Watch Wearing Wednesday: Relic "Moonphase" Quartz Watch

Last year, I revived my Relic "Moonphase" quartz watch (Model ZR15557).  It's not really a moon phase watch, but it has a complication that shows the moon at night and the sun during the day. It's a sophisticated look on a relatively inexpensive watch. I've been wearing it about and find that it still very comfortable, very readable, and quite the good looking watch. Here it is pictured below with a science kit for kids that doesn't sound like a great idea.

Relic Model ZR15557 with Sun Moon Complication

The watch also has additional subdials to tell you the day of the week and the date.  Unfortunately, I find those a little difficult to read without dedicated reading glasses. The watch has held up quite well in over a decade of ownership. I first wrote about it in this post way back "in the day." If I'm not careful, this watch will become vintage.  

Here's a nice close up of the subdials on this Relic watch.  You'll notice the rays of sunlight emanating from the sun.  I also like the chrome trim around the top two subdials and the nice detail of the marker batons.

Relic "Sun & Moon" watch subdials

If you are looking for Relic watches, they are sold at JC Penney and here on Amazon.com. Over the years, I've found that the Relic by Fossil brand provides a really good value for the price.

Sharp Watch Shout Out: LaCoste Tie Breaker Quartz Watch

If you are looking for a sharp, fashion, watch, LaCoste has you covered with the always stylish crocodile logo and high quality affordable watches.  The beautiful green sunray dial and matching green silicone strap of this LaCoste Tie Breaker watch combine to earn this timepiece a sharp watch shout out! 

LaCoste Tiebreaker Quartz Watch (Amazon photo)

With a 43mm diameter case, this watch will have presence on your wrist. The color-coordinated silicone strap is 21mm wide  It has a three-hands and a date window. But, true to its fashion origin, it's not a true dive watch. The aluminum bezel is fixed and no depth rating is provided for the 10.5mm thick stainless steel case. Nevertheless, this is a quality quartz timepiece manufactured by the Movado Group. 

LaCoste Tiebreaker (Amazon Photo)

With the worldwide reputation of the LaCoste brand, this watch is about good looks and perfect dimensions. It would certainly be the perfect watch to match with a nice polo shirt for a great preppie or business casual look.  This watch is listed on Amazon at 30% off (as of 1/12/2025).  You can find the LaCoste Tiebreaker Quartz watch right here on Amazon.

LaCoste Tiebreaker watch (Amazon Photo)

Watch Wearing Wednesday: Caribbean Joe Watch with Blue Dial

Today, I'm wearing my Caribbean Joe Watch with blue dial.  It has decorative, non-functional, sub-dials, a quartz movement from Singapore, a stainless steel caseback, and a Chinese synthetic leather strap.  It's powered by an SR626SW battery. If the light blue color, doesn't suit your tastes, there are many similar available Caribbean Joe watches.  Here's a post on a Caribbean Joe watch I wore last year.

A Caribbean Joe Watch with Blue Dial

This watch costs somewhere around $20 and either came from Burlington or Kohls brick and mortar location. It's a comfortable watch: lightweight and easy to read. The white inserts on the hands help with reading the watch in low-light conditions. It has a bit of a vintage feel.  Initially, I was a little put off by the non-functional subdials, but they remove quite a bit of fussiness and actually makes setting and wearing the watch a low hassle experience.  As always, I love the little hut and palm tree. To quote a couple of musical greats, "It's 5 o'clock somewhere."

A Caribbean Joe Logo

Watch Workshop: Fitting a George Watch with a brand new Strap

This is another neat looking cheap watch from Walmart. It's a George brand watch.  It has a black dial, black case, a black fluted bezel, a dark crystal, and red/orange hands and markers.  It does have sub-dials, but they are just for decoration.  The watch came with a black metal bracelet, but it didn't fit me well (too big) and it was a little too shiny for my taste.

A George Watch from Walmart

I opted for an inexpensive strap from a company called Niziruoup. They say it is a nylon elastic parachute-style watch band that is French paratrooper style. That's a lot to put on a $9.99 watch strap.  But, you can see it here on Amazon. I opted for the 22mm width and it fit this inexpensive watch perfectly.  The watch was about $12 or $13 at Walmart so the combo was less than $25.

A George Watch from Walmart at a Niziruoup Nylon Elastic Paratrooper Style Strap

Since the strap has elastic, it's a bit more flexible than the typical ballistic nylon straps I usually use.  It was comfortable for all day wear.

TGIF: A Warning About Watch Batteries

Have you noticed the warning labels on quartz watches? Apparently, the button batteries in quartz watches can really cause serious injury or even death if they are eaten. It's not something most of us think about, but if you have children, grandchildren, or perhaps a curious dog or puppy, you should take precautions when it comes to button batteries.

These Little Batteries Can Be Very Dangerous if Swallowed

According to an article by the University of California - San Francisco's Benioff Children's Hospital, a watch battery can cause serious burns to the esophagus within 2 hours of ingestion.  Over 3500 cases of watch battery ingestion are reported to US Poison Control Centers. The article also warns that batteries stuck in ears can also cause injuries.

Watch Battery Warning Label

One of the key action items from this article is that if you, or a child or a pet ingests a watch battery you must take action immediately. The patient should be taken to the emergency room (or emergency vet for a pet) and if you have information about the type of battery you should provide it to them. You can contact POISON CONTROL as well at 1-800-222-1222.

Take Precautions with Watch Batteries:

• Store extra watch batteries safely.
• Discard old watch batteries.
• Secure batteries in remotes and other small devices.
• Keep watch batteries away from children and pets.

Watch Wearing Wednesday: Kenneth Cole REACTION watch with white dial

Happy New Year everyone! I hope everyone has a great year. To kick things off, I present a shot of a Kenneth Cole REACTION watch that I took at two minutes to midnight. Not THE midnight, but a midnight. Over the years, I've bought a few watches from Kenneth Cole and they've all turned out to be reliable timepieces that have a bit of style and swagger.  Every one that I've bought has been a bargain from Ross. However, even at full retail prices, they would have been good purchases. Here's a moody photo of this Kenneth Cole REACTION watch that I took at 2 minutes to midnight.

Kenneth Cole REACTION watch

For a broad daylight look at this watch, check out my post on X:

I love a good deal when I find one. Here's my quick review of a Kenneth Cole REACTION watch that I found at a Ross - Dress for Less - Store. Here's a link to other REACTION watches on Amazon - https://t.co/T4jIFHiwgP#WatchLover #watches #Mensfashion pic.twitter.com/0fovR9aYyx

— TheWatchDude (@the_watch_dude) July 17, 2024

Is Time to Shop for Watches at the Mall Again?

Over the holidays, I had a chance to shop for watches at a shopping mall for the first time in ages. The experience made me wonder about how much malls have declined in favor of online shopping. It also made me wonder if it just might be time to start shopping at the mall once again.

In the 1980s and early 1990s, shopping malls were the place to be.  For teens and young adults, malls offered a great chance to get out, walk around, exercise independence, play video games, eat at the food court, interact, and shop for fashionable merchandise. For families, it was a place to get things they needed for family members of all ages and it co-located a number of merchants that had products families needed.

Fast forward 20 or 30 years. Now, everything we need is available for delivery at the click of a mouse. We can buy almost anything online. But, we can't buy one thing: a place to be. If all the brick-n-mortar stores are gone, where will we go when we leave the house? 

If you are looking for a nice place to hang out and you don't live at a beach or in the mountains, you might be out of luck. It's not like fast growing cities with valuable real estate are keeping up with the demand for public parks and public spaces. If you live in a big city, public spaces and parks seem to be overrun by drug abusers, mentally ill people, and the homeless. The parks that are nice aren't much fun when all 6 million people in a city seem to show up there at one time. Of course, the purpose of this blog isn't to solve all of these political issues.  That's something to debate elsewhere. But, I would suggest that we might just want to keep the option of hanging out at the mall. Amazon doesn't even have a food court.

The Jewelry and Watch Department at a JC Penney store in suburban Atlanta

Watch shoppers can benefit from seeing the merchandise. In visiting three malls in the Atlanta area, I found that there were excellent opportunities to see and potentially handle watches from many different brands. Prices for last minute shoppers were also in the same general range as Amazon prices. When it comes to more expensive watches, a visit to a department store or a jeweler can be invaluable. An in person visit is a good way to see if you really like a watch. Next time you want to buy a watch or get a watch battery replaced, you might want to pop down to the mall.