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.
Akerfalk watches is a fashion-centric microbrand watch company based out of Sweden. The First Season, currently their only model, comes in many flavors and rings in at a reasonable $248 direct from their website.
My time with the First Season has been enjoyable for a number of reasons, in part because of its classic minimalist aesthetic and tasteful size. Another enjoyable part of my experience with the First Season is its personality, which is polished but quirky. Despite being a 40mm dress piece, I noticed that the watch caught the eye of a number of my friends and colleagues when I wore it to the office. It seems to be a hit- let’s check out why.
Since 2013 I’ve reviewed almost every line Timex has released, but absent from the list has been the Expedition Scout. Finally, in a Black Friday inspired impulse buy, I decided to change that.
The Expedition Scout comes in many flavors, all of which are a variation of field watch theme. Military-inspired styling is evident as well, but especially so in some of the darker color schemes. The blue dial and tan leather combination I have here offers a taste without going whole-hog on the austere often associated with military style.
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!
The Lady Australis is a bedazzled 36mm automatic that features feminine accents that are eye-catching but not quite over the top. It’s an aesthetic hit (according to the ladies in my life that have seen it) thanks to the generous amount of jewels and the open heart display that stands prominently on the mother of pearl dial.
It’s been a long time since I last had a bejeweled ladies watch here on WYCA. The most recent is the Kenneth Cole KC2508, which I reviewed nearly five years ago. Thankfully, the Earnshaw is a better piece. Let’s take a closer look.
There’s a place in every wardrobe for items of great design, and I’d posit to you that such a description is fitting for the Philosopher collection by Nordgreen. Styled by notable Scandinavian designer, Jakob Wagner, Nordgreen watches are meant to embody excellent design with an overarching focus on sustainability and social responsibility.
Nordgreen is a young microbrand with three collections: Infinity, Native, and Philosopher. All share a similar design language, though each is subtly unique in their own way. The two Philosophers I have here – sized 36mm and 40mm – are indeed quite attractive. Let’s check them out in more detail.
In a competitive marketplace, upstart brands have a brief opportunity to get consumer attention. Whether it’s through brilliant advertising, word-of-mouth, or just via traditional reputation development, there must be something to make someone interested in you. In comes Raymond and Pearl, and they’re hoping to earn your business via the Horizon, a series where classic design mixes with the bold usage of color.
Let’s explore the Horizon together and see what this watch has to offer.
While I’ve seen Thomas Earnshaw on Amazon and other watch stores, I’ve never had one on my wrist or in front of my camera. Until today, that is. Thomas Earnshaw sent me this Precisto Bauer Fumée for review, and review it I have. Check it out!
Priced at $229 USD as of the time of this review, the Essential Four Gent affords its wearer versatility via sapphire glass, a clean and minimal face (surprise!), and a quick-release leather strap. Style is conscious and reserved, boasting a good degree of attractiveness. Also worth noting is the use of the Swiss-made ETA 955.412 quartz movement, which alone allows the Essential to stand out compared to other microbrand watches following a similar formula.
So, while the Essential Four Gent is similar in nature to others, it stands above the majority due to its attainable price, excellent construction, and affordability. Let’s dive in and check it out in more detail.
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.
Timex is one of my favorite watch brands and it’s with that context that I write this review of the Command, a 54mm wrist-dominating plastic and camo digital watch from the American king of digital watches.
Long guarding its pervasive position as the “tough watch” segment leader, Casio now finds itself directly in the crosshairs of Timex. The Command is Timex’s answer to the G-Shock, and there’s no mistaking that Timex clearly has the G-Shock in its sights.
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…
I’ve been checking out a lot of dive watches lately as research for an upcoming dive watch article, so when Spinnaker reached out to us and asked if we wanted to review one, the timing couldn’t have been better. I received the Overboard early August and have given it plenty of wrist time since.
Compared to some of the other divers I’ve been wearing lately (the Scurfa Diver One and Hamilton Navy Sub Auto, for example), the Overboard is bigger and heavier at 46mm. The Overboard boasts 300m of water resistance, a sapphire-coated mineral crystal, and a helium escape valve.
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.
Several weeks back a reader emailed me asking if I’d ever seen a watch from Scurfa Watches hands-on. Scurfa, a microbrand based out of the UK, is owned by Paul Scurfield. A North Sea pressure diver, Paul created Scurfa in order to build dive watches that gave divers high-end capability… but at an affordable price.
Scurfa is a two-person brand – my favorite kind of company – and so I decided to buy a Diver One Blue and get my feet wet. Let’s dive in.