Luxury and Affordable Watches
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Oceanica Reef LIVE ON KICKSTARTER $199!
 www.Castlewatchco.comToday we are going to take a look at an extemely affordable mens watch that comes with some components that punch above its weight. When comparing this watch to others in the same category on the market it is definitely the obvious option, and it only costs $59..But before I start id like to mention they are planning to release an automatic “CAVETTO” castle watch which looks pretty interesting and different..I believe you can sign up for their newsletter once Pre-Orders have opened. Packaging  Case The 42MM case on the Corbel is created from 316L stainless steel, the industry standard when it comes to a decent watch. It is entirely brushed with a curved lug profile for easy comfort on the wrist. The case itself has a pull/push signed crown with 5ATM or 50M of water resistance, which is perfectly suitable for this genre of timepiece. In terms of thickness it is rather thin at 8MM and has a 22MM lug width. The proportions are definitely in sync with eachother allowing the corbel to wear well on the wrist and not look out of place. The caseback is screwed down with a nice bold castle logo directly in the center. The best thing about this $59 watch is that it comes with a genuine sapphire crystal which truly beats its competitors such as Daniel Wellington, MVMT, and numerous other brands. Those watches cost 4 times the price and come with a mineral crystal, which is quite low-end. I did not find any blemishes or rough/sharp surfaces and the case seems to be cut nicely.  Dial The dial is a creamish white color and has a sunburst effect when the sunlight hits it which looks pretty cool to the naked eye. It is a rather simple no nonsense 9-5 watch with sharp polished dauphine hands which allow for easy legibility on top of this white dial. The watch also features triangular shaped polished applied indices while the Castle logo is printed at 12:00 and “CASTLE” directly at 6:00. Some might prefer the blue sunburst dial as it does stand out a bit more but id rather be low key with a dressy/casual watch of this nature.  Movement This is a simple 2 handed watch powered by the trusty Miyota 2035 Quartz movement by the Citizen group. This movement runs on a battery and is known for accuracy and reliability. You will find yourself only gaining a few seconds a month while an automatic watch will gain a few minutes a month. Caseback At this price range it was nice to see a etched logo on the caseback, as well as it being screwed down. Most cases at this pricepoint would simply cut corners and throw on a pop on caseback so i do praise them for standing out from the rest. Standard specifications are also circularly etched around the outer portion. Genuine Italian Leather Strap A 22MM Sand Colored Genuine Italian leather band equipped with quick-release pins for easy removal. The band is definitely a decent quality band and is very comfortable straght out of the box. The buckle is signed and brushed to match the case finish.   ConclusionCastle watch co is not trying to lie to you and sell you a “Luxury watch at a affordable price”. They are simply trying to offer you the most for your coin as they possibly can. This is good to see as other brands in this segment are money hungry and charging a rediculous markup. I think if your on the hunt for something you can rock everyday to the office, cafe, or around town this can fill that need. The nice italian band and sapphire crystal add to the value Castle has to offer here. Hands-on Video Review Below   
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6/29/2018 0 Comments Maratac X1 SR-35 Automatic Dive Watch Review - CountyComm (Limited Production 250PCS ) CountyComm sells Maratac products and watches through their webshop at a very reasonable price of $299 so I figured I’d take a look at one. The watch seems of very good quality and is actually assembled by the owner himself before being shipped out. This is brilliant because you will not have to worry about any quality control problems other smaller brands see as their assembly is done in Asia for the most part, or shipped directly from the factory in Asia to the direct consumer.Packaging The watch comes in a Taco shaped zip open case with the watch enclosed and some slots for extras on the outside for straps, or tools. I am not a huge presentation box fan and am fine with this. Case The nice standard 40MM diameter case size really sits on my wrist nicely and also feels secure at the same time. At a time when watch brands are generally producing smaller watches Maratac goes with the flow. This case is completely brushed in 316L stainless steel and features drilled lugholes which makes it a pleasure to swap out straps. Looking at the thickness through my calipers we get 14.3MM measurement which is doable but not super thin. This is a tough and durable watch once you feel it in hand and it was certainly designed that way. The water resistance rating provided is 10 Atmospheres or 100M so although falling more into the category of a dress diver or tool watch, it is still capable of going in the water with you. The X1 features a screw down crown which pops out and screws in very securely and there is no wobble. The caseback is also screwed down and marked with their famous Triton logo for some visual excitement.   Dial The rather typical tool dive-like dial is proportioned with perfection with the absence of a date window. There are double markers located at 12-3-6-9 for legibility snd smaller markers in between with lumed dots towards the center portion of the dial. The nice Orange tipped seconds hand matches the Maratac logo printed on beneath the 12:00 position as well as “WR 10ATM” above the 6:00. The very fine minute markings certainly give this watch somewhat of a militaristic look which is a nice blend when combined with a typical diver. Now, the 120 Click unidirectional Ceramic bezel certainly plays a role on the X1, allowing for more of a formal dive watch with the very high sheen polished black ceramic. Getting to the actual bezel action it is really super tool like and precise with zero backplay, allowing for a perfect alignment to the 12:00. Lume is applied on the bezel as well as all of the markers/hands/Pips. The lume is triple applied X1 High grade C3 superluminova which glows green and is certainly strong and will last the night next to you in your bed.  Movement At this pricepoint of below $300 USD , we get a tough, trusted and reliable Seiko 3 hertz NH35 24 jewel automatic movement. The great thing about the NH35 is that we get hand winding and a hacking feature for precise timeset. These movemenys generally keep great time with this model gaining around 4 seconds a day, so no complaints there. One Piece Maratac Zulu Strap The 20MM strap supplied is definitely one of a high quality Nylon. What I do like is that this is a one piece strap instead of the standard Nato strap which would make the watch wear too bulky on the wrist. I also do like the nice black buckle with their branding. There is one stationary keeper which is tough and allows you to fold the excess of the strap under it. I wasn’t so sure about this strap as I have seen a lot of low quality ones from other companies but once in hand I realized it is one of the higher quality ones. Then again, it has to be tough to hold a 84 gram case to the wrist.   ConclusionThe X1 by Maratac CountyComm has certainly been a positive purchase. The watch is tough, classy, robust, and tool like at the same time. For $299 I believe they are offering a lot for the money when we look at components such as a ceramic bezel, beautiful Zulu strap, fine brushed case, immaculate bezel action, and so on. I can and will reccomend this watch to my viewers if your on the hunt for a diver in this price range. I have also left a link below to their page where they dont just sell watches, but hundreds of other interesting items as well. www.countycomm.com  Trintec, the brand who Bell and Ross essentially designed their watches after which has existed since 1984. They produce all types of Aviation and Pilot watches including clocks, pilot bags, and other products as well. I have had experience with Trintec twice in the past with two of their automatic models which I was quite content with for the price. Today we will take a closer look at their new Co Pilot Quartz Chronograph which has all of those same great components as their automatic lines.Viewers can enter code WATCHADDICT on Trintecs shop for 50$ off ( I do not make commission )Packaging Case Now the model I have shown is the all blacked out DLC model of the CoPilot, which looks pretty stealth and sleek. It is entirely comprised of 316L stainless steel underneath the coating. The case diameter measures 42MM with a thickness of 15MM. The lug width is typical at 22MM and the Lug to Lug distance with these aviation styled case comes in at 54MM. The great thing about this watch is that is does have 100M of water resistance making this a true land, air, and sea watch ( besides diving ). The mid size crown at 3:00 is left blank and is screwed down as well as the steel caseback for water resistance. This is a fully functional chronograph so our typical short pushers are located at 2:00 for start/stop, and 4:00 for a smooth reset. Another nice feature is the addition of their standard 120 Click unidirectional rotating bezel which is very tool like and has solid clicks with minimal play on my example. For you OCD freaks, the bezel does align with the 12:00 position as well.  Dial The black dial on the CoPilot is covered by a Sapphire crystal with Anti-Reflective coating and has a typical Pilot chronograph layout. The movement being used allows us to have Three Subdials - 1. Running 60 seconds 2. 24 Hour Subdial 3. 60 minute chronograph countdown. The large numerals in white matching the fine minute markings are certainly large for a reason, easy legibility. When piloting an aircraft you want to be able to read your watch at a glance and the CoPilot is definitely suitable for that. A nice play of orange and yellow allows the watch to have somewhat of a sportier look and just looks good in my opinion. Luminova covers all of the numerals as well as the large plungeur hands and fine minute markings. Between 4/5 there is a date cutout which I am not so sure about considering the dial is a bit busy already, but a date can’t hurt.  MovementThe movement they decided to go with is the Japanese Miyota OS20 quartz chronograph movement. This movement has a really long battery life of 2-3 years and is generally reliable and very accurate within a couple seconds a month gained. If your one who does not like Quartz movements id definitely suggest taking a look at some of their automatic watches with movements such as the Seiko NH35. Although, if a Valjoux was placed inside this watch it would certainly be way thicker, and cost a lot more money. It would also be hard to mod a stock 7750 for the complications this movement allows. Silicone Strap The 22MM silicone strap is a very soft and flexible band and allows for no break-in period out of the box. It is also fairly long incase you were wondering if it would fit your larger wrist. The buckle is sterile and all black to match the case. It does attract a little lint , like most Silicone straps but that is not a big deal to me nor a dealbreaker. Its comfortable, flexible, and personally I am not going to swap out bands because I am one who enjoys comfort.  ConclusionTrintec has been around for sometime now and are always creating new timepieces , which shows us the consumer that they are going to here for the longrun. This is good in my eyes especially when microbrands pop up with a model and dissapear into the clouds the next month. Their watches are always well constructed and function without issues in all three Trintec pieces I have owned. This model, while being quartz, it is quartz for a purposeful reason. I can say I do reccomend this watch if you are looking for a tough, well built, water resistant, pilot themed chronograph that will last years to come with neccesary battery changes. You can read more about this watch on their website listed below. WWW.TRINTEC.COM    DUFA , short for Deutsche Unrenfabrik is a brand producing mainly Bauhaus inspired timepieces in many different styles and varieties. They pay tribute to the great bauhaus era where it originated in Germany with some unique deisgns and original style cues. Today, I have the Dufa Bayer automatic in a gold tone to take a closer look at and give you my thoughts on the watch.Case The case on the 9016-03 is comprised of stainless steel and IP plated in a yellow gold tone. It measures 40MM in diameter and is rather thin at 10MM thick. The kettle shaped case is highly polished all around and has short lugs which really makes the Bayer present itself as a true 40MM timepiece. The 20MM lug width is definitely suffice for the rest of the dimensions and looks in tune with the case. The watch is water resistant to 5 atm or 50M which is typical for this style of dress watch, and one should certainly not swim while wearing it.   Dial The dial is clean, legibile, and as bauhaus as it gets. The white dial certainly stands out in contrast to the yellow gold case and pops a bit at first glance. Thin applied gold numerals surround the dial and almost appear to be hovering over the circular cutout we get on this dial. The large DUFA applied shield allows symmetry with the addition of the circular date window at 6:00 which contains black numerals and a white background to match the dial color. Moving outwards, the slightly sloped chapter ring displays 0-60 fine minute markings where easy time reading. The blue hands and sweeping seconds hand are also a nice touch. One thing I noticed is that there is no counter balance on the seconds hand allowing for a cleaner, bauhaus look. “Made in Germany”’is also printed below the 6:00 position to show this watch was assembled/produced in Germany. Lastly, the dial is covered by a domed Sapphire crystal as well as the exhibition caseback, which is expected at this pricepoint. Movement DUFA has watches at all different pricepoints using different movements. This watch , the Bayer retails at $800 USD converted from Euros and contains a very nice Swiss Made Selitta SW200-1 automatic self winding movement. You can expect around 38 hours of power reserve and a beat rate of 4 hertz. The movement itself contains 26 jewels and is a big competitor to the ETA 2824. I did notice through the exhibition caseback DUFA added a custom rotor and it looks quite good in my opinion. I have seen the Selitta SW200 offered in watches from brands such as ORIS, down to microbrands. The SW200 gets the job done and keeps fairly accurate time. Strap The quick release genuine calf leather strap is quite luxurious and supple. It also comes equipped with quick release pins and custom curved ends so the watch sits straight on the wrist. I have experienced a few DUFA watches in my time at Watch Addict and the straps are always of very good quality, so no complaints there. The buckle contains the DUFA shield signature and is plated to match the case.   ConclusionFurthermore, the Bayer certainly is a well constructed timepiece and does fill a niche sector in the watch industry. While other brands producing bauhaus styled german watches with equivalent movements and components are priced a bit steeper than the $800 USD pricetag of the Bayer, it is still reasonably priced for todays market. I do love the classic, clean, elegant, and versatile styling of the 9016 and can definitely reccommend it to my readers. I have left a link below where you can check DUFA out. Click here to be directed to their official webpage   
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