Alas poor Lorus!

I knew this watch.  I put a new strap on it and, now, I'm wearing it again.  It's a little retro and a lot of no nonsense in a watch.  Plus, it's a Seiko brand.

Too bad they don't market them here in the United States.  It's another one from the back of my watch drawer.

It's Cheap Time - Acqua Analog Watch with Indiglo

I haven't posted a really inexpensive watch in some time.  So, here's a cheap $14 watch that I found at Walmart.  It's interesting because Acqua is a brand owned by Timex and this watch offers Timex Indiglo technology in the cheapest package ever.  It's a great little watch. 

Acqua Brand Watch by Timex

Watch Review: Vintage Timex Mercury Manual-Wind Watch

As I was rummaging through my watches last week (original post 2012), I came across my 1970s vintage Timex Mercury in its original packaging.  I bought it last year off of ebay in New Old Stock (NOS) condition.  It's a fantastic, manual-wind, watch. 

 

My New-In-Box Timex Mercury Manual Wind Watch

[Update: This article original posted a link to a review I wrote.  My original review was posted on Associated Content which was bought out by Yahoo! Fortunately, they let us retain rights to the articles. Here is that review of the Timex Mercury.]

 
Sometimes ebay offers the chance to step back in time. As a casual watch collector, I was intrigued by a listing for a New, Old Stock, manual-wind, Men's Timex Mercury wristwatch. With so many auctions depending on subjective descriptions of used items, I was excited by the prospect of buying a brand new vintage watch. It was an exciting item to win for $38.95 plus a small shipping fee.

When my Timex Mercury arrived, it was still in its original packaging. Amazingly, the mechanical marvel originally sold for $25.95 sometime back in the late 1970s. As I removed it from it's box, I was struck by the simplicity of the watch. It has a shiny chrome dial, black numerals, and black hands for hours, minutes, and seconds. Since the Timex Mercury predates the huge and clunky watch trend, the face of the watch seems a little small at a sensible 35 millimeters across. The watch is also around 9 millimeters thick. It's a slim watch by today's standards.

Timex Mercury

Like many modern analog watches, the Mercury also provides the day of the week and date in addition to the time. However, setting the day and date is a little cumbersome by modern standards. You have to rotate the crown counterclockwise to nine o'clock and then back towards three repeatedly. It isn't difficult, but I was glad to have the directions. The band is a hybrid of expansion band and strap features. Basically, the band has a metal strap made of expansion band material and a clasp that clicks into the links of the expension band. The band is 20 millimeters wide at the watch and tapers down to 15 millimeters wide. While the band sounds a bit complicated, the Timex Mercury watch is actually very comfortable to wear.

Amazingly, this 1970s-vintage Timex has withstood the test of time and still keeps good time. You simply have to manually wind the watch each day. If you are a collector, playing with a watch is not a hardship. The shiny metallic look, dome-style crystal, and functional design of this Timex watch draw lots of complements. The design is simply timeless. The Timex Mercury was introduced in 1961 for only $8.95. Timex sold huge numbers of these watches during the sixties and seventies. The Mercury name even lived on into the 80s and 90s on quartz watches with Indiglo features. Needless to say, vintage Timex watches are regularly available from ebay, Etsy, and other auction sites at affordable prices.

Overall, this Timex Mercury was a great addition to my watch collection. While high end brands may have more prestige than Timex, nifty, cool, and affordable are adjectives that work well for me!

 

Back of the Drawer Time!

Lost, Misplaced, and Seldom Worn Watches

Have you pulled out all your watches lately?  Have you found a few that you haven't worn in a while?  Why aren't you wearing them?  Go get that battery.  Go get that new band.  Try 'em on and wear 'em!  They've been waiting for you!  

Vostok Amphibia Strap Replacement

I really messed up the metal bracelet on my Vostok Amphibia.  I just put this old Soviet Submariners watch on a velcro band and made it wearable again.

Vostok Amphibia Watch

My Lost Brigada Watch

As of June 2024, I just found a really cool dress watch that stuffed in a storage bin and couldn't find for about 6 months.  I looked and looked and looked. They package it in a small, long, box about the size of a pen case.  Once it's tucked away, it definitely stays tucked away.  This watch is the Brigada "Swiss Brand Classic Gold" Dress Watch and you can find the white dial version of it on Amazon. It's one of the least expensive dress watches in my collection and it's one of the sharpest looking designs.

Brigada "Swiss Brand Classic Gold" Dress Watch

Reflections on a Rolex Watch

It's shiny, substantial, and perfectly functional.  It's a Rolex Submariner Date Watch.  Of course, it's not mine.  It belongs to a co-worker.  Ever since he got it, I've been checking the iconic luxury watch out from afar and taking mental notes on my observations.  My co-worker's Rolex looks like the one pictured here.

To read more about it, check out my article:  Dream Watches - The Rolex Submariner Date Watch.

 

Photo: By LuckyLouie at en.wikipedia [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons

If you have the means to buy this legendary watch, then Amazon has your watch and has it for a good price, you can find it here: Amazon Rolex.

Need a Nerd Watch - Check out the Casio Classic Calculator & Calendar Watch

Wristwatch Review: Casio Classic Calculator and Calendar Watch.

I've built up quite a collection of watches, but I haven't had much nerd watch cred.  Until now...

It's a classic calculator watch from Casio.  That's model CA53W-1 for all the uber-nerds out there.  It's definitely a nerd watch!  But, I'm ready for a math word problem at any time!  

Updating this post in 2024, here's my review from 2012 -

Long, long ago, when digital watches were new to our planet, the calculator watch was a stunning technical achievement. Now, it's a fondly nostalgic timepiece for retro nerds. Of course, when I walked into my apartment wearing the Casio Classic Calculator and Calendar Watch, I soon found out that not everyone is nostalgic about it.

  "Is that your geek watch?"
 
  "Yeah, it's my nerd watch."

  "Did you wear that to work?"

That quick conversation with my wife let me know that I wasn't getting any cool points for wearing a calculator on my wrist. My week of wearing the Casio Classic Calculator and Calendar Watch wasn't off to a great start. It's a digital watch that prepares wearers for an adventure in math. It's not a glamorous vision.

The watch itself (model CA53W-1) is functional and provides time, date, stopwatch and calculator functions. The display gives you the time and day of the week at a glance. A push of an exposed button on the right side of the watch activates the calculator. A second push shows you the time for the alarm. A third push displays a second timezone time and a fourth button push gets you to the 1/100 of a second stopwatch. A smaller recessed button is pressed when you want to set the time or alarms. The stop watch is started and stopped via buttons on the calculator.

The Casio Calculator watch is water resistant to 30 meters and survived when I got caught in a sudden rainstorm. However, with all the buttons on this watch, I'd prefer to keep it dry. The calculator works and is convenient to have on hand (or wrist). You can expect 5 years of battery life with this watch. The Casio Calculator watch itself works well, but has a few drawbacks. First, the numerals and markings on the calculator keypad are small. I need to use a a magnifier or reading glasses to see the numerals and functions. Second, this watch does not have the same button navigation pattern of most watches so there is a slight learning curve. Third, I was unable to find any light to illuminate the face of this watch at night.

While this Casio Classic Calculator and Calendar Watch is perfectly practical, the main reason to own this watch is nostalgia. When the digital watch first arrived on the scene in the 1970s, it was truly a marvel. It evolved from the LED digital watch to the LCD digital watch and then to the calculator watch. When the calculator watch was introduced, it was truly a marvel. However, the features of today's more expensive digital watches far surpass this humble Casio that sells for $19 at Walmart. You can get watches like the Casio Pathfinder Hunting Timer that tell you when to go hunting or fishing. Other watches provide compasses, altimeters, and Global Positioning System (GPS) functionality. But, all those wonders started with the calculator watch. For that reason alone, this Casio Calculator Watch is a worthy addition to any watch collection.

Amazingly in 2024, the Casio Classic Calculator and Calendar Watch (Model CA53W-1) is still in production and available on Amazon.

Thrift Store Clock - Westclox Dialite

I spotted this interesting vintage clock at a local thrift store.  It plugs into the wall, has a very smooth continuous motion second hand, and cost less than $3.  Plus, it was made in the U.S.A.

A vintage Westclox Dialite Alarm Clock

Amazingly, you can still find similar clocks on Amazon.  You just won't find them with a "Made in USA" logo on the dial.  You can find this Equity by La Crosse Alarm clock that brings back much of the look.

An Equity by La Crosse Corded Alarm Clock

Rugged "Bang Around" Watches for Men

If you are like me, you need a watch that you can "bang around" with and not worry about too much.  They can't cost too much and they have to look cool.  Fortunately, lots of inexpensive watches fit the bill! These are some of the best inexpensive sport watches. Here are some of my favorites in no particular order:

Timex Ironman Triathlon

You can read my review of the Timex Ironman Triathlon here on this blog.

"Walmart Tactical"

This watch (above) that I dub the Walmart Tactical watch looks every bit as macho as some of the tactical watches that cost big money.  But, I found it at Walmart for an amazing $10.

Casio Forester

The Casio Forester (above) is a classic cheap watch.  It's great for kids or adults--especially if they still climb trees and walk about in the woods.  You can read my full review of the Casio Forester here on this blog.  To buy one for an amazing Amazon price, bang it here.

Timex Expedition Camper

The Timex Expedition Camper is another classic bang around watch.  It has a simple design that is easy to read and reminds me of a military watch.  You'll find many variations on the Timex Camper theme here at Amazon.

Timex Expedition Core Analog

For a larger watch dial and more contemporary style, check out the Timex Expedition Core Analog watch.  For less than $50, there's a lot to like about this watch.  You can buy it here on Amazon.