Watch Sighting: Raymond Weil Tradition Swiss Quartz Watch

I spotted this Raymond Weil Tradition Swiss Quartz watch at a Costco.  Raymond Weil is one of the last independent Swiss watch makers.  The firm was founded in 1976 by an experienced watch maker that struck out on his own during the height of the Swiss Quartz watch crisis.

Raymond Weil Style

From a design watch, this Raymond Weil is an interesting gold-tone dress watch.  The Roman numerals on the dial look modern and lean forward.  Yet, the watch itself is very traditional.  A small date window at 3 o'clock adds to the functionality.  This Raymond Weil Tradition model has a gold-tone stainless steel case.  With it's genuine Swiss pedigree, a Raymond Weil watch would look great in any business setting.  Even on the weekend, if your idea of casual is khaki slacks and rolled up sleeves on a monogrammed dress shirt, this watch would fit you well.  It has a classy understated look.

A Raymond Weil Tanker-Style Watch

They aren't as unattainable as you might think!

Watch SIghting: Bass Pro Shops Quartz Watches

This weekend my travels brought me to the Bass Pro Shops store located in Duluth, Georgia.  While I was shopping for other things, my journey through the store did take me past a display of inexpensive Bass Pro Shop-branded watches.

Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World Store - photo by Michael Barera [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0), CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

I had to stop and take a few spy photos so that you can see some of the inexpensive watch options available there.  The display square in the store shows five watches that can be found for $19.99 each at Bass Pro Shops.  Unfortunately, only a couple of these watch styles were available when I visited the Duluth, Georgia location.

The first style that caught my eye was the this militaristic camouflage dial watch with tachymeter.

The next watch to catch my eye was this silver-dial quart watch.  It gets middle of the road reviews on the Bass Pro Shop website.  The negative reviews point to the quartz watch simply running out of the juice.

The third watch is a simple watch with a diver-style bezel.  It's a basic watch with a nice solid look and a metal band.  Again a fairly good value for $20.

If you are shopping for someone who is into BassPro shops and the outdoors, a watch like this is not a bad deal.

Watch Sighting: A Timex Elevated Classics Gunmetal Tone Mens Watch at Walmart

I recently spotted this Timex watch at Walmart.  It is an interesting fusion of Diver and Military Field watch design elements.  As a low cost quartz fashion watch, it emphasizes looking good.    Unfortunately, the bezel does not rotate and the watch offers a minimal 50 meters of water resistance.  It's a day-to-day watch.

According to Amazon, this Timex is an Elevated Classic dress watch with a genuine leather strap.  It has a 42 millimeter brass case and a mineral crystal.  For under $50, this Timex is a great looking watch at a great price.  It's perfectly appropriate for any business casual environment.

Choosing a Zombie Apocalypse Watch

With the popularity of Zombie- themed movies and televison shows like The Walking Dead, it's only natural that watch collectors might wonder which watch would be best for surviving a Zombie Apocalypse.

Photo By Direction and cinematography both by George A. Romero (Screenshot from timeinc.net) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Would you choose an automatic, a quartz watch, or a solar watch?  An automatic or even a manually wound watch would free you from the need for batteries.  A solar watch would provide quartz accuracy with the inexhaustible power of the sun.   A traditional quartz watch would ultimately require watch batteries at some point.  Even an automatic is supposed to be serviced every few years.

Vostok Amphibia - photo By Matthew Bellemare (Flickr: Zissou Vostok Amphibia) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

One automatic watch brand stands out to me:  Vostok.  The Vostok Amphibia was the standard time keeper for the Soviet military for many years.  If you are pulling your SKS or AK-47 out of the gun room for the duration of a Zombie Apocalypse, the Vostok Amphibia definitely completes the look.  I'd suggest getting a paratrooper or tank commander version for maximum effect even if brainless Zombies aren't impressed.

The Vostok is a very tough watch.  In fact, the primary consideration in choosing a Zombie Apocalypse watch would have to be ruggedness.  When you look at pictures of the U.S. military in tough environments and combat conditions, the men and women of the military generally seem to be wearing Casio G Shock watches.  These watches provide unparalleled toughness and are affordable to middle class people.  In the U.S. Navy photo below, the trainee in a SEAL candidate class is wearing a G-Shock.

Since this is a high resolution image, we can zoom in and see the trainees watch clearly.  If a Casio G Shock is good for Navy SEAL BUDS training, it's probably good enough for the typical Zombie Apocalypse.

Casio G-Shock in Combat Training Exercise

TwoCiti Solar Dive Watches for the Sun and Sea

With summer just around the corner, the sea and the sun are beckoning many of us back to the beaches.  For watch enthusiasts, it brings up a question:

What's a good men's watch for both the sun and the sea?

If a watch harnesses the power of the sun, it allows you to enjoy quartz accuracy without ever having to worry about batteries.  As a watch collector with many a dead quartz watch to my name, I find solar power to be an awesome feature.

Francis CLERC, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

While a quartz solar watch may never have the collectible cachet of a Swiss-made mechnical watch, it would remove many hassles and open up a whole new world of reliability. That's why I've recently been surfing for solar powered alternatives to traditional quartz or mechanical watches.

I've recently found a couple of watches that might be perfect for the sun and sea.  They come from the Seiko family.  One is a Seiko and one is a Citizen. 

Seiko Prospex Solar Dive Watch (Amazon Photo)

The first watch is a Seiko Prospex Solar SNE 595P1 Dive Watch (above) with 200 meter water resistance and a unidirectional rotating bezel.  The watch is nicely proportioned with a 41 millimeter diameter case that is a comfortable 11.3 millimeters thick. It is a nice looking watch from any angle.  Check it out using my Amazon affiliate link here

Citizen Men's Eco-Drive Pro Master Sea Eco Dive Watch (Amazon Photo)

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The next watch I like the looks of is the Citizen Men's Eco-Drive Pro Master Sea Eco Dive Watch.  It gets extra cool points for having GMT watch functionality. This watch has a 44 millimeter diameter case that is 13.5 millimeters thick.  It has a wave textured polyurethane strap that is 22 millimeters wide. If you like the look, check it out here using my Amazon affiliate link. [This post was updated in April 2026]