills the Alfred. I have never seen any dress watch that looks good on a man's wrist if bigger than 39mm (with the ideal range between 35 and 38mm), irrespective of wrist circumference.
Of course, this is subjective and only represents my opinion.

So, if I had the choice, the winner here comes from Japan.

I am actually in full agreement with you especially about the size of a dress watch.  There are still brands unfortunately that only make dress watches at 40mm and above and although there are people with larger wrists, I do believe that a dress watch should only be of a certain size and is not meant to fill up the entire wrist like a sports watch or a chronograph. It is a watch with generally little on the dial and is usually two or three handed so there is going to be a vast amount of empty space on the dial.  Unlike a chronograph, a world timer or a perpetual calendar that has a lot happening on the dial, the vast emptiness on the dial will make any dress watch look bigger than a complicated watch with the same dimensions.  Now I understand that a watch has to be large if the movement itself is large but there are brands that make the watch in a larger size than necessary whereas I believe the movement should fill up the case. There should not be any more than 6mm to 8mm between the size of the movement and the case size but becomes irrelevant if the movement is hidden behind a solid case back.  Anyone owning a Lang and Heyne will appreciate the movement size compared to the case size.



The gorgeous movement of a Lang & Heyne filling up the case to its maximum!

Just to throw out some more ideas: Laurent Ferrier also has some very nice Breguet numeral watches although the size is a bit large. I'm assuming you already considered them, but I really like Breguet's enamel dial watches like the 8787.

Yes many would opt for the 7787 at 39mm but the straight Breguet lugs make the watches wear large. So yes, the 8787 at 36mm would definitely be a contender.  For the time being though, I am quite partial to the Murakamo too - you know my tastes well! 



The Breguet 8787 with a grand feu enamel dial

the case back has to be solid even though I too would love to view the movement. But I have to say this - the polished case is like no other probably because of the black polishing.  The Vaucher movement is finished to a higher level than in its original state so I would expect a much better finishing than that say in a Hermes watch.

And maybe is also more versatile than the Kikuchi ??? May wisdom strike you soon !

comes so well disguised Ron!  Thank you for your feedback. I am leaning towards the Murakumo as I am pretty certain that it will be a better fit on my wrist not to mention I love the raised numerals and three dimensional hands.

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for sharing my sentiments. Few watches excite me these days but the Murakumo does. And that is the difference between this and the other two watches.

already knows. For me it works the same, many options have been weighted , a very energy consuming proces, and then finally there is the conviction one needs. I hope the wait wont be to long ! All the best.

which for me personally is not long as the order for my Gronefeld Remontoire last year will take two years and my RW Smith five years (It would have been four had I not extended it for one more year!)