Watch Spotlight: The Relic Jaden Men's Watch

In this time of inflation and economic insecurity, it's good to find some watch values that allow us to feed the collecting bug while being prudent. I recently found this great looking Relic Watch on Walmart.com. It has a purposeful retro watch look, a 43mm diameter allow case, 30-meters of water resistance, a stainless steel case back, and a quartz movement. It's available for $80 online with the biggest of the big box stores.

Relic Jaden Quartz Watch

$80 is a decent price for a watch that has a little bit of a Rolex Milgauss thing going on. Over the years, I've found that Relic consistently brings great looking watches to market.  While it's easy to dismiss Relic as a bargain Fossil, these are substantive watches that wear well and last. 

Watch Spotlight: AVI-8 Hawker Hurricane Automatic Aviation Watch

If you're looking for an interesting timepiece to add to your collection, you might look at the AVI-8 Hawker Hurricane Aviation watch. While the "flieger" design cues of a World War II aviation watch abound, the watch also includes styling cues to pay tribute to the Hawker Hurricane and the Battle of Britain. The tiny airplane silhouette at the rear of the second hand is just for fun.

AVI-8 watches are special timepieces that are still affordable. The JXB on the dial represents the Hawker Hurricane flown by Flight Lt. Arthur Victor Clowes--a Hurricane Ace with 11 confirmed victories.

The watch has a Japanese Automatic movement. It's a sizable watch with a 46mm case that is 14mm thick. It has a mineral crystal that is anti-reflective coated  It's also water resistant to 50-meters. (Only bad pilots need more.) The watch is secured via a 22mm diameter leather strap.

As an automatic, the AVI-8 Hawker Hurricane competes well with offerings from a variety of watchmakers. It comes in under $400. That's a great price for a special watch that few others are likely to have. Many pay more for exclusivity. AVI-8 also offers a wide variety of quartz models that are worthy of consideration. (I was given an AVI-8 Hawker Hurricane quartz model back in 2012 in exchange for a fair review.  You can read that review  here on this blog.

If you'd like to check this automatic watch out, use my affiliate link to the AVI-8 Hawker Hurricane Automatic here on Amazon before these watches fly away.

Attack of the Preppies: A Pair of Black Watches to Watch

When it comes to aggressive timepieces, everyone focuses on dedicated tactical and famed field watches that strike a paramilitary chord in our collective psyches. But, what if the real threat was the preppies? No one suspects them. But, we've seen the 80s movies. The preppy villains got their come uppance back then. But, they could strike back now. There could be a popped collar legion gathering strength right now.  They've got own stealthy watches. Let's look at a pair of preppy battle watches!

This Hilfiger 3-Hand Quartz watch (above) is a masterpiece of dark design. It's black with a 44mm diameter silicone case, a 24mm wide silicone strap, and a stainless steel case back. The watch is 11.1mm thick and offers 50-meter water resistance  It's also on sale for less than $60. You can check this great looking watch out here on Amazon!

If you think you can just flee from the preppies, you'd be wrong. The Crocodile is an ambush predator and this murdered out Lacoste 12:12 (above) screams danger, danger, danger! A preppy could emerge from the darkness and land a snide comment at any time. This watch has a black case made from TR90 Composite Material (plastic) with a stainless steel caseback and a silicone strap. Nice styling cues like a "petit pique" pattern in the center of the silicone strap and edges of the dial class this model up. The crocodile design on the caseback is the retro bomb!

The dimensions of the Lacoste 12:12 are perfect at 42mm in diameter and a slimmer 9.8mm thick with a 20mm strap to secure the timepiece to the wrist.  To see this great looking timepiece use my affiliate link to it here on Amazon!

Dream Watch: Hamilton Khaki Aviation Automatic

I recently saw an X post inquiring about this interesting aviation-inspired watch.

A mystery watch on X

The timepiece turned out to be a Hamilton Khaki Aviation Automatic. It's a 45mm diameter watch on a genuine cow leather strap. Powered by the Swiss H-30 Automatic Movement, it has an 80-hour power reserve. It's in the same ETA movement family as the Tissot Powermatic 80. I found this watch on Amazon for just under $1400.  It's what I would classify as an achievable watch according to my scale here - Defining Watch Affordability.

Hamilton Khaki Aviation Automatic (Amazon photo)

 To find this watch yourself, you can use my Amazon affiliate link here to the Hamilton Khaki Aviation Automatic.  

Watch Deal Alert: Casio AE1200WH Series Digital Watch

Hello Mr. Bond. I see you are interested in a villainous timepiece from Casio. I'm not surprised. If you want a watch to track your network of orbital satellite weapons, track incoming drone attacks, and countdown to the moment the world must deliver your million dollars, you might start with the Casio AE1200WH World Time Illuminator Digital watch. 

It can't do any of that, but it sure looks like the kind of watch a supervillain would wear. We'll set off sirens and alarm bells to announce a watch deal alert for 25% off on this watch. Now, it comes in at just under $30 on Amazon.

The real capabilities of the Casio are impressive. For example, the map is to help track world time across 31 timezones and 48 cities. The watch also offers 1/100 second stop watch, 5 alarms, an analog subdisplay, and backlighting. Physically, the watch offers 100-meter water and 10 years of battery life.

You can check out this super villain watch using my affiliate link here on Amazon. But, if you do, Mr. Bond, I expect you to buy.

Don't Hate Fossil Watches

There are plenty of watch collectors that don't like Fossil watches. I've probably been a little too dismissive of the brand myself. But, the Fossil hate is undeserved. I've never had any issues with the Fossil and Relic watches that I've bought.

Let's look at things Fossil has not done:

1. They haven't mislead me. I haven't seen the egregious triple the price of a watch so Fossil could put it "on sale."
2. They haven't put me on a waiting list. You don't have to wait a year to buy a Fossil.
3. Fossil hasn't coerced me into buying a watch I don't want in order to qualify to buy a watch I do want.
4. Fossil hasn't withdrawn unpopular watches from dealers and destroyed them to keep prices artificially high.

Now, let's look at things Fossil has done:

1. Fossil has provided a nice collector's tin with each watch I've bought.
2. Fossil outlet stores have provided great deals like Buy One / Get One in their outlet locations.
3. Fossil has built watches that are "on point" in design, price, and quality.

If there has ever been a reason to knock Fossil, it's been on the company's perceived lack of pedigree. They aren't a European brand. While there are some Swiss-made Fossil watches, the company primarily uses Asian sourcing. This basically boils down to watch snobbery and brand tribalism. A few layoffs and real financial hardships have knocked most of that nonsense right out of me. A cool looking, reliable, watch will suffice now.

Overall, Fossil watches have been a great value. You can check out all the Fossil watches for men on Amazon right here with my affiliate link.

Watch Deal Alert: Tommy Hilfiger Quartz 3H Watch

An awesome watch from Tommy Hilfiger is on sale right now for 40% off! I have a similar model that we bought at a department store for twice the price and it's been a great watch. Now, it's available with a black dial and matching leather strap. The word we need here is sharp! At a 40% off price less than $60? The next word we need is deal!

Hilfiger watches are made by Movado Group and offer much in terms of build quality and design consistency. They are built like watches rather than props. My Hilfiger watches feel and look good. The sunray dial design on this one is a nice plus that helps separate this watch from the pack. 

This Hilfiger model features all stainless steel construction, a genuine leather strap, a mineral crystal, and practical 30-meter water resistance. That means rain and incidental splashes are OK, but swimming is not recommended.

I like these watches because they fit my wrist well. The watch has a 42mm diameter case that is 10mm thick. The strap is 22mm wide.

You can check this great looking watch out here on Amazon!