You know what's really ironic?
By the time we're old enough to comfortably own these beauties our eyesight has degraded to where we can't SEE them anymore
Excellent points, automatico.
In my experience you first pick out the dial you want to use. Then you buy the best case you can find/afford for that dial size.
Nome? Outstanding! How long will he be there? Have him tell you about the Sea Ice Golf Classic and the National Seasonal Forest. Safety Sound is a fun getaway as is the road up and over to Council... good hiking, watch for bears.
You can't go wrong with CWP hands. The ones on my Big Gonzo were custom lumed and lightly sanded to make the gilt look old, and they're dead ringers for gen. He sells them in gen sizes.
There are inexpensive and widely available folded Oyster rivet bands that are very nice quality. I used one on my 1675 for a couple years and thought it was great. Fit and finish were fine, it looked good and it accepted thick springbars. It felt robust.
Then I did some research and discovered the real rivet bands were very thin and the clasp was a little different. So I hunted around and found the Yuki 7206 and bought a handful. I was underwhelmed.
Realistically, the quality on the Yuki isn't as good as the original rivet band I had. But its dimensions are correct and I can make it into something usable.
Both have flaws. If you don't really care about the thickness and slightly different clasp, you might be happy with the cheap version.