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.
Today I'm wearing one of my older "modern" Hamiltons, a Viewmatic most likely from the late 1990s. I'm not sure of the specific name nor model number of this watch, but it looks very similar to a Linwood. The Viewmatic name comes from the "view" (or exhibition) caseback and the fact that it's automatic. One of the reasons I picked this one up (other than it being relatively cheap, a Hamilton, and me being in need of a dress watch) was that it came on a very nice maroon crocodile strap with a gold-tone Hamilton deployant. Of course, that was before I realized that any time I'm dressed up enough to wear this watch I'm typically wearing black, gray or blue, I don't even own a pair of brown or maroon dress shoes. So the very nice crocodile strap stays in storage with my other extra straps, and I wear this one (very infrequently I might add) on a rather plain black leather strap. The basic black actually works well on this watch as it matches the black hands, which I actually find a bit heavy most of the time and would probably prefer gold-tone hands. The black strap tends to make the hands look a bit less out of place. It is Swiss made and houses an ETA cal. 2824-2 in its 37mm case. It's an attractive watch but doesn't draw attention to itself. An excellent alternative to quartz dress watches for low-key dressy occasions, but I'm sure for many it would also make an excellent everyday watch.
Today I'm wearing my Vostok Komandirskie (Commander's) watch. These were designed originally for the Soviet military. This is the paratrooper version, hence the planes and parachute on the dial. If you're not familiar with Vostok, here's some good information. I've found that many watch collectors, even if they're not "into" Russian watches, have had one or more Vostoks (or Raketas, the other popular Russian brand.) I bought this one close to 20 years ago, when the USSR still existed. Even so, it's obvious this watch was made for export from its "Made in USSR" engraving on the back. This was definitely my first watch to have a screw-down crown. I don't recall what color strap this originally came on, but I believe it was brown leather. It's long gone so I fitted a red leather strap which coordinates well with the red dial and bezel details. This used to have a more green or teal dial, but it has faded over the years to this brown, olive drab-ish color. It's a neat watch and has held up over time pretty well. The stainless case is much more durable than the chrome plated brass cases of some other Russian watches. Similar watches are still available and can be found with many different dial designs. It's nice to see an item that has been in production since 1965, through the Cold War, Glasnost and the fall of the Soviet Union, and is still being made today.
Today I wore my Luminox 3005. Specifically, I put it on to take the wrist shot below then put it back in its case. But it was the only watch I had on my wrist today. It's the stock version of my "Super Stealth" Luminox. I specifically bought more than one of these so I could modify some and keep some stock, but since I have enough other yellow watches I've never worn this one. Everything about this one is the same as the one linked above, except the dial. It's Swiss made, has a Ronda quartz movement, 43mm carbon reinforced resin case, one-way rotating bezel, resin strap, stainless back, 200m water resistance and tritium illumination. I actually just noticed that the current 3005 has a yellow chapter ring instead of the black, so this would be a much better model to start with if you wanted to add a MKII dial. I guess some people like the "Navy Seals" text on the dial and some don't, it never bothered me. The "night" photo below was taken with my usual point-and-shoot camera at my office today. Not bad for having very poor light control and no tripod. The resin strap on this is actually pretty nice; decent width and thickness with a nice brushed stainless Luminox buckle. I'll probably put the standard strap back on my other one soon. Since it's still brand new, I'm going to sell it soon before I get the itch to actually wear it. I have my eye on a few other (much pricier) watches, so I think I'll try to clear out the watches that I have never worn before I decide to get rid of anything from my "active" collection.
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.
