Ten Dollar Tuesday: EOJOMIN Gediyar Men's Large Big Face Watch

Today's $10 watch is sold on Amazon by EOJOMIN. It's a Gediyar-branded "Men's Large Big Face Wrist Watch Waterproof Silicone Band Watch for Men Quartz Analog,Easy Read Male Dress Date Luminous Sport Watch Elegant Gift." It comes straight out of China's Guangdong Province and its stuffed with keywords, a familiar dial pattern, and a quartz movement. All for well under $10.

EOJOMIN Gediyar Men's Large Big Face Watch (Amazon Photo)

This one is a bit of a challenge to my buying sensibilities because the large numerals on the dial 02, 03, 04 are an obvious homage to Diesel watches that aren't that old. I actually do want to get a classic Diesel watch with those iconic big numbers someday.

Gediyar Big Face Specifications (Amazon Materials)

Despite the big face name, this Gediyar watch is practically sized at 45mm in diameter with a normal 11mm case thickness. The silicone strap is also generously sized at 22mm wide and 25 centimeters long. User reviews show the watch marked as having a stainless steel caseback and the case is noted in the description as being a steel alloy case. The watch comes in a variety of color combinations and is a great looking timepiece for a very low price. If you'd like to check it out, bang it here to visit this watch via my Amazon affiliate program link.

An Italian Outing with my latest US Polo Assn Watch

 A Small Adventure to Review a New Watch

On one recent night, my wife and I decided to break out of our dining rut with an outing to a nearby Italian Restaurant. I wore my US Polo Assn sport watch with a orange dial. 

It isn't an expensive watch and it's not from a prestigious brand so I wondered how it would look at a dining spot that was a tad fancier than a local sports bar. Some men test their watches on Alpine slopes, other men find their watches' limits on jungle hikes, and others take their watches into the depths of the sea. I'm content testing mine at a slightly fancier Italian restaurant.

US Polo Assn Watch Style

The first real test of this watch was when the lights were turned down a bit. In the low lamplight of our restaurant table, would I still be able to read this watch. The answer was a resounding yes. The dauphine hands of this watch had just a little strip of white and a gold tone that was clearly readable. The 43mm case and lack of sub-dials also contributed to the readability of this watch.

A US Polo Assn Quartz Watch with Orange Dial

The next challenge of this outing is weather the watch would have the sophistication needed for a civilized restaurant. The answer again from this US Polo Assn watch is yes! It has Roman numerals, baby! What more do you need? How about applied Roman Numerals not just painted ones. This watch simply hits all the style points.

US Polo Assn Watch Construction

This US Polo Assn watch was constructed by Accutime and has a stainless steel caseback. The quartz  movement is from Singapore. It uses a common SR626SW watch battery and has a press-on caseback. Over time, I've found that Accutime makes good quality watches.

US Polo Assn watch against a Mediterrean backdrop

While I didn't get this watch wet, it seems sufficiently well-constructed for this Italian Riviera scene on a restaurant wall mural. With it's sunny face, the watch actually seems to fit right in. The watch appears to be reliable and has not lost any time in the few days since this restaurant outing.

US Polo Assn Watch Pricing

I found this watch as Burlington for just $19.99. That low price tag frees up plenty of money for a night out on the town that includes a great pasta dish! Typically, US Polo Assn watches cost between $18 and $35. This makes them affordable under almost any circumstance.

Rigatoni with sun-dried tomatoes, asparagus, and chicken

Overall Impression

For an inexpensive watch, it looked great on my wrist and I enjoy wearing it. This one didn't have the signature polo ponies in relief on the dial, but I think their absence may have also helped this watch fit into any surroundings. Low price quartz watches like this often do a great job of evoking a classic watch look.  If you like the look of a US Polo Assn watch, don't hesitate the buy it. This one is great looking and an excellent value proposition. I left the restaurant satisfied with my meal and with this US Polo Assn watch!

A nearly quarter to nine, it was time to head home but not on this vintage Vespa

Where to Buy US Polo Assn Watches

You can generally find US Polo Assn watches at retailers including Burlington and JC Penney. Fashion watch styles come and go and the brand seems to have an endless variety.  You can see many US Polo Assn styles out here on Amazon. This brand is a good reminder that you don't have to buy prestige brands to have a nice looking watch.

Wristwatch Review: Nibosi Stainless Steel Chronograph Watch

The Nibosi Stainless Steel Chronograph for men is is one of the Chinese watches that has to worry traditionally low-priced watch brands like Armitron, Casio, and Timex. It provides a good look, chronograph functionality, and what seems to be a factory-direct price on Amazon. It's a competitive watch now and only a few minor flaws stand in the way of it being an outstanding watch choice at its price point.

Nibosi Stainless Steel Chronograph Watch

Nibosi Watch Design and Features

The design of the Nibosi Chronograph is a solid.  It has the expected three watch hands plus three functional sub-dials that provide the 24 hour time, the elapsed seconds and elapsed minutes as chronograph features. Like most subdials, they are a little difficult for me to read as a watch enthusiast in my late 50s. The date window is canted at the 4:30 position which may be upsetting to some. I don't mind it.  The outline of our planet with longitude and latitude lines is etched into the dial background. Hour marker batons are thin chrome or stainless steel that matches the watch finish. The watch has a stainless steel bracelet secured by a deployant clasp.

The Push-button Deployant Clasp on the Nibosi Chronograph

Nibosi Watch Construction

This Nibosi watch has all stainless steel construction and seems quite solid. At this price point, it is an unexpected. The inside edges of the watch are a little sharper and rougher than the same places on more established brands like Casio or Timex. This is the one flaw that is noticeable on this watch. The effect on comfort is negligible, but might be noticed by some wearers. I found the watch fairly comfortable for extended wear. But, removed it from time to time when typing for long periods.

The Nibosi Case Back

The watch is marked as 3 Atmosphere or 100 feet of water resistance and the construction quality seems like it would easily provide that level of water resistance.

Nibosi Stainless Steel Chronograph

Nibosi Watch Dimensions

This timepiece has a 42mm diameter case and 22mm diameter bracelet. It's not too thick either. The bracelet comes a little long and has a link removal tool included in the packaging so that it can be adjusted down to fit.

The Nibosi Stainless Steel Chronograph is no classic, but it's pretty cool!

Overall Impression

Overall, the Nibosi Stainless Steel Chronograph provides tremendous value. It only costs about $20. I found it comfortable and substantial on my wrist. If you are looking to scratch the watch bug at an affordable price point, I'd recommend trying Nibosi out.

Where to Buy Nibosi Watches

You can find the Nibosi Stainless Steel Chronograph here on Amazon.

Wristwatch Review: Geoffrey Beene Black Diamond Sports Watch with Decorative Subdials

If you are looking for a simple grab and go watch that is fine in office or casual settings, this quartz Geoffrey Beene Black Diamond Sports Watch with Decorative Subdials might be a good choice.

Geoffrey Beene Quartz Sports Watch with Decorative Subdials

Watch Construction

This watch has a stainless steel caseback and synthetic leather strap which is very adjustable and generously sized. The quartz movement is powered by a common SR626SW battery. The diamond is a tiny gem diamond that is barely discernable on this watch due to the dark dial color and lack of reflective flashing around it. The case appears to be a good quality base metal and is has a gun metal finish. The synthentic strap is attractive and lengthy enough to fit my fairly large wrists with a bit of room to spare.

Geoffrey Beene Black Diamond Sport Watch

Watch Style

This Geoffrey Beene watch is dark and understated. While the dial is a dark green, the color is only apparent in bright sunlight. The watch has a canted date window between 4 and 5 o'clock on the dial. I can only read the date when I'm wearing reading glasses. The crystal has a gentle dome quality. The ends of the hour and minute hands are generously painted white. This makes the watch much easier to read than some dark, mono-chromatic, watches. With this dark color, there really is no need for fake subdials. They are present, but can barely be seen. 

Geoffrey Beene Black Diamond Sport Watch

This watch has a 41mm diameter case that is 11.5mm thick. It's a nice balanced size that will allow it to fit easily under a dress shirt cuff and have presence on the wrist in short sleeve situations.

Overall Impression 

This Geoffrey Beene watch is a basic comfortable competent watch. It looks good and is comfortable to wear. It's not an overly exciting watch, but it is a good affordable and comfortable watch to wear anywhere and be able to tell the time.

Where can I get this Geoffrey Beene Watch?

This is one of the many watches that I've picked up at Burlington over the past year and it was a steal there at around $20. However, finding one takes a bit of luck. You can still find one of these "Black Diamond" watches in blue online at Amazon. Amazon also has regular Geoffrey Beene Diamond watches.

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. 

Wristwatch Review: Armitron Men's Date Function Dial Bracelet Watch

Many watch branches are reviving vintage watch looks with great fanfare. But, the big secret is that vintage watch looks never really went away. They were normalized in countless normal quartz watches that are available at low cost from retailers all around the country. A great example of a modern watch with a vintage vibe is my latest Armitron watch. It's model 20/5497. It's a simple straight forward analog quartz watch.

Armitron Stainless Steel Quartz Watch with Date Function

Watch Construction

The watch is an all stainless steel watch with a stainless steel bracelet.  In a world where plastic and base metal cases are common, all stainless steel construction seems unusual at the sub-$30 price point.  The watch also has a very slightly domed mineral glass crystal.  The bracelet and the watch case incorporate flat and shiny silver tones.  But, the dial is done in a deep navy blue.

Watch Dimensions

This Armitron watch has a sensible 40mm case that is 9mm thick.  However, the bracelet could have been a little longer.  I found the watch to be just a bit snug on my wrist.  It also had a double-locking foldover clasp that didn't provide any easy way for me to easily adjust the size.  Instead, I opted to get a nice 20mm nylon strap from Bisonstrap to replace the metal bracelet.  The result was a good look and a strap that matched the dial.

Armitron pictured with BisonStrap 20mm Nylon Strap

Overall Impression

Overall, I really like this Armitron and I'm glad I got an alternative strap.  It's a nice watch for everyday wear and it's equally comfortable at work or on the weekends.  I think it was a treasure to find at Burlington.  However, you can easily pick this Armitron up on Amazon for an amazing price.

Walmart Sub-$10 Diver From MZ Berger

Every once in awhile, I'll find a gem among in among the cheap watches st Walmart.  I unearthed one of those gems recently in the form of a watch I call the Walmart Sub-10 Diver.  It's a diver style watch made by MZ Berger.

Walmart Diver Style Watch by MZ Berger

This diver-style watch successfully evokes the looks of famous dive watches at an amazingly low price.  The hands have arrowhead points like those of an Omega Seamaster.  The bezel has nice and clear numbers and dive style markings, but does not rotate.  The silicone band is supremely comfortable and has a red pastel color that will appeal to unisexuals.  I wish the band was black.  However, both men or women can wear this watch.

Walmart Diver Style Watch Up Close

The most incredible feature of this watch is the everyday low price.  For only $7.88, this watch is a great deal.  At that low price, replacing a watch strap is simply trivial.  If you are looking for a cheap timepiece that you can leave in your shoes at the beach this summer, this Walmart watch is a great choice!

Wristwatch Review: Timex Weekender Men's Tachymeter Analog Strap Watch

Reviewing a Good Looking Tachymeter Watch for a Reasonable Price

The new Timex Weekender watches bring an element of refinement and style to everyday watches.

Timex Weekender with Tachymeter Markings

(This review is a reprint of a review that I published several years ago on Yahoo.  However, the Timex Weekender continues to sell well.)

Timex is known for reliable, no nonsense, wristwatches that are sold for reasonable prices. The new Timex Weekender watches exemplify those sensibilities, but bring an element of refinement and style to everyday watches. Most of the Timex Weekender watches have a slightly preppy Northeastern look. However, one version (model T2N638) has a leather band and tachymeter markings around the bezel. In terms of styling, this model lies somewhere between preppie-dom and more serious men's watches. At Target, this Timex is well-priced at $34.99.

Timex Weekender Illuminated with Indiglo Backlighting

The face of this Timex is clean and white. It provides a strong contrast to the large black numerals that are traditionally placed at five minute intervals. Small but readable numerals (13 through 24) set inside the primary numerals aid in keeping military time in accordance to the 24 hour clock. The 15 on the military dial has been replaced by a small window that reveals the date in the same font. Timex keeps the fact that you need help remembering the date a private matter between you and your wristwatch. This watch is easy to read without being an "easy reader."

A Traditional Timex Weekender with Strap Set

On a daily basis, this Timex Weekender is a practical watch. The crown pulls out to two positions: one for setting the date and the other for setting the time. It is a small touch, but it sure beats manually rotating the hands through about 60 revolutions to set the date. The leather band is comfortable, but a little narrow for my tastes with 18mm lugs and a tapering shape. The narrow leather band allows the watch to rotate a little on my wrist. I'm debating whether to replace the leather band with a more secure canvas or black rubber variety. My wrists are a little less than 8 and a 1/2 inches in diameter and I had 2 more holes available on the band.

Since I was unable to reach 400 miles per hour on a public highway, I was unable to fully test the tachymeter. Basically, small markings on the bezel allow the wearer to measure how fast they are going. To use, you wait until the second hand reaches 12 o'clock and pull the crown. Then you travel to a measured mile and push the crown in when you pass the marker beginning the mile. When you've travelled to the end marker for the mile, you pull the crown again. The second hand will line up with markings on the bezel to indicate your speed. For example, a mile in 45 seconds minute is 80 miles per hour. If your family car is really fast, a 9 second mile is 400 miles per hour.

Overall, the tachymeter version of the Timex Weekender is an affordable, practical, and stylish watch.

Watch Review: Mens Folio Analog Quartz Watch from Kohls

It has been a while since I reviewed a cheap watch for this blog.  But, tonight, I'm reviewing an inexpensive "commodity quartz watch" from the Folio brand sold at Kohls.

This Folio brand analog watch has a reliable Japanese quartz movement encased in a flat-finished, gun metal gray, base metal case.  It has a matching bracelet.  The caseback is stainless steel.

The dial is the focal point of the design.  It has a dark gray center on a gun metal gray background that matches the watch case.  The hour positions are marked by gun metal gray engraved areas of the dial that act as subtle hour batons.  A semi-circular arc of light blue runs from one o'clock to six o'clock serving as a border between the gun metal gray periphery of the dial and the dark gray center.  The hands are black with a thin line of white lume.

The case is just under 2 inches in diameter (I'd guess approximately 48 millimeters) in diameter.  The bracelet reinfoces the solid, masculine, nature of the design by being a just under an inch wide (I'd guess 22 millimeters).

The watch is made by FMD, a major supplier of store brand watches.  This watch retails for around $30.  By shopping sales, using a Kohl's card, and using Kohl's rewards cash, you should be able to get it for less.

Watch Companies: You Better Bring It!

Here is a perfectly respectable Embassy brand watch at Kmart.  It has a reliable quartz movement and probably sells for around $14.99.

There's nothing wrong with this watch and I'm sure it will work well for whomever buys it.  Here's the thing - if a rather generic Kmart watch looks this good, why not buy this watch instead of a more expensive brand name watch? 

This watch is a warning to Timex, Casio, Armitron, and all the other watch companies out there.  Anybody can make a straight forward quartz watch that works well.  If you want to make the sale and wow your customers, you better bring it!  You need to bring watches to market that turn heads, attract customers, and make them want to buy.  If you are an established watch company, you need to have great watches in stock at every outlet even Kmart, Target, and Walmart.

[As of 2025, Kmart is a distant memory. Embassy watches are only oddities on eBay and Etsy. But, the threat to the watch industry remains. Now, customers can buy watches directly from manufacturers via ecommerce megasites like Amazon and Aliexpress. Brands like Nibosi, SKMEI, and Baltany are challenging watchmakers big and small. It's a big threat to traditional watch brands.]