Hamilton "Men In Black II" Digital

Today I'm wearing my Hamilton Men in Black II watch. Like my recent Hamilton Chronograph this one is brand new and I'm only wearing it for the photos, although I'm not looking to sell this one anytime soon. While it was a limited edition released in 2002 along with the movie, I didn't buy mine until 2006. I bought it for a few reasons. First, as I have mentioned before, I've always been a fan of Hamilton watches. And this watch is very similar to Hamilton's second digital watch, the Pulsar P2 (the P1 was the world's first digital watch, but didn't work as well nor look as good as the P2.) Second, I'm a fan of movies, and I like both "Men in Black" movies. While I probably like the first one more than the second, I don't believe Hamilton had special watches available for the original even though the Ventura models were featured in the film. And finally, I bought this because four years after its release, those that were left languishing on dealer's shelves were being sold for a fraction of what they cost originally, so it was too good of a deal to pass up. I'm very glad I did buy one, because until I held it in my hands I didn't realize how solid it was. The case and band quality are as good as any Hamilton watch, and looking at it from the back you'd never guess that it houses only a simple digital module. This watch is certainly all about the style and reproducing the futuristic look of the vintage Pulsar. It pulls this off with ease and really shows what a timeless design this is. While I have had a couple occasions where I would have liked to wear this, I think I prefer to keep it new with the band unsized on the off chance it has some collector value someday.

Casio G-Shock GW-225C-1 Master Blue Frogman

Yes, another new watch, and a Frogman no less. But really, I had no choice. I've been watching these on eBay for six months or more, and while I didn't want one as badly as I did a Dawn Black Frogman or Glorious Gold Frogman, I did think it was very good looking. Additionally, only three G-Shock 25th Anniversary Frogmen models have been released, so this completes my set. Prices of these watches just seemed to be going up and up, so when I saw an online retailer got a few in stock, I jumped on the opportunity. It's getting to be difficult to decide whether to pre-order special G-Shocks and pay full retail or a little more even, or wait until after they are released and hope for a decent (20-30%) discount. If they never make it to retailers that discount, then you're stuck buying from the secondary market or speculators and will pay a lot more. It used to be you could count on waiting, finding what you want (provided it was released in the U.S.A. in my case) and get a good discount, but that seems to be increasingly risky. So, I consider myself lucky that I got one of these. Honestly, it's much nicer than I expected with some subtle details that I hadn't noticed in photographs. When I initially heard of the Master Blue Frogman and saw a few pictures I thought the case was a dark blue. It is actually black, and the only blue on the watch is the "G-SHOCK" text above the display and the blue tint of the LCD. The most unique feature is the black PVD case and buttons instead of the typical titanium-colored case and polished buttons. The decorative "screws" at 1 and 5 o'clock are also given a black finish, although not as dark as the buttons and case. The caseback is polished gold-tone, the same as the other 25th Anniversary Frogmen. A different finish would have been nice there as well, but I don't mind it. There are two other Master Blue models, an atomic Mudman and atomic Gulfman, but those seem to be just as scarce and more expensive than the Master Blue Frogman, so I don't see myself adding them to my collection anytime soon. (I did purchase two of these and am selling the brand new one on the Watchuseek sales forum. If you're interested, let me know.)

Casio G-Shock G-9000TLC-4 Team Land Cruiser Mudman

No, I'm not buying watches just to post them on my blog. In fact, I'm probably buying fewer now than six months or a year ago. This Mudman I'm wearing today is the last G-9000 I needed to complete my set of Mudmen. A quick rundown of all my "New Mudmen":

The original three:
G-9000-1V (black)
G-9000-3V (green)
G-9000-8V (tan)
The two multi-color camouflage:
G-9000MC-3V (green camouflage)
G-9000MC-8V (grey camouflage)
The Dawn Black:
G-9025-1 (black and gold)

And last but not least is today's watch, the G-9000TLC-4. This was a fairly limited edition (although not numbered) and I typically see them on eBay in the $150-200 range, which I've always felt was too much. I finally found a brand new one for considerably less than the eBay prices and quickly snatched it up. I was very surprised to receive the watch in the trunk packaging pictured below. I expected the more typical packaging seen here. I'm not sure if there were two different versions or if this is just the Japanese market version, but regardless, it's a very nice set. This watch was issued in 2007 to commemorate Team Toyota Land Cruiser's 3rd consecutive category win in the Paris-Dakar Rally. The rally doesn't go to Paris anymore, not since 2001 in fact. Its actual name now is The Dakar, although this year it didn't go to Dakar either, nor will it go to there in 2009. Here's a G-Shock promo video featuring Team TLC at The Dakar. For the curious, Team TLC is sponsored by Toyota Auto Body which is the company that sells Land Cruisers and other Toyota SUVs and minivans in Japan. I don't know why there isn't just one Toyota selling both like we have in the U.S.A, but there you have it. As for the watch, the bright red bezel and strap looks great and really stands out. The "TLC" logo on the strap is the only outward indication it's a special Mudman, unless you take it off and see the same logo on the caseback. I would have liked some additional printing on the strap (more like what is found on the packaging or inside the trunk) but I'm sure others like the more subtle logo. The module seems to be identical to the G-9000-1V which isn't a bad thing as it's very legible and the colors work nicely. Once again, I would have loved to see the TLC logo in the backlight, but lack of it obviously wasn't a deal-breaker. It's a great watch and I'm glad to have it. It's apparent that I'm a fan so I'll be keeping an eye out for any new G-9000 releases from Casio, but for the time being, this is my last one.

Casio G-Shock G-9025A-1DR Dawn Black Gulfman

Today I'm wearing my newest Dawn Black series watch, the Gulfman. I also have the Frogman, Mudman and 5500. There's a good chance this will be my last Dawn Black since the ones I am missing (GW-5625A, AWG-525 and GW-9025A) are all pretty difficult to find. As for this watch, it identical in functionality to my Triple Crown of Surfing Gulfman but with a different color scheme and caseback. It's very good looking in the black and gold, with the large gold surround around the "eye" helping to give the whole thing a futuristic mechanical look. No complaints on this one, I'm very pleased with it. Enjoy the pictures!

Casio G-Shock DW-5700Y-9JF

Today I'm wearing this yellow 5700 I bought from a Watchuseek member. This was released in 2001 and was a reissue of the original 5700, which was released in 1987. Casio still makes 5700s, and the latest one is the DW-5725B-7JF. All of the 5700s have stainless steel cases and screwbacks, just like the original. While I'm not sure if I needed yet another yellow G-Shock, this is a reissue of a classic model and the price was too good to pass up.

Casio Pathfinder PAW-1300T-7V

Today I'm wearing my newest Pathfinder, a PAW-1300T-7V. PAW for Pathfinder (in the world outside the U.S.A. these are called "Protrek" and the model numbers start with PR,) 1300 for the series (newer than my 1100,) T for Titanium, 7 for silver accents, and V for international (non-Japanese) version. This has all the functions of my PAW-1100T but weighs less and is much slimmer (only 11.5mm thick, while the 1100 is over 14mm thick.) This was the ultimate Pathfinder, all the functions available in a Pathfinder in a package that made it very wearable under most conditions. Of course, Casio couldn't rest on their laurels, so the PAW-1500 series is the newest King of the Hill, which adds tide graph, moon phase and 200m water resistance to the long list of features. I'm not sure if I'll get a 1500 or just wait for whatever comes next. It's almost certain that Casio will keep improving their technology and packing more features into smaller, more durable packages.