Sunday, November 30, 2014

Christmas Gift Ideas: Watches with Leather Straps

There is something nice about wearing watch with a soft and supple leather strap.  Leather strap watches are comfortable to wear, look good, and fit well.  They also don't pull all those little hairs off your wrist.  If you are looking to give a watch this Christmas, don't overlook watches with leather straps.

As I look through my own collection, I find that I often choose leather watches for daily wear.  For example, a watch like my Invicta 1461 has a timeless, classic look, that is only enhanced by its riveted leather strap.

Invicta 1461 Vintage Collection Riveted Leather Strap Watch

Leather strap watches are also the perfect fit for a business casual world.  I find that the earth tones of a brown leather strap go quite well with the khaki pants that are found in every business casual wardrobe.

AVI-8 Lancaster Bomber

If you are looking to give a Christmas gift this season, a watch with a leather strap might just be the perfect choice.

Drive by Citizen Eco-Drive Watch

Of course, there are hundreds of watches with leather straps in this world.
Fortunately, Amazon has a wonderful selection of them here:  Leather Strap Watches. All you have to do is look through their vast selection!

Saturday, November 29, 2014

Wristwatch Review: GameTime Agent Series College Team Watch

An Inexpensive Wristwatch to Express Your Team Spirit 

[Since this is the last day of the Florida Gators regular season football, this review seems appropriate.  It is republished from Yahoo Contibutors Network.  But, I still love the watch!]

Want to show your team spirit? The GameTime Agent Series is an officially licensed team watch for every day use.

 

If you are looking for an officially licensed team wristwatch, you might try the GameTime Agent series team watch. These watches retail for about $30 on the Gametimeshop.com website, but my wife happened across a Florida Gator watch for me from GameTime at Walmart for $20. The Gametime Agent series watch is a traditional analog watch featuring a stainless steel case back, a silver plastic case, a rotating black bezel, and a black nylon and Velcro strap. The face of the watch features a team logo on a background of team colors.

Agent series watches are available for most major college teams, most pro football teams, many pro basketball teams, several pro hockey teams, several NASCAR drivers, and even the fictional favorite driver Ricky Bobby. My Florida Gator watch has the familiar toothy Gator logo in an orange oval set against a beautiful blue background. It looks great.

According to literature supplied with the Florida Gator watch, the Gametime Agent Series has a quartz movement and is shock resistant and water resistant down to 3 Atmospheres. The Gametime Agent series is covered by a limited lifetime warranty that mandates an $8.50 handling fee to service the watch. When my wife initially bought me the Gator Watch, I was re-assured to see that a tiny plastic spacer was preserving watch battery life by keeping the watch stem from being pressed in. Nothing is more annoying to watch buyers than seeing a battery-powered wristwatch ticking away valuable battery life in a store case.


As a Gator fan, the team logo immediately biases me in favor of this wristwatch. Beyond the officially licensed Gator logo, the Gametime Agent Series watch has sharp styling. The black bezel rotates easily and can be used to measure elapsed time with the first twenty minutes marked with white 1-minute hash marks and additional hash marks every five minutes around the bezel. Legible white numbers are placed on the bezel at 10 minute increments. From a distance or on casual examination, the GameTime Agent series watch does not look cheap and would not be embarrassing in any social situation. Fit and finish are good and meet typical expectations for Chinese-made consumer products.

The watch is light weight and easy to wear all day. This NCAA-licensed watch is sized for men without being a clunker. The Gametime Agent series watch has a 1 and 5/8-inch diameter face and 3/8-inch thick body. My Gator watch does not have the weight, heft, or polish of my larger multi-function watches. However, the Gametime Agent Series team watch functions well and the Japanese movement kept accurate time over two days of observation against an accurate clock. Since I have rather large wrists and have trouble finding watches that fit, I was most impressed by the generous 10-inch band length provided.

Of course, no $30 wristwatch is perfect. Even a Gator wristwatch has a few flaws, for example the Velcro wrist strap looks like it would be difficult to remove from the watch. Since the wrist strap covers the stainless case back, it is difficult to read the etching on the back and it would be difficult to change the battery. The Velcro band is backed by typical black nylon webbing and tends to trap heat and perspiration. This NCAA licensed watch also lacks "glow in the dark" or back light features. You also won't find any calendar features on this inexpensive Gator watch. This watch just doesn't provide the date or day. Finally, at $8.50, the warranty handling fee hardly seems worth the trouble if the watch breaks.

Overall, I'm pleased with my GameTime Agent Series wristwatch. It simply looks nice and allows me to show support for the Florida Gators every day.

Friday, November 28, 2014

Christmas Gift Ideas: Watches for Women

At Christmas time, we traditionally exchange gifts with family.  It's a good time to look beyond the typical dude watches we want and think of gifts for other people.   We may even want to consider watches for some of the women in our lives.

Flipping through the pages of my wife's InStyle and People Style magazines, I see plenty of great watches at attractive price points.

If you are headed to the mall, you can hit the watch counter at Sears.  You wouldn't think of the struggling giant as a place to buy jewelry, but they often have good deals on Armitron, Bulova, and Caravelle watches.  I'd recommend a look at women's Armitron watches with Swarovski crystals.


If you are looking for something more upscale, Macy's department store is a good place to start.  They carry plenty of women's watches that have style and class.  The designer brand, Anne Klein, offers a variety of nice watches at Macy's starting at $95. But, you can find Anne Klein Watches here for less!

If you are looking for a gift for a special lady, this is a good time to consider a watch.

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Great Gift Watches: Men's Invicta 8932 Pro Diver Watch

For the duration of this holiday season, I'm going to keep an eye out for great Christmas gift watches and black friday alternatives.  If adventure wears a watch, it surely wears a dive watch.  Of course, the tone for dive watches was set by the original Rolex Submariner.  It's a wonderfully capable and iconic watch.



However, it is priced well beyond the means of most of us.  Fortunately, there are plenty of watches that are inspired by the classic Rolex design.


One of the most attractive and affordable is the Invicta 8932 Pro Diver.  It's a nice looking dive watch with a quartz movement.  Plus, with 200 meters of water resistance, it's not a bad watch for taking a swim.  The 39 millimeter case will look at home on any wrist.  This watch makes a respectable, but affordable, Christmas gift.

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

New Watch Brand at Walmart: Marathon by Timex

I noticed another new watch brand at Walmart:  Marathon by Timex.  If you are a fan of digital watches, you'll find that this new brand offers traditional Timex digital features like a stopwatch, alarm, and indiglo lighting at a much lower price point:  $15.88


 It looks like a pretty tough bang around watch and a great watch for kids and adults who like to play outside.   For less than $16, the watch makes a great stocking stuffer this Christmas.


Monday, November 24, 2014

Great Watch Deals: ZuluTimeZone Insignum

My friends over at ZuluTimeZone are still blowing out there remaining inventory of Insignum watches at bargain clearance prices!  You can get a $250 Insignum watch for less than $75 + shipping.  All of the watches feature contemporary German design and quality control. 

Insignum is a fledgling brand from Germany.  They combine German engineering and Asian manufacturing to bring an affordable high quality watch to your wrist.  However, as I understand it, the brand seems to have withdrawn from the American market to focus on Europe.  That means you get a European designed watch that NO ONE in your office will be wearing.

The Insignum Forum Black 3 Eye Sports Chronograph shown below looks great.  But, the ZTZ clearance sale is a no returns, all sales final, while supplies last kind of deal.  If you want a great deal, you need to jump on it.

Insignum Forum Sports Chronograph

If you peruse the rest of the ZTZ website, you'll notice a couple of great buys.

First they have a pre-sale going for Android Parma 200 Automatic Dive watches.  These are limited edition watches that can be ordered with a free kit.  The Android Parma 200 offers 200-meter water resistance and a traditional dive watch look with a bit of Android flare that looks really good.

Second, you might notice another interesting brand at affordable prices: Techne. They've got some really sharp looking aviation inspired watches like the Techne Merlin at prices that compete with the department store watches that everyone wears.



Sunday, November 23, 2014

New Watch Brand at Walmart: globlu

On a recent excursion to Walmart, I noticed a new watch brand:  globlu.  These watches sell for only $11 and they have dial lighting system similar to the famed Timex Indiglo system.  As my watch boxes are overflowing, I didn't buy or try any of these watches.  However, they might be a good choice for a bang around watch.


To activate the dial light, you simply press the offset "pusher" button at the 1 o'clock position.


Sometimes I think Walmart just puts these low prices out in order to push name brand suppliers like Timex, Casio, and Armitron to keep prices low.


In terms of style, these watches are pretty generic.  However, globlu watches are an interesting option if you are in the market for a low cost watch.  With the holiday season approaching, they also might make a good stocking stuffer.

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Beautiful and Affordable Armitron Watch for Men

Armitron makes watches that come in at a variety of price points.  It's not considered a particularly prestigious watch brand.  But, when the designers at Armitron sit down and decide to make a great looking watch, they make a great looking watch.  I've gotten plenty of compliments on Armitron watches over the years.

For example, the Armitron below often draws double-takes, second glances, and questions.  People are always surprised to learn that it is an Armitron watch.  You can read my original review of this watch here.


Armitron Men's Stainless Steel Quartz Watch

Armitron Model 20/4859GNSVBN

If you are looking for a really nice watch that fits into your Christmas shopping budget this year, you'll want to check out the latest Armitron watches for men on Amazon.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Is this Jaguar the Perfect Car for my Drive by Citizen Watch

As the winter chill finally makes its way down to Georgia, I ran across the perfect car to go with my Drive by Citizen EcoDrive watch!  It's a black Jaguar XK!  With a 5-liter V-8 and a top speed of 155 miles per hour, it would definitely get me to work on time.


Drive by Citizen - Eco Drive Watch
It think that this Jaguar would really complement my wardrobe and watch collection.  Since these black cats start at only $84,500, I'm only about $84,600 away from owning one of my own!

Fortunately, we can all afford the watch! If you'd like to read a review of my Citizen Eco-Drive watch, click here:

Wristwatch Review: Drive by Citizen Men's Black Ion Plated Eco-Drive Strap Watch

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Official NHL Watches

One thing we don't make a big deal about in the south is hockey.  It's too bad.  We could enjoy the coolness of a hockey rink and the sport confirms that Yankees can be rude--with all those checks into the boards.

LA Kings Hockey Player:  PHoto By Kaz Andrew (Flickr: NHL Hockey Players (1)) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

In Atlanta, we lost our NHL team to some place in Canada.  We still have a great minor league team called the Gwinnett Gladiators.


If you are a hockey fan, it is time to gear up with jerseys, hats, and even watches.  There are plenty of officially licensed NHL team watches on Amazon.com.



Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Super Cheap Watches on Amazon.com

Usually, I look to Walmart and Sears for super cheap watches.  While they aren't prestigious, they can give you an interesting look for less than $20.  However, I've noticed that there are some nice looking inexpensive watches on Amazon.com as well.

While I'm not fond of non-functioning sub-dials, this watch from Somen Tungstenlooks great. All of their watches are affordable and have a fashionable and contemporary style.


However, cheap quartz watches aren't the only option on the huge online retailer.  inexpensive skeleton watches abound at price points under $25.  I thought I got a great deal at Walmart a few years ago when I got this skeleton watch for $50.  But, now there a plenty of skeleton watches to choose from online.


I've never heard of Youyoupifa watches before, but they sell for low prices and have fairly decent reviews.


With all these inexpensive watch options online, you can try out a look for just a few dollars.

Sunday, November 9, 2014

Choosing A Job Interview Watch

What kind of watch should I wear for a job interview?  

It's a common question.  When it comes to job interviews, I like to dress in a conservative suit with a very nice tie.  I choose a watch that is tasteful, but not distracting.  I like for that watch to be from a reputable, but not extravagant brand.  Typically, I wear a Pulsar, Seiko, or Bulova watch for job interviews. 


I like the band to be metal and I usually prefer silver tones to gold.  I think silver or black goes best with navy blue or gray suits.  I don't think brown is appropriate for those suit colors.  I would reserve brown watch straps for wear with a tweedy combination of brown and tan or khaki.


For a job interview, I should be the center of attention not my watch.  The watch is a contributor to an overall look of professionalism, reliability, and polish.  For these traits, my Bulova has been getting the nod lately.


Here are some similar Bulova models:




Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Watch Sighting: Hamilton Aviator Khaki

Today, I spotted an interesting watch at work.  It was a Hamilton Khaki Aviation Pilot watch.  The Khaki is a design inspired by vintage aviation watches of the twenties and thirties.  



From across a conference room table, I could see it was an extraordinary timepiece.  It had a strong, slightly oversized, stainless steel case to present a military style dial with an outer ring of shiny numerals marking 5 minute intervals.  An inner ring provides the hours.  A comfortable looking crocodile strap kept it securely on the wearer's wrist.  

Overall, it looked like a very nice automatic timepiece.  The entire line of Hamilton Khaki Aviation watches looks exciting.  When a meeting steals your soul, you can soar with your timepiece.

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Florida-Georgia Game Day Watch

Today, at 3:30 p.m, the Florida-Georgia Football game is played in Everbank Stadium in beautiful Jacksonville, Florida.  My Florida Gators have had a tough season this year (2014).  We've lost some tough games and some of our stars haven't reached their potential.  Our coach Will Muschamp is definitely on the hot seat.  However, I hope that the Gators can overcome their problems and come together for an upset victory over the Georgia Bulldogs.  It would be a stunning upset and there's nothing more fun than upsetting a football rival.

Jacksonville Florida Skyline - photo by Jonathan Zander [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://ceativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or CC-BY-SA-2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons


My official watch for today's game will be one of Game Time's Florida Gator watches with our toothy logo front and center. Amazon.com has a ton of them!


However, Bulldog fans shouldn't fret.  They can get a wristwatch of their own.  Of course, they may need to get someone to help them learn to read it. This one is super fashionable.


How did the 2014 Florida-Georgia game turnout?  The Florida Gators surprised Georgia with a fake field goal for a touhch down and then chomped down on the Bulldogs.  They never let up with an amazing running attack and beat them 38-20.

As a English major who graduated from Florida in the late 80s, I know victory doesn't make the hero.  Overcoming adversity, facing challenges, suffering set backs and then rising to victory makes heroes.  I hope that the team enjoys the winning feeling.  If they persevere, fight hard and win many of the remaining games, they'll be bowl bound!