Mondaine Classic Swiss Railway Eco Quartz

Today I'm wearing my Mondaine Swiss Railway watch model 94122. The design is the same as the railway clocks found throughout Switzerland which were designed by Hans Hilfiker in the 1940s. The design is trademarked, and in 1986 Mondaine got (or bought, I suppose) the rights to use the design on wristwatches. It lends itself very well to a watch dial as it is extremely legible. I also find it very attractive, and it's interesting to note that while I've seen many clocks with a very similar design to this one, none but the Swiss railway clocks (or licensed versions) have this exact design. The watch is mid-sized at 33mm with a chrome-plated case made from recycled brass. The "recycle" logo is displayed on the crown. It uses a ETA quartz movement which would keep very good time if the battery wasn't dead. The strap is leather and very comfortable, with a nice design that is neither too dressy nor overly bulky. Overall a very nice watch that sees very little wrist time. Being quartz is part of the problem, the smallish size is another. Mondaine does make a newer automatic version of this watch in a 40mm size which I will have to keep an eye out for.

Luminox 3005 Diver

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.

Hamilton Khaki Action Chronograph

Today my watch is a Hamilton Khaki Action chronograph, Hamilton model number H63412133. It uses an accurate and reliable Swiss quartz movement, probably an ETA although I didn't make a note of it when I replaced the power cell last year. I don't believe this model is in production currently. It's not listed on the Hamilton website although a couple other Khaki Action models are. This one is very similar to my Khaki Action automatic. Both watches have the same case design and size (40mm) as well as flip-up crown guard and textured bracelet center links. The dial on this chronograph is very attractive and purposeful. The date window at 4 o'clock is a nice touch, as are the red details and gray minute and tenths subdials. The center links on this bracelet are Delrin which give it a unique look and feel but should still hold up very well. This watch I bought brand new a few years back but even then I had too many watches so I never got around to sizing the bracelet or wearing it (except for the pictures you see here.) As you can see the plastic on the caseback and bracelet has never been removed, and the plastic on the crystal was only removed for the photographs. The bracelet hasn't had any links removed, but the micro-adjust holes on the clasp have a wide range of adjustment. Even without removing links I adjusted it to fit my 7.5" wrist. I'm guessing it would fit up to an 8-8.5" wrist. It's a really good looking watch, and the chronograph works perfectly with all hands resetting quickly to zero (which is always fun to watch.) It's currently for sale on the Watchuseek forum and I hope it finds its way to somebody who will wear it, use it, and keep it for a long time.

Gruen Curvex Quartz

No, you're not having deja vu nor seeing double. Today's watch is also a Gruen Curvex like yesterday's. This one, however, is a pale imitation of the original. It was made sometime in the mid 1990s, I believe after the Gruen name was sold to this company. To quote this FAQ, "The Gruen Watch Company no longer exists." One need only look at this watch to know that is true. First off, while it retains the Curvex name and dial printing of the original, notice how flat this dial appears, lacking the visual depth of the original, as well as the actual sculpting of the seconds track. Also, the case is not as curved as the original, nor as long. It really ruins the design, not to mention the lack of beveling on the case, replaced by nondescript rounded edges. The movement is just as nondescript, some Japanese quartz movement, at least it claims to be Japanese. I'm not a big fan of this watch and it is not a proper homage to the original. I should probably get rid of it.

Wenger Extreme Sport 70972

The watch I'm wearing today is a Wenger. This model came out in 2000 and has had various names on the dial including "Wenger", "Wenger Swiss Military", "Swiss Military - S.A.K" (S.A.K. for Swiss Army Knife, some Wenger watches also say "S.A.K. Design") and "Swiss Sport" seen here. I bought mine 4 years ago and they continue to make a very similar model today. At the same time I got this one I also bought my girlfriend (now my wife) the smaller version in blue. They're both Swiss made with ETA Swiss quartz movements. They're pretty nice watches with a unique design, and while they are 50m water resistant, they aren't nearly as "sporty" as a typical G-Shock. The lume is good, with the big numbers glowing slightly less than the hands. The 38mm case is attractive, but the bezel is molded into the case so it only looks like it might be able to move, while the case seems to have beefy integrated lugs but the strap attaches with regular springbars. The caseback, although stainless steel, merely snaps in place. I'm a little disappointed that the titanium-colored finish on the case seems to be discoloring in places. I don't think I've ever exposed it to anything stronger than some seawater and have always rinsed it off afterwards. It's also another one of my watches that have developed a haze inside the crystal that will have to be cleaned at some point. Overall, a nice watch for the price that looks suitably sporty for most outdoor activities and has just enough ruggedness and water resistance to go with its good looks.

LumiSport Quartz Diver

My watch today is a LumiSport quartz diver's watch. I've only ever seen a few watches branded LumiSport and I've heard they were once sold by Sears. As you might guess from its looks and the tritium vial night illumination, this was made by mb-microtec who also makes Luminox and Traser watches. Here's a very similar LumiSport that was for sale on the WUS forum (I paid much less for mine and it was brand new.) This watch is in some ways nicer than my Luminox 3005, namely, its stainless steel case, screw-down back and screw-down crown. It has the same Ronda Swiss quartz movement (which means I could also swap this dial for a MKII dial, which was my intention when I bought it,) same hands and illumination system, but the bezel is more low-profile on the LumiSport. I guess if you're actually using the bezel the chunkier one on the Luminox would be better, especially underwater or when wearing gloves. They both have a 200m water resistance rating, and I'm sure both are very durable, but the stainless case and back on the LumiSport just seems like it will last forever while the plastic case on the Luminox seems lighter and more fragile. Really, I like them both, and they're different enough that I don't feel the need to get rid of one. While I still my swap out the dial on this watch (I could even use my old yellow Luminox dial if I wanted to) the blue dial is kind of growing on me, so maybe I'll keep it like this for a while longer. (The photo below that seems at first to be all black is actually a photo of the illumination of the watch is near darkness. It was the best I could do at work with poor light control and my point-and-shoot camera. In complete darkness, when your eyes are adjusted it really does look very bright, like this. Image from here.)