Szanto was nice enough to loan me three watches to review on this site, with the Szanto 2252 being the second piece of the trio. The Szanto 1100 was the first watch I reviewed, and I liked the look and feel of this field watch. Yet to come is a 4000 series, a two eyed chrono which I have also liked. My relationship with the thee eyed 2252 chronograph, however, is more complicated.
For whatever reason (maybe it is because Patrick, John and I are all guys?) we don’t cover a lot of women’s watches here on WWR. For my part, I see a fair number of watches that would qualify as unisex, and most of the women I know (including my wife) tend prefer larger watches, not 50mm big, but at least around 40mm. But if you want something smaller, and with some high end materials (and a high end price tag), then the Frederique Constant Slimline Moonphase might be the ticket (Christmas is just around the corner…).
TokyoFlash Japan Kisai Vortex 04These guys have me confused right now. On the one hand, the TokyoFlash Japan Kisai Vortex LCD watch is probably the nicest looking and most refined watch I have seen from them. On the other hand, what time it? It is a sharp looking watch with their own twist on the actual telling time part of a watch’s function.
Lately, we have highlighted a number of automotive inspired watches here at WWR. Some have been tied to specific cars, like the Jaguar and Ferrari upcycled chronos from Christopher Ward, while others, like the new watches from REC, are tied to brands. Autodromo, a fairly new brand based in New York, is harkening back to a bygone era of vintage motoring with their watches and accessories. The watch I like the best, the Autodromo Stradale, has the look of a vintage speedometer, complete with the raised chapter ring reminiscent of cars from to 50s through 70s.
I have written about it here before, and I will say again, that I own an Anstead Oceanis. The original Anstead Oceanis, as sold on Kickstarter. It was my first really big (relatively) purchase on that site, my first crowd funded watch, and one of the reasons why I am currently on staff here at WWR; it stirred enough passion in me to offer to write a review, which led to more writing, which led to this gig. Now Tom Anstead, the man behind the watch, has relaunched it in a way, selling the Oceanis direct through his web site. But this version, still under the same name, and still “the first of the naval combat series,” is really an improvement and refinement over the original Oceanis, a watch I still enjoy and wear.
While the overall watch case design movement may be staying with the mid-40mm case, I have seen quite a few designs of late that are less than 40mm across, designed for me (or at least unisex) and are round. The Melbourne Watch Company Parkville automatic is just the most recent of these. Skipping the crowdfunded phase that started the brand’s previous efforts, the Parkville is being offered as a pre-order on their website, an encouraging sign that this young watchmaking firm has a strong enough following to sell direct.
I was introduced to this site based on a watch I purchased through Kickstarter, and started writing reviews on watches on that site, and then branched out a bit, finally becoming official and covering anything watch related then comes my way. But I still have a soft spot for Kickstarter, and consider it part of my beat. When Zelos was designing their first watch, which they were offering on the site, they reached out to us and offered us an early peek at the project page. Frankly, it hit just the right number of buttons for me, so I jumped in an bought a Zelos Helmsman, in bronze, serial number 01/50, and was actually the first backer on the project.
Cobra de Calibre is a small brand out of Canada that is back with a second watch project on Kickstarter. I really like the style of the watch, though my timing in making other purchases always seems to put these projects at the wrong time for me. I covered their first watch when I was still just a friend of the site in February of this year, and they are selling a slightly refined version as their model 2 on their web site. This project, the Cobra de Calibre 3 Twin Crown carries forward a lot of the brand’s established identity, but takes it in a new direction with a bronze case, and a DLC coated bronze case.
What do you wear when you want a blast of color to match your outfit? What about when you like to change your color choices often, but don’t have a lot of money? You could go with a nice watch and swap out straps, or maybe you invest in a few watches that you can wear with a variety of options. Or.. you could go with bright, inexpensive watches that really pop. This is what the SlideIdentity Slim Collection on Kickstarter is all about. Their project puts out low cost Italian made quartz watches with polycarbonate cases that come in at a svelte 8.5mm.
I am one of those guys that wears a watch all the time. Well, almost all the time, when I am involved in one of my potentially dangerous activities, I don’t wear a watch. For me, this is road biking, mountain biking and rock climbing. It isn’t that I don’t want to know the time, it is that if I take a fall (and I have been known to crash my mountain bike a fair bit), I don’t want to damage my watch. But now, the Haigh & Hastings M2 Diver can ease that worry, pairing a nice looking, sensible diver with a 5-year damage repair guarantee.
