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!
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.
My last post featured a Casio model and I mentioned that fitting a replacement strap such as a NATO one would be tricky owing to the space between the spring bars and the case being too neat. However, this is the silicon deployment fold-over strap that I thought might do, IF I was able to fit one – I did and this is it.
5 Minutes with a craft knife and in my opinion a much better fit than standard.
The actual strap size or more accurately the spring bar gap in the lugs is 18mm, but an 18mm silicon strap does not do the watch justice. I would note that the original Casio strap was not 18mm either, but closer to 20mm and suits the overall look just fine.
SO, I took a 20mm strap and carefully (with a craft knife) reduced it at the pin ends 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.
The upside is a 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. I often find that rubber or resin straps with buckles (as opposed to deployment) can annoyingly move the watch around the wrist. Sometimes you have to strap on too tightly to stop this, but if for example it’s a “diver’s” style ribbed profile strap it then digs in to your wrist and is uncomfortable. This alternative softer silicon strap with it’s simple deployment 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!
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 a virtual 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 pre-sets 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 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.
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 .
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!
Some models that have attracted me recently are the Kinetic range of watches from Seiko. I’m interested as I already have a 1988 forerunner of this technology (the Seiko AGS) and to see how they have progressed is something else. I also like them because whilst they do use a quartz oscillator, they’re unlike standard quartz systems as they use mechanical movement to generate electricity via micro rotor to charge an accumulator, which via gearing, drives the watch movement. Unlike purely mechanical movements however, these can also offer quartz accuracy. The best of both you could say.
Early Seiko AGS Automatic Generating System watch
Of course as I said, the technology has been around a while, though a far cry from my early 1988 AGS Seiko, which is the Kinetic predecessor. My old model (April 1988) has a total full charge time of only 3 days so not quite in the same league as today’s offerings, which on full charge may be many, many months in some versions. In fact my old AGS if off the wrist too long, takes ages to get the darned thing started. I usually have to waggle it around for about 30 minutes before it grudgingly, in two second hops, decides that it’s accumulator or capacitor is beginning to get some charge. I do have the updated cell version, which ostensibly gives 90 days and I have replaced the capacitor at last I’ve – so that’s all sorted now!
Today’s “Kinetics” as they are now called, are a very, very different animal – Oh yes!
Seiko Kinetic SKA465P1 Black stainless – with date if you can see it
And one of the good features I like about the current range of Kinetic watches from Seiko is the fact they don’t have to look complicated and actually make models that have a neat simplicity, which is in contrast to the many sub-dialled, over cluttered faces I see so often when new models appear. It seems to be the thing that if you can see the time clearly, this is not good! What nonsense! The whole point of a watch is to tell the time – easily. And here are a couple of Seiko models that in my opinion are both good and practical!
The SKA465P1 has a simple dial design showing absolute clarity – the contrast is great and the layout is clear and simple. Black dial face with bright white and luminous numerals with good contrasting hour and minute hands – also luminous, with a white centre seconds hand with a decent overlap tail end. The date window between 4 and 5 is possibly a little discreet, which is a pity, but at least the date numbers are white against black. It is however a negative in an otherwise nice watch. The dark coated stainless steel case could be an issue if it rubs over time and same for the two tone bracelet, but it makes for an understated and good looking watch. (I have one other Ion coated cased watch and so far over 3 years it has not rubbed, though it’s not a Seiko).
You will note this model has button @2 which is not to adjust the date (which you would do with the centre crown) but instead this moves the second hand to indicate the amount of charge the watch has remaining. Just a note about the bracelet fixing. This watch I’m glad to say features a conventional strap lug arrangement (spring pins) which is so sensible and means you can change the bracelet for a conventional strap or alternative bracelet of your choice. And as stated on the watch face the Water Resistance is 100m – very practical therefore as an every day watch.
The Seiko SKA459P1 Titanium Kinetic – good date window
There are quite a few different versions and another one I like is the Titanium SKA495P1 – a nice example which is also simple to read and use, but a little more dressy. It also has a much better Date window in my opinion, easier to read with it’s highlighted window, at the more conventional 3 o’clock position. But on the downside for me is the fact that it is fitted to a bespoke bracelet – in other words you can’t fit a leather strap for example, unlike the previous model, which is a pity. And there are more complicated looking models such as the Sportura, but for me some of these have a dial that is just too cluttered at first glance and not easy to quickly read the time. Often a GMT hand is given too much priority and is mistaken for the hour hand.
Another model, the SKA557P1 at first glance appears to give that nice clarity, but don’t let the online images fool you – the typical images really don’t tell the full picture. Yes it has an excellent face, clear, simple and with good contrast too, but the watch may be spoiled by the very highly polished bezel on the watch case – had this been matte – it would have been just about perfect.
But like everything else it may well suit someone else as we all have different ideas of what we like or dislike. What I can say is the Kinetic technology is really something rather special. Terrific accuracy, no battery changing required, no worries about wearing under a shirt or pullover, which can really upset Solar or Eco-drive watches, especially in the UK where we are not in the habit of wearing short sleeved shirts and out in the sun? too often – all you have to do with this watch is wear it every so often.
SKA557P1 dark drown coated Stainless kinetic from Seiko. BUT – too shiny?
And the latest Auto Relay version even allows the watch to sit unworn for up to 4 years! then when you want to use it you simply waggle it around for a few minutes and it immediately starts up, the static hands suddenly whizz round the dial to the correct time, the date changes to the correct day and hey presto – you’re up and running.
Possible issues– I have noted perhaps four here – one is the Date window on the SKA465P1 model is not so clear as it should be, then the issue of Ion or dark coatings on Stainless Steel – sometimes successful, sometimes not. Though my experience is good on these so may not be an issue after all. Then there is the bracelet fitting on the SKA459P1, where it’s not possible to fit a strap, and finally the SKA557P1 model with such a great face, clear etc. BUT looks as if it has that very glossy shiny bezel case which may be distracting. I’ll have to see that one in person to make sure. But of course that’s the thing with watches – finding the ideal and the one that ticks (sorry!) all the boxes – maybe that’s the thing about watch gazing and part of the fun.
Now if I could just find an Auto Relay model (not chrono) with a nice clear to read face and preferably a strap version, I could be very tempted indeed! Watch this space!
BUT – I have heard that Kinetic may be phased out – according to those in the know. It is quite possible that the new Spring Drive system utilising Quartz and mechanical without battery (Grand Seiko) may well be their future as it promises extreme accuracy with little intervention. Which makes this Post probably irrelevant, unless buying pre-owned! Typical!”
A watch nut acquaintance of mine arrived back from holiday the other day, waltzed into my place and bragged about his new watch. He only gave me a fleeting glimpse of it as he waved his arm around, saying this was the absolute best watch he’d ever owned.
Intrigued of course I asked to see it and even though I just had the slightest peek, I said it looked like he’d got himself an Aviator classic. “Oh, he said, you don’t have one too, do you?”
Well I’ve got this one here I replied and dug out my old AstroAvia Classic Aviator Alarm watch that I’ve had for a number of years. Now I wouldn’t say it’s the very best watch I’ve ever owned, but it is in practical terms, a pretty decent watch and one that I intend to keep for a long time yet.
Anyway the watch on his wrist was marked on the dial as Ernst Benz, which to me, being a bit cynical in my old age, sounds like one of those made up Swiss German classic marques, that more often than not turn out to be (in my experience) a vastly expensive product with little actual pedigree, or indeed watch specification detail (or any), but lots of dialogue about how good it is. Looking up Herr Ernst Benz I confess to being unsure as to the tie up with a watch brand, but hey why not! I do have a watch in my display cabinet with my own name on the dial too!
Benz and AstroAvia
Now my friend oddly enough after seeing my old Astro suddenly went all coy on how much his Benz cost! Of course if I’m honest, just because the brand was and is pretty much unknown to me, doesn’t make my cynicism justified – I could be quite wrong and it could indeed be a super quality classic.
However looking closely at it – I’ve got to say it doesn’t appear anything special – it’s a fairly common mechanical automatic chrono, probably a 7750 series or 2824/36 movement or similar (I have many of these), the case and dial design is in ubiquitous “Aviator” style and hardly special, the numerals, printing, hands, dial and case quality and finish are comparable and when we put both watches together, they look pretty similar.
Of course in reality they are not the same and there are differences for sure – mechanical automatic v quartz, Sapphire v Hardened Mineral crystal and “maybe” quality differences and so on, but we’re not talking gold or platinum here, or super complications, but a stainless cased working chronograph. The cost differential may well be taken up in part by the mechanical v quartz, though other than that aspect, I don’t see much else. However that said it is fact that mechanical 7750 and 2824 movements models can be anywhere from £600 to £thousands, depending on who they are, marketing hype and fashion. Factually though it’s OK, but personally I’d be looking elsewhere money wise.
My old AstroAvia has a Japanese Quartz (OS2 or YM62 usually) has never let me down, the hands mechanics and complications work fine and is just what I need from a practical daily beater, which why I bought it in the first place. I do recall I favored Quartz over mechanical as more often than not, chronograph complications in everyday wear, considering knocks and so on usually fare better. (See my post of March 2010). It also came with a bracelet and a quality leather strap!
However as the image, they do have a certain similarity – that aviator style and whilst I am very happy with my AstroAvia purchase, I’m not too sure if my old friend is quite so happy after I mentioned it’s £180 price tag.
He never did tell me how much he paid, but checking up on a few of the Benz model prices and which after seeing them, I’d consider this more orientated towards fashion than anything else.
And as to my title “Chalk and Cheese?”, well it certainly makes this old pessimist wonder.
The color blue is also very popular with watch manufacturers, though as Yellow they can look highly colored for colors sake, rather than any other reason. However sometimes one model comes along that truly uses the color (blue in this instance) to best effect. And this is the wonderful IWC Portuguese Silver/Blue shown here.
IWC Silver/Blue Gents watch.
The model is called the IWC Portuguese 7 Day Power Reserve Silver/Blue Dial Men’s Strap Watch IW500107. It has a stainless steel 42.3mm case and blue leather strap. This watch has a silver dial with blue hour markers and hands and a date indicator at 6 o’clock. The crystal is Sapphire glass and matched by a sapphire crystal glass back and is water resistant to 30M.
The Swiss Automatic movement has an extraordinary Power Reserve of 7 days with the reserve indicator sub-dial @3 and seconds sub-dial @9, which makes for a clean and very clearly defined face. And the touch of Red as a warning indication showing 1 day power reserve remaining is very neat.
But what I really like about this model is the subtle use of the Blue color. This is not just a blue version of a standard model, but a careful application of tone and form, which transforms this watch into a very elegant timepiece.
So in the Dress watch stakes, this is certainly one of the best I’ve seen yet, regardless of color – it’s a classic.
Not quite such a common color as red in the watch world, there are still quite a number around. Green straps and colored resin cases or green dials and not surprisingly quite a number of khaki green military styles. Fewer dress style models are in evidence, though these two I found are probably in that classification.
Void V03-A Green Alarm Watch
Very traditional style with interesting touches is the Void model V03 Limited Edition. Green dial of course in an IP Gold case with date window @3 and an alarm function with pointer hand in red. Hour and minuted hands are black with glow in the dark infills, plus a center seconds hand and the watch is a neat 38mm x 10mm. The contrasting leather strap is color coordinated apparently with the gold/green combination look. The quartz movement is a Japanese Miyota so should be dependable. And I have to say I quite like the style of it and as a dress watch it should look rather smart.
Costs in the UK around £250 and about the same in Euros – this is the Void Watches site – HERE
As with my Red watch post, the second watch featured moves more up to date I suppose with this nice Rockwell, bracelet style model, Green and Silver from their Rook range.
Rockwell Stainless Green dial Swiss Quartz
With the stainless steel bracelet, which is what I call a “ladder” style, matching nicely with the case, this green dial watch features an anti-reflective Sapphire crystal and a Swiss quartz movement and appears as a rather sleek modern look. With a stainless case at 38mm wide matched by a 38mm bracelet, this certainly gives it a very modern and clean look. It is also very slim at only 9.2mm so will easily slip under a shirt cuff. I also think the color combination of silver and green works well and I’m pleased to see the contrasting white infill hour and minute hands plus a white center seconds hand.
For me this model has an elegance which I didn’t expect on first encounter, but the more I look at it the better I like it.
HOWEVER – Costs around $240 on the Rockwell web site, which is reasonable. But on the Amazon UK site it’s quoted at just under £400 which has to be after importation. This is far more than double! – today the exchange rate suggests the true cost should be £150 and I might have been tempted – but for me that Amazon price is just a nonsense! NO Sale!
I have seen it today on Ebay UK for around £147 plus £28 US/UK postage. So plus import Vat etc. it’s probably gettable at perhaps under £250, but for a £150 watch it’s still too high in my opinion. So again – NO Sale!
Recently on holiday I bumped into a guy at dinner one evening who definitely had style. The first thing I noticed was that being at dinner, he wore a dinner jacket or Tuxedo as my US pals call it. Now this being 2013 in Europe, on a river cruise, is actually unusual in itself these days, as what ever dress code there used to be on ships, is either flaunted, ignored or not demanded. That wonderful old elegance of “dressing” up for dinner on boats unfortunately has long been tossed overboard!
Oclock Watch – Mickey Mouse in red. Model OCD02.
But as I say, he had style, looked awesome and quite evidently drew envious looks – and why not? However what really struck me was his choice of watch to accompany this elegant, smart and dark ensemble.
A Red Watch no less and a Mickey Mouse one at that! And furthermore it matched the red silk bow tie perfectly! This was STYLE!
So here I introduce the Oclock watch – model OCD02 Mickey Mouse in Red.
Made by Fullstop in Italy, it has interchangeable “pop out” faces, a choice of stretch colored silicon strap (of varying lengths), a 35mm white dial with glow in the dark hour and minute hands, so actually very practical. I love it!
So it got me thinking – what other color watches are around, that could be worn to enhance your personality and that independent free thinking look.
Rosendahl 43108 Red Digital Gents Watch.
Sticking with Red as the color of choice I’ve updated the look by coming bang up to date with this sleek Rosendahl 43108 Digital Red PU strapped super digital display watch.
This is a super slim 22mm wide by only 6mm depth digital model with time and date display, featuring a black display with white digits. The strap is a neat Polyurethane affair with an invisible double locking stainless steel clasp. The watch has 30m Water Resistance too. Seeing it for the first time I personally prefer it to the newer technology Phosphor watches with their digital Ink displays. This watch is smaller, slimmer and neater on the wrist and for me, having a smallish wrist, this suits me much better. As to features – well let’s say that knowing the time and the date is really all I need.
Now I’m on this “color” kick got me to thinking, what other high color watches are out there, that can give the wearer that “look at me – my tie says it all” look, but in a watch. I’ve seen quite a few and not only in Red – in fact there’s a color to suit almost any occasion . . . .
Good idea for a post or two – I’m sure. So watch this space!
Watch space 
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