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Luxury and Affordable Watches
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Manta Ray 200M Diver
100% Funded on Kickstarter!
Now Available on Indiegogo - Very Limited ( 30% Savings ) !

Link: bit.ly/3tqt1b9
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1/28/2019 0 Comments

RENZO Swiss Made Chronograph Watch Review

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Click Here for Renzo Swiss Made Watches

Packaging

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Case

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The New Renzo chronographs are housed in solid 316L stainless steel polished cases with a decent set of dimensions for your average modern man. The iteration shown here ( Royale Brown/White ) is finished in an ION plated rose gold color with a mirror like high polish - though there are numerous options of finishing and dial colors available on the Renzo website. In terms of overall dimensions we are looking at 42MM wide x 11MM thick. I really like this size as a chronograph should show a little more wrist presence considering we have a function to read off the dial, as well as normal time. Another thing I do like is the rounded piston head style pushers which function with ease for the chronograph stop/start/reset and show zero signs of wiggle room. Our crown is a pull/push and allows this watch to have a 50M water resistance rating. Now by no means take this into the water...but if you happen to get caught in a rainstorm or wash your hands you will be OK. Small details include the signed “R” crown and a nice screw down ( real screws ) caseback with a fine brushed center. Overall, I like the dimensions and how it fits on my 6.5” wrist and do not see any issues here for this simple and practical modern piece.
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Dial

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The white dial is quite elegant with a Matt Lacqeured finish and definitely pops compared to other colors I have seen. The applied indexes are very neat and match the case finishing as well. If we head over to the 4:00 position a nice matching date wheel is exposed , and doesn’t really get in the way of things - but is legibile. The long chronograph hand paired with bold fence style hands match the aesthetic just fine. Now some brands are horrible when it comes to matching hands and markers , but they did it very proportionately and it looks the part for sure. One thing I did not mention which is extremely important is the fact that this watch is indeed Swiss Made and Assembled in Switzerland ( Swiss Made is Marked below 6:00 ). The sub dials themselves are placed beatly and feature an off white circular pattern which looks nice and helps defer itself from the off white dial. As you can see from the photo, we do get a functional 12 Hour chronograph ( increments of 30 Minutes ) and a separate seconds subdial. Lastly, on this affordable piece at $275 they have gone ahead and placed a nice anti reflective coated Sapphire crystal for increased durability and legibility.

Movement

The Swiss Quartz Ronda 5030D is a movement I have experience with, and can stand by it. It does run on a battery and has some
nice features including elapsed time measurement, and pinpoint accuracy of a couple seconds a month. These
movements are indeed thin which allows the Royalé to stand only 11MM thin - making it extremely comfortable and allowing the end user to easily slide this under a cuff.

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Leather Band Supplied

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This model came equipped on a 22MM brown Full Grain Genuine Leather embossed band which also features quick-release straps. The nice part about this feature is the easy on the go “swapability” to alter the appearance of your watch by changing straps without a tool in seconds. Straight out of the box the strap really conformed nicely to my wrist and there really is no break in period needed for this one. I also think this model would look stellar on a straight black non embosssd band, if you happen to have one. The buckle is signed quite neatly as you can see in the macro shot and matches the case color just fine.
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Conclusion

So, what do I think? All in all , it is a good standard everyday chronograph for a simple man. This watch can be suitable for someone who wants a well made reliable swiss watch but does not want to spend a ton of money. If this watch were to be automatic - you would be looking at a pricepoint of around $1000 USD. The movement is decent for the price as is the case cut and finish. I like the overall classic design, and feel something like this can last quite a long time in ones’ treasure chest without issues. Thanks for taking the time to read and please do check out the full hands-on YouTube video of the Renzo chronograph.
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0 Comments

1/21/2019 1 Comment

Stowa Klassik Flieger Sport Baumuster B Watch Review - A real piece of Horological History in a Modern Case

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”Original Factory in Germany before it was destroyed and the new modern factory was built”
STOWA OFFICIAL STORE
Background on Stowa
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Stowa is a German watch brand most famous for their traditional flieger watches along with their rich history in watchmaking dating back to Pre WWII. They did produce watches for the German Pilots during the second war along with other notable brands such as IWC, WEMPE, LACO, and Lange Sohne. The current watches they offer are almost identical in design to those watches worn back then besides the modern sizes and materials used today. When you purchase a German produced and assembled Stowa timepiece, you are getting much more than just a great timepiece - you are indulging your wrist with a large piece of horological history. Today, we will take a closer look at a traditional B style Flieger...only with a twist - this model has a 200M water resistance rating and slight different dimensions.

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”Vintage B-Uhr Flieger from World War II Era”
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”The size of the original fliegers were as large as 55MM and meant to be worn over flight jackets”
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“Stowa factory watchmakers at work”

Case

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The Stowa Flieger Klassik Sport , first introduced in 2013 features a slightly larger dimension than your standard Klassik Flieger, largely due to the 200M water resistance rating this case can hold up to. At 43MM across and 12.8MM thick it most definitely wears larger, but in a good way. I feel the legibility is great with this model as well as the watches ability to portray a manly look , while not being over cumbersome. In terms of finishing, the solid 316L stainless steel case is matte and hand ground brushed which is super silky smooth to the bare skin. I find it hard to believe that brands such as IWC can charge 4 times as much for a flieger , with generally the same quality casework and finish. Now, the crown itself is a midsized pull/push onion crown which is just the right size for my tastes. It is not as exaggerated and as large as the original world war II Luftwaffe fliegers were, which is good to see - as those watches were huge! ( But for good reason ). A nice feature included on my example is the sapphire screwed down exhibition caseback, giving us a real clear look at the beautifully decorated top grade Swiss movement. Overall, the case cut and finish - definitely punches a bit above its’ pricepoint.
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Dial

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Now there are two types of Flieger dials that have been traditionally used since the WWII era. The one on my example is the B style Baumuster dial which looks much different than the traditional A style dial which I reviewed last year. This dial has an extremely legible face at any given angle due to its layout. It consists of a neatly printed 0-60 minutes/seconds track which circles around a 12 hour standard format. The heat treated blued hands are sized perfectly to match each ring making it really easy to distuingish hours from minutes. A thin seconds hand reaches all the way to the fine minute markings for a crisp sweep around the dial at 28,800 BPH ( 4 HZ ). Lume? The whole dial is basically lumed with bright applied C3 superluminova including the orientation arrow triangle pointing directly upwards to the 12:00 position. Obviously at this pricepoint the crystal itself is a nice thick slightly domed genuine sapphire crystal which really doesn’t give off any glare in direct sunlight or indoors - which is a wonderful thing!
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Movement

There are so many different movement options when it comes to customizing your own Stowa timepiece. The movement I chose is the Swiss Made automstiv ETA-2824-2 which features perlage work and dazzling blued screws. The rotor that came equipped is sort of like a dog tag and lists all of the information belonging to my watch such as Movement,Style,Maker. Anyway, mine is running at +2 seconds a day consistently which is good to see, and I have zero issues with that. This movement also contains hand-winding, hacking, 42 HR power reserve, and boasts 24 Jewels. It is a top end ETA workhorse movement that will last decades if serviced properly over the years.
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”Custom hand engraved Stowa Rotor”

Supplied Leather Band

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The 24MM brown leather band supplied produced in a traditional pilot style seems of good quality and has a nice soft feel to it. It also contains a brushed sign buckle, and two buttons on each top end for that true flieger style. Overall, It is comfortable, supple, and does not require a break-in period. However, if you are planning to use this watch to go swimming as I am, I do reccommend equipping a nice rubber band or silicone band.
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Conclusion and Value

Furthermore, Stowa definitely is in my opinion one of the best value German made timepieces currently available today. It has all the DNA, History, and quality you would look for in a watch that costs even double the price of their standard models. Secondly, the customer experience is truly wonderful as you get a more one to one feeling when talking to their staff, which is almost non existent in the swiss watch luxury industry. This model is priced at around 1050 EUROS for this configuration. I think this is most definitely a fair price for the quality and movements used , as well as the history aspect and true German Manufacture and production. I can definitely reccommend Stowa as I have two timws prior to this with their Stowa Antea and Klassik Flieger lines. Please do check out those full written articles and reviews on the website and YouTube channel. Thanks for taking the time to read.
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1 Comment

1/18/2019 0 Comments

Corniche Heritage Chronograph Watch Review

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Visit Corniche Here


​Case

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The Corniche heritage chronograph is sized with wonderful proportions at 39MM in diameter with a thickness of around 11.5MM. The case is definitely well cut and finished with a smooth brushed finish and zero blemishes. I like the highly polished smooth bezel and polished top lugs as they match the glossy ceramic dial quite good. Heading to the caseback, we see a nice matte finished drawing of a tree and some specifications all held down by real screws. This watch is only water resistant up to 50M - so definitely not something to submerge in water but you should be fine if you happen to get caught in the rain or need to wash your hands.
The overall aesthetic definitely reminds me
of a traditional Patek Philippe chronograph reference - but it certainly is not a homage in any way either. Another small detail that I like is the signed pull/push crown which has really good grip for changing the time.

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​Dial

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Now, the dial is the real star of the show here...a nice black ceramic dial fitted with applied polished markers looks spectacular and luxurious in the flesh. Also helping that is the genuine sapphire crystal covering the dial which is neatly fitted into the case and has some decent thickness to it. The watch is fairly simple to read with two subdials..The subdial on the right is a 24 hour indicator whilst the subdial at 9:00 is your 60 minute counter for the chronograph function. If we head towards thw end of the dial we also get a railroad track style 0-60 reference which matches the aesthetic of the subdials themselves. The polished faceted dauphine style hands pair indredibly well with the markers and this was an excellent choice by corniche. Finally, the smooth sweeping chronograph hand is real bold and bright white for superb legibility when using this function, which is always good to see. It almost reminds me of the chronograph hand on a Speedmaster.

Movement

Inside the Heritage chrono resides the Seiko VK64 Mechanical/Quartz movement. This movement has a mechanical module allowing for a sweep of the chronograph hand as well as a nice mechanical feel when pressing the start/stop/reset pushers. They are also much more reliable than let’s say a Valjoux 7750, considering this movement relies on a battery for power. You are also getting the superb accuracy of a quartz movement which no mechanical movement can compete with..

Leather bands Supplied

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Corniche uses a 20MM Quick-Release genuine leather embossed band with deployant. I have found that it is quite comfortable and thin on wrist - and I do not see any issues here ar all. The signed minimalist Corniche polished buckle
is also a nice touch and flows nicely with the overall case font and design. This clasp allows for adjustment on the go with a simple flip open mechanism where you can slide up and down for the perfect fit. Overall, for a $400 watch I think this quality
of strap is suitable and gets the job done.

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Conclusion

The Corniche heritage can be your go to dress watch if you work in an office environment or a professional workplace. It has all the aesthetics of the greats, only at an extremely affordable price which won’t make your wife chase you down the street. I like the clean, slight minimalist, no nonsense design they offer - and can definitely reccommend checking out Corniche watches. I think they will be around for quite some time and have some pretty exciting releases in the future as well.
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0 Comments

1/12/2019 0 Comments

VAER Watch Review - American Assembled Quality Everyday Watches under $200

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Click for VAER Webpage

Case

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The Vaer field and classic variations both contain the same materials and dimensions just to lay that on the table before I resume here. So, Vaer does make some really cool waterproof watches that actually surprised me the first time I handled their timepieces. The solid 316L brushed cases feel tough, robust, with a beautiful brushed finish. The actual dimensions come in at just the perfect modern size of 40MM by 9.5MM thick. I feel this size can accomodate those of us with average sized wrists such as myself, and larger wrists as well. One of the best aspects of their timepieces is that they are actually assembled here in America in California - where Vaer hails from in Venice Beach. The second best aspect of both their models is the 100 Meters of water resistance combined with a screw down crown and caseback. It’s kind of the perfect everyday watch no matter what climate your in , hot or cold.
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Dial

The dial on the field model is a matte black color with your standard no nonsense legible arabics applied around the dial. The dial does also contain a 24 hour military ring which dates back to field watches used in war eras. I like the hands, long and rectangular filled with decent lume as well as the arabic numerals - which reminds me of my Hamilton Khaki Field. Down at 6:00 you can see the “American Assembled” print which is nice to see on a watch nowadays especially when the majority of smaller brands are 100% produced and assembled in China/Hong Kong. Overall, I have found it to be legible and easy to read at a glance which is pretty much the only characteristic I NEED in a field watch. On the Classic model we get much more of a minimalist and casual style dial in a nice blue color pallet. Its’ the kind of style that can go well with a pair of khakis and a polo while walking along Rodeo drive eating an ice cream...Lastly the crystal is a genuine Sapphire crystal which is typically not seen on watches with these specifications at $150-$170 which is a sort of a dealbreaker for me. Sapphire is much more resilient to scratches and generally harder than something like a mineral crystal.
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Movement

The movement utilized in the date model is the Ronda 715 which is a very good swiss made quartz movement. It does run on a battery and accuracy is not as issue here within a couple seconds gained a month. The Non-Date dial on the classic model uses the non date Ronda 515 swiss movement, basically the same exact movement without a date function. For the price point under $200 for these models - this was honestly the best way to go and I do not have a problem with these movements.

Nato Strap or American Made Leather?

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Vaer includes two straps with each watch they sell and there are a number of colors and variations to choose from if you take a look at their website. The two straps included with my field model included a Black Nato strap and a baige color Nato. These straps are all 20MM and come equipped with a spring bar tool as well. The quality is decent with brushed branded hardware and they feel comfy on wrist - no issue here. On the other hand, the Classic came with an extra Horween American Made quick-release band which they produce in California. It is one of those bands that feels like it was custom made for you, and has a real hand crafted feel to it ( well, it is hand crafted :).
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Conclusion

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In conclusion, Vaer is definitely offering some great value oriented packages here punching way above their pricepoint. Their timepieces definitely check all the boxes for me when looking at what I am actually getting for the price ( Sapphire - Excellent case work - Swiss Movement - Extra band ). I can definitely reccommend this brand to my readers and feel most would enjoy wearing one, as I certainly am at the moment.
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0 Comments

1/10/2019 0 Comments

Spinnaker Dumas Watch Review 2019 SP-5070 - New and Improved

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The all new Spinnaker Dumas will be available for Pre-Order with a discount using the link below. Also, remember you can save 20% with code WA20 at checkout once this model is released and any other current Spinnaker Model. Full retail for this model
​is $350 USD.

Spinnaker Website

Case

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The case on the new Dumas model is quite slimmer but a bit smaller and slimmer. In terms of material, we get the industry standard solid marine grade 316L stainless steel with a nice smooth brushed finish and slight polished sides. At 44MM by 15MM thick it is certainly not a small watch, but the lugless Octagon shape definitely helps this one wear much smaller than the diameter suggests. The watch feels tough, robust, and has a nice heft to it when on wrist. Spinnaker does state this model is water resistant up to 300 Meters - making this a true dive watch if that is your intended purpose. A nice feature is the exhibition screw down caseback where we can get a glimpse of the automatic Seiko calibre implemented on this model.
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Dial

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The dial is certainly vintage inspired and reminds me a lot of dive watches from the 1970’s. It does feature bold lumed markers filled with Swiss SuperLuminova as well as the Mineral crystal 120 Click lumed dive bezel. The bezel action is tight and precise, exactly what you would want on a tough diver like the Dumas. Back to the dial, the applied circular markers are very legible at a quick glance, as well as the black date window at 3:00 which matches the dial perfectly. The hands are very retro in a paddle style with orange accents matching the text and plots above the markers. If you look real close, you will also notice the 24 hour markings - which can be useful in any daily walk of life. Lastly, the lume is decent on this model and does glow a nice greenish hue for quite
some
time.

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Movement

The Seiko NH35 automatic movement is a common and accurate movement which we see in many affordable watches across the board. And it’s for good reason...they contain 24 jewels, 40 hours of power reserve, hand winding, and a hacking capability.

Strap

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The black silicon 22MM band almost
flows seemlessly with the vintage style case on the Dumas. However, since this model is a bit chunkier - so
is the strap. The flexibility does remain great as well as the comfort level, which is outstanding. I honestly would not be swapping straps on this piece and I do feel this strap will last some time due to its’ tough construction.

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Conclusion

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In all honesty, I think this is one of the nicest releases they have put out in a while. The watch feels like a real, tough, diving watch. It also contains a lot of DNA from an era where great swiss dive watches were flying off the shelves in the early 70s. I think for the price with the extra discount code, the Dumas can easily slip into any watch enthusiasts collection.
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0 Comments

1/7/2019 0 Comments

Avi-8 Hawker Harrier II Matador Watch Review 2019

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SIGNUP LINK

You can sign up for Pre-Order today for a discounted price and the watch will be released January 20TH - Also you can use code WATCHADDICT to save 30% on ANY Avi-8 timepiece

Case

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The Matador is constructed of solid 316L stainless steel and has a thick black IP coating surrounding everything but the solid custom steel caseback. It is definitely a larger piece at 45MM in diameter and 15MM in total thickness including the caseback and slightly domed mineral crystal. The lug width remains pretty standard at 22MM - so if you wish to swap out straps you should have no issues at all. It is essentially a three piece case consisting of the caseback, case, and smooth bezel. However, at 45MM one would think this watch wears quite large but it actually wears more like a 43MM watch from what I can tell on my 6.5” wrist. I like the overall presence it shows and it is for sure a statement piece.
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Dial

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Now, the dial features applied lumed markers with partial skeletonization for a real sophisticated look. This is a functional 60 minute chronograph and we do get 3 different subdials. At 3:00 - the 1/10th of a second countdown will start when the Titanium gold color pusher is put into gear and spins like a madman! At 9:00 - your 60 minute countdown is shown in ten minute intervals. Lastly, your 60 seconds is hidden between those two subdials at the 6:00 position. I think the neatest feature is the big date complication which they really knocked out of the park. Each number changes separately just like a complicated Lange or something of that nature. There IS alot happening on the dial but I still find it quite legibile with the long
bold and lumed stick hands. Finally, the last great feature is the sweeping chronograph red hand which kind of mimics a mechanical chronograph in a way.

Movement

The Matador utilizes a Japanese Miyota 6S50 quartz movement which has a few complications if you did not read the paragraph above. It is also extremely reliable, accurate, and will only need a battery change every few years or so. At this pricepoint of $350 I think it totally made sense to use this caliber as a mechanical chronograph movement would of bumped the price up to four times this, especially with the added complications.

Strap

The strap is pretty much a standard Avi-8 Genuine Leather 22MM band with their signature signed IP plated buckle. It definitely has some quality to it and should be broken in with 2/4 daily wears. There is also
some black stitching to match the overall deep black color this model has.

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Conclusion

So, What do I think? I think Avi-8 did a decent job
on producing an affordable chronograph with some decent casework, finishing, and all of those neat features the 6S50 has to offer for under $400 USD. It looks like a much more expensive watch than one would think and has an overall fearless design. I can definitely
reccommend this one to my viewers as I enjoyed the watch myself.

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0 Comments
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The main component of a mechanical movement is the mainspring, a spring that gradually unwinds and transmits energy. A mechanical watch will keep accurate time despite requiring winding up if it's manual. ... Inside an automatic watch sits a small weighted rotor that has to oscillate in order to wind the mainspring.

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