Japanese-style Multicolor LED Binary Watch

The watch I'm wearing today I just got this week, direct from China, from Meritline. It's truly amazing how much cheap stuff I've bought from them, although DealExtreme is still my favorite for flashlights. Even more amazing is both merchants can ship their items from China to the U.S.A. for free. This watch is inspired by the modern, quirky watches from places like Tokyoflash and ThinkGeek. One thing that makes this watch unique, even among the wild watches at the preceding links, is that it is a true "binary" watch. The lights on the left and bottom correspond to binary digits, with four bits on the left and six bits on the bottom. They can respectively display a maximum of 15 and 63 in decimal numbers, but they only ever need to go as high as 12 and 59 in this application. It's difficult to read the time at a glance (without doing some math in your head) but I'm sure if I wore the watch regularly for a month is would become easier. The bright LEDs display the time when the upper button is pressed, and the watch can be set to automatically light ever quarter-hour. The date is displayed the same way (month on the left, day on the bottom) when the upper button is pressed a second time. It's a neat watch, admittedly very cheap, but for a novelty watch it certainly serves its purpose. I actually think it looks more expensive than it is, possibly because the design is so simple.

WeWOOD DATE beige/brown

Today I'm wearing my WeWOOD DATE watch for the first time. Not since the Tissot Rockwatch has a watch's material been such a focal point. (Surprisingly, it appears Tissot is manufacturing new Rockwatches although they have no mention of them on the Tissot site.) Unlike the Rockwatch, however, the WeWOOD DATE has an underlying message of conservation and environmental responsibility. Not only is WeWOOD using natural materials in their watches, in some cases wood scraps that would otherwise be industrial waste, but for each watch sold they plant a tree through American Forests. The watch itself has some unique qualities. Because it's made from wood, it's very light and it's actually easy to forget you're wearing it. You would want to remember before swimming or otherwise exposing it to water though. WeWOOD claims its watches are "splash-proof", but they carry no official water resistance rating, and they also caution that the wood can swell when exposed to water (although it should return to normal size when dried.) I would err on the side of caution and just not get it wet. The various woodgrains give it a unique look and feel, and no two watches are exactly alike. It also has a nice warmth that you don't find in watches made from more traditional materials. While the watch is made in China, it does contain a Miyota quartz movement that seems to be very accurate. I have no doubt that it should provide many years of worry-free timekeeping. The bracelet has six links that are removable and is easily resizeable using a small screwdriver. It should fit all but the very largest of wrists. The case is close to 40mm wide and the bracelet is about 25mm wide and untapered with a stainless steel clasp. While it's smaller than many of my watches it's a good size and should get noticed. I find this particular color combination to be very attractive, with the various wood grains providing a nice contrast. I'm also interested in the CRONO model, especially in ebony wood, although it probably has the least obvious grain pattern of the woods they use. My only complaints about the watch are the lack of a rotating bezel and the flat, uncoated crystal. The bezel looks like it should move, with a serrated pattern around the edge and minute markings, but it is definitely fixed. I suppose I wouldn't mind if it was smooth or otherwise didn't look like it should work. A domed or coated crystal would not only cut down on reflections and make the dial more legible, but would also give the watch a little more upscale look. I also find it a bit puzzling or amusing that this model is called DATE yet doesn't have one. These are minor quibbles, however, and I'm very happy with the watch overall. WeWOOD's message is certainly one everybody can get behind, and I think they have a style and color combination of watch suitable for everybody as well.

Military-Style Quartz Diver

So here you go, something non-vintage to wrap-up the week, a military-inspired diver from Hong Kong's Ray Wong. Mr. Wong refers to this as an SBS or SAS diver, but despite the familiar MOD dial, plongeur hands, and broad arrow and circle-T logos there's no actual connection to the British military. The circle-T logo was traditionally used to indicate the presence of tritium in the glowing paint on the dial, but this watch doesn't actually contain any tritium. The caseback also bears some fake numbers and another broad arrow, along with a 30 bar water resistance rating. I suppose it's probably good to 200m, and maybe even 300m, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't tested to 300m and the construction seems similar to watches with a 200m rating (screw-down crown, flat mineral crystal, single O-ring on the screw-in caseback, etc.) This watch says "Swiss Movt" on the dial which is misleading, at best. The movement is an ETA battery-powered quartz movement. It has no jewels and says on it "Swiss Parts" and "Made in China". To me, that's a Chinese movement. Ok, enough complaining. This is actually a pretty nice watch. It has a solid case and bezel, and looks really good, from the dial and hands to the black PVD finish. It's very similar in size and style to some Seiko divers. It has fixed bars in the place of the usual spring bars, so only straps with open ends or military style straps can be used. This is kind of nice as the fixed bars will never break like spring bars sometimes do, and it's another authentic military touch. You might also notice the caseback says Orsa, which is a bit confusing if you're familiar with the Orsa Watch Company as this watch doesn't resemble any of their current watches. Apparently Ray Wong used to produce watches or at least provide parts for Orsa that were very similar to this one. This one isn't an Orsa, but for some reason has Orsa on the back along with the pseudo-military markings.

Alpha Automatic Seamaster Planet Ocean Homage

My watch today is the final Alpha currently in my collection, but I'm bound to add more in the future. It is in the style of the Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean. I do have a real Omega Planet Ocean, and I've had it for a couple of years, much longer than I've had this Alpha. This Alpha is not as nice as the Alpha Seamaster, so it's not really fair to compare it to the real thing. First off, I have the 45.5mm version and the Alpha replicates the 42mm version, but even keeping that in mind, the Alpha does feel flimsy compared to the real Planet Ocean. The case and bracelet quality is good, but they cheaped out on the clasp (the Alpha Seamaster had a much nicer clasp) and the case has a very plain back. One item that I think is a "flaw" on the Alpha is the white date wheel. All the Planet Oceans have black date wheels and they look much nicer behind the black dial, but I'm sure it's a standard Alpha wheel and it wouldn't be cost effective (cheap) to make a whole run of black ones for this single model. Also, the Alpha is rated for 3ATM water resistance, which puts it in the "splash proof" category, certainly not for prolonged water exposure, like, say, scuba diving, snorkeling or even in-pool lounging. So, I can see yourself scratching your head, "But Jason, if you already have the genuine article, why mess around with this cheap Chinese junk? And just how long is this post going to be? My attention span has its limits you know." Well, those are good questions. First off, because my Planet Ocean was so expensive, I really don't wear it that much. Unlike the rich people who have one, I would be absolutely sick if I damaged it not to mention considerably poorer if I had to send it into Omega for repair. Now, frankly, I don't think about it from that angle very often, but after wearing it for a week or two straight I start to feel like I'm tempting fate. And forget about taking it on vacation. To me, that's just asking for it to be stolen, lost or damaged. I certainly will have no such reservations with the Alpha. Second, while the Planet Ocean bracelet is very nice, some times we watch people like some variety so we change out bracelets for straps, in leather, rubber, canvas or nylon, or anything else that we think might enhance the look or put a new twist on a watch. Now, my understanding with the Planet Ocean is that changing from bracelet to strap and back is no walk in the park, due mainly to the tight tolerances and limited working space. There is a tool that makes reattachment of the bracelet easier, but it runs $100+ and I haven't yet bit that bullet. I did pick up the authentic Omega Planet Ocean 22mm rubber strap and buckle (which makes the watch look like this) for a couple hundred bucks, but haven't been brave enough to put it on yet. So, with that all out in the open, I'm sure you realize that not only is the Alpha probably easier to change the bracelet on, but I also don't care if I put a scratch or two on it in the process. I already have a leather strap with orange stitching that I'm dying to try out, and I'm sure there will be plenty of others. And if one suits the watch particularly well, maybe a similar strap will find its way onto the real Planet Ocean. As for your attention span, well, you can always just look at the pictures.

Alpha Automatic GMT Master II Homage

Today's watch is my Alpha GMT, pretty much a clone of the Rolex GMT Master II. Like the other Alpha watch I profiled these are exceptional quality for the price, but are very close to being counterfeits which makes some squeamish. Sorry about the haze on the inside of the crystal in the pictures. For some reason this seems to be common among my cheap automatic watches. I'm not sure of the cause, could be partially bad seals allowing moisture in, but it usually looks more to me like a greasy or oily haze, like the kind you see on the inside of new car windows due to the plastics and glues curing. In any case, I'll probably take this one apart (have to remove the movement to clean the crystal) and give it a good cleaning. The solid link bracelet is actually better than some real Rolex bracelets that used folded sheet metal links. The GMT function is a 24-hour hand (the red one with the arrow on the end of it) that allows you to keep track of a different time zone and is independently adjustable. It's a nice watch and I enjoy wearing it, but probably not the model I would choose if I was buying a real Rolex.

Alpha Automatic Seamaster Homage

Alpha watches are as close as most people in this hobby like to get to full-on fake watches. This watch is obviously based on the "Bond"-style Omega Seamaster, right down to the waves on the dial and back and beefy stainless clasp. Of course, this Alpha version is totally made in China with a Chinese automatic movement. The only difference between this "real" Alpha and a fake Omega is the markings. Unfortunately, I know there's a good chance this watch came off the same assembly line as the fake Omegas, but I like to feel that by supporting the more honest of the two "brands", that I'm actually doing something to stop the blatant counterfeiting; showing them that they can make and sell watches without resorting to essentially lying. This is the most well-built Alpha I've ever laid hands on, nicer than the Rolex homages, and also nicer than the Omega Planet Ocean homage that I bought at the same time (on which they cheaped out on the clasp and bracelet.) Now, that being said, the pin holding the deployant clasp closed did come off today, and I haven't checked to see if I can fix it yet, but that's not incredibly surprising for a watch that costs 2% of the watch it's imitating. Probably the worst part of having an homage like this one is now I have the itch to get the authentic version. I've always liked them, and almost purchased one before the extra-huge Omega Planet Ocean came along (which I did buy and will post at some point.) Oh, and one last thing, unlike the real Omegas, this Alpha is marked as "3 ATM Water Resistant", which means it's probably splash proof but certainly not a diver, despite the screw-in back and diver looks.

Tauchmeister 1937 Automatic

I'm wearing a Tauchmeister 1937 automatic diver today. This happens to be a knock-off of a Panerai design. You can't find many watches with the patented Panerai-style crown guard anymore because they've taken to suing the knock-off makers. I certainly have mixed feelings about this admittedly very cheap watch. On the one hand, it has a nice design (albeit not original,) is a solid chunk of stainless steel with a large domed crystal and is quite large (over 2 inches across including the crown guard.) On the other hand, I'm pretty certain the movement is a cheap Chinese automatic which could give up at any time and wouldn't be worth repairing. I also wouldn't trust it to be water resistant to any number of meters, let alone the 10 atmospheres (100m) listed on the caseback. And don't let the name fool you, nor the "Frankfurt, Germany" engraved on the back, it's definitely made in China (what many watch collectors refer to as a "Germasian", which is probably empahsizing the German connection too much. Also see Aeromatic 1912.) All that being said, I enjoy wearing it, and I'm constantly amazed at how solid it feels, how nicely finished it is and that it keeps decent time. I probably won't buy another Tauchmeister, but they're constantly putting out new designs (some more original than others) and can sometimes be picked up cheap. So, I guess, as long as you're an educated consumer and know what you're buying, you could make worse watch purchases.