Black & Yellow

November 29, 2013 by Bosartis

Black and Yellow watches seem to be on the increase, maybe because Wiz Khalifa the US Rapper features it in song, or perhaps Pennsylvania’s NFL team colors, or Radiation warning – whatever it is this color combination can be pretty striking in a watch – and there are quite a few around. The models featured here have quartz movements.

One that comes to mind (excuse the pun), this is The One 01 in stainless steel with a Polyurethane rubber strap. A square disc model at 53 x 30 x 9.2mm that pretty much says it all from “The One” Fashion House.

The 01 The One – AN04G02 Yellow Spinning Wheel

Quite striking actually and pretty easy to read the time, unlike many in their range. They have a few models that do have dots, lights and odd sequences, that might be OK for the young, but not really my style – but this Yellow Spinning Wheel model is not at all bad. It reminds me of the old LIP watches, and they were good.

Followed by a Diesel Mr Daddy Radar DZ7296 – which is indeed a BIG watch (too big for me) but interesting nevertheless. This model is a whopping 64 x 57 13mm, very futuristic, but only 3atm which is a pity, but it’s a bit of fun and certainly a fashion statement if there ever was! I’d be tempted to put it on the mantlepiece above the fire as a clock!

Mr Daddy from Diesel

But my favorite is this good looking watch from Davis, the 1840 model, though perhaps still a little big for me (though they have other models not quite as bright which are more my size at 42mm), it is a very stylish military look watch. It features the MIYOTA quartz movement Caliber OS21 and dimensions are 48mm x 12mm, with 50m Water Resistance and an Italian Lorica strap and under €200 would make a nice gift for the more conventional amongst us.

The Davis 1840 Military

Chronograph, Date, 12/24 sub-dials and that fantastic bright Yellow configuration makes for a striking watch. I love the matching yellow stitching on the Lorica Strap, which sets it off nicely.

This is also the first time I’ve had a serious look at Davis models, though the Davis Watch Company has been around for a few years (1987 Cannes) and I hope to feature them soon on “Spotlight”, as I have been on the lookout for a low/medium priced dress watch and looking at their range – they might have one that suits me . . . . .

Divers-ity

November 28, 2013 by Bosartis

As one of my previous posts recently showed, there are many choices when it comes to “Divers” models, especially when considering major brands. There are also other models from Casio, Invicta and Momentum to name just a few. There are also others that advertise as Divers, but for me I only consider “dive rated” models at 200m or better. Plus basic features such as good dial legibility under water, large hands and numerals, good luminous qualities, a screw down crown and a uni-directional bezel.

I highlight here some that caught my attention, starting with the classic Seiko “Monster” Divers SKX781K, Automatic in Orange and black versions – one that I particularly like.

Seiko “Monster” Divers

This is an absolute classic Divers watch and very popular with good reason. Solid chunky watch in Stainless Steel watch with high visibility dial and contrasting hands and markers, rated at 200m Water Resistance and with a large uni-directional bezel that is a delight to use. The bezel markings are sharp and clear with the conventional 15, 30 and 45 minute graduations in large high contrast figuring with a luminous dot marker at Zero. The orange dial also features a Day and Date in a nicely outlined window @3 again with good contrast luminous figures and large enough not to require any magnifier bubble. The luminous system used is Seiko Lumibrite, which for me has one of the best luminous properties of any (I don’t include Tritium light source technology). The large screw down crown is very well protected by the projecting case profile on one side and the cleverly extended solid case lug on the other. The mechanical automatic movement is the dependable 7S26 which has reasonable accuracy at around +/- 25 secs/day – not quite in the quartz bracket, but good for a mechanical model. The crystal is the Seiko in-house “Hardlex” which is a good combination of scratch and shatter resistance.

Seiko “Monster” in black

These models are available from around $120 to $160 depending on discounts etc. and represent superb value when you consider these are from a major Manufacturer with good guarantees and service back up.

I have not included Citizen this time as featured some in the previous post on Divers, so this time I’m looking at other brands that offer a similar capability, such as Momentum from the St Moritz Watch Company of Canada. They have quite a neat range of 200m Water Resistance “Divers”, though I find it difficult to know what’s current and what’s discontinued. Of several Diver models I have opted for and particularly like the Shadow 11 model (IM-DV86B0), which is a good sized black IP coated stainless steel version at 41mm x 12mm case size. It has a quartz movement with Day/Date window @3, luminous hands and markers with a second hand with arrow tip. The uni-directional bezel is well defined, though as others in the Brand, they use slightly unconventional 20, 30, 40 and 50 minute markers (another model uses, 5, 15, 25, 35, 45 and 55, which I find confusing). There is also an offset semi-protected screw down crown.

Momentum Shadow 11

This model version has black IP 316L steel case and bracelet, though my next featured watch has the more usual stainless finish. The Momentum Storm 11 model, which I find more compact looking in case a dial set up, perhaps as I’m more used to the Seiko and Citizen models, but certainly worth considering.

Momentum Storm 11

The dial on both models appear quite Seiko looking with the round markers and so on which I find very pleasing. The prices of both watches seem to be in the same bracket as the more popular models and certainly shows there are no shortage of models in this Divers category.
Another brand at the low end of this price bracket is the Invicta Watch Group, a US Company trading on the original Swiss Invicta Watch Company name since 1991 and they feature a few Diver category models in their range.

Invicta Pro Diver 8926 Automatic

A more Rolex Submariner looking watch you’re unlikely to see, which can be got for around $80 or £65+ in the UK (may be subject to VAT and customs here in the UK). Good looking 200m Water Resistance model with uni-directional 120 click bezel with good markings and that luminous Dot at Zero. It uses a Miyota 21j automatic mechanical movement and has a mineral crystal. The movement from memory does not have the best power reserve, so unless you are pretty active it could be an issue. The later model 9937 the features a 23j movement, where the power reserve is improved, a sapphire crystal and better magnifier date window. Though the date is actually OK for me on this model. A screw down protected crown @3 and watch dimensions are 40 x 12mm, so is a really neat sized Divers watch which will suit the smaller wrist. Rolex style dial with luminous hands and markers, plus center sweep seconds hand, sets off a rather handsome watch.
As long as you don’t expect Rolex quality, this watch should manage quite well, but time will tell in the long run.

So a few more Divers to consider and I hope to have a more in depth look at the Seiko “Monster” and the Citizen BN models in the near future, which should be fun as I’m hoping to replace some of my older Divers and move them on.

That’s diversity for you.

Variety!

November 23, 2013 by Bosartis

It never ceases to amaze me the sheer variety of watches and watch designs that are out there. From the incredibly good to the mind numbingly bad and yet somebody somewhere, will love the look of whatever it is and then buy it. Whether its the color, the sheer extravagance or whatever, there truly seems to be a watch model for everyone.

Watches for everyone!

This is just a quick selection and for reference and I’ve listed the models below as one of them could just be the little gem you’ve been waiting for! – you never know!

In no particular order – All prices are UK.

Stuhrling Original 204A.33 Sports Fleet Street, Day/Date, Yellow, Quartz – approx £140

Shhors Rubber LCD LED092 Ladies, Day/Date – £10.49 (I call this the “Lego” watch! – the bracelet can be altered to change color sequence)

Shark Day/Date,24hr, Mens Yellow SH091 – £30 approx.

Seiko 5 Sports Navy Blue Day/Date Automatic self winder SRP351 – £113.00

Harley Davidson (aka Bulova) Gents model 78C103 – £248

Invicta multifunction IP Day/Date Model 43658-004 – £113

Cavena Noni Big Da/Date, Alarm Dual Time, Quartz, CVN019 – £23

Giulio Romano GR-3000-13-001 Piemonte, Luminous, IP plated, Dual Time, Day/Date – £140

Lancaster OLAO461SLYGNR Yellow, Gold IP Day/Date – £170

All the above are Day and Date models and just a fraction of the sheer variety of models, that without the power of the internet, you would simply never get a chance to see, let alone buy. Such is the fascination of this watch business, that in the time it took to post this, there are literally hundreds and hundreds of new designs, new models already being offered and amazingly new ideas of presenting the time on your wrist! I have not included the weird form of interpretation of time, with lights and codes etc. as these are just not my thing at all! These I find far too complicated as what I prefer is to be able to read and understand the time at a glance. Not that some of this first collection can also be tricky, but there is for me a limit.

And would I buy any of the above? Well for me personally no, but I know somebody will. Yet I do find some of the ideas and presentation quite fascinating. I love, for example, the Ladies Shhors “lego” building brick bracelet watch, just for the sheer fun of it and the fact that from a fashion point of view, to be able to mix around the segments of the bracelet blocks to give a different look, is fun.

And I had forgotten that particular Seiko 5 model, the Sports Cal 4R36, 24 jewel automatic, with it’s wonderful Day/Date window @3, broad luminous hands with a great center seconds arrow hand, a Hardlex crystal and 100m Water Resistance. As one of my pals used to say – “it’s an absolute belter!” and he’d be right as it is indeed a very stylish watch. Too easy to forget that Seiko make an enormous number of mechanical automatic models, most of which we never see here in the UK, which is a great shame as they represent excellent value for money.

The Cavena Noni Big Date/day ana-digi is also quite a striking watch and one I’d personally never heard of before. A low cost model it may be, but design-wise it looks pretty good to me. And the others more or less picked at random from the almost limitless selection available, again simply show the fantastic variety and so much so that I’ll probably have another trawl around and see what turns up.

Variety! It never ceases to astound me.

Casio & silicon deployment

November 21, 2013 by Bosartis

My last post featured a Casio model I dubbed a holiday watch that wasn’t and in the post I mentioned that fitting a replacement strap such as a NATO one would be very difficult owing to the space between the spring bars and the case being too neat. My second choice however is the silicon deployment fold-over strap and I noted that IF I was able to fit one I’d post the images here.

5 Minutes with a craft knife and in my opinion a much better fit than standard.

The actual strap size of more accurately the spring bar gap in the lugs is 18mm, but an 18mm silicon strap does not do the watch justice. You will note that the original Casio strap is not 18mm either, but nearer 20mm and suits the overall look just fine.

SO I took an 20mm strap and carefully (with a craft knife) reduced it at the pin area either side to allow for the lugs and to enable fitting to the 18mm gap. The wider strap sets of the watch really well – and here is the result.

Alternative silicon deployment strap, 20mm on 18mm lugs.

Another upside I think is the much neater wrist fit as the flexibility and flat profile of this strap holds the watch closer to the wrist and it doesn’t move, at all. I find that most strap with buckles and especially rubber/resin ones do move the watch around the wrist as if strapped on too tightly the “divers” wave profile on the strap can dig in to the wrist and can become quite uncomfortable. This alternative completely eliminates any problem.

In fact this was so successful, I may have a look in my watch boxes and see if there are others that could benefit from this treatment – also as these straps are only £7 to £9 approximately, it’s not a daft idea!

Holiday Watch?

November 18, 2013 by Bosartis

Always on the lookout for a low priced, well made, yet clever digital watch that goes that bit further.
And I’ve found the Casio AE1200WH-1AV to be such a model and one that in no way could ever be considered basic.

Brilliant Casio World Timer Alarm Watch AE-1200WH-1AVEF

As far as functions are concerned and despite it’s amazing price tag (£17) this is one serious watch. And it’s many features and functions are both practical and useful.

It has large easy to read main time digits with the Day, Date, Month, Hour, minute and seconds on a high contrast display. It’s a chronograph too with a Stop watch (1/100sec) and Countdown Timer.
Unusually and usefully it also has an Analogue clock (with digital H,M and secs hands) giving your local time as a permanent view whatever mode you are in.

And this model incorporates a pretty comprehensive World Time feature, with an “at a glance” World Time zone map, 31 time zones and 48 cities, UTC and Daylight Savings settings. But in addition it also has a quick jump feature to show 4 other time zones in rotation and a selectable auto scan feature too. Another useful trick is the quick swap feature from Home time to any World Time you have selected, usually the preserve of some serious upmarket models.
If you need an alarm then your well catered for here with 5 preset and repeatable Daily Alarms and a One-Time Alarm. There is also an hourly signal which beeps twice on the hour if you so select.
A selectable duration LED light with afterglow of either 1.5 seconds or 3 seconds for easy viewing at night.

Great Casio high contrast display with permanent local analogue sub-dial.

You also don’t need to bother with the annoying task of correcting the days at the end of those silly months that don’t have 31 days – the Auto Calendar takes care of all that, right up to the year 2099.
And who needs Solar, Eco-Drive, Automatic or Kinetic with it’s outstanding 10 year battery life with it’s CR2025 battery.
The light resin case and steel back plate with internal seal ensures a 100m Water Resistance, which is just great for that holiday swimming. It comes with a really quite good and unobtrusive synthetic resin flexible strap and black coated buckle. I’ve found the strap to be quite comfortable, the divers “waves” shape not really large enough to cause me discomfort. The strap is also set to 18mm spring lug bars, so an alternative strap could be used if preferred, BUT note there is little room allowed between bar and case and a NATO strap may be difficult if not impossible to fit, though a standard fitting silicon deployment style might. (I’ll update on the silicon strap at a future date).

The “glass/crystal” is a very clear resin and the dial contrast is exceptional, so this is a very easy watch to read, which is a big plus point in my opinion.
Japanese Quartz movement with +/-30secs per month accuracy.

On the wrist - pretty good even on my small wrist 175mm.

On the wrist – pretty good even on my small wrist 170mm.

For night use it has a two setting back light which is one of the best I’ve used yet, at either 1.5 secs or 3 secs when pressing the top right pusher. The bottom right pusher selects 4 quick view World Times in rotation, which is handy as one of them is Paris, so for us Europeans from UK very useful. The day and date display window gives the City, the month then the date (not the right order for us in UK, but I’m OK with it).
Size wise it’s neat at just 39.5mm (42mm with buttons) x 13mm Squarish case profile and a clear surprisingly tough resin crystal/glass. The lug to lug is 45mm which is neater than most and it fits my 170mm wrist just fine.

I mean WOW!
Price £17.00 – even bigger WOW!

This is a serious piece of kit – and I kid you not. What you get for your money is incredible value and as a “Holiday” watch, I could not have found anything better – anywhere?

Wherever you are in the world, just set the zone – Swimming or Snorkeling? – no problem. Need an alarm to catch that flight? – easy, you have a choice of 5!

Just a word on the highly commendable 100m WR on this model. I mean that’s really quite good, not true Diver quality rated of course, but seriously good considering a simple square steel back with 4 corner screws and internal seal – it all seems so easy. (how many watches do you meet with a paltry 5bar as their best effort?). It simply confirms my opinion that there is really no excuse for poor Water Resistance in ANY watch today.

So what are the downsides?

I have heard it said the buttons are too easy to use and inadvertent operation is possible and annoying. Well I can honestly say on this model to date, this has NOT happened to me yet! and the pushers “push” with a reasonably firm consistency. That said, I don’t wear watches at the very, very end of my wrist beyond the wrist bone, like some folks, so my hand even stretched back, simply can’t operate the buttons.

I’m tempted to describe this watch as the “ultimate”, though that might be too much praise, but frankly and from a Practical and Price viewpoint, and let’s face it what else do we need, it really doesn’t get much better!

And here’s an interesting thought. Perhaps you’re unlucky enough on holiday to have your watch stolen?
As one of my friends tells me – “Not a problem, I always take 2 of these little blighters with me”. And believe it or not he has another 3 at home, which I said at the time was a bit silly! However sometimes things said come back to haunt you, as after I got one for myself, thinking of my friend and liking the watch so much, I ended up buying another one for my wife!

So for me there are no downsides at all with this Casio World Timer model. It does everything its supposed to do, clear to read day or night and manages each function very well and at an absolutely rock bottom price.

Now whilst I may very well use this model for holidays, for which it is ideal of course – the question is – is this just a holiday watch?

The answer is absolutely NOT! – not by a long chalk!

Note – Another World Timer model similar to the above is the Casio AE1000W-1B, which has a round case, though I personally prefer the dial layout and the retro style of the above. But both represent great value from Casio.

Affordable Divers

November 13, 2013 by Bosartis

A friend of mine asked my advice on getting a Divers watch recently and whilst I’m happy to advise where I can, it’s a long time since I did any diving (like 40 years!) and even then it was fairly basic scuba diving. But he’s just taken up “holiday” snorkeling and had thought he’d already got himself a Divers watch, but after his first ducking it steamed up inside and stopped working! Now whilst it looked good, it was basically a fashion watch that was on it’s 3rd battery change (no seals left!) no screw down crown and a WR of 5Bar – purporting to be an all singing and dancing Divers model he said – which it patently was not!

I decided to have a look at what was available and within the confines of what my friend could afford. So I was restricted somewhat as he stipulated around the £200 mark, which I confess I thought might be a bit of a challenge. But absolutely not! There are literally hundreds of “Divers” models around and amongst them there are quite a few good Divers 200m models that offer pretty good value.

Divers galore!

In the face of all this lot I made up my mind to concentrate only on the two big players, Seiko and Citizen, as their reputations, technical abilities and after sales servicing are well established and in my opinion the safest option. They also have the wherewithal to invest in new ideas and designs.

First up is Seiko and as you’d expect, being one of the largest Brands today they have a considerable number of good Divers models across various prices ranges. Kinetic seems to be the latest techno fad from Seiko and one model that didn’t seem too expensive is the Seiko SKA371P1 shown here.

Seiko SKA371P1 Divers WR200

Good solid Stainless Steel case model with the classic Divers look and unlike many of the resin cased digital models, this one is not too big at 42mm x 15mm, has a 200m Water Resistance. The watch fits nicely on smaller wrists as lug to lug distance is relatively small. There is a small date window @3 which is not well defined actually but has little importance when underwater. The bezel is excellent, uni-directional and has 60 definite clicks, so from a safety viewpoint does exactly what it’s supposed to do and has a luminous dot at Zero.

Regarding the luminous aspect of the hands. Whilst the lume is very good on the hour markers, the hands being skeleton show only the tips as luminous and I find this not as clear to read as solid hands. I prefer to see the length of the hand (as a pointer if you will) and not just a dot or very small arrow head as here. Others may not find this so, but that’s my observation. A really good point to note is the provision of bracelet lug screw bars, which are much stronger than spring bars. If snagged underwater, it’s an easy way to lose your watch. And one of the reasons I used to wear my old Divers with a Nato strap in the old days of spring bars only.

Overall though, despite the small and personal little concerns I’ve noted, this is one really, really good watch and especially so at the discounted price of around £200 – £230 mark in the UK.

As to Kinetic – well you either like it or you don’t. The idea is sound in that you use a movement rotor in the watch to generate via a small turbine an electric charge to the cell, which in turn powers the Quartz movement, so in theory accuracy should be really good. No battery to change and as long as you’re moving, the watch should tick away just great! This model like most Kinetics has a push button to indicate using the second hand as a pointer to the charge remaining, which is neat.

What is a Divers watch?

I should also explain, as I understand it, just what a Divers watch should feature. Practically it should be reliable and tough, it needs to have a Water Resistance of at least 20bar (200m) and it should have large easily read indexes and hands. Generally a Divers watch will be used in dim water at depth and from around a foot distance it should be easily readable and it’s important that it should have a uni-directional bezel, preferably with definite clicks. This used to simply time your dive against oxygen “time left”. This bezel also should also be figured or milled so that gloved fingers are able to turn it. So all that said –

Another Seiko model I’ve featured is the conventional Automatic 21 jewel SKX007K1 (Cal.7s26) which I rather like myself. It also features a tough construction, large index and hands configuration, the WR200m of course, uni-directional and strongly grooved bezel and is approximately 42mm x 13mm case dimensions, so again a sensible size.

Seiko Divers WR200 SKX007K1

Between the two I think I actually prefer the SKX007K1 and for a few reasons. First off are the hour and minute hands – these are solid infill and not skeleton, so for me much clearer. The second weep hand is white along it’s full length – again nice and clear. I also like the fact that it has a nice and clearly defined Date and Day window @3, though of course as Divers go, not essential. I also like the crown @4 position which prevents any catching on the wrist. I also prefer the slightly tidier case shape. Note that this is a classic Automatic mechanical movement, not Kinetic. It too has a movement rotor, which basically winds the mainspring. So accuracy won’t quite match the quartz or kinetic variety. But again, keep it moving and it will do the job AND the fact that it’s around £40 cheaper at around £170 in the UK it’s a pretty good buy.

There are other alternative models from Seiko such as the “Monster” series (not sure why they’ve picked up this name) but the Orange SKX781K at around £150 is certainly worth a look. It is also available in conventional black and is also a classic mechanical Automatic with Day Date. Once again very solid, dependable, hi-visibility and with similar dimensions. As can be seen there are quite a few options with Seiko and it’s down to personal preference really as to which you pick.

So looking at the other big brand – Citizen. The model that springs to mind with regard to the price is the Citizen BK3150-04EE- shown here –

Citizen Quartz Divers – BK3150-04EE

Of course Citizen have quite a number of Divers classification models and most are quite similar with just a few style differences. This one is NOT eco-Drive but powered by a standard Quartz movement, so a battery change is approximately every 5 years, has quartz accuracy and is very much a Divers watch. 200M Water Resistance, solid stainless steel in a rubber strap version, big clear hour markers and hands with good luminosity. This one also has a well defined Day and Date feature. It is a really neat size at only 40mm diameter case and the strap is 20mm wide. As usual it also features hardened mineral glass and a uni-directional bezel etc. Note that not all Divers models have screw lug pins and most of the Citizen models, as this one, feature heavy duty spring bars, which I have to say are pretty good nevertheless. It sells for around £120 in the UK, so again tremendous value.

Citizen, as I say, have quite few Divers models and the last one featured briefly here is the BN0000-04H.

Amendment – addition – image – The Citizen BN0000-04H Eco-Drive Solar Divers

BN0000-04H Citizen Divers Eco-Drive

There are of course other brands out there, so many in fact that it’s easy to get bogged down searching out every little difference, but in all honesty I’m sure you can get pretty much your ideal with either of these two great Brands. So much so that I’ve recommended my friend looks these out and takes his pick – and all without breaking the bank.

And I’m not looking at any more – Phew!

Note – Of course there are watches that whilst not officially classed as “Divers” watches, are nevertheless absolutely fine for swimming and even the occasional shallow snorkeling. Many have a WR of 100m and better, but maybe without a uni-directional bezel or with large indexes and so on, though from experience IF you are in the water/sea more than most, then it makes sense to get the proper thing. As you can see from the above – these don’t certainly don’t have to be expensive. However like my friend don’t get fooled by some that describe themselves as Divers when they are most definitely not. A great big outer bezel for example may look OK until you note the hour numerals and markers are thin and/or chromed and often in many cases with poor luminous quality.

So my advice for what it’s worth is – if scuba-diving or diving – check out the above “What is a Divers watch?” paragraph and take it from there and you’ll hopefully be safe rather than sorry!

Update – Well my personal choice (prior to writing this was actually the last one No 4. I opted for the Citizen BN0000-04H after quite a bit of indecision. Why this one you may ask? Well it’s Solar (Eco-Drive) for one thing, so no battery to worry about and no Water resistance issues either. It also unusually has a solid brushed stainless mono-case construction with a WR300 rating, and it’s very compact. I’ll feature it in a future post once I’ve had a week or two using it and post my impressions then. And coincidentally by friend bought the very same model just before me, though I didn’t know this (from another Dealer) and he loves it.

And the cost? A very reasonable £130, which can’t be bad .

I like them!

November 11, 2013 by Bosartis

Just checking over some of the watches that have taken my fancy over the past week or two. Partly owing to the fact I had to get an old Junkers watch repaired and it went to PoinTtec in Germany for service. Which they did very successfully I have to say. However I noted at the time that they also managed a few other lines, including the Zeppelin and Maximillian brands.

Now I’ve always had time for these are they are always interesting and good looking designs and most have a classic war/retro feel to them that I find quite rather comforting – must be an age thing!

The first one that caught my eye is their new, classic Zeppelin Nordstern, which features a Big Date @12 and a Second Time Zone dub-dial @6 in a 41mm stainless steel case. Quartz movement is the well respected Swiss Ronda 6203.B and it also has a decent 10Bar Water Resistance.

Zeppelin Nordstern, Big Date, Dual Time

All in, this is a very stylish watch and certainly on my list of “possibles”. I also like the “Big Date” feature as it is easy to see at a glance.

My second watch is also a new one and a slight departure from the usual classical lines, but a little more “ground” military inspired perhaps and geared for low light situations.
Called the Night Cruise model 7240.2 it has a black case and black dial, luminous hour and minute hands and a nice red tipped center seconds hand with big round white against black markers. This model features a rubber strap with a standard and clearly defined Date window @3. There is another similar model featuring a bracelet, I understand. The case is 41mm diameter.
Note the luminous markers shine Blue for night sighting and this model features another Swiss Ronda Quartz movement, the Ronda 515. Water Resistance 10Bar. I particularly like (my personal taste of course) the fact that this model does not sport a divers bezel idea, which for me make it look rather more elegant.

The Night Cruise from Zeppelin

Both models are approximately £170 (UK priced) which is pretty decent value for a couple of neatly designed models that really look the part in my opinion.

And the third model I’ve selected here is from Maximillian, the 5332-1 “Click Date” which is a Radio Controlled model with this rather neat Click Date feature. Allows the dial to be quite uncluttered but shows the Date quite neatly, when required. Featuring this time the German produced Cal.42-24 RC movement. The dot markers are in Green Luminous material, the case is Gold Ion plated.

The Maximillian Click Date, Radio Controlled 5332-1

The watch is neat at only 39mm diameter and the Water Resistance 5ATM. Obviously this is more a dress watch, hence the missing macho features, but a very smart and unusual watch it is. The Date indication is accessed by pressing the crown, which moves the Second Hand which then acts as a pointer to the outer track date numbers on the right segment of the dial. I suppose your eyesight has to be good to read the small date numerals, but it is a dress watch and probably no more difficult than many a retro chronograph with date sub-dials. However as style is more the essence of this watch it’s hardly an issue and perhaps it’s just me, as I definitely need glasses these days! But that said this is yet another model I might very well seriously consider – maybe for my next birthday?

I might be getting on these days, but I never say no to a little elegance!

Watch space

Favourite watches & reviews

Monthly Archives: November 2013