Wristwatch Review: Harry Williams Quartz Moon Phase Watch

Most of the elite dress watch makers offer watches with sophisticated moon phase complications. They offer old world charm, an easy way of knowing whether your watch is in the morning or evening and, usually, a whimsical smiling face or two. Earlier this year, I was able to score an outstanding deal on an affordable quartz moon phase watch from the upstart brand - Harry Williams. 

The Harry Williams Moon Phase Quartz Watch

Harry Williams Watch Features

The primary feature of this watch is the moon phase subdial. It shows the sun during the day and the moon at night. The faces are exactly centered at noon and midnight. In the evenings the sun gives way to stars and then the moon.  In the early morning, the moon and stars give way to the sun's rays and then the sun. 

Harry William Watch Construction

Construction is all stainless steel with 3 ATM (30-meter) water resistance. The watch comes with a leather strap and is also offered with a mesh bracelet. According to the Amazon copy, it has a mineral crystal or acrylic crystal.

Harry Williams Watch Style

Harry Williams was inspired by the contrasting personalities of the British Royal brothers:  Harry and William. The watch has a classic  minimalist design. The face is silver, not white as the Amazon copy says. Its contemporary dimensions make it feel like a modern watch while the sub-dial makes it feel old school. The applied batons are blue which matches the strap and makes the watch easy to read. 

However, one thing is a little weird. The sun and moon phases appear upside down in their aperture. Is it intentional humor or poor quality control? It's humor, I think. The brand embraces the convention of classic silhouettes, but gives itself "the freedom to surprise."

Harry Williams Watch Dimensions

By my measurements, this watch is 40mm in diameter and 9 mm thick.  The strap is 18mm wide.

Overall Impression of the Harry Williams Moon Phase Watch

I like this watch.  It's whimsical, weird, modern, and traditional all at one time. It's also comfortable to wear, easy to read, and a little classy.

Where to Buy Harry Williams Watches

You can visit the Harry Williams Watches website (here) to see the full variety of models. You can get 10% off by joining their mailing list. But, for a better watch deal, check out my affiliate link here to check out this Harry Williams Quartz watch. I've also seen a variety of Harry Williams watches appearing on online auction sites.

For alternatives to this moon phase watch, check out my post on moon phase watches under $100 here. For even more savings and ideas, check out affordable moon phase watches on my Amazon affiliate store front here.

Watch Deal Alert: Tommy Hilfiger 3H Quartz Watch - Blue Dial

I've found another great price on a Tommy Hilfiger 3H Quartz watch.  This time the deal is on a watch I already own.

This one is an attractive silver tone stainless steel watch with a blue sunray dial. It's currently 25% off on Amazon. With the Movado Group managing Chinese manufacturing and incorporating reliable Japanese quartz movements,  these watches are a solid value.

Tommy Hilfiger 3H Quartz Watch with Blue Sunray Dial (Amazon Photo)

This watch has a 42mm diameter case and 30-meters of water resistance. With the Amazon sale price, this watch sells for just under $90. However, there are many great deals on stable mates with other color and dial combinations. Most come in under $105. 

I received this watch as a Christmas gift and can vouch for its quality. Amazon beats the department store price, but it's a great watch any way you get it. If you'd like to check this one out, you can get it via my Amazon affiliate link here. Your purchase will help support this blog and you'll get a watch that punches far above its price class.

Watch Spotlight: The Relic Jaden Men's Watch

In this time of inflation and economic insecurity, it's good to find some watch values that allow us to feed the collecting bug while being prudent. I recently found this great looking Relic Watch on Walmart.com. It has a purposeful retro watch look, a 43mm diameter allow case, 30-meters of water resistance, a stainless steel case back, and a quartz movement. It's available for $80 online with the biggest of the big box stores.

Relic Jaden Quartz Watch (Amazon photo)

$80 is a decent price for a watch that has a little bit of a Rolex Milgauss thing going on. Over the years, I've found that Relic consistently brings great looking watches to market.  While it's easy to dismiss Relic as a bargain Fossil, these are substantive watches that wear well and last. 

While this model has disappeared from Amazon, you can see a wide variety of Relic watches for men here using this affiliate link to Amazon.

Watch Spotlight: AVI-8 Hawker Hurricane Automatic Aviation Watch

If you're looking for an interesting timepiece to add to your collection, you might look at the AVI-8 Hawker Hurricane Aviation watch. While the "flieger" design cues of a World War II aviation watch abound, the watch also includes styling cues to pay tribute to the Hawker Hurricane and the Battle of Britain. The tiny airplane silhouette at the rear of the second hand is just for fun.

AVI-8 watches are special timepieces that are still affordable. The JXB on the dial represents the Hawker Hurricane flown by Flight Lt. Arthur Victor Clowes--a Hurricane Ace with 11 confirmed victories.

The watch has a Japanese Automatic movement. It's a sizable watch with a 46mm case that is 14mm thick. It has a mineral crystal that is anti-reflective coated  It's also water resistant to 50-meters. (Only bad pilots need more.) The watch is secured via a 22mm diameter leather strap.

As an automatic, the AVI-8 Hawker Hurricane competes well with offerings from a variety of watchmakers. It comes in under $400. That's a great price for a special watch that few others are likely to have. Many pay more for exclusivity. AVI-8 also offers a wide variety of quartz models that are worthy of consideration. (I was given an AVI-8 Hawker Hurricane quartz model back in 2012 in exchange for a fair review.  You can read that review  here on this blog.

If you'd like to check this automatic watch out, use my affiliate link to the AVI-8 Hawker Hurricane Automatic here on Amazon before these watches fly away.

Attack of the Preppies: A Pair of Black Watches to Watch

When it comes to aggressive timepieces, everyone focuses on dedicated tactical and famed field watches that strike a paramilitary chord in our collective psyches. But, what if the real threat was the preppies? No one suspects them. But, we've seen the 80s movies. The preppy villains got their come uppance back then. But, they could strike back now. There could be a popped collar legion gathering strength right now.  They've got own stealthy watches. Let's look at a pair of preppy battle watches!

This Hilfiger 3-Hand Quartz watch (above) is a masterpiece of dark design. It's black with a 44mm diameter silicone case, a 24mm wide silicone strap, and a stainless steel case back. The watch is 11.1mm thick and offers 50-meter water resistance  It's also on sale for less than $60. You can check this great looking watch out here on Amazon!

If you think you can just flee from the preppies, you'd be wrong. The Crocodile is an ambush predator and this murdered out Lacoste 12:12 (above) screams danger, danger, danger! A preppy could emerge from the darkness and land a snide comment at any time. This watch has a black case made from TR90 Composite Material (plastic) with a stainless steel caseback and a silicone strap. Nice styling cues like a "petit pique" pattern in the center of the silicone strap and edges of the dial class this model up. The crocodile design on the caseback is the retro bomb!

The dimensions of the Lacoste 12:12 are perfect at 42mm in diameter and a slimmer 9.8mm thick with a 20mm strap to secure the timepiece to the wrist.  To see this great looking timepiece use my affiliate link to it here on Amazon!

Dream Watch: Hamilton Khaki Aviation Automatic

I recently saw an X post inquiring about this interesting aviation-inspired watch.

A mystery watch on X

The timepiece turned out to be a Hamilton Khaki Aviation Automatic. It's a 45mm diameter watch on a genuine cow leather strap. Powered by the Swiss H-30 Automatic Movement, it has an 80-hour power reserve. It's in the same ETA movement family as the Tissot Powermatic 80. I found this watch on Amazon for just under $1400.  It's what I would classify as an achievable watch according to my scale here - Defining Watch Affordability.

Hamilton Khaki Aviation Automatic (Amazon photo)

 To find this watch yourself, you can use my Amazon affiliate link here to the Hamilton Khaki Aviation Automatic.  

Watch Deal Alert: Casio AE1200WH Series Digital Watch

Hello Mr. Bond. I see you are interested in a villainous timepiece from Casio. I'm not surprised. If you want a watch to track your network of orbital satellite weapons, track incoming drone attacks, and countdown to the moment the world must deliver your million dollars, you might start with the Casio AE1200WH World Time Illuminator Digital watch. 

It can't do any of that, but it sure looks like the kind of watch a supervillain would wear. We'll set off sirens and alarm bells to announce a watch deal alert for 25% off on this watch. Now, it comes in at just under $30 on Amazon.

The real capabilities of the Casio are impressive. For example, the map is to help track world time across 31 timezones and 48 cities. The watch also offers 1/100 second stop watch, 5 alarms, an analog subdisplay, and backlighting. Physically, the watch offers 100-meter water and 10 years of battery life.

You can check out this super villain watch using my affiliate link here on Amazon. But, if you do, Mr. Bond, I expect you to buy.