Sharp Watch Shout Out: MVMT Astro Blue Men's Quartz Chronograph Watch

The MVMT brand is a great choice for collectors who want great looks at affordable price points. They've zeroed in on younger watch collectors who can't afford the premium luxury brands that get so much attention in the watch media.  Originally a microbrand, MVMT grew into a company that was bought by the Movado Group. It's a watch company founders' dream. Today, I'm highlighting a sharp looking chronograph that looks like a million bucks, but costs less than $100.  On the MVMT website, this watch is called on Astro Blue. On Amazon, I call it one heck of a deal.

MVMT Astro Blue (Amazon Photo)

At 47mm in diameter, the Astro Blue is a big watch with lots of wrist presence.  But, it also has a sophisticated minimalist style that looks like a watch of substance. I love the dial color, the sophisticated old world crown, and the minimalist dial.  That's why the MVMT Astro Blue gets a sharp watch shout out!

If you'd like to get this watch, it's available at a bargain price here on Amazon via my affiliate link. This watch is proof that beauty, sophisticated style, a compelling brand story, and a bargain price can come together in a masterpiece.

An Indiana University Watch: The SunTime Men's Competitor

The Indiana University Hoosiers football program had an incredible season. They went undefeated all season and won the 2025-26 National College Football championship by defeating a strong Miami Hurricanes team. They also defined how winning college football programs are built in this era of compensated players and the transfer portal. If you are a long suffering Indiana football fan, you deserve a watch to celebrate this season. Fortunately, Suntime has a great dive-inspired watch with a 40mm diameter dial. It's called the SunTime Men's Competitor.

SunTime Men's Competitor (Amazon photo)

The SunTime Men's Competitor is available here via my Amazon affiliate link. It's a watch to celebrate champions!

Wristwatch Review: Kenneth Cole REACTION Quartz Chronograph Watch

This is a review of a Kenneth Cole REACTION watch that I've had for quite awhile. It's probably three or four years old. That's probably an eternity in the product life cycle of a fashion watch company. But, it is worth taking a look at this watch so that you can know what to expect from the brand.

Kenneth Cole REACTION Quartz Chronograph Watch

REACTION Watch Features

My Kenneth Cole REACTION chronograph has functional subdials and pusher buttons powering chronograph functions that include a 1/10 of a second timer at 12 o'clock, a second timer at 6 o'clock, and a minute timer at 9 o'clock. The watch also has the date canted at an angle in a window near 5 o'clock. The bezel has sporty diver-style markings, but is of the fixed (non-rotating) variety. From a functional perspective, the watch works well and the chronograph features work very well. I could easily use this watch to time some sort of event.

REACTION Watch Style

This watch has a bold, athletic, style. I think the blue case and blue dial work very well together. The dial has vertical stripes in relief to provide some additional visual interest.  

REACTION Watch Construction

Inside, the watch is powered by a Chinese-made  quartz movement. The watch has a stainless steel case back, a presumably base metal case, and a textured silicone strap. The watch takes an SR920SW watch battery.

Kenneth Cole REACTION Stainless Steel Caseback

This chronograph has 3 Atmosphere (30-meter) water resistance. That is enough to avoid damage from incidental splashes. However, the watch should be protected from full immersion from showers, swimming, dishwashing, or heavy rain.

REACTION Watch Dimensions

This Kenneth Cole REACTION chronograph is a bold presence on the wrist. It has a 45mm diameter case. It's almost 47mm if you include the crown. The case is 11mm thick.  The lug-to-lug measurements come in at 47mm. The stainless steel bracelet is 25mm wide at the lug and tapers to about 17mm at the clasp.  It's  long enough to fit my 7 3/4-inch wrist perfectly without adjustment.

This Kenneth Cole REACTION Chronograph is not a dog

When it comes time to replace this watch strap, I may face a challenge due to the unusual tapering of the strap to fit in the lugs and match the curvature of the case.

Overall Impressions of the REACTION Chronograph

The Kenneth Cole REACTION Chronograph was a great find for me at Ross. It has excellent chronograph functions and an easily read dial. Functional, affordable, and good looking, this was a great fashion watch buy.

TGIF: How much watch do you need?

It dawns on me that I'm not going to hike the Pacific Crest trail. I'm not going to dive on a Caribbean shipwreck in search of Spanish gold. I'm not even going to fly an aging DC-3 over the Sahara to deliver mercenaries and steal the Holy Grail. While I might imagine such adventures, it's enough to make me wonder if I really need to buy the perfect watches for them. When the watch ceases to be a necessary tool for adventure and becomes a talisman to ignite the imagination about potential adventures, you have the opportunity to save quite a bit of money on watches.

This Rolex Sea Dweller Might Be Overkill

Enter the fashion watch. A fashion watch might nail the adventuring look perfectly, but cost much less than the premium adventure watch. You could step down from the genuine dive watch to the diver-style watch. Externally, they look much the same. In fact, the diver-style watch might be a little skinnier and work more easily with your wardrobe. I've covered the differences between dive watch and a diver-style watch here with this blog post defining dive watches. I've also covered that you don't need a helium-release valve unless you are a commercial diver working with a diving bell. It's pretty simple. If you aren't Jacques Cousteau, you don't really need his Rolex.

A Commercial Dive Helmet

We've got a lot of programming to overcome. Financial success and hard work are often reflect on the wrist. But, with the rare exception of a few financial deal makers and salesmen, the high-end Swiss watch doesn't necessarily help build towards that success. After all, a $12,000 Rolex is the equivalent of 2400 $5 Lattes at the coffee shop down the street.

Affordable Alternatives to the Patek Philippe Nautilus

The Patek Philippe Nautilus is a watch with a value in the stratosphere. It was originally introduced in 1976 as a response to the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and marketed as the costliest steel watch in the world. The model shown (below) is the Reference 5711-1A and was produced from 2006 to 2021 is the most coveted in the collectors market. On Chrono24, a used Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711-1A is being sold for $124,999. It's a staggering price for most of us, but that blue dial is very popular.

The Patek Philippe Nautilus, Ref 5711-1A (Patek Philippe SA, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

The Reference 5711 is a 40mm diameter case, a date complication, and it also has an exhibition caseback that allows you to see the movement including its 21-carat gold rotor. As listed on Chrono24, the one I saw also has its original box and papers. It is definitely an amazing investment grade watch that may see its value rise and fall over the years. However, as a resident of a crime-plagued American big city, I'll definitely have to keep mine in a vault and look for an affordable alternative that I can present to muggers and home invaders.

Patek Philippe Nautilus Homage Watches

Fortunately, there is no shortage of Patek Philippe Nautilus homage watches. This iconic watch has inspired many watch designers.

Nibosi Nautilus Homage

Let's start with Nibosi. This brand makes some nice homage watches and some independent designs of their own. They make a nice looking quartz homage to the famed Patek Philippe. It even comes in 9 different dial and bracelet color combinations.

Nibosi Men's Quartz Analog Stainless Steel Watch (Amazon Photo)

You can check this watch out here on our Amazon affiliate link. It won't be nearly as comfortable as a real Patek, but you can wear it to Walmart or Waffle House without fear. It costs about $35.

Specht & Söhne Nautilus Homage

If you are looking for a slightly more upscale experience, Specht & Söhne offers a 5711 homage with a reliable Japanese Miyota 8215 automatic movement,  a screw-down crown, a stainless steel case and bracelet, and 50-meters of water resistance.

Specht & Söhne Nautilus Homage (Amazon Photo)

This watch movement allows hand-winding but can also be wound through the natural movement of your wrist. It might also be more analogous to wearing an actual Nautilus 5711. It also has an exhibition caseback. However, you'll miss that rotor of gold. You can check this watch out here with our Amazon affiliate link. If you like the Patek Philippe Nautilus design, this may be your best bet. It comes in 6 different case and color combinations. The brand also has homage watches that are similar to the Patek Philippe Aquanaut and Cubitus timepieces.

If you don't want a copycat homage to this famed watch, keep your eyes open. You may find similar design language with aspects of the porthole design theme or integrated bracelet in other watches from brands that might evoke the Nautilus in more subtle ways.

Watch Deal Alert: Timex Expedition Scout in Blue

Timex has a great Amazon deal on its Timex Expedition Scout watch with a blue dial and blue fabric strap.  This Timex Men's 40mm Expedition Scout has a blue dial and a denim-like blue fabric strap mixed with leather in all the right paces.  I reviewed the leather strap version of this watch back in 2018, you can read my Timex Expedition Scout review here. If you are allowed to wear jeans to your office, this watch is just perfect for that kind of casual look!

Timex 40mm Expedition Scout Watch (Amazon photo)

This Timex Expedition watch has Indiglo Backlighting, 50 meters of water resistance, and perfect blue watch dial and strap combination. It gets 4.4 stars among Amazon purchasers and they sell over 600 of these watches every month. It's a great beater watch that can stand up to everyday wear and outdoor activity. Plus, it's easy, breezy, and casual. No one will suspect you are part of an invasion force or anything.

The Timex Expedition Scout Amazon Deal

As of January 11, 2026, this watch is 35% off to come in under $30. If you'd like to jump on this deal, you can find this Timex Expedition Scout here via my Amazon affiliate link.

The Best Timex Offerings on Amazon

I've collected some of the best Timex watches being offered on Amazon in one convenient page - Best Timex Watches on Amazon.

Watches A to Z: Torgoen

If you are a watch enthusiast interested in affordable watches. One brand may deserve a second look: Torgoen. The Torgoen watch brand was founded in 2009 by watchmakers and aviation enthusiasts who were inspired by aircraft instrument panels. Led by Israeli-born pilot and entrepreneur, Benzi Rozenski, the brand focuses on practical, readable, aviation-themed, timepieces. The brand was acquired by E. Gluck Corporation in 2019. However, the focus on quality, design, and affordability continues unabated.

Torgoen T10 Carbon Pilot Watch for Men (Amazon photo)

One of the Torgoen watches that caught my eye is the Torgoen T10 Carbon Pilot Watch (above) for men. It has a 44mm diameter case, very readable hands and markers, 100-meter water resistance, and a Swiss Quartz Ronda movement. The Torgoen T10 watch is available here on Amazon via my affiliate link. 

Torgoen watches use quality Swiss movements, comfortable silicone or Italian leather straps, and high grade materials like 316L Stainless Steel for watch cases and K1 or sapphire for watch crystals. For affordability, final assembly of the watches may be done in Asian manufacturing centers. While a handful of Torgoen watches are offered on Amazon at very attractive prices, the brand primarily sells direct to consumer from their own website. 

Torgoen XP-51 (Torgoen Photo)

Some of the brand's most interesting timepieces are created in collaboration with the award-winning historic aircraft preservation firm, Pacific Fighters. As of this writing, all of the Torgoen x Pacific Fighters watches sell at price points between $350 and $500. Unfortunately, most of these limited production timepieces have sold out except for the current offering. The amazing Torgoen XP-51 Mustang Quartz GMT watch. It is made from wing flap skin metal from an actual P-51 Mustang that is undergoing restoration. You'll definitely want to check their website out for this watch, current offerings, clearance deals and more.  You can find them all here at Torgoen.com.