Watch Wearing Wednesday: Caribbean Joe Watch with Blue Dial

Today, I'm wearing my Caribbean Joe Watch with blue dial.  It has decorative, non-functional, sub-dials, a quartz movement from Singapore, a stainless steel caseback, and a Chinese synthetic leather strap.  It's powered by an SR626SW battery. If the light blue color, doesn't suit your tastes, there are many similar available Caribbean Joe watches.  Here's a post on a Caribbean Joe watch I wore last year.

A Caribbean Joe Watch with Blue Dial

This watch costs somewhere around $20 and either came from Burlington or Kohls brick and mortar location. It's a comfortable watch: lightweight and easy to read. The white inserts on the hands help with reading the watch in low-light conditions. It has a bit of a vintage feel.  Initially, I was a little put off by the non-functional subdials, but they remove quite a bit of fussiness and actually makes setting and wearing the watch a low hassle experience.  As always, I love the little hut and palm tree. To quote a couple of musical greats, "It's 5 o'clock somewhere."

A Caribbean Joe Logo

Watch Wearing Wednesday: Caribbean Joe Cushion Case Quartz Watch

Lately, I've been wearing my new Caribbean Joe Cushion Case Quartz Watch. It was the Caribbean Joe watch I sighted a week ago. That's willpower. I held off buying it for a whole day. However, it was a great deal at Kohl's. With all the different coupons and Black Friday deals, I was able to get it for less than $20. It's pictured here at the Unclaimed Baggage store under the watchful gaze of professional diving equipment that was lost in the air transportation system.

A commercial dive mask appears to be looking at my Caribbean Joe Watch

The watch has non-functional subdials for decorative purposes. In some ways, I hate non-functional subdials. However, I'm also a little relieved not to have to fuss with setting the subdials. Once again, Caribbean Joe achieves the mission of achieving good looks on a low budget.

Watch Selection in Kohl's Stores Shrinking

 Over the past year or two, I've noticed the selection of men's watches continuing to shrink at Kohl's.

In one of my local stores, the selection is down to just two shelves of fashion watches.  The fanciest brands of men's watches in this Georgia location are Timex, Armitron, and Casio.  Many of brands are fashion labels like Caribbean Joe or Geoffrey Beane.

Unfortunately, the watches on display were very simple with few, if any complications.  It works out ok since my eyes don't pick up the small print of the extra complications on my watches.

Here is a typical Armitron watch that can be found at Kohl's now.  It's a pretty masculine-looking timepiece.  I didn't pick it up since I have plenty of simple watches in my collection right now.  

A dwindling watch supply leaves me with one major question:  what are dudes supposed to shop for at Kohl's nowadays?  It has long been a traditional favorite store for my wife and me, but I don't need but one air fryer. 

Watch this blog though. I'll soon have a review for an nice Caribbean Joe watch that I did find in the ruins.

Wristwatch Review: Zoo York Casual Watch Black Band and Yellow Dial

[This review is a reprint of my review of my Zoo York watch.]

Checking Out a Graffiti-Inspired Watch with a New York Vibe Can bold New York City "whatchoolookinat?" bravado be captured in a watch design? If any brand can do it, the graffiti art inspired Zoo York brand can. Check out this bold yellow Zoo York Watch to see if they can do it!

                                                                                                      
Some cities have an attitude. New York is famous for having a certain swagger and a bold, in your face, attitude. The challenge for watch designers is to bring that attitude and personality to a timepiece. The Germans have their precision and the Swiss have their craftsmanship. Zoo York tries to capture a bit of "Yo, whatchoo lookin' at?" The brand itself was inspired by the graffiti art movement in the New York City area. Renowned designer Marc Ecko was one of the brand's founding figures. The subject of this review is one of my most recent watch purchases: a Zoo York casual watch with a black case and bracelet and yellow dial.

Style. The dominant feature of this watch is its bright yellow dial and bold black ZY Zoo York logo. The intertwined letters evoke the famed New York Yankees cap logo, but are unique in their shape and font. The watch also offers a strong flat black case and metal metal bracelet that brings a bit of machismo to the party. If you don't like the flamboyant yellow watch, Kohl's currently has a version of this Zoo York watch with a plain black dial and no logo. In that black stealth mode, it is a perfectly appropriate conservative watch for any business casual workplace. Personally, I prefer the bold yellow dial. I may never be skateboarder, but I can have a skate rat watch!

Size. This Zoo York watch illustrates that you can go bold in a watch design without going big. The case is a manageable 45 millimeters wide (including the crown) and 13 millimeters thick. It fits under the cuff with ease. The bracelet is a comfortable 20 millimeters wide. However, I had to remove several links for it to fit properly. Fortunately, it was an easy operation with the Android watch repair and resizing kit that I recently won on mywristwatch.net.

Construction. This Zoo York watch has stainless steel caseback and what appears to be a base metal case. It is powered by a Japanese movement and the battery type is usefully marked on the caseback. The watch seems well constructed, but skateboarders should know that it is not ruggedized for sporting use.

Price. This Zoo York watch retails for up to $39.99 at Kohls. However, with all the Kohl's cash and other sale discounts offered by Kohl's, you can probably get the watch for a little less. Zoo York brand watches are also sold at J.C. Penney.
Quartz fashion watches can have fleeting time upon the shelf, but this one is demonstrative of the kinds of watches you may find with the Zoo York label. The Zoo York brand generally offers bold, creative, and youthful watch styles at an affordable price point. If you buy this watch, just be prepared for people to stare at it. This watch will be noticed. You won't have to challenge people with your best NYC "watchyoulookin'at?" They'll definitely be checking out your wrist watch!

Visiting the Watch Department at Kohl's

Kohl's is one of my favorite places to shop for watches.  Over the years, I've gotten some of my favorite watches from Kohl's.  If you haven't visited lately, you don't know what you are missing. [As of 2024, the Kohl's watch department is pretty much gone. Sunglasses and a Sephora makeup section have replaced the freestanding jewelry counter in many locations.]

One of the coolest watches that I ever found at Kohl's is this Relic Moonphase watch.  It's amazing to have moon phase features that you'd normally find on a expensive European watch on a quartz watch that costs less than $100.

 

A Relic Moonphase Watch from Kohl's

I found one of my best diver-style watches at Kohls. It was a Caravelle by Bulova with a rotating bezel. [2025 update: Unfortunately, the strap became brittle quickly and just didn't last long.]

  

Caravelle by Bulova from Kohl's

This Relic Sawyer looks slightly nautical in battleship grey. It looks even better by a Battleship.

 

Relic Watch at Kohl's


As of 2025, you can still find watches at Kohl's.  While the watch department is gone, you can still find off the shelf watches from brands like American Exchange, Caribbean Joe, Geneva, and Timex. This December 2024 visit to Kohls shows what you can expect to find.