Today, we’re going to take a look at a pair of watches from Ziiiro -the Ion and the Proton. These watches are firmly in the “fashion” end of the spectrum, but let’s see if there’s not something here to grab your attention.
First up, we have the Ion, which has a silver dial on the milky white strap. This is a quartz watch stripped down to the barest essentials – you’ve got hours and minutes indicated, but no indicators actually on the dial. In other words, this is not a watch to wear if you’re concerned about precise time keeping.
And I should note something about the wearing. I was unable to fit either of these watches onto my wrist. This is because, as the Ziiiro page notes, these are for smaller wrists. They’re intended to fit something in the 5.3″ – 6.3″ (13.5 cm – 16 cm), which is where I had the issue.
Now, over to the Proton, arguably the more interesting of the two. You can see that the dial has a good bit of color on it, courtesy of two different colored discs (yellow and blue), which means that throughout the day, the dial is constantly changing the colors displayed. While this is at first a little odd to read the time with, it’s rather intuitive. Of course, if you’re unsure, you can always check out this handy page that Ziiiro put together.
Regardless of the watch you select, there are some commonalities between them:
- Miyota IL-26 Quartz Movement
- 38mm x 7.5mm case
- Mineral crystal
- 30m water resistance
- One year warranty
And in fact, they’re similar enough that you actually exchange them between straps, or any of the other options they have available in there store (at 45 EUR apiece). Now, as to the pricing – these are not throwaway watches. The Ion comes in at 105 EUR ($128), and the Proton goes for 129 EUR ($170). While they are attractive watches, they’re definitely not for me. This is primarily due to the sizing issue, but it feels to me like you don’t get as much with these watches as the prices might suggest. Of course, if the style and size work for you, you could build quite an interchangeable collection.
