TGIF: Nautica Plastic and Resin Watches At Reasonable Prices

I recently came across a couple of interesting Nautica watches that use resin in the cases or straps.  They are both attractive watches and come in around a $50 price point.  In these inflationary times, $50 seems to be a rare price point for a quartz watch with a known and popular designer brand label. Let's take a quick look at the Nautica watches in question.  The first is the Nautica N83 Men's Coronado Bay Black Case, Black Dial, Back Resin Strap Watch.  The model number is NAPCNF109.  According to the Amazon listing here, this watch has a plastic case and a resin strap.

The Nautica N83 Coronado Bay Plastic Watch in Black

This first watch offers a reassuring 100 meters of water resistance. It has a bit of lume on the markers and hands and Indiglo backlighting. This isn't surprising since Timex Group designs, manufactures, and sells Nautica watches under a licensing agreement. On Amazon, some reviewers criticize the Indiglo function for not working or being faint, but overall the watch gets 4.4 stars out of 83 ratings. One Spanish-language reviewer stated that the watch was a good value for the money.

The blue version, the Nautica N83 Coronado Bay is similar. The model number is NAPCNS214. This watch offers 50 meters of water resistance. The listing for this watch says that the case is made of resin and the strap is made of silicone. This Nautica Coronado Bay watch is available here on Amazon.

The Nautica N83 Coronado Bay Resin Watch in Blue

I generally prefer watches with metal cases. But, I have plenty of watches that have plastic or resin cases.  My venerable Casio Forester has a plastic case. My LaCoste watch has a composite (plastic) case. Even my Armani Exchange watch touts at nylon case. 

Poking around on the internet, I see that plastics and resins are touted as being lighter than metals and appropriate for long wear as sport watches. I'm certainly no materials engineer, but the rise of various plastics is an interesting development when it comes to name brand watches.

Watch Wearing Wednesday: Perry Ellis Solar Watch

As Halloween approaches, it's time to show more watches in spooky situation.  But, with the bright blue of my Perry Ellis Solar, it's hard to be spooky. Plus, this wood carving relief of a skull isn't exactly scary. Nevertheless, I love to show this watch off because it has been a great addition to my collection and its a very comfortable watch to wear.

A Perry Ellis Solar Watch

One cool thing is that I've finally found this exact Perry Ellis Solar watch on Amazon and you can get it for a nice price.  If you want to read my complete review of this great watch, you can find it here on this blog.

Perry Ellis Solar Watch (Amazon photo)

Sharp Watch Shout Out: UNDONE Basecamp Classic Military and Vintage-Inspired Automatic

If you're willing to experiment with a new brand, you might be well rewarded.  The new brand, UNDONE, has some great looking offerings on Amazon.  This 40mm diameter watch has the venerable Japanese NH35 automatic movement, a Lexan polycarbonate lens, and an attractive leather strap.

UNDONE Basecamp Classic

This watch offers a unique and very attractive look for less than $400. It also has 100 meters of water resistance for real performance. This Hong Kong-based brand makes rugged and beautiful watches across their entire product catalog. But, this Basecamp Classic earns them this week's sharp watch shout out. It's just a great looking watch. To see it on Amazon, check out this product listing.

Wristwatch Review: Tahari Diver-Style Watch

Recently, I've been wearing some of the inexpensive watches that I picked up over the summer. This one from Tahari is one of my finds from watch shopping at Burlington. For $20 to $25, this Tahari watch checks many of the Diver-style watch design boxes on my list. 

Poolside with my Tahari Men's Watch

Tahari Watch Style

Fashion designer Elie Tahari is best known for women's fashions and accessories. In the days of disco, he popularized the tube top. The vast majority of Tahari labeled products are aimed at women. However, under Bluestar Alliance brand management, the Accutime produces a limited number of Tahari-branded watches for men. However, I found Tahari branded men's watches at Burlington and you sometimes see them on various online auction sites.

My Tahari diver-style watch has a dodecagonal (12-sided) bezel that does not rotate. Around the circular dial white numeral batons are edged with gold tone as are the hour and minute hands.  A thin second hand is also gold-toned.  The gold tone is continued with the crown.  It's a nice look that is not overwhelming or gaudy.

As a fashion watch, the Tahari is not for swimming or diving

The watch is comfortable to wear with a soft strap and it doesn't stand overly tall on the wrist for easy wear with long-sleeved shirts or business attire. According to the caseback, this watch uses a standard SR626SW watch battery. As an inexpensive watch, you can readily see that the bezel is simply molded into the case. It's a minor detail that reveals that this one is a cheap watch.

Tahari Watch Construction

Without an online listing of this watch, I have to assess the materials by look, feel, and labeling. The watch has a stainless steel caseback and a somewhat slick feeling case that I presume is a base metal. It doesn't have the solid feel of a stainless steel case or the flexibility of a plastic case. It has a flat crystal that seems like the glass crystals of most Accutime watches. The strap is generously long and made of "simulated leather."  I would not count on this watch having any water resistance beyond minor handwashing splashes. However, for a $20 fashion watch, I feel that the build quality of this one is pretty decent. Accutime certainly knows how to mass produce quartz watches with lots of brand names at match various price points.

The Tahari Dive-Style watch for men has a generous simulated leather strap

Tahari Watch Dimensions

This Tahari watch has rather large, manly man, dimensions. The case is 47mm in diameter and 10mm thick with 24mm lugs.  From the tip of one lug across the watch to the tip of the opposite lug is about 55mm.  I like that that strap fits my rather large wrist and is long enough to fit both keepers.  Overall, this watch is large without being obnoxious and is easy to read and easy to wear.

This Tahari watch looks good when the lights are low

Tahari Watch Overall Impression

I like this watch.  It's one of my favorite cheap watches.  It's lightweight and comfortable for all day wear.  It's also very easy to read. Most importantly, this Tahari Men's Watch simply looks good. 

Watch Wearing Wednesday: Mexican Food with my LaCoste 12:12 Quartz Watch

Sometimes an alligator (or crocodile) gets hungry and you have to feed it.  Such was the case recently, when I wore my LaCoste 12:12 quartz watch out on the town.  You can tell the little guy is famished at 3 o'clock!

The LaCoste Crocodile Logo on the LaCoste 12:12 Quartz Watch

Since this basic black LaCoste watch is always fashionable and ready to go, it was no problem to take him out to a local Mexican restaurant.  Here he is lurking suspiciously near our appetizer chips and salsa.  Stay out of my salsa pond crocodile . . .

The LaCoste 12:12 Quartz Watch

Finally, the main course arrived. I opted for a shredded chicken chimichanga which came with rice and a small tortilla bowl of a pico, guacamole, and sour cream.  From the LaCoste's gaping jaws, I'd imagine it was after the chicken.

The LaCoste 12:12 with a Chicken Chimichanga

While this was just a silly outing with a favorite casual watch, you can read my full review of the LaCoste 12:12 quartz watch here.  For an assortment of LaCoste watches for men (including the current LaCoste 12:12 TR90) bang it here for LaCoste Men's Watches on Amazon.

Watch Sighting: Ed Hardy Watches at Walmart

Guess what I just saw at Walmart? Ed Hardy wristwatches. You probably knew that from the title of this post. But, I was shocked and surprised to see sizeable watch aisle end cap full of watches from the famed tattoo artist's brand. Two varieties on display caught my eye. The first (below) has the famed Ed Hardy "Love Kills Slowly" design.

Ed Hardy "Love Kills Slowly" Watch

The second design (below) was a variation on the skull watch.  It's cool to see a skull sculped into the watch dial itself.  This one also incorporates a rose design into the strap and what appears to be a serpent weaving its way through the strap and the skull. It's nice to see the tattoo art that Ed Hardy is renowned for incorporated into the watch designs.

An Ed Hardy Skull Watch incorporating a rose and chain motif on the strap

At Walmart, both of these watches are only $20.98. If you'd like to check out a similar Ed Hardy Skull Watch, bang it here to visit Amazon. 

Once made synonymous with Jersey Shore and various reality TV and celebrity jackasses, the Ed Hardy brand has seen its ups and downs and has been in the hands of various branding companies for many years. Since 2021, the Ed Hardy brand has been licensed exclusively in North America by the American Exchange Group as part of a three year deal with the brand company Iconix Brand Group Inc. 

I never watched Jersey Shore and I don't keep too close of a track on fashion, so for me the Ed Hardy story boils down to a couple of key points:

1. You'll find Ed Hardy brand watches in Burlington, Ross, and just recently, Walmart stores for very affordable prices.

2. Ed Hardy's tattoo art is cool looking and has a lot of visual appeal.

It's kind of cool that the Ed Hardy brand and the artistry of these watches are now available to so many people through affordable outlets. I find that these watches definitely add variety to a watch collection. I'll probably add more myself as time and finances permit. 

 

Wristwatch Review: Armani Exchange Chronograph with Black Hands

Recently, I've been wearing a very stylish watch from Armani Exchange (A|X). It's an interesting watch in terms of comfort, wear-ability, and readability. 

A|X Chrono Watch Style

The Armani Exchange Chronograph is a fashion watch and style takes precedence over function. The first thing you'll notice is that this watch is black. Black case. Black Dial. Black hour and minute hands. Wait! Black hands? Yes, matte black hands. Isn't that hard to read? Uh, yes. You definitely have to look close and read this one deliberately.  The watch also has brighter markings for subdials and yellow hands for the second hand and subdial hands. However, on sunny days, the watch is quite a bit easier to read.

A|X Chrono Watch Construction

This watch has a black nylon case, a stainless steel caseback, and a silicone strap. It has 3 atmospheres of pressure (ATM) of water resistance which is equivalent to 30 meters of water resistance.  In practical terms, this watch is safe for handwashing dishes, rain, and washing the car.  However, you wouldn't want to immerse it in water.

A|X Chrono Watch Dimensions

The Armani Exchange Chronograph has a 44mm diameter case that is 12mm thick.  It has a 22mm wide silicone watch strap.  The strap has a generous length and fits my wrist comfortably. It's a light watch to wear at 2.05 ounces in weight.

A|X Chrono Overall Impression

As a designer watch at an accessible price point, the Armani Exchange Chronograph looks and feels cool. It has a nice casual look. However, the subdials are a bit hard to read and the date window at 4:30 on the dial is very small.  There is a chance that this watch might be aimed at a young market with better eyes.  If the style hits for you and the price is right, give it a shot.  You can find it here on Amazon. You'll also find some different color and case material combinations at the link.