My Grail Watches: The Bulova Frank Sinatra "Fly Me to the Moon" Automatic

It's been a very tough year economically. It has certainly forced me to reset my personal hopes and dreams for my watch collecting hobby. The luxury and ultra-luxury watch stratosphere seem far out of reach. That doesn't necessarily mean giving up watch collecting, but it will mean focusing on affordable watches and attainable luxury watches. I've created a list of realistic grail watches. They are all watches I would like to buy sometime. But, realistically, it may take months of effort and struggle to add any of them to my collection. Fortunately, I've got plenty of watches to tide me over during these scary times.

This Bulova Marine Star is a classic at any price!

Let's take a look at the first of the five watches that are currently on my grail list. This is a watch that I always look up on Amazon and that I always think about buying.

Grail Watch Number 1: Bulova Men's Frank Sinatra "Fly Me to The Moon" Automatic

Bulova has long been an American-brand and, even under the ownership of Citizen, it remains a watch designed and inspired by American culture. The Frank Sinatra series of Bulova commemorative watches is a prime example of American cultural inspiration. To my eye, the Frank Sinatra "Fly Me to The Moon" Automatic is the very best looking of these watches.  As of this posting date, the watch is on sale for 35% off. This brings the price down to below $550. It's not cheap. But, it is an attainable luxury watch. 

Bulova Frank Sinatra "Fly Me to the Moon" Automatic (Amazon Photo)

I like everything about this watch: Sinatra Signature, sunray dial, gold-tone numerals and markers, the exhibition case back. It's all good. If you'd like to see it, I've got an Amazon affiliate link. You can get it yourself or to give as a Christmas gift. You can even visit it regularly to dream and drool. Check it out here:

Bulova Frank Sinatra "Fly Me to the Moon" Automatic on Amazon

Watch Sighting: Armitron Multifunction Gold-Tone Bracelet Watch

If you are ever going to get a 65-foot sailboat with endless decks of beautiful teak, you are going to need to visualize yourself as a yachtsman.  Fortunately, Armitron can help with this Men's Multi-Function Dial Gold-Tone Bracelet Watch.  They call it model 20/5144BKGP, but I think you could call it your yachtman's watch.  Here's a quick photo of it that I took at Walmart.

This watch has a stainless steel case, a mineral crystal, and 165-feet of water resistance.  While this isn't a watch for snorkeling or diving, it would be just fine for short periods of recreational swimming.

Despite the rich yachtsman looks of this timepiece, it is actually a very practical watch. I think this Armitron would make a great gift this Christmas for anyone who likes a gold-tone watches. It offers a brilliant gold tone in a dressy but functional watch from a well-known company. At less than $100, this Armitron also comes with an affordable price tag that won't crush your gift giving budget.

Watch Sighting: Wenger Off Road Watch with GMT Dial

Still looking for a great gift idea for a man?  You might check out this Wenger Off-Road GMT watch.  It offers rugged good looks, a Swiss-made quartz movement, a unidirectional rotating bezel, and water resistance down to 100 meters (for swimming or snorkeling).  The 42 millimeter diameter case and 22 millimeter wide strap are perfectly proportioned for most men.

The small red hand on the dial should be set to point at the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).  The Greenwich Mean Time is the time at the Prime Meridian (0-degrees longitude).  When you read the GMT, you can mentally make the adjustment to any familiar timezone.  For example, Atlanta, Georgia, is GMT -5:00 hours.  When it's 7:30 a.m. at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich England, it's 2:30 a.m. here in Atlanta.  You can check your time difference here at GreenwichMeanTime.com.  There are a wide variety of ways that aviators and other professionals can use a GMT watch..

The Greenwich Royal Observatory - Photograph by Clem Rutter, Rochester, Kent. (www.clemrutter.net). (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Gift Ideas for the Watch Collector

Do you have someone on your list who is a watch collector?  Is it tough to find a great gift for him?  Are the watches he likes hard to find?  Is it tough to guess his style?  Are the watches he collects out of your price range?  Does he scoff at consumer grade watches sold in stores?  Does he turn his nose up at the quartz watches that mere mortals wear?  Does he have so many watches that you are afraid of duplicating something he already has?  Well, worry no more!  I have three great gift ideas for the hard to shop for watch collector on your list.

Diplomat Watch Winder

1. A Watch Winder.  Automatic mechanical watches are generally wound while being worn by the wearer.  However, if you have a collection or you don't wear your automatic watch every day or every other day, they will eventually stop and need to be wound again.  However, you can get a watch winder that rotates the watches many times every hour or so.  This winds the watch so that it will keep the time accurately and be ready to wear.  Watch winders can vary widely in price.  I found mine used in a second hand shop for about $20.  But, new a Diplomat watch winder can vary widely in price.  Upscale purchasers can even buy find watch winders in mahogany or other fine woods.


2. A Watch Box.  If your favorite watch collector has more quartz watches that automatics or conventionally wound manual watches in his collection, a nice watch box is a great gift and good way to protect a watch collection from scratches.  A watch box organizer answers the age old question:  How do you store your watches?

A watch box for storage & display

3. A Watch Repair Kit.   Finally a watch repair kit comes in handy for resizing watch bracelets, replacing watch straps, or changing batteries.  There are many varieties, but if you aren't going to a watchmaking school in Switzerland, almost any choice will do.

A Watch Repair Kit

Holiday Gift Ideas: Citizen Eco-Drive Watches

When you give a watch as a gift, you like for it to have some special characteristics that make it unique.  But, when you can't fly to some exclusive watch maker in Geneva for a timepiece, you can find yourself in a pickle.  On our more affordable middle class plane of existence, many people turn to respected watchmakers like Citizen.  The Citizen Eco-Drive watch is a special watch.  It's a watch that can liberate its wearer from the tedious chore of changing batteries.  The Citizen Eco-Drive line of watches has one of the most sophisticated solar power plants in the world of horology.  Once charged, a Citizen Eco-Drive watch can run for six months in the dark.

My first Citizen Eco-Drive was called "Drive by Citizen" or some such marketing thing.  I'm wearing it as I type.  I've had it for just over a year now and it is still going strong.  The leather band remains soft and supple and the styling is masculine and appropriate for any situation.  You can read my full review of the Drive by Citizen watch here.


My second Citizen Eco-Drive watch is this classic design that obviously draws inspiration from the vintage Citizen watches of the past.  It's a great watch to wear to the office and looks great with khakis.  There is nothing to indicate that this is a solar watch, but it can run for six months in a dark sock drawer.  You can read my complete review of this stainless steel Citizen Eco-Drive watch here.

Last Minute Gift Ideas: Watches from Retailers

It's officially the last minute for Christmas Shopping.  If you haven't bought a gift by now, it's nearly time to panic.  But, there are still some nice watches available.  You just have to figure out where to shop.  When I shop for watches in person, there are three stores that I frequent:

Walmart. (See my article Pssst....Check Out The Watches at Walmart)  Walmart has lots of stocking stuffer watches for less than $15.  They also have a great collection of Timex, Casio, Armitron, and Elgin watches.  If you are looking for a gift that counts as a "nice" watch, you can't go wrong with a Casio G-Shock from Walmart.  They have a pretty good selection and good prices.  One caveat, the amount of merchandise offered varies a lot from Walmart to Walmart.  Typically, better zip codes (in terms of Audi, Lexus, and Volvo vehicles per zip) have better merchandise.

Stocking Stuffer Watches at Walmart

Typically, I've found the Elgin watches at Walmart to be a little over-blinged. [As of 2025, the dedicated watch counter at Walmart seems to have faded into oblivion, but they still have dedicated shelves with lots of inexpensive watches from their brand George and watches from Casio and Timex. You can read more about George brand watches in my post = TGIF: Are George Watches Any Good?]

Elgin Watches

T.J. Maxx.  If one store is consistent in surprising me with great watches, it's T.J. Maxx.  Major cities like Atlanta typically have at least one "Runway T.J. Maxx" with the best fashion merchandise.    See my article "Watches at the Runway T.J. Maxx in Atlanta".  You can often find watch brands including Bulova, Croton, Wenger, Tissot, Tommy Bahama at T.J. Maxx.

Kohl's.  My other go to store for watches is Kohl's.  Check your junk mail for a catalogue with a pull off coupon for something like 10 to 30% off of your purchase.  Also, if you've already bought from Kohls this season, you might have Kohl's cash coupons.  To see what a good deal from Kohls looks like, check out my article:  "The Anatomy of a Good Deal at Kohls."

If all else fails, there is always a Gift Card from Amazon, you can either send them via e-mail or print them out at home! An Amazon gift card can be a life saver when it comes to gift giving!

Finally, if you want to give something really cool, gift the gift of Amazon Prime.

Shop Amazon - Give the Gift of Amazon Prime

Your recipient will get great deals on shipping, lots of free e-books, and plenty of streaming content and the click of a mouse or the tap of a finger.d luck and happy holidays!

[As of 2024, I'd fade Kohl's from my list of places to shop for watches.  The watch counter seems to have faded into oblivion.  They still have inexpensive watches from Geneva, Caribbean Joe, Casio, and Timex. As a good alternative, I might recommend Ross.]

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!

Watch Gift Ideas for Black Friday

Happy Thanksgiving!  Now that everyone is stuffed from Thanksgiving Dinner, it's time to make plans for the biggest shopping day of the year.  Black Friday is when Americans beat down the doors of their local big box retailers and start buying Christmas gifts with gusto.  Naturally, wrist watches make fine gifts!

If you are thinking about shopping online, I invite you to check out some of the advertisements on this blog:  Bulova Box, Casio Corner, Timex Timeout, and the Watch Slides.  I've built these areas with links to good affordable watches from Amazon a respected retailer.  Except for the Bulovas and some of the watches in the slides, I own many of these watches and you may find my reviews in links from this blog.

If you are looking to save money this Christmas, check out this article on watches that fit low budgets:

Seven Great Men's Watches for Less Than $30 

Watches at Walmart - circa 2011

Good luck and Happy Watch Hunting!

[Even returning to this post in 2024, I'm glad to say that Walmart still has plenty of interesting looking cheap watches.  Most of them are still priced below $20.00.  If you pop over to Amazon, this link has a search for men's watches under $30.  You'll find plenty of names like Casio, Armitron, and Timex with watches in that range.  Many Chinese brands offer additional watches for less as well.  The hunt continues.]