Mens Watch Review: Stainless Steel Armitron with Leather Band

Every once in a while, a watch will strike me as being perfect. So it was with my most recent watch purchase a stainless steel Armitron with a leather band. With the catchy name like Model 20/4859GNSVBN, the watch had to beckon me by looking better than all the other men's watches at Kohl's in the Christmas of 2012. It looked better than any Timex, any Relic, any Citizen, any Seiko, any Caravelle, and almost any Bulova except the vaunted (and 10 times more expensive) Precisionist.

 Why was this Armitron so attractive? Besides being a shiny, gleaming, watch under department store glass, this Armitron combined the simple, manly, functional style of a military watch with the panache and flair of a showy high tech sport watch.  It also features an accurate Japanese quartz movement.

Watch Dimensions. This Stainless Steel Armitron has a military-style dial in a stunning silver-on-silver color scheme set into a solid-looking 43-millimeter diameter all stainless steel case. At 15 millimeters thick, the watch is robust without being monstrous or inconvenient at the office. The crown is thick and is circled by a grey rubber accent strip that makes pulling the crown and setting the watch a breeze.

Watch Dial Style. The Arabic numerals denoting the hours are of a shiny silver-tone color that contrasts with the lighter silver-tone complexion of the dial. The sunray dial itself is subtly divided into four quarters that give the face a faceted look. When combined with the inner black circle with tiny 5-minute markings, the watch evokes the look of a rifle-scope crosshairs. Grey and white accents the perimeter of the dial (technically called the channel ring) of this watch. It's the angled upslope under the crystal from the watch face to the case. This perimeter area is also put to functional use with 24-hour markings for the hours and hash marks for the minutes.

Watch Pricing. Like all Armitron watches, my new wristwatch was affordable. Kohl's had it for $89.99, but offered considerable Christmas season sale discounts. However, the low price point manifests itself in one obvious drawback to this watch. The 18.5 centimeter brown leather band that came with the watch was a tad short for my wrist. I swapped the band for a diver-style rubber band from Timex. It fits well, has lots of room for expansion, and enhances the rugged look of the watch. I'd love it if watch companies offered a free or low cost watch band swaps with a watch purchase to ensure that any purchase fits well.

Overall, I really enjoy my new Armitron watch. It is a practical, readable, rugged and rich looking timepiece.

Sources:
Kohls.com

Merry Christmas 2012!

Merry Christmas!  I hope that all readers have a wonderful holiday.  Soon this page will feature reviews of the new watches I got for Christmas!

In the meantime, I've been wondering about Santa Claus.  On Christmas Eve, Santa eluded air defenses all around the world and dropped off presents for all the good boys and girls.  How did he fly around the world so fast?  I think he may have some super high technology like this motorized sleigh at his disposal.  Here's a more detailed report on his techniques and technologies:  How Does Santa Elude Air Defenses Around the World?

Watch Finds for the Holidays

I spent a little time wandering about in a Sears store.  I found a few interesting quartz watches from Structure and U.S. Polo.  It's amazing how nice these inexpensive watches can look.  For example, this Structure watch looks like a million bucks!

Structure Roman Numeral Watch from Sears

WatchDude is on Twitter

I'm not big into social networking.  However, I've been having fun with my new twitter account.  If you are into twitter, follow me at

@TheWatchDude

I'm finding lots of interesting watch vendors and afficionados on twitter.  It's a good place to get a heads up about new products and cool watches.

Christmas for Hunters - The Watch to Buy

This hunter looks a little dour.  Why?  Perhaps no one got him a hunting watch for Christmas.  It's a little sad.

By Orhan Bilgin (Zargan) (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons

Fortunately, there are plenty of hunting and fishing watches in the market place.  One of my favorite is reviewed here Casio Pathfinder Hunting Timer.  The Casio Pathfinder is camouflaged and tells you when the best time to go hunting is based on Solunar Theory.  If you have an outdoorsman, fisherman, or hunter on your Christmas list, it's a good call.

Christmas for Nerds

Do you have a nerd on your Christmas list?

 If so, you can always get him a nerdy watch.  Nerd watches are big business.  There are even online discussion boards dedicated just to Nerd watches.  For example, you can visit the Pocket Calculator Show's Nerd Watch Message Board to learn all about vintage nerd watches.  They have the coolest collections of interesting and obscure digital watches.

As for me, I only have one genuine nerd watch.  It's a Casio Calculator watch.  These watches are dirt cheap at Walmart and make a great bonus gift or stocking stuffer at Christmas.  If you haven't read it yet, here's my review:

Wristwatch Review:  Casio Calculator and Calendar Watch

If that's not nerdy enough, you could always find a vintage slide rule and a book like this one:

The Classics Are Back!

In these austere times, many of the elite watch makers have introduced classic versions of watches from earlier simpler eras.  According to Watch Time magazine, this is the Classical Revival.  But, you don't have to be rich and you don't have to be all Swiss to enjoy a watch with a classic design.

Here are some affordable watches that fit the classic label:

A Guide to the Affordable Men's  Watches of the Classical Revival

Need a Watch Quick? Try Waltham Watches at CVS

On a recent visit to a CVS drugstore, I saw an end cap display of Waltham brand watches.  Some of them looked pretty good for the low price of $9.99.  They might make a good Christmas gift for a kid.  They'd also be just fine if you just need to tell time!

Waltham Watch