Welcome back to our weekly installment, where we have a quick look at some interesting watches and articles that have popped up over the last week, as well as taking a second look at what some of our more popular articles this week were. Today, we’ve got some a vintage watch buying guide, Shinola’s latest clocks, and an editorial that attempts to hammer out whether or not mechanical tool watches are relics. After those, we’ll highlight (as usual) some of our more popular posts from the last week. Read on to see what we’ve got in store for you.
Over at Gentlemen’s Gazette, they tackle the topic of buying a vintage watch. It’s an area that has a lot of interest, especially now that mechanical watches are en vogue. In this article, they really focus on the bargain-hunting aspect, which is something we don’t often see. They cover all the usual bases (know what you want, don’t believe the “too good to be true”, get to know the seller) that these articles normally cover. What I like that they did here was they’ve even thrown in some good “checklist” type of stuff for when you’re evaluating the condition of the watch. For anyone bargain hunting in the “old watch” section, this is a must-read article.
By now, you’re no doubt familiar with Shinola – they grabbed our attention with Detroit-made watches, and they’ve expanded into bicycles and leather goods as well. We got word recently that they’re not just making Detroit their home for a convenient byline – they’re starting to give back to the city. They’re doing that now by gifting four clocks to various Detroit landmarks, with the first one having been unveiled at Cobo Hall (Washington & W. Larned). For those in and around the city, you can keep your eyes peeled for them to show up also at Eastern Market (Shed 3), Midtown Detroit (Cass & Western), and over by the College for Creative Studies (West Milwaukee & Cass).
Over at Gear Patrol, they tackle a very specific argument in the quartz vs. mechanical watch debate – which type of movement truly makes sense as an outdoors-oriented tool watch? To be sure, things like price and functions will enter into the equation to some degree. If you set all that aside, however, you’re left with a basic question of what type of movement you want on your expedition. It’s an interesting point/counterpoint article by Shane Griffin and Jason Heaton, ultimately leaving the question up to you to decide. If nothing else, it’ll give you some food for thought – or ammunition for your next discussion on the topic.
And now, let’s come back to our own pages, where some new watches that are coming up for order seemed to really grab some attention this week. First up, we’ve got another Detroit connection, with the Kickstarter project launched by Canvas. On the surface of things, this seems to be a fairly simply three-hander quartz watch. Where the twist comes in for them is the fact that the “dial” is printed on the under-side of the crystal. This means you have an interesting 3D effect, as well as being able to change around the look of the piece in manufacturing pretty easily. You can see what Matt thought about the watch right here.
Then, we’ve got those new Commando GMT watches coming out from Hager. These are watches that present what is, at this point, classic styling (ie, it’s a Rolex-inspired style that’s remained popular) that appeal to many looking for a simple diver type watch. The pre-order window is open until the 28th of April, so you’ve still got some time to figure out if you’ll be picking one up. For more details, check out the original post here.
With that, we’ll wrap things up. As always, if there’s something you think we should be covering, feel free to drop us a line (mailto:[email protected]). If you bring something up that we end up writing about, we’ll be sure to tip our hats (electronically, if not literally) in your general direction.
Pictures courtesy of the source site
