Sharp Watch Shout Out: UNDONE Basecamp Classic Military and Vintage-Inspired Automatic

If you're willing to experiment with a new brand, you might be well rewarded.  The new brand, UNDONE, has some great looking offerings on Amazon.  This 40mm diameter watch has the venerable Japanese NH35 automatic movement, a Lexan polycarbonate lens, and an attractive leather strap.

UNDONE Basecamp Classic

This watch offers a unique and very attractive look for less than $400. It also has 100 meters of water resistance for real performance. This Hong Kong-based brand makes rugged and beautiful watches across their entire product catalog. But, this Basecamp Classic earns them this week's sharp watch shout out. It's just a great looking watch. To see it on Amazon, check out this product listing.

Wristwatch Review: Tahari Diver-Style Watch

Recently, I've been wearing some of the inexpensive watches that I picked up over the summer. This one from Tahari is one of my finds from watch shopping at Burlington. For $20 to $25, this Tahari watch checks many of the Diver-style watch design boxes on my list. 

Poolside with my Tahari Men's Watch

Tahari Watch Style

Fashion designer Elie Tahari is best known for women's fashions and accessories. In the days of disco, he popularized the tube top. The vast majority of Tahari labeled products are aimed at women. However, under Bluestar Alliance brand management, the Accutime produces a limited number of Tahari-branded watches for men. However, I found Tahari branded men's watches at Burlington and you sometimes see them on various online auction sites.

My Tahari diver-style watch has a dodecagonal (12-sided) bezel that does not rotate. Around the circular dial white numeral batons are edged with gold tone as are the hour and minute hands.  A thin second hand is also gold-toned.  The gold tone is continued with the crown.  It's a nice look that is not overwhelming or gaudy.

As a fashion watch, the Tahari is not for swimming or diving

The watch is comfortable to wear with a soft strap and it doesn't stand overly tall on the wrist for easy wear with long-sleeved shirts or business attire. According to the caseback, this watch uses a standard SR626SW watch battery. As an inexpensive watch, you can readily see that the bezel is simply molded into the case. It's a minor detail that reveals that this one is a cheap watch.

Tahari Watch Construction

Without an online listing of this watch, I have to assess the materials by look, feel, and labeling. The watch has a stainless steel caseback and a somewhat slick feeling case that I presume is a base metal. It doesn't have the solid feel of a stainless steel case or the flexibility of a plastic case. It has a flat crystal that seems like the glass crystals of most Accutime watches. The strap is generously long and made of "simulated leather."  I would not count on this watch having any water resistance beyond minor handwashing splashes. However, for a $20 fashion watch, I feel that the build quality of this one is pretty decent. Accutime certainly knows how to mass produce quartz watches with lots of brand names at match various price points.

The Tahari Dive-Style watch for men has a generous simulated leather strap

Tahari Watch Dimensions

This Tahari watch has rather large, manly man, dimensions. The case is 47mm in diameter and 10mm thick with 24mm lugs.  From the tip of one lug across the watch to the tip of the opposite lug is about 55mm.  I like that that strap fits my rather large wrist and is long enough to fit both keepers.  Overall, this watch is large without being obnoxious and is easy to read and easy to wear.

This Tahari watch looks good when the lights are low

Tahari Watch Overall Impression

I like this watch.  It's one of my favorite cheap watches.  It's lightweight and comfortable for all day wear.  It's also very easy to read. Most importantly, this Tahari Men's Watch simply looks good. 

Watch Wearing Wednesday: Mexican Food with my LaCoste 12:12 Quartz Watch

Sometimes an alligator (or crocodile) gets hungry and you have to feed it.  Such was the case recently, when I wore my LaCoste 12:12 quartz watch out on the town.  You can tell the little guy is famished at 3 o'clock!

The LaCoste Crocodile Logo on the LaCoste 12:12 Quartz Watch

Since this basic black LaCoste watch is always fashionable and ready to go, it was no problem to take him out to a local Mexican restaurant.  Here he is lurking suspiciously near our appetizer chips and salsa.  Stay out of my salsa pond crocodile . . .

The LaCoste 12:12 Quartz Watch

Finally, the main course arrived. I opted for a shredded chicken chimichanga which came with rice and a small tortilla bowl of a pico, guacamole, and sour cream.  From the LaCoste's gaping jaws, I'd imagine it was after the chicken.

The LaCoste 12:12 with a Chicken Chimichanga

While this was just a silly outing with a favorite casual watch, you can read my full review of the LaCoste 12:12 quartz watch here.  For an assortment of LaCoste watches for men (including the current LaCoste 12:12 TR90) bang it here for LaCoste Men's Watches on Amazon.

Watch Sighting: Ed Hardy Watches at Walmart

Guess what I just saw at Walmart? Ed Hardy wristwatches. You probably knew that from the title of this post. But, I was shocked and surprised to see sizeable watch aisle end cap full of watches from the famed tattoo artist's brand. Two varieties on display caught my eye. The first (below) has the famed Ed Hardy "Love Kills Slowly" design.

Ed Hardy "Love Kills Slowly" Watch

The second design (below) was a variation on the skull watch.  It's cool to see a skull sculped into the watch dial itself.  This one also incorporates a rose design into the strap and what appears to be a serpent weaving its way through the strap and the skull. It's nice to see the tattoo art that Ed Hardy is renowned for incorporated into the watch designs.

An Ed Hardy Skull Watch incorporating a rose and chain motif on the strap

At Walmart, both of these watches are only $20.98. If you'd like to check out a similar Ed Hardy Skull Watch, bang it here to visit Amazon. 

Once made synonymous with Jersey Shore and various reality TV and celebrity jackasses, the Ed Hardy brand has seen its ups and downs and has been in the hands of various branding companies for many years. Since 2021, the Ed Hardy brand has been licensed exclusively in North America by the American Exchange Group as part of a three year deal with the brand company Iconix Brand Group Inc. 

I never watched Jersey Shore and I don't keep too close of a track on fashion, so for me the Ed Hardy story boils down to a couple of key points:

1. You'll find Ed Hardy brand watches in Burlington, Ross, and just recently, Walmart stores for very affordable prices.

2. Ed Hardy's tattoo art is cool looking and has a lot of visual appeal.

It's kind of cool that the Ed Hardy brand and the artistry of these watches are now available to so many people through affordable outlets. I find that these watches definitely add variety to a watch collection. I'll probably add more myself as time and finances permit. 

 

Wristwatch Review: Armani Exchange Chronograph with Black Hands

Recently, I've been wearing a very stylish watch from Armani Exchange (A|X). It's an interesting watch in terms of comfort, wear-ability, and readability. 

A|X Chrono Watch Style

The Armani Exchange Chronograph is a fashion watch and style takes precedence over function. The first thing you'll notice is that this watch is black. Black case. Black Dial. Black hour and minute hands. Wait! Black hands? Yes, matte black hands. Isn't that hard to read? Uh, yes. You definitely have to look close and read this one deliberately.  The watch also has brighter markings for subdials and yellow hands for the second hand and subdial hands. However, on sunny days, the watch is quite a bit easier to read.

A|X Chrono Watch Construction

This watch has a black nylon case, a stainless steel caseback, and a silicone strap. It has 3 atmospheres of pressure (ATM) of water resistance which is equivalent to 30 meters of water resistance.  In practical terms, this watch is safe for handwashing dishes, rain, and washing the car.  However, you wouldn't want to immerse it in water.

A|X Chrono Watch Dimensions

The Armani Exchange Chronograph has a 44mm diameter case that is 12mm thick.  It has a 22mm wide silicone watch strap.  The strap has a generous length and fits my wrist comfortably. It's a light watch to wear at 2.05 ounces in weight.

A|X Chrono Overall Impression

As a designer watch at an accessible price point, the Armani Exchange Chronograph looks and feels cool. It has a nice casual look. However, the subdials are a bit hard to read and the date window at 4:30 on the dial is very small.  There is a chance that this watch might be aimed at a young market with better eyes.  If the style hits for you and the price is right, give it a shot.  You can find it here on Amazon. You'll also find some different color and case material combinations at the link.

Watch Wearing Wednesday: The Ed Hardy Skull Watch

Since the Halloween month is upon, it's time to break out a spooky watch or two. If you are looking for a little watch wickedness, check out this inexpensive watch from Ed Hardy. It's got the whole sinister skull thing going on.

Ed Hardy Skull Watch

While the black & white photo really makes the skull in relief on the dial pop, the watch is a bit more subtle in day-to-day wear.  Since the color scheme is black on black, you don't necessarily notice the skull from all angles and in all lighting.

Ed Hardy Skull Watch

If you'd like to check out a similar Ed Hardy Skull Watch, bang it here to visit Amazon. Keep an eye on this blog for an upcoming post on where I've found Ed Hardy watches lately!

A Dream Watch: Certina Men's DS Super PH500 Dive Watch

Sometimes it's tough to know whether to write a cool watch up as a Sharp Watch Shout Out or a Dream Watch, the Certina Men's DS Super PH500 is a bit of both.  With a retail price of just north of $900, it's certainly out of reach for many people--including myself as of this writing. However, it's not completely unattainable for enthusiasts who might scrimp and save for awhile or simply sell some other gear in order to get it. I'll call it a dream watch because the Certina DS Super PH500 is within our aspirations.

Certina Men's DS Super PH500 (Amazon Photo)

The cool thing about the Certina DS Super PH500 is that you get real performance for you money. This isn't a "Diver-Style" watch. This is a dive watch.  It's the real deal with 500 meters of water resistance and it's rated for swimming, snorkeling, or SCUBA diving. DS stands for double-security. Internally, the Nivachron(tm) balance spring is magnetic field resistant. Certina is serious about building rugged, high performance, sport watches.

Certina Men's DS Super PH500 Profile (Amazon Photo)

The Super PH500 is made in Switzerland and uses the venerable Powermatic 80 automatic movement that provides 80 hours of power reserve. The watch has presence on the wrist with a 43mm diameter case that is 14.95mm thick and the NATO strap that is 20mm wide.

I also like that you get serious history with the Certina brand.  They've been making watches for 130 years. Over the years, they've been involved with the Tektite under water living experiments and the highest ski run ever with a Japanese climbing expedition on Mount Everest. In 1983, they joined the SMH Group which was renamed the Swatch Group in 1999.

If you've been saving up for a new watch, you can get this one, the Certina Men'sDS Super PH500 Dive watch, here on Amazon.  For a look at the brand store, bang it here for Certina on Amazon.