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Sunday, January 14, 2024

Watch Review: Perry Ellis Deep Diver Men's Sport Watch

A few months ago, I jumped on an incredible watch deal at InvictaStores.com. They were clearing out a batch of Perry Ellis Deep Diver Men's Watches an amazingly low price. While it looks like these watches didn't stay in the Invicta inventory long, it's still worth taking a look at them for all the little things that are right with them. The watches are widely available at more normal prices on Amazon and eBay.


Watch Features and Construction

The attractiveness of the Perry Ellis Deep Diver lies in its simple lines, light weight, and pretty face. But, a longer look reveals that the Perry Ellis Deep Diver offers all of that in a package with some great specifications. With stainless steel construction and 200 meters of water resistance, this watch is the real deal for swimming, snorkeling, and, perhaps, some scuba diving. It has a screw down crown and a unidirectional rotating bezel with countdown markings for 20 minutes.  The strap is made from silicone and is generously sized.

Watch Dimensions

One of the things I like about this watch is that it is big in the face where it counts and small in case thickness. The case diameter for the Perry Ellis Deep Diver is about 45 millimeters. The thickness is about 9 millimeters.  The strap diameter is 20 millimeters for most of the way around and bumps just slightly wider at the watch case.


Overall Impression

I really liked the looks of this sports watch and loved that it had serious water resistance and a screw-down crown.  I also found this watch comfortable to wear for extended periods of time.  With a generously long strap, the watch fit my wrist very well.  Overall, I liked this watch a lot.  I'd consider it a good value at around $80 to $120.  While this watch is rapidly disappearing from the marketplace, you'll find many other great Perry Ellis watches here on Amazon.

For more photographs of this Perry Ellis watch, check out this Watch Wearing Wednesday post about it.

Wednesday, January 10, 2024

Requiem for a Cheap Watch: The End of My Structure Diver-Style Watch

I was going through some of my old watches and came upon a Structure Diver-style Quartz watch that I reviewed way back in 2015.  It was a fashionable watch at one time, but it looks much sadder today. The black resin strap oxidized over the years.  It developed a white residue on some parts and the strap became brittle and broke into pieces. Apparently, rubber degrades over time and returns to a non-vulcanized state. (Sounds logical . . .)  The only thing you can do is wipe the watch strap down periodically with isopropyl alcohol.  It will clean the watch up, but it won't stop the decay.

The Remnants of a Structure Diver Style Watch.

In truth, it's a watch that I never wore much.  Although I liked it when I first bought it, the watch was clunky and a bit on the heavy side.  However, it was rapidly eclipsed by more comfortable watches from other brands. Tonight, it went out to the trash.

Saturday, January 6, 2024

Changes at The Watch Dude Blog

Sigh. Words cannot express how deeply I appreciate Amazon changing up their allowed formats for affiliate advertisements:  Not! Where we could once get a quick link with a picture and description of an item from Amazon, now we must get links from their sitestripe tool. That means many of the advertising links from Amazon on this blog are simply not working. It's frustrating.

A Casio Watch Manual
Of course, one good thing from this frustration is that I get to go through the 450+ posts on this blog and update them. It's a painstaking process, but it is also a chance to revisit some of my early articles and provide updates. In some cases, it's merely a matter of increasing the font size and providing some more relevant and up-to-date advertising links. In other cases, I can add some more content and provide updates to reviews.

I've only recently begun posting new articles again and I've started accumulating some new watches at well. It's fun to revive a hobby and get back into it. It reminds me of all the cool watches I have in my collection. Of course, I do wish it would remind me of all the places where I have watches stashed. But, we'll rediscover them together.

I've started updating posts from 2011. I can't believe this watch blog has been burbling along for 13 years! More amazingly, we've gotten over 955,000 visits over the years. That's incredible. I hope you've found my posts interesting and engaging and I hope my reviews have been helpful. I really appreciate all of your visits.

So far, I've noticed that on some of my early posts, I used this blog to refer visitors to full reviews that I had written of Yahoo's Associated Content site.  While the site is long gone, Yahoo was kind enough to let us keep our articles.  I thought I had posted most of them in full here, but apparently, I missed a few.  Fortunately, I've been able to start correcting that issue.

Timex Mercury Watch
For example, the upcoming link sends you to an updated blog post here with a short review of a vintage Timex Mercury Manual Wind Watch.  It was New-In-Box from old store stock and it works well.

If you pardon my dust, I'll keep plugging away at new updates and improvements so this blog remains an enjoyable place to discover watches.

This blog will continue to participate in Amazon Affiliate and Google Ads.  They don't bring in much, but it's enough for a new watch every now and then. 😉

Sunday, December 31, 2023

Watch Review: Casio Men's Heavy Duty Chronograph Quartz Watch (MCW-100H)

 If you are looking for an inexpensive, bang-around, watch for casual adventures and daily wear, you might consider the Casio Men's 'Heavy Duty' quartz chronograph watch.  This one is Model MCW-100H and generally retails for less than $50.  I like the large readable hands (including a white-tipped bright orange second hand), large hour indices, and practical analog features.


Watch Features

This Casio is an analog watch with sub-dials offering 24-hour time, a chronograph with seconds, and a chronograph dial with up to 30 minutes.  The watch has a readable date window canted at an angle between the 4 and 5 o'clock positions.

The Casio Men's Heavy Duty Chronograph features a Japanese quartz movement.  However, the watch itself is assembled in China with a Chinese case and band.

Watch Style

I find the style of the Casio Men's Heavy Duty Chronograph to be a real strong point. This watch offers much of the style of the popular Casio G-Shock series at a lower price point.  If you don't need the extra ruggedness of a G-Shock or the digital features of a G-Shock, this watch might be a nice alternative. It offers a utilitarian, adventurous, style that is appealing to most men.

I do like that the subdials are still just readable to me on this watch despite my aging eyes.  The watch hands are bright, large, and well marked.  The buttons and crown are protected from inadvertent activation by molded resin bump-outs.

The bright orange band also makes this watch very easy to find on a cluttered vanity top. It's always easy to grab for quick adventures around town.

While this watch is attractive, it's also obviously not an expensive watch.  There's no fear that it will be mugger bait.

Watch Construction

Despite the rugged looks of this watch, it is largely constructed from various plastics.  While the caseback is stainless steel, the watch band and case are made from resin.

If you are an actual adventurer, this watch is water-resistant to 100 meters so it should be fine for swimming or snorkeling, but not scuba diving.

At least one reviewer on Amazon have commented that the resin band on this watch feels more like plastic than silicone or rubber.  I'd have to agree, but I do find this band very comfortable and perhaps not as sweaty as some rubber watch straps can make the wearer feel.

Watch Dimensions

The Casio Men's Heavy Duty Chronograph is a little chunky, but not crazily so.  The case diameter for this watch is 49.3 millimeters and the thickness is 13 millimeters. The strap is 25 millimeters at the case.  It is generous in length and fits my wrist with room to spare.

It's definitely not a think watch, but it fits the wrist well and, thanks to the resin construction, it is lightweight.

For an adventure watch, I think the dimensions of the Casio MCW-100H are just right.


Overall Impression

As I read this review, I'm struck by the number of little compromises that were made in the design and construction of this watch.  Yes, the materials are cheap.  Yes, it is a little chunky.  Yes, it's not a G-Shock.  But, it is a cool watch. It looks good. It is practical and very readable and it is ready for all the adventures that I will dish out.  It is actually one of the best watches around for under $50.  As of May 2026, this watch is available in black here on Amazon.







Wednesday, November 15, 2023

InvictaStores.com: A Great Place for Watch Deals

WHERE TO FIND INVICTA DEALS

Have you checked out the Invicta Store online yet?  If not, you're missing out on a place where you can get incredible deals on Invicta Watches.  In the fall of 2023, I got this Invicta Specialty Watch for only $35 before coupons and discounts.  Check out InvictaStores.com. You can get nearly the same deal on it here on Amazon.

On the InvictaStores.com site, I also found some other great deals for really nice watches for less than $20. 




WHERE TO FIND PERRY ELLIS WATCH DEALS

Perry Ellis branded watches were great deals when I visited InvictaStores.com.  Where else would you find a great rotating bezel, 200 meter water resistance, watch for less than $20.  The site is definitely worth a visit.  

I'll have reviews on these new watches and more in the coming weeks.


 

Sunday, November 12, 2023

Watch Review: Timex Tribute Series Citation Watch

A Watch for Florida Gators and NCAA Fans

2023 has been a tough football season for the Florida Gators. Even as the team has shown flashes of brilliance and improvement in many areas, they play in a tough league where rival Georgia is building a dynasty and the schools that the Gators "should beat" seem to improve every year.  As of this writing, it looks like the team will have to dig deep and heroes will need to emerge just for the team to become bowl eligible. Fortunately, for Gator fans and alumni, the University of Florida will always be the champions in terms of swag and gear.  In this watch review, we'll take a look at the Timex Tribute Men's Citation 42mm Quartz Watch with Stainless Steel strap.  It's a great watch, just look at that face.

I love that Gator grin.  But, if you are a fan of some other team, you'll likely find your school among the offerings.  44 major universities are represented.  42 are football powerhouses and 2 (Gonaza and Villanova) are known as basketball schools.  I did notice that Notre Dame, Baylor, and the Air Force Academy are not represented.  You'll want to check the list below or the link on Amazon.

Watch Style and Features

The basic style for all of these watch is Silver-on-Silver in a diver-style sport watch arrangement. The bracelet has alternating areas of shiny and flat finish for an attractive overall effect. The watch face has black hour markers and numbers for 12, 3, 6, and 9. There is a small date window just in board of the three o'clock position. The indices for the minutes and seconds are set in white against a dark greenish-gray for contrast. The Timex signature is set in the top half of watch face and the school logo is centered in the bottom half.

Like many sports watches, the bezel for this Timex does not rotate. However, this quartz watch offers helpful Indiglo illumination when you press on the crown. The watch battery should be easy to replace since it uses a standard CR2016 battery that is commonly available.

The standard bracelet is a expansion band.  I was initially concerned that it might pinch or grab hold of arm hairs, but I had none of those issues.  In fact, the bracelet was easy to put on and very comfortable to wear.

In everyday wear, this watch has proven to be comfortable and not too hot.

From a style perspective, the Timex Tribute series of watches have an understated look that is perfect at the Sports Bar or in the business casual workplace.

Watch Construction

This watch has a silver-tone brass case, a stainless steel caseback, and a  stainless steel bracelet. According to the watch dial and caseback, Timex has built this watch with 50 meters of water resistance which is just fine for a sport watch that isn't involved in diving.

Weighing in at just over 3 ounces, one of the nice things about this watch is that it isn't too heavy to wear all day.

This watch was made in the Phillipines so you don't have to worry about funding a likely adversary in some future world war when you buy this one.

Watch Dimensions

This Timex has a 42mm diameter case that is 10mm thick. There's no problem fitting this watch under the cuff of a dress shirt.

The bracelet has a 20mm lug and is about 19 or 20mm wide all the way around your wrist.  It a big enough watch to be masculine without being ridiculous.

Overall Impression

I like this watch alot. For this college football season, it has become one of my favorite everyday wear watches.  Over the years, I've reviewed or highlighted many team watches and this one offers the perfect balance of quality build, attractive appearance, and affordable price point.

College Team Watches Offered

I like this watch and I suspect that you will, too.  If you are interested, you'll find great quality Timex Tribute Citation watches in this style at Amazon for the following teams:

Alabama Crimson Tide, Arizona State Sun Devils, Arizona Wildcats, Arkansas Razorbacks, Army Black Knights, Auburn Tigers, California Golden Bears, Clemson Tigers, Florida State Seminoles, Georgia Bulldogs, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Gonzaga Bulldogs, Illinois Fighting Illini, Iowa Hawkeyes, Kansas Jayhawks, Kentucky Wildcats, LSU Tigers, Maryland Terrapins, Michigan State Spartans, Michigan Wolverines, Mississippi State Bulldogs, NC State Wolfpack, Navy Midshipmen, Nebraska Cornhuskers, North Carolina Tarheels, Ohio State Buckeyes, Oklahoma Sooners, Oklahoma State Cowboys, Ole Miss Rebels, Oregon State Beavers, Penn State Nittany Lions, Purdue Boiler Makers, South Carolina Gamecocks, Stanford Cardinal, Syracuse Orange, Tennessee Volunteers, Texas A&M Aggies, Texas Tech Red Raiders, Villanova Wildcats, Virginia Cavaliers, Virginia Tech Hokies, Washington State Cougars, and West Virginia Mountaineers.


If the Tribute Citation style isn't right for you, you might want to check out the Timex store on Amazon.


Sunday, October 29, 2023

Watch Review: Sean John Black Diamond Watch

In America, you can still go from a tough beginning to billionaire.  No one exemplifies that more than Sean "P. Diddy" Combs.  The platinum recording artist reportedly had a net worth of $1 billion in 2022.  One of the things that propelled his business success was making the hip-hop into fashion with his brand Sean John.

In 2016, Sean Combs sold 90% of the brand to Global Brands Group.  But, late in 2022, he bought the brand back for around $7.5 million when Global Brands Group went into bankruptcy.  Now, you'll find the brand name on all sorts of men's clothing and cologne.

[4/20/2024 update - I should note that this review was written before P.Diddy's homes were raided and before various were allegations of misconduct were brought to the surface as subjects of a serious Homeland Security Investigation in 2024,  I'm sure this will lead to even more Sean John merchandise in closeout stores.]

For this review, we'll take a look at an inexpensive Sean John watch that I found at a Burlington store here in Georgia.  It's cost between $20 and $30.  You can find it online at Boscov's and a few other retailers.

Watch Style

The watch is a simple quartz watch with a blue dial featuring the Sean John signature on the top of the dial, "Black Diamond" lettered across the bottom, and a small black diamond accent inset into the 6 o'clock position.  The bezel has a screw down look and the bracelet has a nice shine to it.

The watch fits a little loosely on my wrist and the links of bracelet have a very smooth and comfortable feel.  It's actually a very comfortable watch to wear. If there is one drawback, it is that the watch bezel seems a little prone to pick up fingerprints.

This is a watch that says, "Shiny," but not necessarily gaudy.

Watch Construction

This watch has a stainless steel caseback, a base metal case, and a quartz movement from Singapore.


The watch is powered by a common SR626SW battery.



Watch Dimensions

The Sean John watch has a diameter of 40 mm,  The case is not too thick at 10mm.  The band width is 25 mm at the case and  20 mm the rest of the way around.  The bracelet circumference seems pretty generous.  It fit my wrist comfortably with just a little looseness.  If you need to remove links, it should be easy to do so with a common watch repair kit.

Overall Impression

I'm no hip-hop artist, but I like this watch.  It's a nice addition to any inexpensive watch collection.