The Chronicle by Mitch Mason is the first in what I hope is a series of successful watch launches rom this Signapore-based microbrand.
If you’re looking for a versatile and sensible everyday wastch, the Chronicle fits the bill nicely.
Sensible sizing and well-executed design come together in the Automatik collection from Kronhauser, which proves that nailing the basics is still a winning formula when it comes to microbrand watch design.
Barrington Watch Winders come in many flavors. This one is a single winder done in a piano white finish that rings in at just under $200 USD. While overall a good winder, there are a couple of areas where it could improve.
This version of the Longitude is big, bold, and blue. It’s a 42mm dress watch that ships with an attractive open heart and guilloche dial on blue-dyed crocodile-grain leather. It is a very attractive piece, albeit on the busy side of design, and is guaranteed to grab the attention of anyone in its vicinity.
Karl-Leimon’s first watch model is the Classic Pioneer, a modestly sized and conservatively-styled dress watch. It proudly boasts its “Made in Japan” credentials, and that is part of what helps differentiate the Classic Pioneer from many of its quartz-powered microbrand peers.
If you fancy yourself a watch designer but lack the technical or artistic ability to do so, you’ll be happy to know that there are plenty of companies out there that will let you “design” your own watch from the comfort of your web browser. Eoniq is one such company, and in the “design your own watch” niche, they’re also the brand that appeals to me the most.
Eoniq let me build whatever I wanted, and what I wanted was a racey three-hand watch with a small seconds subdial. I received it a few weeks ago, so let’s check it out!
Not long ago I reviewed the Overboard, a 1000m overbuilt dive watch that can go deeper than you’d ever take it. At the same time I received the Overboard I also took delivery of the Bradner, a casual-wear moderately sized automatic watch that carries a 150m / 500ft water resistance rating. Not bad.
I like the Bradner’s casual style and wrist presence. Let’s take a closer look.
Here’s an automatic from James McCabe with the same case and similar aesthetics as the Heritage Retrograde. While the dial loses a few complications, the watch itself gains a Miyota automatic that is nicely decorated and shown off via a mineral exhibition caseback.
Despite an entry-level movement, the Heritage Automatic is a solid watch to consider if you’re wanting something distinctly styled and still 100% watch. If you want to add an inexpensive automatic to your collection, and you want that watch to be something special, well, you’ll want to keep reading…
Avi-8 is one of my favorite little/big watch brands because of how on-point their watches are thematically. Avi-8 embodies the aviation watch in fun and sometimes over the top ways. Their latest – the Flyboy Centenary edition – is a great example of that.
Both the 1960s and 1980s versions are fitted with three color schemes. Here I’ve got the blue dial 1960s (model AV-4060-02), which I think is the best looking. Let’s take a closer look.
UNDONE is an independent brand that has taken a unique approach to their watches: customers can customize their watch – changing cases, dials, casebacks, and even engraving initials – via UNDONE’s website watch builder. Fans of customization rejoice!
Priced at $345, the Urban Tropical Sahara is within the scope of what most would consider a “nice watch”. This is the first UNDONE I’ve seen hands-on, so let’s not waste any time in having a closer look.
Powered by an Eco-Drive quartz movement, and with styling only an underwater welder could love, the Promaster BJ8050-08E is one of the few watches I’ve come across where the photos do not at all demonstrate the entirety of it.
As of the time of this review, the MSRP of the Monarch is $335 (though I bought this one off of Amazon for $160). The Monarch is a classy dress watch that is rather conservatively styled (once you look past the serif hour markers). This model comes with a leather strap, stainless steel buckle, and an exhibition caseback.
Like the Bambino, which I still maintain is the best automatic watch you can buy for under $250, the Monarch hits that sweet spot where what it brings to the table greatly exceeds what it costs to eat there. You won’t find another quality mechanical – let alone with a power reserve complication – at this price point until you start looking at no-name Chinese-manufactured movements.
Six weeks back I received an e-mail from Drew Meyer, who represents several watch brands. Among them is James McCabe, a highly-stylized microbrand that is doing what brands like Lucien Piccard should have done. Not long after that e-mail, the Heritage Retrograde arrived at my doorstep – courtesy of Drew – and it has commanded my interest ever since.
As the photos within this review will undoubtedly show, the Heritage Retrograde – a sub-$300 quartz casual watch – is among the most excellently styled (and stylized) watches I have come across in a good long time (if not ever). The real question is: is it a good watch? I suppose you’ll have to read on to find out.
In 2010, Seiko released the SARB065 Cocktail Time. A classic watch, and one that will enjoy decades of relevance, is a hard design to pen. Of course, the Cocktail Time is among those that get it right.
In my hands, I have the SARB065, aka the “Cocktail Time Cool”. Before I move on to the updated Presage Cocktail Time next month, I wanted to get hands-on with the aging SARB065 so that I had an accurate basis for comparison when I get hands-on with the new one.
If your New Year’s resolution involves travel plans, you’re going to want a watch to come along for the ride. Frequent fliers will especially appreciate this Seiko Prospex World Time, both for its functionality (more on that below) and its build quality. Currently listed for just under $300 on Certified Watch Store ($278 actually), the Prospex Solar World Time is price competitive with most Citizens (in fact, it’s priced much better than most Citizen world time’s) and offers its wearer an assortment of functions/complications (including an alarm and chronograph function).