Today is part two of our current stop in the Armitron catalog. Yesterday’s post left some to be desired when it comes to the bracelet – how will today’s model fare?
Well, once again, we’ve got quite the string of numbers and letters to denote the model. To keep them straight in my own mind, I’ve taken to calling this one the “gunmetal and red” one – for obvious reasons. This color pallette works well. More commonly you’ll see red paired with black, but I think the gunmetal tones things down a bit, and makes for a nicer mix.
As with yesterday’s model, we have a textured dial that features three subdials for the day, date, and 24-hour indicator (once again, fool-you chrono looks). Unlike yesterday’s model, however, the lume is not as present – and what is there loses energy very quickly, due to the “dark” lume in use here (yes, that picture below is a lume shot).
This watch also has a folded-link bracelet like we had yesterday. Somehow, this one one has a sturdier / higher-quality feel to it. Some of this may be due to the coating, but I don’t think that can be the only reason. It just seems like a better built bracelet. Of course, when the butterfly portion of the bracelet has a brushed finish (not the same gunmetal finish of the rest of the bracelet), it raises some questions on the thoroughness of the design.
This is a beefier case (44mm wide, 13.5mm thick), and features a flat crystal and 50 meter water resistance rating. At right around $91 (Amazon), it’s priced “ok” for what you’re getting. I really wanted to like this piece, but with the the finish oddity on the bracelet and the poor lume, I would opt for yesterday’s model first, if I were deciding between the two.