Watch Sighting: Versace Men's Stainless Steel Watch

I recently got a glimpse of this handsome Versace watch.  It features Roman numerals, a handsome bezel, and the famed Versace Medusa logo.  The watch has a sensibly size 41 millimeter diameter case.

At the heart of this quartz watch, the venerable Ronda 515 movement provides accurate timekeeping.   A date window at 3 o'clock provides a readable date.

I wasn't sure what the logo at 12 o'clock represented.  Initially, I thought that Versace must have had wild hair.  However, the logo actually represents Medusa.  The beautiful woman who offended Athena and was cursed with the snakes for hair, fangs, and who turned men to stone with her looks.  According to the Versace site, the Medusa logo actually represents Medusa pre-snake when she was at the height of her feminine beauty. It's an interesting bit of trivia about an iconic fashion brand.  Now you can find similar to this and other famed Versace watches on Amazon.

Dream Watches - TAG Heuer Carrera

One of the luxury watch brands that taunts me as drive around town is TAG Heuer.  They seem to have bill boards all over with the area with their ubiquitous #DontCrackUnderPressure hash tag.  It's a cool hashtag for a cool watch brand.  The famed Swiss watch company was founded in 1860 by Edouard Heuer.  It started making automobile dashboard clocks in 1911.  It has also been associated with racing since the early 1950s.  It's no wonder that I like their classic race-inspired Carrera Tachymeter watch.

A TAG Heuer Carrera Watch

While I'm sure that the local jeweler that taunts me with billboards offers fine service and a great selection.  There are also many TAG Heuer options to choose from on Amazon.  That makes it easy to browse and dream without any pressure at all.

Three Affordable Diver Style Watches

Every man has an inner James Bond. That James Bond is evoked every time a man takes a glance at the dial of a dive or dive-style watch. While we all can't afford a Rolex Submariner on a NATO strap, there are plenty of other dive style watches that do fit our budgets. 

Rolex Submariner Watches - Photo by Eternalsleeper at English Wikipedia / CC BY-SA (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)

Caravelle by Bulova Diver-Style Watch

The first dive-style watch that I added to my collection was this Caravelle by Bulova.  It's an awesome looking watch with the simple dial and rotating bezel that everyone likes.  Unfortunately, the rubber band used tends to deteriorate quickly and finding a replacement that doesn't cost more than the watch is a real challenge.

Caravelle by Bulova Diver-Style Watch

Fortunately, this watch (or one just like it), is available with a stainless steel band.  It makes perfect sense to have the dive look in a rugged package.

Pulsar Diver-Style Watch

If  you like a dive style watch with a black rubber strap, you might check out this Pulsar dive watch.  It gives you the classic look, a reputable watch manufacturer, and a strap in a standard size that you can easily replace when it gets worn out.

This black and business-like watch is Pulsar Model PXH227.  It offers 100 meters of water resistance so that you can actually get it wet and go snorkeling or swimming.

photo By Wusel007 (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Perhaps even better, is this Pulsar diver-style watch on Amazon with solar power and 100 meters of water resistance!

Casio Dive Watch 

If you want a great looking dive watch with 200 meters of water resistance and a great low price, you absolutely have to check out this Casio.

It features a Marlin on the dial and it looks great.  It also gets phenomenal ratings with 4 1/2 stars on Amazon.  Plus, it's priced lower than most of its competition!

Watch Sighting: Technomarine Cruise

I ran across an interesting watch in a North Carolina CostCo a few few weeks ago.  It is called the Technomarine Cruise.  It's a quartz commando diver-style watch and it looked really cool.  It has 200 meter water resistance which is good for swimming, but not for SCUBA diving.

Techno Marine Cruise Watch

The dial of this design is very masculine and it really has the commando style that I like.  At the CostCo, it retailed for a very reasonable price.  I checked out the Technomarine website, but found most of the other watches to be more colorful and more luxury lifestyle oriented.  While all of the other Technomarine watches look great, this is the only one that jumps out of the water in the middle of the night to slit throats and make the world safe for democracy.

The CostCo Price

According to Wikipedia, Technomarine was founded in 1997 by French entrepreneur and diving enthusiast Franck Dubarry.  In 2001, the brand moved its offices to Miami.  There were some reports that the watch brand was bought by Invicta in 2015.  It appears to be connected to Invicta and S. Coifman brand watches.  At least, their websites are all linked together.  The brand also sued CostCo for being a gray market retailer of their watches. 

All of this is intriguing and mysterious to me.  Perhaps, if you like Technomarine watches, you might want to buy them here on Amazon.

Orient Watches Available on Amazon

I'm on many watch company email mailing lists.  Much of the incoming mail goes unread but I almost always pause to check out email from one company:  Orient.  This Japanese company has been making high quality timepieces since 1950.  They make their own in-house movements.  From a design perspective, the company  covers a broad spectrum of watch types from conservative dress watches to sport and dive watches.  Orient makes watches worth collecting.

Vintage Orient Tristar 21 Jewel Men's Watch, Manual Wind - Photo By Joe Haupt from USA (Vintage Orient 21 Jewels Men's Watch, Manual Wind) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Now, Orient watches are available on Amazon.com.  That's cool.  If you like the convenience of Amazon or if you have a gift certificate or Amazon Prime, it's great to be able to find these watches conveniently.  According to the Orient USA website, there are 6 different categories of Orient watches:  Orient Star, Diver, Sport, Executive, Classic, and Ladies.

Orient Star Watches

The top line watches in the Orient product line up are Orient Star watches.  These watches have fine automatic movements that rival the best from Switzerland.

Orient Star - Classic Watch - Photo By David Guinea (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

As of 2025, you don't see many Orient Star watches on Amazon.  When you do find them, they are sent directly from Japan by third party sellers. However, those Orient Star watches that you do see are very nice timepieces. For example, this Orient Star RK-A0006S Contemporary Standard Watch is highly rated.

An Orient Star RK-A0006S Contemporary Standard Watch (Amazon Photo)

To check this Orient Star watch out, click here on my Amazon affiliate program link.  

To read my latest review of an Orient watch, check out this post on the Orient Bambino Version 3 here on my blog.

Exclusive Exotic Moto Koure Watches

[2025 Update - Back in 2016, we were getting excited about a microbrand called Moto Koure. They are out of business now, but the few watches that made it out into the market command high prices on ebay.]

Wow! What kind of watch is that?  It's the question everyone asks when they see a dazzling new watch.  In this case, the answer will be this is the quartz Moto Koure Mark I.

Moto Koure Mk 1 Quartz Watch

Moto Koure: it's an exotic sounding name for a watch brand.  For many years, we could only marvel at exotic, exclusive, and elusive watches from afar.  Truly unique watches with iconic looks and timeless style were reserved for the very rich.  Now, the micro brand watch revolution is changing all that.   Moto Koure stands out as an up and coming brand from Australia that is bringing quartz and automatic watches to the market with a unique and exciting style.

The Moto Koure name sounds like a Grand Prix race or rally held in the 1950s.  Those of us who grew up reading Road & Track may think of drivers like Juan Fangio and Phil Hill.  While the brand name incorporates founder Jason Koure's last name, the moto is indeed inspired by motorsports.

A moment in the 1954 Italian Grand Prix: Ascari (Ferrari 625) chasing Fangio (Mercedes-Benz W196)

Each watch in the Moto Koure Mk 1 collection evokes the look of a vintage sports car dash.  This racing green automatic Mk 1 shows a richly detailed square watch with two subdials ringed with chrome and set inside a "dash" of wood-grain.  A date window lies at 6 o'clock.  The watch has a scratch resistant sapphire crystal.  The case is stainless steel.  The Mechanical watches are based on the reliable Seiko NE88 movement.  I like the details of this watch.  Even the crown appears to be interestingly textured.  The pushers look broad and comfortable.  The rich leather strap evokes the interior detail of a vintage sports car. 

Moto Koure Mk1 Automatic

There are 8 models in the Mk 1 collection, four are quartz and four are automatics.  Moto Koure is now taking 50% deposits for these new watches.  As with most startup brands, early birds got the best deals. But, pre-production pricing is still available.  Right now, it looks like the quartz models will cost just under $350.  The Mecha-Quartz models are based on the venerable Seiko VK quartz movement.  The automatic watches will cost just under $880.   Watch production is expected in June 2016.

I like these Moto Koure watches a lot.  They have a design that is both classic and unique.  As watch collectors, that is just what we want from a micro brand.  Moto Koure is also keeping collectors well-informed of their progress.  It's exciting to see this brand's designs come to fruition.  You should definitely check out the website at www.motokoure.com.  It's worth a visit just for the pictures.

[As of 2025, the Moto Koure website and the brand has disappeared. If you were able to get one of these watches, you have quite the rarity.]

What kind of watch does Justin Bieber wear?

I recently ran across this Justin Bieber watch at Walmart.  It's a pretty goofy young Justin Bieber pictured on the box and dial.  The non-rotating bezel features Bieber's name as well.  The strap appears to be comfortable silicone.  Since this watch has probably been on the shelves for awhile, it might need a new battery.

Of course, he probably doesn't wear a watch like the one bearing his name.  According to blogger Amit Dev Handa, Bieber was spotted at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards wearing a Rolex 18K Gold Day/Date II much like this Rolex available on Amazon.

The young Justin Bieber favored digital watches like the venerable Casio G Shock.  Here are a couple of photos of the young popstar from 2009 and 2010.  Fortunately, you can easily find Casio G Shock Watches on Amazon.

A Young Justin Bieber in 2009 - Photo by Kevin Aranibar of Kerosene Photography from New York, United States [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Justin Bieber in 2010 - Daniel Ogren [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

I guess it pays to sell lots of watches with your image on them!  But, then again, there aren't any Bieber mug shots from back in his the G-Shock days.  Sometimes, a back to basics approach is the best path.