Where I Shop For Watches

I'm generally an old fashioned, brick and mortar, kind of guy when it comes to buying watches.  Most of my watches are bought on impulse when I am shopping for other things.  (O.K., O.K., I don't have much impulse control.)  Consequently, my watch boxes are filled with affordable watches that I think look cool.  Since I get my watches on impulse, they tend to come from the places I shop:  Kmart, Kohl's, Sears, Target, and Walmart.

An Inexpensive Precision by Gruen watch from Kohl's

Watches from Kohls.  Kohl's has been one of the places where I have consistently found good deals on mid-priced watches that range from $30 to $125.  They sell low priced brands like Precision by Gruen and Zoo York.  They have a great selection of watches from Armitron, Mark Ecko, and Relic.  They have an excellent selection of watches that hover just out of my price range from brands like Bulova, Citizen, and Seiko. 

A Structure Ana-Digital from Sears

Watches from Sears.  Another surprisingly cool place to shop for watches is Sears.  I find Sears is great for brands like Bulova, Caravelle, Elgin, Hamlin, and Structure.  They also have a great rewards program that works at Sears and Kmart.  If you buy tires or another auto repair over at their auto center, your likely to get enough rewards points to get a new watch for nearly nothing.  

Watches from Walmart.  Finally, you know that I get a lot of my watches from Walmart.  They are consistently the best place to buy no name watches and watches from Casio and Timex.  Over the last year, they have really built up a great selection of tasteful Timex watches.  I've pretty much picked over the supply of no name watches.  

A Very Nice Timex Military-Style Expedition at Walmart

 

Good luck and happy hunting this holiday season!

Alternatives to the Television Watch Brands

Happy Thanksgiving!  By now you are probably finishing your turkey and getting ready for Christmas shopping.

If you are shopping for a watch this Holiday Season, it is easy to succumb to the lure of the television shopping networks and their non-stop infomercials about watches.  They are often fun to watch and you can find some truly great deals.  However, everyone knows about them.  Every watch collector has an Invicta or two or three.

Sometimes, it is more fun to give a truly unusual watch from a brand that is not so commonplace.  If you want to leave some of the more common brands behind, my newest article lays out a few alternatives to the TV watch brands:


Alternatives to the Television Infomercial Watch Brands

One very cool watch brand is AVI-8.  They make watches inspired by aviation history.  This is the AVI-8 Hawker Hurricane.  Inspired by the fighter planes that saved the United Kingdom from Hitler's Luftwaffe, this Hurricane watch captures the colors of the original aircraft.  It features a aircraft silhouette on the front and a line drawing of the famed fighter on the back.  The complete AVI-8 line of watches has just been brought to Amazon.com where they are priced very reasonably with many priced under $100.

AVI-8 Hawker Hurricane Watch

Watches can't be more different in personality than AVI-8 and Modify.  This alternative watch takes you from the stiff upper lip of the indomitable British pilots to the relentless techno beats of Atlanta night clubs.  Modify watches have interchangeable faces and straps.  You can mix and match until you perfectly match your wardrobe.  They bring a young, fresh, vibe to the world of horology!

A Modify Watch

From the night clubs of America it's another big leap to the precise designs of Germany's Insignum brand.  As American supplies dwindle, the Insignum mix of German design and Asian sourcing is sure to become rare.  Insignums like this Insignum Campus are still available at ZuluTimeZone.com.

Insignum Campus

Finally, if you demand uncompromising performance from your watch, you might want to check out NFW watches at ZuluTimeZone.com.



Sample watches provided courtesy of AVI-8, Modify, and ZuluTimeZone.com

Zoo York Watches for Christmas

The final watch on my list represents the letter Z.  It's a Zoo York watch from Kohl's.  Zoo York is an interesting watch brand because it offers bold watches inspired by the New York City graffiti art movement.  Younger collectors may be drawn to Zoo York because of their bold graphical style and low price tags.  I like the bright yellow dial and contrasting black band of my Zoo York watch. 

A Zoo York Watch from Kohl's.

The Zoo York line of watches is available for around $30 per watch at Kohl's.  They look like the perfect watch for the skateboarder on your list.

Wenger Swiss Military Watches for Christmas

We skipped right over V to get to one of the coolest watches in my collection:  The Wenger Swiss Military Grenadier Quartz Watch.

Wenger Swiss Military Watch

For most people, the Swiss Military is synonymous with little red pocket knives.  However, I remember visiting Switzerland as a young child in the 1970s.  The train stations were filled with men in camouflage carrying very large assault rifles.  It was the real Swiss Army. 

Swiss Army on the March ( Fcb981 at the English language Wikipedia [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 )

Now, the Wenger Swiss Military Grenadier is one of the few "Swiss Made" watches in my collection.  It was a cool birthday gift and it is also a reminder of a train ride through Switzerland long, long, ago.  If you think Wenger Swiss Military Watches might make a great gift, read my full review of mine here:

Wristwatch Review:  Wenger Swiss Military Grenadier Quartz Watch

Unlisted by Kenneth Cole Watches for Christmas

Earlier this year, I stumbled across an interesting watch at Ross.  It was an Unlisted by Kenneth Cole diver style watch.  It caught my eye because of the protected crown feature.  It also had a comfortable rubber strap.   Now, it represents the U in my watch collection. 

Unlisted by Kenneth Cole

This Unlisted watch is all about fashion.  It's not a true dive watch, but it looks cool.  It makes a perfectly appropriate business casual watch.  It would make an affordable Christmas gift.  While this model appears to be discontinued, there are lots of interesting Unlisted by Kenneth Cole watches on Amazon.

Thre3 Watches for Christmas

If you are on a super tight budget or just want to give an inexpensive watch as a stocking stuffer, you might check out the Thre3 brand watches at Kmart.  Thre3 is a brand of the U.S. Polo Association and they look classier than their low price tag might suggest.

I have two Thre3 brand watches and like both of them.  The first one I bought was this sporty Ana-digital Watch.  I don't even bother with the digital functions.  It's just that the watch itself has an almost perfect racing watch look.

Thre3 Ana-Digital Watch

The second Thre3 brand watch was a straight forward analog affair with very readable markings and a slightly racy look. 

Thre3 Analog Sport Watch

While these watches only cost $20 to $30, they look far better than their low price tag would suggest.  If you are looking for an extra stocking stuffer gift this Christmas or just need a watch to fit within your gift buying budget, Thre3 brand watches might be a good addition to your shopping list.

Timex Watches for Christmas!

In my collection, T stands proudly for Timex!  I love my Timex watches.  They are affordable and they look good.  The Timex watches at my local Walmart have never looked better.


Timex is all over the trend towards military style watches.  They have several military watches that simply look great.  My favorite is this "Vintage Metal" Timex.  It looks like something right out of World War II.  Of course, if we would have had Indiglo technology in the 40s fascism would have been defeated far sooner. 

Timex Expedition - Military Style

If you have a fitness fanatic on your gift list this year, the Timex Ironman line of watches might make the perfect gift.  They look good and have all the stopwatch timer functions that you could ever want. 

Timex makes watches that simply work.  They are readable, practical, and well designed.