New Citizen for Fall 2010

Every watch brand releases new models several times each year, but it's alway interesting to see what the larger brands are doing.  It sort of gives you a snapshot of the current design trends for the mainstream of watches.  New Citizen watches for Fall 2010 include a large number of classic designs including round dials, classic leather straps and generally clean looks.

Kate Winslet New Longines Spokeswoman

Longines has named Kate Winslet as its latest ambassador of elegance.

 Longines' emphasis on elegance and classic style has been a pretty consistent and successful marketing strategy for a long time now.

Skagen Watches for the Holidays!

Looking for the perfect holiday gift? May we suggest a Skagen watch? Skagen watches are stylish, refreshingly different and very affordable. In terms of value, we can't think of a better value than Skagen. You can certainly pay a lot more for a watch, but for an average retail price between $90 and $150, you can't beat Skagen.
Perhaps because we don't see a lot of Danish designed watches, Skagen has a very unique appearance. While not every model has a mesh bracelet, the mesh bracelets have become something of a signature for Skagen - and we might add, they are very comfortable.

Citizen Eco-Drive

If you are a fan of Citizen watches, or have heard of Citizen Eco-Drive, but aren't quite sure what it is, you may find this article an interesting read.

Latest Seiko Automatic Diver

We're very impressed with the latest edition to Seiko Watches' automatic dive watch series.  It comes in two configurations, the SNM037 or the SNM035 which comes with a stainless steel bracelet and black dial with orange accents if you're a little less inclined to bold colors.

The stainless steel case measures 42mm - 47mm including the crown protector structure - and 15mm thick. It includes a standard timing bezel and an additonal compass bearing bezel that rotates under the crystal.
Large superluminova hands and markers provide good visibility, and the bezel turns smoothly and has a solid feel to it. In addition, the numbers and markings on the bezel are inlaid and won't wear off easily.

Swiss Army Alpnach

Victorinox Swiss Army continues to produce high-quality Swiss-made, automatic mechanical watches that compare very nicely with higher-end Swiss watches, but at a much lower price tag.

This year, they introduced the new Alpnach collection. The all-automatic series is available with either a 3-hand or chronograph movement and features high-grade stainless steel construction, and non-glare sapphire crystals.
Overall, if you're looking for a sturdy, adventuring type of watch, we highly recommend the Alpnach. Properly maintained, there is no reason why this one shouldn't be a trusted timepiece for decades to come.

Tissot 18k Rose Gold Limited Edition

We have in-stock the Tissot Heritage 150th Limited Edition in solid 18k rose gold. While certainly not a cheap watch at $5995 MSRP, it is a relatively great value and we'd be happy to tell you why.

Any watch collector, or anyone who has shopped for a higher-end Swiss watch knows that you pay a lot for a name. But when you get down to it really, Citizen watches get the job done as well as Rolex or Zenith watches. But comparing a Citizen to one of these brands is like comparing apples and oranges - they aren' t really the same thing. While Citizen probably makes the best quartz watches in the world, there is something special about a mechanical Swiss Watch.
If you are inclined to a genuine Swiss mechanical watch, but there are several entry level Swiss brands like Swiss Army Watches, Hamilton Watches, and Tissot Watches that, while they don't have the cachet of high-end brands, are often comparable in features and quality to higher-end Swiss brands like Omega or Tag Heuer. In fact, the Valjoux 7750 movement found in this and many other Swiss Army, Hamilton and Tissot watches is also found in many high-end watches.
The big price tag on this watch is due to the fact that it is solid 18k rose gold. We think it is basically on par with high-end watches that start out around $10,000.


Unless you have to have the rose gold, there are plenty of Swiss made mechanical watches priced from $395 for a stainless steel, military field style Hamilton Khaki King with a sapphire crystal and 3 hand day and date automatic movement with exhibition caseback to $695 for a super sharp Swiss Army Airboss automatic or $450 for a dressy Tissot Le Locle men's automatic.

New Seiko Kinetic Dive Watches

For many years now Seiko dive watches have been very popular among watch enthusiasts for their great designs and dependability, not to mention being very affordable to the average guy on a budget. Model's such as the 'Orange Monster' have frequently been one of the first pieces in many collections.

Recently, Seiko released a couple of exciting new models that introduce Seiko's kinetic technology to their dive series:



This model, which is available with a yellow dial, model SKA367, or with a black dial, model SKA371 includes standard dive features such as:

• Corrosion resistant surgical grade stainless steel.
• Screw-down crown and screw-in caseback.
• Water resistance to 200 meters.
• Unidirectional elapsed time bezel.
• Large, highly visible hands and markers treated with superluminova.
• A diver's extension on the clasp so the bracelet can be extended to fit over a wetsuit or other garments.

In addition, the quartz movement is powered by Seiko kinetic technology. Seiko kinetic watches employ a weighted rotor inside the watch which spins around with the movement of your wrist. As it spins, it generates an electrical charge which powers the watch. Once charged, the watch will hold a charge for several months. A power reserve indicator, activated by pressing the button at the 2 o'clock position tells you how much charge the watch has left. Needless to say, you never need to change the battery in a Seiko kinetic.

Citizen Skyhawk A-T

The new Citizen Skyhawk A-T's are in!

Here are the features which are almost too many to list:

• Atomic Timekeeping - Syncs with atomic clock radio signals in the North America, Europe and Japan.


• Solar Powered - The Citizen Eco-Drive movement charges with ordinary indoor light and should hold a charge for several weeks. A power reserve indicator on the dial lets you know when power reserves are low.


• Fully functional flight chronograph with slide rule bezel and stop watch which measures up to 24 hours in 1/100 second increments.


• Two daily alarms.


• World-time in 43 cities and GMT display.


• 99 minute countdown timer.


• Perpetual Calendar - The date never needs adjusting.


• Digital display with backlighting.


• Solid stainless steel construction.


• Mineral glass crystal with non-glare treatment.

The Skyhawk A-T is available with a stainless steel bracelet, model JY0000-53E, or with a rubber strap, model JY0000-02E.

Victorinox Swiss Army

If you follow Swiss Army Watches, you may soon notice a change in the company's branding. Going forward, they will be known as Victorinox Swiss Army. With success comes imitation and we're guessing that the profusion of Swiss Army type watches have led the brand to try to differentiate itself from its many impersonators by stressing its roots as the original.

Victorinox created the original Swiss Army knife in 1897. They are still the only Swiss watch brand authorized to use Swiss Army in its title. So, if you are looking for an affordable, well made Swiss military type watch, the original is Victorinox Swiss Army.

Named one of America's Top 75 Watch Dealers!

Many of our customer's ask us if we're internet only, or if we have a retail store as well? The answer is yes, we do have a retail store. It's called The Time Zone and it's located 10 minutes north of downtown Salt Lake City in Bountiful, Utah. In fact, The Time Zone was recently named one of America's Top 75 Watch dealers by International Watch magazine.

Watch Crystals

Have you ever wondered about some of the different crystal types you see on the various watches on our site? For the uninitiated, the crystal refers to the glass covering the dial of a watch. Crystal types run the gamut from plexiglass to mineral and on up to sapphire.

Europastar Magazine has a nice primer on their site regarding the advantages and disadvantages of some of the different crystals you may encounter. Well, it's not the most exciting read, but good information as you consider your purchase.

New Citizen Calibre Minute Repeaters

There can be no doubt that the Calibre collections that Citizen began to roll out a couple of years ago have made a big splash, and the latest, the Citizen Calibre 9000 watch collection is an amazing piece of quartz technology wrapped in an easy-on-the-eyes design. (model BL9002-02A pictured below)

It's a minute repeater - push a button and the watch chimes the hour and minutes - as well as a perpetual calendar - never adjust the date for months with less than 31 days of leap years. Add to all of this two daily alarms and a second time zone and if this watch were mechanical instead of quartz, you could expect to pay $200,000 dollars or more!

Of course the watch is quartz (battery powered) and not mechanical, so the price falls considerably below $200,000. Actually the collection retails for between $485 and $595 before our discount.

The Citizen Calibre 9000 watches are available in a wide variety of colors options with either a link bracelet or a leather strap that wraps luxuriously around the the case.

Hamilton Watches

Many of our employees here at eWatches are Hamilton Watches fans. The reason is simple: Hamilton offers a very high quality Swiss watch at a reasonable price. Take for example model H76515733, a new watch from the Hamilton Khaki Aviation QNE collection:

This watch has a sapphire crystal, which is unlikely to ever get scratched, a thick black leather strap with reverse white stitching and rivets at the top which add to the vintage appeal of the watch, sub seconds and plenty of superluminova illumination on the dial. The automatic movement is an ETA 2895-2 with a split window exhibition caseback. The zulu aviation alphabet is also engraved into the caseback in-keeping with the aviation theme of the watch.

The same watch is available with a silver dial and brown leather strap (model H76515553), or a black dial and stainless steel link bracelet (model H76515133). The suggested retail price on all three models is $645, but you'll need to call us to get our price because Hamilton requests that we not advertise a discounted price.

If you are unfamiliar with Hamilton, they started out as an American watch company, and produced a lot of watches here in the USA for many years. During both world wars, they supplied the military with hundred of thousands of watches for our servicemen.

A few years ago, Hamilton was acquired by the Swatch group, a large Swiss watch conglomerate that also owns Tissot, Omega, Longines, Breguet and several other high profile Swiss watch manufacturers. Hamilton watches are now made entirely in Switzerland, but Swatch has honored the legacy of the brand by retaining the vintage look and feel of the brand and some of the military-style designs. Hamilton watches are also fitted with the same high quality ETA Swiss movements you can find in much more expensive watches.

Water Resistance Ratings for Watches

We frequently get questions here about the depth or water resistance ratings for watches. Sometimes the depth ratings assigned to watches can be deceptive.

For example, most manufacturers of a watch with a 30 meter depth rating recommend that you do not swim or shower with the watch. How's that??? 30 meters is 98 feet! How can they assign a 30 meter rating and then tell you not to swim with it?

Well, for starters, the depth rating actually refers to water pressure, and not an actual depth. Ok, that still sounds like semantics, but let me try to explain. When testing a watch, a manufacturer will expose the watch to the sort of pressure you would expect to see in a static environment at 30 meters, or 100 meters and so on. But if you were to put your wrist in shallow water and move it quickly through the water, the pressure applied to the watch might exceed the pressure you would find at much deeper depths.

So here are our guidelines:
30 meters = Splash proof, ok to dunk your hand in the sink
50 meters = Safe for light swimming or very shallow depths
100 meters = Safe for Swimming, water sports or snorkeling
200 + meters = Safe for diving

Of course you should never push any buttons on your watch or pull out the crown when it's exposed to water and the screw-down crown of a dive watch has to be screwed down when submerged.

Swiss Army Airboss

Word has it that the two popular new additions to the Swiss Army Airboss collection have become pretty hard to find due to overwhelming demand. Models 24785 and 24783 both feature a large 44mm case size as well as a black plated tachometer bezel, rugged leather strap with deployment buckle, anti-reflection sapphire crystal and a valjoux 7750 chronograph movement. Both watches are an outstanding value and contain features for which one would expect to pay much much more for a nice Swiss watch.

We are pleased to announce eWatches has both models in-stock. Each watch includes UPS 2nd day air shipping as well as a very nice top-of-the-line Swiss Army Knife as a free gift.

Oceanus Branches Out

Oceanus Watches has introduced several new models this year to bolster their very popular collection of atomic solar watches which launched modestly in the US last year with eight pieces.

This time around Oceanus has added several ladies' watches -- actually all variations on the same watch, a 35mm chronograph with a black, pink or white dial, pink dial with a pink leather strap or white dial with a white leather strap.

The new men's Oceanus watches, like the ladies' models, are all chronographs. Unlike the chronographs from last year's release, these ones don't have the dual analog/digital display, but they have added additional titanium models.

Every Oceanus watch has an impressive feature set including a sapphire crystal, solar power and atomic timekeeping. For anyone unfamilar with atomic timekeeping, an Oceanus watch synchs up via radio signal several times during the night with the national atomic clock in Fort Collins, Colorado, which is accurate to within one second every million years. If you are outside the clock's 2000 mile range, the watch functions as an ordinary quartz watch.

Function aside, the watches are impressive looking and compare favorably with much more expensive watches.

New Citizen Skyhawks

Citizen recently introduced a couple of impressive looking new additions to the enormously popular Skyhawk collection. Two new models, dubbed "Black Eagle Skyhawk", incorporate all of the great features that define the Citizen Skyhawk collection including dual analog/digital display, rotating slide rule bezel, three world time alarms, time and calendar in 22 separate time zones, a chronograph, a countdown timer and of course Citizen's Eco Drive technology, which to the uninitiated means you never need to change a battery -- they're solar powered! Model JR3155-03E comes equipped with a tough polyurethane strap and model JR3155-54E has a black PVD plated link bracelet.

New Offerings from Swiss Army Watches

As we've come to expect each Spring, Swiss Army Watches has added a number of impressive new watches to its lineup including new diamond watches for ladies, some ladies' automatics, and additions to the Swiss Army Ambassador, Dive Master, Officer's 1884, Maverick II, and Alliance watch collections.

Among Swiss Army's new releases are two automatic watches for women to bolster its very popular Ambassador collection. Swiss Army models 241075 and 241076 are both very traditionally designed Swiss watches in a smaller case size for ladies. Each watch features a fine Swiss ETA self-winding movement with an exhibition caseback, jubilee bracelet and a sapphire crystal.

Following the success of the diamond watches for women Swiss Army released last year, they have added several pleasing new models with diamonds this year to both the Swiss Army Alliance and Swiss Army Officer's 1884 collections. Mother-of-Pearl dials, sapphire crystals and diamond encircled bezels characterize both Swiss Army model 24831 and model 241032.

The Time Zone

Last October, we moved into our new retail location, The Time Zone, at 145 S Main Street in Bountiful, Utah. We haven't had a chance yet to post some shots of the store and invite any local watch aficionados to come in and browse our fantastic selection from more than 30 watch brands including Longines, Swiss Army Watches, Tissot, Hamilton and many more.

Our in-store prices are the same as those found on our website. If you aren't sure what you're looking for, you're welcome to come in and look around, or consult with one of our knowlegable salespeople. Many of our customers like to narrow their seach on our website, and then come in with a list of watches they want to see in-person. Our store hours are Tues-Saturday from 10am-6pm.

Seiko does a limited edition Sportura

Recently, Seiko released a limited Edition Sportura Kinetic watch, the Seiko SLQ019. This is the latest in a series of hand made, extremely complicated Sportura Watches. It represents the best of what Seiko makes available in the U.S. This watch was preceded by the SLQ007 and SLQ009 in 2002 and the SLQ017 in 2004. The SLQ019 is distinguished by a black carbonized titanium case and bracelet with Orange subdials which are characteristic of the new Sportura look for 2005. Of course like its predecessors, the SLQ019 sports precise timekeeping and a chronograph that is accurate to within 1/10 of a second. The Kinetic movement has a power reserve of about 1 month. Also Unique to this Sportura is the exhibition case-back and its packaging as can be seen by following this link SLQ019 Packaging. The packaging includes an additional Leather Strap, a bracelet sizing tool and the lift out section reveals space to store two additional Seiko watches. Whether you are a watch collector in general or a true Seiko aficionado, the SLQ019 is a great addition to any watch collection.

Fortunately, we have the good fortune of having a few of these watches for our Retail Store, The Time Zone. As a limited editions, they are exclusively available to retailers and cannot be sold via the web. Seiko has made 2005 of these watches available for worldwide distribution and only 200 in the United States. If you are interested in purchasing one, please give The Time Zone a call at 866-799-2824.

Zodiac Watches...The New Face of Swiss

In case you haven’t already had the pleasure, be sure to check out our new Zodiac Watches. Zodiac Watches is an old name in the Swiss watch industry that was recently revived by the Fossil company. Promoted as the “new face of Swiss” Zodiac watches are bold, affordable, well-made and a lot of fun to wear. We know you’ll love the vintage design and distinctive appearance of your new Zodiac watch as well as appreciate the quality Swiss craftsmanship that goes into each Zodiac.

The Zodiac Watches collection features a wide variety of brightly colored watches with colored coautchouc rubber straps. Although the entire collection was designed for men, Zodiac found early on that the colored models were wildly popular among women. In fact, some of Zodiac’s new promotional materials feature female models wearing the brightly colored rubber strap Zodiac watches. This should come as no surprise given the current popularity of “fashion-dive” style watches like Technomarine among women. For years we’ve pondered the fact that men’s watches are so much more fun than the petite jewelry watches marketed to women. Finally, women shopping for watches are asking themselves “why should men have all the fun?”

Fun aside, Zodiac makes a very serious and rugged dive and sport watches. Take a look at our collection of Zodiac Dive Watches. Each is water resistant to 300 meters, and features a great retro design that recalls the early days of scuba diving.

M.H. Bertucci Field Watches

M.H. Bertucci watches come in four basic case collections: The A-1S is a traditional round, stainless-steel case watch, the A-2T is identical to the A-1S, but in titanium, the B-1T is a handsome squared titanium case with a round dial, and the C-1T is a squared titanium case with a square dial. The combinations of dial colors and band types among these four collections is extensive and a lot of fun.

Dial colors include black, silver, white, olive and yellow. The attractive colors of the dials are accented nicely with the red M.H. Bertucci logo, the yellow, red and black DX3 Design shield and the red seconds hand (on some models).

Band types include black, dark-brown, tan and olive leather, and black and olive and red nylon, or stainless-steel and titanium bracelets. The leather bands are all water resistant, and the metal bracelets all feature good-quality clasps.

A nice feature with the leather and nylon strap M.H. Bertucci watches is that the lugs of the watch are connected with a solid, unbreakable bar and not a flimsy spring pin. The strap is one piece that runs around the bars and under the watch instead of two pieces that connect to the watch at the top and bottom with spring pins. It's a very strong system; definitely a plus in a performance watch. It might also be nice for anyone whose skin has bad reactions to metals as the only thing that touches your wrist is the strap.

Another nice feature incorporated in the design of M.H. Bertucci watches is that the crystal is recessed one or two millimeters below the case which has a raised, protective rim around the dial. This really helps to protect the watch crystal from scratching. A screw-down crown and screw-in case back help the watch achieve 100 meters of water resistance.

Priced from $69.99 to $179.99, we consider M.H. Bertucci watches to be an outstanding value, especially for solid titanium watches that are as finely detailed as these.

Festina Watches

While Festina Watches may not yet enjoy the wild popularity in the US that they do in Europe , you cannot have missed seeing the name Festina if you've followed a little bit of the Tour de France over the past few years.
A little background on Festina: Although Festina is now known as a Spanish watch company, its origins are solidly Swiss. Founded in 1902 in Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland , Festina really blossomed when it joined the Lotus Group in 1984. Festina has had enormous success producing high-quality timepieces designed around active lifestyles with high-profile sponsorships of sporting events and sports clubs around Europe including the Tour De France, sailing events and basketball and soccer clubs.
Most Festina Watches are designed for cycling, diving, or other sports. Each Festina features a Myota quartz or automatic movement, hard-mineral crystal, and high-quality bracelets, straps and construction. We've pointed out before that in a sports watch that might occasionally get smacked around, or go down to the pavement with you when you hit a patch of gravel, a quartz movement and a mineral crystal are preferable to automatic movements and sapphire crystals. Myota quartz movements, which are second-to-none in terms of accuracy and durability, are much less delicate than automatic movements. Good mineral crystals, while not quite as scratch resistant as sapphire crystals, provide much greater shatter resistance. Take a look at the Festina Tour de France collection as well as the Festina Dive watch collection. We think you'll appreciate the styling as well as the value.

Never Set a Watch Again with an Atomic Watch by Oceanus

Casio has recently introduced Oceanus Atomic Solar watches. Casio has always made a great, reliable sport watch, but in terms of quality and style, this is their first attempt at a higher-end watch. We think they’ve really hit a home run with Oceanus. The high-tech sophistication of an Oceanus watch does not overpower the clean, elegant appearance of the watch; a difficult feat for a watch with this many bells and whistles.
For those not familiar with the term, an atomic watch is a watch that synchs up automatically throughout the day via radio signal with the National Bureau of Standard’s atomic clock in Fort Collins, Colorado which is accurate to within one second every million years. For the low-tech among you who are thinking an atomic watch sounds too technical, think about this: you don’t ever need to set this watch. It will never run even a few seconds slow and adjusts automatically as you travel from time zone to time zone and for daylight savings time. Furthermore, Oceanus Atomic watches are solar powered, and the internal battery, which is recharged by any indoor or outdoor light, never needs to be changed. Is punctuality important to you? Perhaps you occasionally discover your current watch is running five minutes slow. The Oceanus Atomic Watch may be the answer to your fondest desire for a watch that never lets you down. In addition, both Oceanus chronograph with dual digital/analog diplay, and the Oceanus three-hand analog versions of the atomic watch are equipped with alarms.
Oceanus produces these atomic watches in both stainless steel or titanium, and with high quality bracelets or top grain leather straps. Each Oceanus Atomic Solar watch has a highly scratch resistant sapphire crystal.

Reactor Watches - Now at Ewatches.com

We are excited to introduce Reactor Watches. Reactor is a small watchmaker which only recently launched its watch line, but company founder and president Jimmy Olmes’ years of experience in the watch industry is evident throughout their product line. Reactor Watches are primarily designed as a surf/sports/performance watch, and each one of their designs down to the final detail are obviously thoroughly thought through and finely crafted. It’s not quite a reinvention of the watch, but it represents a refreshing and innovative approach to watch making. One thing for certain: you will not find a better quality watch for the money, or even for a lot more money.
Reactor watches are very impressive looking indeed, but the real value of the watches is found in the details. All Reactor watches are individually depth-tested and feature an extra-thick hardened mineral glass crystal that will withstand the pressure of deep ocean depths and a triple O-ring screw down crown.
We are very impressed with the allen head screw and rod system Reactor uses to attach the band or bracelet to the watch. Reactor claims it is eight times stronger than the springbar system most manufacturers use. On top of that, it looks really good. This is a very rugged watch.
Reactor watches are all powered by a high quality Japanese quartz movement. The dials are easy to read and feature generous use of Superluminova luminescent material.
Reactor currently offers 40+ individual models including the Reactor Photon, Reactor Fallout, Reactor MC2, Reactor Alpha, Reactor Critical Mass, Reactor Beta, and the Reactor Heavy Water collections.
Overall we find Reactor watches to be a pleasing combination of style, function, durability and value.