Watch Wearing Wednesday: The Perry Ellis Deep Diver

A Last Look At Fall Foliage in Atlanta

It was a dreary day here in Atlanta yesterday.  Many trees have given up large numbers of leaves. A short jaunt to my local coffee shop turned into a bit of a leaf looking and photography expedition. My watch for the day was my Perry Ellis Deep Diver.  It's thin case and somewhat dressy look make its unidirectional rotating bezel, screw-down crown, and 200 meter water resistance a bit of a surprise.

A Perry Ellis Deep Diver watch against a backdrop of trees

Nature isn't far away

Before the onset of our admitted short winter, I tried to find a little color. It's the last part of fall and the trees are giving up their leaves. One of the things we've found here is that you don't necessarily have to go to the mountains to see the fall foliage, there is much fall color to be seen in the city and close in suburbs. You don't have to venture out of a shopping center parking lot to find trees with vivid yellow leaves and vast piles of fallen ones.

Fall Foliage in the back of an Atlanta area shopping center

Wildlife in Atlanta's Chattahoochee River Corridor

The area near the Chattahoochee River is quite wooded with lots of wildlife corridors. My wife and I have seen animals including an American mink, a skunk, a bobcat, a boar, red foxes, grey foxes, coyotes, and turkeys. Some local residents have even seen bear wandering through the area.

The Perry Ellis Deep Diver among the leaves

The neighborhoods have preserved many hardwood and decorative trees.  They offer the most colorful foliage. Of course, since there are many mansions of the well-to-do in the area. Sometimes you'd like to linger longer, but you don't want to arouse the suspicions of some of the neighbors. They give you that accusing look.

A suspicious neighbor eyes me up

A Glimpse of the Chattahoochee River

It's enough to make you skeedaddle over to the river itself. The river was a bit swollen from the rain in the region. I took this quick shot of the river from the parking lot of one of the area's more exclusive restaurants.

Way Up Yonder on the Chattahoochee River

It was nice to get out and take a glimpse of the foliage while we still had plenty of leaves and color.  But, as signs in the parking lot reminded me all license plates were noted and all vehicles were being record, it was time to move on. It was a nice 20-minute sojourn with nature and see the river on a damp and overcast day.

A glance at my Perry Ellis watch reminds me that it is time to head home

Check out this link for a full review of my Perry Ellis Deep Diver Watch on this blog.

Titanium Tuesday: Citizen Men's Ecodrive Weekender Casual Sport Watch

Should we have a Titanium Tuesday? The lightweight wonder metal is all the rage in the world of watch making. It has many advantages.  The metal is strong, light weight, water resistant, corrosion resistant, temperature resistant, and rust resistant. It also has a natural oxide layer that tends to self-repair light scratches. There are lots of affordable options for titanium watches in the marketplace. That's why I'll feature some here. The first up is this attractive Citizen's Men's Ecodrive Weekender Casual Sports Watch.  It's bright and cheery and will help you fend off seasonal affective disorder when winter gets dreary.

A Citizen Men's Ecodrive Weekender Sport Watch (Amazon Photo)

If found this one on Amazon.  It has a 41mm diameter case, a sapphire crystal, 100 meters of water resistance, a date window, and a bright orange dial.  One drawback is that the bezel is fixed and doesn't rotate.  But, the band is made of genuine leather.  If you'd like to check it out, bang it here to see it on Amazon. As of this writing (11/2024), the watch is listed at 16% off of the normal retail price.  It's a nice looking watch for everyday wear.

Watch Review: Joseph Abboud Quartz Watch with Green Sunburst Dial

One of my recent watch pickups is this Joseph Abboud Quartz Watch with a green sunburst dial.  It's a rather large watch that wears well and is easy to read at a glance.  The watch is a practical reminder that quartz watches with designer labels made by common manufacturers can perform the same mission as more expensive timepieces from iconic watch makers.   

A Joseph Abboud Quartz Watch

Like the Tudor Ranger and Rolex Explorer, this Joseph Abboud Quartz Watch can be used to tell the time. Unlike those far more esteemed brands, this watch can tell time accurately without winding for years. In fairness, this watch probably isn't as rugged as one of the legendary watches.  But, as a self-aware consumer, I'm also not as rugged as the adventurers who tout the iconic watches from the back covers of old National Geographic magazines.

 

Joseph Abboud Watch Construction

This particular watch was manufactured by E. Gluck Corporation.  They are the parent company of Armitron and make many designer and store-brand watches.  The watch has a stainless steel caseback and a reliable Japanese quartz movement.  The case and bezel are made of a base metal. The crystal is made of some sort of glass and is slightly domed.  It feels nice to the touch.  The numbers and lettering on the dial are raised and not simply painted on the dial.  It's a touch that gives the watch a rich look.

A Joseph Abboud Watch with a green sunburst dial

Joseph Abboud Watch Dimensions

This watch is big and bold with a 44mm diameter case.  Fortunately, it doesn't sit high on the wrist, the case is a slim 9mm thick.  The strap is a robust at 22mm wide at the lugs. The dimensions give this watch presence on the wrist. This watch is just a little bigger than the green sunburst watch that I reviewed here from Caribbean Joe.

The case of this Joseph Abboud watch is slim at 9mm thick

Joseph Abboud Overall Impression

I really like this watch. It's attractive, readable, and eminently practical. It's also nicely built in a way that looks high quality. According to the box, the full price of this watch was $150, but I was able to get it at the close-out discount store Ross Dress for Less for $20. It was a lucky find. On my social media [@the_watch_dude on X], I often retweet watch enthusiasts around the world who take photos of the big, bold, watches that they are wearing on their daily adventures.  This Joseph Abboud watch fits right in. I love the way it looks.

I think she's impressed by my Joseph Abboud watch

Watch Wearing Wednesday: Invicta Subaqua Noma III

This is a cool, casual, watch that makes quite an impression.  It's the Invicta Subaqua III.  It has a quartz movement and comes in a variety of color, bezel, and band combinations.  This one comes in the ionic-plated tones of gold or old bronze.  It's an awesome look for a nautically-inspired watch. You'll also notice that the watch has a translucent dial that lets you see the quartz movement and the date dial.

The Invicta Subaqua Noma III

This watch impresses from a distance with a 50mm diameter stainless steel case that is 17mm thick.  It's a big watch.  However, this Subaqua Noma 3 also boasts 200 meters of water resistance, but some of these watches claim up to 500 meters of water resistance.  At 200 meters, the watch should be great for recreational SCUBA diving. The watch has a screwdown crown and a protective clasp to keep it secure.

The Invicta Subaqua Noma III

The Subaqua Noma III may not be subtle, but it makes an impression and it looks great. The details of this watch will fascinate wearers for years to come.  If you'd like one of your own, bang it here to find a very similar Invicta Subaqua Noma III on Amazon.

Watches A to Z: Movado

Movado detractors deride the brand for being a commonplace watch choice among upscale American consumers.  But, the company is no upstart.  It has a long and storied history.  

Photo by Sumiemyra, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

The firm was founded in Switzerland by watchmaker Achilles Ditesheim in 1881.  Three Ditesheim brothers (Leopold, Isadore, and Achilles) combined their independent watchmaking concerns in 1892 to found L.A. & I. Ditesheim, Fabricants. It was one of the first modern factories in the watchmaking town of La Chaux-de-Fonds.  In 1905, the company was renamed Movado--which means "always in motion" in the international language Esperanto.

A circa 1950 Movado watch. Photo by - Bachelot Pierre J-P, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

As a watch company, Movado introduced many innovations. For example, in 1912, they introduced the Polyplan watch.  It was a tanker-style watch that curved to the wrist and had a movement that was angled  on 3 separate plans to allow the watch design to follow the contour. The original Movado Polyplan watch command thousands of dollars on auction sites.  But, this Peugeot Men's Classic Vintage Curved Watch (below), captures the essence of the design in an affordable quartz format.

Peugeot Men's Classic Vintage Curved Watch (Amazon photo)

In 1926, they introduced an art deco pocket watch called the Ermeto chronometer with a clever movement that wound the watch whenever the case was opened.

1928 Ermeto photo by Jafd88, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

In 1947, Nathan George Horwitt designed the Museum Dial watch that has become synonymous with Movado over the years.  This modern quartz version shows the variety within the concept with a black sunburst radiating from the classic golden dot.  You can find this Museum Classic with a Swiss Quartz movement here on Amazon.

According to the Movado Group website, Cuban refugee, Gedalio Grinberg founded North American Watch Corporation in 1965. That company acquired Movado in 1983. The company then evolved into Movado Group, Inc. In recent years, the company has built an impressive portfolio of watch brands including Ebel, Burton, and MVMT. It has also licensed brands such as Coach, Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss, LaCoste and Scuderia Ferrari.

Movado history keeps moving forward. A vintage watch from Movado recently made headlines. According to a recent article in the Robb Report, Winston Churchill's 1946 Movado Calendrograf watch will soon be auctioned off with an asking price of a cool $192,500.

With a rich history of over a hundred years, it is clear that Movado has a bright future ahead as a luxury watch brand.

Watch Wearing Wednesday: Izod Quartz Sport Watch

For this watch wearing Wednesday, my Izod Quartz Sport Watch got the call. I like the way this quick snapshot turned out with a local skyscraper and office building complex in the background and clouds reflected off the crystal of this watch.

An Izod Quartz Sports Watch with a skyscraper in the background

I like the black and red combination in this Izod watch.  Black and Red are almost the official sports colors here in Atlanta.  The Georgia Bulldogs (College Football), Atlanta Falcons (NFL Football), and Atlanta United (MLS Soccer) all use combinations of black and red.  The Atlanta Dream (WNBA Basketball) and Atlanta Braves (MLB Baseball) often use lots of red in their uniforms as well. 

Sunlight plays across the case and dial of my Izod

I got this watch for about $20 at Burlington Coat Factory.  Izod is one of the nicer watch brands that I find in their stores.  Since parting ways with LaCoste in the 1990s, Izod has positioned itself to offer goods at lower prices to a broader variety of people, but the brand still has a strong sense of style and identity. Here are some other Izod watches that I've come across over the years.

TGIF: Affordable Alternatives to the Rolex Explorer

Why We Lust for Rolex and What We Can Do About It!

We've been programmed to want them: the elite European watches. "They" put watches like the Rolex Submariner and Explorer on the back cover of National Geographic and on the big turns of every race track. Our movie heroes wore them.  Our favorite musicians wore them. Advertising and product placements fueled our desire. The watch lust became a part of us. Some succeeded in attaining that dream Rolex watch. God bless their energy, education, drive, and good fortune. But, many others among us found out that the world had other more sinister plans to move that dream further and further away.

A Rolex Explorer II (Rolex Explorer 2.JPG: TheMonster17derivative work: Pittigrilli, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

We learned that some watch makers will buy back models that don't sell well so that they can be destroyed rather than be liquidated at a discount. You will never luck out and find a Rolex at a T.J. Maxx or Ross Dress for Less store. If you're a western worker in technology, you'll undoubtedly feel downward wage pressure from low cost offshore competition and a vast pool of guest worker contract labor. Add in inflation usurping your purchasing power and the game becomes more challenging. Something has to give. Fortunately, there are ways to stop playing the game by their rules.

Finding Alternatives to Rolex

In this post, we'll look at affordable alternatives to the Rolex Explorer.  There are many great alternatives to that vaunted timepiece that won't break our bank accounts or divert money from other important financial goals.

Rolex Explorer I - Photo by Thierry Mostra-store, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Rolex Homage Watches

First, let's take a look at homage watches.  Homage watches have styles that are obviously inspired by iconic watches. Sometimes the watch is an almost exact copy that differs only in the logo on the dial, some materials used, and the internal mechanism that drives the watch. It's important to note that these aren't counterfeit watches. They are simply watches inspired by classic designs. Pagani Design offers affordable alternatives to several common Rolex models.  Take a look at their Rolex Explorer 2 GMT Alternative:

Pagani Design Automatic GMT Watch (Amazon Photo)

You can find the Pagani Design GMT Automatic here on Amazon for about 1/10 of the price of a Rolex Explorer II.  That's over $10,000 that could be used for investments or other purposes.

Alternatives to the Rolex Explorer I

The Rolex Explorer 1 is a tall order for most middle class watch enthusiasts, but a company called AddiesDive has a wonderful quartz homage for a fraction of the cost.

AddiesDive VH31 (Amazon Photo)

The AddiesDive 36mm Small Dial VH31 Stainless Steel Quartz Watch is available here on Amazon for a pittance.

Another Explorer I alternative is offered by a company called Tactical Frog. Like the Rolex Explorer 1, the Tactical Frog Cronos has a 36mm diameter case and 100 meters of water resistance. The watch has a stainless steel case and the sapphire crystal has an anti-reflective coating.

Tactical Frog Cronos L6032 PT5000 Automatic Watch (Amazon Photo)

If you'd like to make the hop to Tactical Frog, you can find this what here on Amazon.

One more Rolex Explorer is the Baltany Explorer. The internet and watch Youtube have gone crazy over this automatic with a beautiful stainless steel case. It's 36mm in diameter and offers a very solid 200 meters of water resistance.

Baltany Explorer 36mm (Amazon photo)

If you'd like to get a luxurious look at a more sensible price, bang it here to see the Baltany Explorer on Amazon.

Beyond Rolex

Of course, sometimes an homage watch can seem like it is trying too hard to be an exact replica of the inspiration watch.  If you don't want to look like a "wannabe," take a step back and look at what people value about the original watches. Setting aside rarity and prestige branding, people are drawn to the practicality of the Rolex Explorer series. The watch is readable, simple, and of a comfortable size. There are literally thousands of watches that fit that criteria. You might simply choose a sensible Seiko to meet that need. You can get this one with a brilliant sun ray blue dial for a sensible price here on Amazon.  It's romantically called the Model SZSB013.

Seiko Men's Automatic Watch (Model SZSB013)

If you let yourself breathe a little and look away from the unobtainable brands, you may find plenty of watches from companies like Bulova, Citizen,  Orient, Seiko, Timex, Tissot, Victorinox, and Wenger that fit the bill.  All of these companies have long, rich, proud histories of their own.  You can arrive at the readable, practical, watch that fits your budget and has its own heritage. Ultimately, you can define your own prestige watch.