I am not sure why I was recently on a kick of reviewing chronographs, but I ended up with a couple of review chronos all in roughly the same time period. The AVI-8 Hawker Hunter was one that I was looking forward to reviewing, since I wear one of their watches quite a bit. I have an issue with the watch, but overall it is a comfortable, reliable military/aviation themed watch, and a good deal here in the US.
I first saw the Kloker Watch on their own web site, before it was launched on Kickstarter, and I was interested in the project. Life being what it is, I did not have a chance to cover it right when it launched, but I did see that they received a lot of coverage, both from watch bloggers and from gadget watchers. Now, with a little time remaining before the project closes, Klokers introduced a second model into the mix.
I don’t see a lot of watches with tritium gas tubes for illumination, so I was pretty interested in checking out the two Chronologia Dive Watches, the R004 and R004 Chronograph. I was also a tad skeptical, since I do have an automatic preference for automatics, but I found that I really enjoyed wearing both of these watches (though the 3-hander is more my style).
If you stick around long enough, everything old becomes new and hip again, and now it is the pocket watch’s turn. And keep in mind, the very first wrist watches for the masses were just pocket watches with lugs, so it seems only fitting to circle back to our roots. Of course, the Itero Pocket Watch, currently funding on Kickstarter, updates those roots in some modern ways.
As I have mentioned previously , there is just something about a steel-encased three-hander that makes for a very flexible watch. There are, of course, no shortage of options, and I have recently run across one from a brand that we have not had on our pages in some time – Momentum. With the Momentum Logic, there also exists the possibility for you pick up a his-and-hers combo, were you so inclined.
OK, I am kidding a bit, the world is not waiting for another deign driven watch, regardless of what half the projects on Kickstarter want you to believe. But design is important, I am am willing to wade past the breathless introductory message if I like the look of a crowd funded watch project, and I like the look of the Meshable Watches Chrono, currently seeking backers on Kickstarter. I do like minimalist watches, and this project is clean and functional, and not at all crowded despite the chronograph movement.
When a new, or at least fairly novel, watch product shows up in the market (and by market these days, it is increasingly on crowd funded sites), I like to take a look at it. We are being more selective in what we cover in the crowd funded market, but the Evarii Modular Watch, currently seeking funding on Kickstarter, is worth a look (actually a second look, since Patrick gave a sneak peek in February); it is also a sister brand to one we have covered a bit in the past, Egard. Evarii sent me components to mix and match two different watches, so I had a chance to play around with the concept.
So why do we wear watches? The obvious answer is that we want to know what time it is, but that begs the follow up question, why do you want to know what time it is. Maybe you have a date, a meeting, your parking meter is going to expire in an hour… But what if you just want to know the approximate time? Say, plus of minus 10 minutes. Like, when you are driving. It does not matter what time it is, you will get there when you get there. The Ferro Distinct Single Hand Watch, with it’s motoring look, is the perfect watch for those times in your lives.
So, I’m ready to book my flight into space and all I need is a watch and $100k. I know what you’re thinking. I need the Omega Speedmaster, a Breitling Navitimer or even a Russian Poljot. (I also need the cash, but let’s focus on watches.) Well, Luminox wants you to buy their SXC PC Carbon GMT. Luminox and XCOR Space Expeditions teamed up to create a family of “Space” watches. Luminox wants to sell you the watch; XCOR wants to sell you a ride into space.
Dual time complications are handy in the modern world, where we may be traveling, have loved ones in a different time zone, or need to work with colleagues across the country or even further afield. One way to track two time zones is with a GMT hand, but most of those are 24 hour hands, which requires a bit of mental arithmetic. Another way to do it is with dual dials, but those are tough to get aesthetically right. The Helgray Hornet takes a third way, with an internally rotating bezel that provides a second chapter ring.
