Timex Weekender Update and Summer Watches

It is summer, a particularly hot one, and there are certain watches I tend to wear more during the summer months. This post and video provide a brief look at three of my favorite summertime watches, but first I give a requested update on my Timex Weekender Chronograph.

As an aside, be sure to check out my new video series on Making Custom Watches. I step through the building of some low-cost prototypes to get a sense of the next design in my Wonderland Series called “Pool of Tears.”

https://youtu.be/1Fo_ourLesA

Here is the distilled text of the video.

Timex Weekender Update

Initially, I had two concerns about the long-term wear of the Timex Weekender, as reviewed here. First was the strap, second was the case material. So what do I think after wearing it for some time (mostly for around the house chores)?

The strap remains a concern as it is not the most comfortable, particularly the buckle, which tends to dig into the wrist in annoying fashion. The metal bands can also have a hard time keep the strap down. If you get one, I recommend replacing the strap with something better.
The case is holding up fine, so no worries there for the time being.
Turns out the dial/hand combo is not the best for quickly glancing at the time. There are a lot of color combos out there for the Weekender, so pick one that has more contrast. I like the black case and sand dial on this model, but it happened to come with brownish hands. They really should be black and I expect I’ll repaint them black upon the first battery change! (And I’ll redo the lume with something stronger.)
My favorite characteristic remains the black date wheel given the color combo. A second is that, for a Timex, the ticking is quite quiet.

All-in-all, it is a wonderful watch and I recommend it for an around-the-houser. You can find it on Amazon.

Summer Watches

I like variety and this trifecta has it.

1. Casio MRW-200H in blue/black. Lots of color combos out there for this Casio, but this is the best. It is classic Casio resin, comfortable to wear, a beautiful shade of blue, bi-directional bezel, day/date with a great font and red Sunday, takes all the knocks, low maintenance quartz, and just perfect for water days and sweaty days of which the summer has in spades. I’ve had it in all the water. At about $20-30 (Amazon), this is an essential summer watch.

2. Christopher Ward C1 Small Seconds. Though technically a dress watch, I think it has a particularly “summery” look about it. Goes wonderfully with khaki shorts/pants, jeans, and casual wear just as well as a suit. Simple, simple, simple, as summer should be…not busy and over-complicated. It is hand-wound (my fav), has CWs in-house calibre SH21, which boasts a 5-day power reserve. One of my most worn watches generally, but especially over the summer.

3. Halios Seaforth II in pastel blue. This was the very first watch I reviewed as I started my Channel, and I was lucky enough to get one in the feeding frenzy of this very popular microbrand. One of my favs that I will never sell, looks amazing in what I call my “Dumb & Dumber” combo. Recall from the classic movie the tuxes worn at the snow owl benefit!