Wristwatch Review: Men's Merona Round Dial Analog Dress Watch

A Dress Watch that Looks Great for Less A review of a sharp looking Merona men's round dial analog dress watch from Target. This quartz movement watch offers a polished professional look but fits into the tightest budget. (This is a reprint of my review originally published on Yahoo.)

If you are looking for a professional-looking dress watch to wear for work or special occasions, you should peruse the men's watches at Target. The big box department store's Merona watch brand offers some sophisticated wristwatch options. The Merona Men's Analog Round Dial Dress Watch (Model FMDM219-99) offers a very upscale look for only about $15.
 

Merona Analog Watch

What's the Merona secret? The quartz watch movement is a mature technology. This means that there are a wide variety of accurate timepieces to choose from regardless of brand. As a consumer, the key differentiators between quartz watches are style and extra features. Off brand and house brand watches can often provide the style and appearance of high end brands at a fraction of the cost. Marketing expenses are much reduced for a house brand.

One major way Merona cuts cost is by having non-functional, decorative, sub-dials on some watches. I've avoided many Merona watches for a long time because I personally like everything on any watch I buy to have a functional purpose. However, I recently found a pure dress watch by Merona that I really like. The watch has a dark graphite gray band and case and a smooth two-tone black face. The face has an outer bezel-like ring of pure black around a lighter black face with a slightly bluish cast. It mimics a high end Movado by placing a single bright crystal at 12 o'clock and having simple hash marks at five minute intervals. The ultimate effect is one of smooth simple elegance.

Surprisingly for a watch of this price, the Merona has a Japanese movement and a nicely etched stainless case back. The case back reveals the brand, the replacement battery needed, and that the watch has a base metal bezel. The band is metal and incorporates links divided by circles. It adds to the upscale look of this inexpensive watch. Of course, if you look at every surface very, very, closely, you'll notice that the "diamond" at 12 o'clock is just a small glass chip surrounded by a foil reflector. You'll also notice that the fit and finish of this watch not as perfect as a fine Swiss time keeping machine. However, this Merona is a $15 watch and it certainly competes with brands like Armitron, Casio, and Timex. From any distance, this watch will look great to the casual observer.

Overall, this Merona is a store brand watch that the wearer can be proud to wear and would be perfectly appropriate for a job interview, a date, or any formal occasion.

Cheap Wristwatch Review: Merona Men's Tanker-style Dress Watch from Target

Merona watches continue to impress with this tanker-style watch with Roman numerals.  This review is reprinted from Yahoo Contributors Network and covers a dress wristwatch that only looks expensive.


Americans tend to think that anyone with a British accent is intelligent, insightful, and worth listening to carefully. Just as the accent works for some commentators, Roman numerals work for dress watches. In an interview situation, a man wearing a dress watch with Roman numerals may have the advantage. Fortunately, the Merona Men's Tanker-style Dress Watch from Target provides those Roman numerals at a bargain price.

The Merona Tanker-style watch (model FMDM220-135) looks great. This watch has a hefty rectangular case that looks high end. The face of the watch is also rectangular with slight rounding at the top and bottom of the watch crystal. The background is a neutral grayish-green that can mix well with khakis, greens, and grays. The watch hands, five-minute hash marks, and Roman numerals are shiny, chrome-colored, metal raised from the background surface. The metal bracelet band is broad (about an inch wide) and it fits my nearly 8 and 1/2-inch wrist perfectly. The band is Chinese-made stainless steel with flat, brushed, steel on the outside edges of each link and a shiny middle section for each link. It looks like the only way to adjust the size of the band is by removing links. The bracelet itself is one of the most comfortable that I've worn. In contrast to adjustable clasps, non-adjustable clasps seem smoother against the inside of my wrist. This is a watch that you can wear all day.

If this watch was a Swiss-made automatic with slightly fancier Roman numerals, it might be expensive. But, this Merona watch eschews the mechanical engineering wizardry of a fine automatic in favor of a reliable Japanese-made quartz movement . As an offering from Target's house brand, this watch is expected to be stylish and affordable. Merona watches hit their price points and styling objectives well. My only criticism of this watch is that setting the time is not a precise as it should be. If you are careless when pushing in the crown after setting the time, you may find the watch off by a minute or two. It's a minor problem that is solved simply by being careful when setting the time. As a cheap watch, this Merona doesn't have any back light or glow in the dark elements. This is a low-key, daytime, watch for work with a style that is perfectly appropriate.

Overall, I think that a nice Merona watch like this one can be an essential element of a low cost men's wardrobe that looks like a high cost wardrobe. I would not hesitate to wear mine in any formal or professional situation. For $20 or less, Target has a winner in this Merona Men's Analog Watch.

Merona and Mossimo Wristwatches: Fail

Target had an exciting sale on watches last week.  They had buy-one-get-one-50%-off.  I popped a Mossimo and a Merona brand watch into our cart.  I thought that they successfully channeled the Panerai case shape in more modern quartz watches.  However, when I got them home, I found out that they just didn't work for me.

Merona and Mossimo Watches from Target

The winding stem for the black-on-black Mossimo watch (bottom) came off in my hand while I was setting the time.  The canvas-looking black strap on the Merona watch (top) was a tad too tight and felt a lot like cheap card board.  Even though it was only $30 for the two watches, since they didn't work for me, they'll be going back.  I probably should have stuck to the Casio and Timex selections.  These things happen.

C'mon Target - Let's See Some Cool Watches!

As a Target shopper, I've been pretty disappointed with their watch selection lately.  The watch selection seems to be shrinking and they have few premium watches.  With the exception of some nice Timex watches and some decent low end Casio watches, they just don't have much on display. 

It's a little disheartening because I've gotten some really nice watches at Target over the years.  For example, my Merona Tanker-style Watch looks great!

It's a definite contrast with the watch department over at Walmart.  They seem to be offering a wider selection of watches and higher quality watches!

A Merona Diver-Style Watch from Target

For $19.99, you can't really get much of a diver's watch.  But, you can get a pretty nice looking "Diver-style" watch.  This Merona Diver-Style Watch from Target looks good and is a steal for $19.99.  However, I wouldn't try to scuba dive with it!

You'll notice that the case shape has a passing similarity to that of higher end dive watches like this Citizen Promaster Aqualand:

By .Naklig at el.wikipedia (Transferred from el.wikipedia) [Attribution], from Wikimedia Commons

Perhaps you see a bit of this Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean in the humble Merona? 

By Naklig (προσωπική εργασία) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Of course, if you want a real dive watch, you might check out this Seiko Adventure Kinetic Diver Watch:

Do you like watch complications? How about fake ones?

I have this Merona Watch from Target that looks like a million bucks. But, it has a secret: the Subdials don't work! They are just there for appearance sake. They bug me. Do they bug you?

A Merona Watch from Target with Fake Subdials

[12 years and many watches later in 2024: I'm not so keen on subdials and I'm ok if they don't work.]

Store Brand Watches: Ma-Ma-Ma My Merona from Target!

A Look at a Merona Tanker Watch

In this era of Far Eastern commodity manufacturing, you can sometimes get amazingly attractive products for incredibly low prices.  My Merona watch from Target is an excellent example of a good product for a very low price.  It's a simple, but incredibly sharp looking, watch that costs $15 or less.

A Merona Wristwatch from Target

[As of 2025, I'm not sure I have this watch any more. It might have gotten purged in a move. It also might also be in storage. In retrospect, I think I'd like a tanker watch with more of a classic vintage look.]