Anstead Oceanis – A second try at their premier watch

By Matt Himmelstein September 29, 2014

I have written about it here before, and I will say again, that I own an Anstead Oceanis. The original Anstead Oceanis, as sold on Kickstarter. It was my first really big (relatively) purchase on that site, my first crowd funded watch, and one of the reasons why I am currently on staff here at WWR; it stirred enough passion in me to offer to write a review, which led to more writing, which led to this gig. Now Tom Anstead, the man behind the watch, has relaunched it in a way, selling the Oceanis direct through his web site. But this version, still under the same name, and still “the first of the naval combat series,” is really an improvement and refinement over the original Oceanis, a watch I still enjoy and wear.

Haigh & Hastings M2 Diver, Keep Calm and Carry On

By Matt Himmelstein September 22, 2014

I am one of those guys that wears a watch all the time. Well, almost all the time, when I am involved in one of my potentially dangerous activities, I don’t wear a watch. For me, this is road biking, mountain biking and rock climbing. It isn’t that I don’t want to know the time, it is that if I take a fall (and I have been known to crash my mountain bike a fair bit), I don’t want to damage my watch. But now, the Haigh & Hastings M2 Diver can ease that worry, pairing a nice looking, sensible diver with a 5-year damage repair guarantee.

The New Raven Vintage 42mm

By Patrick Kansa September 17, 2014

It was not all that long ago where we brought you word (and a side-by-side comparison) of…

Historical Horology – Diving Into Dive Watches

By Matt Himmelstein September 14, 2014

I like dive watches. My first automatic, years ago, was an inexpensive (Freestyle I think) dive watch that I purchased because I started diving. For years, my daily watch was a Eco-Drive titanium dive watch. My first purchase on kickstarter (and the direct link to me writing for this site) was an Anstead dive watch. My first high end watch is likely going to be the Omega Seamaster in orange (one I run out of other things to spend $6,000 on). But let’s be honest, these are no longer tools for diving, rather they are fashion choices.

Lew & Huey Orthos, Lets Go Diving

By Matt Himmelstein July 29, 2014

For a lot of guys, a diver is the default tool watch. The cases are usually fairly beefy, and that translates to masculine, the watches themselves are rugged, they serve a purpose, and they broadcast to the world that you are a man of action. So you might as well inject a little style into the watch as well. That is where the Lew & Huey Orthos comes in with their latest Kickstarter campaign. These ‘friends of the site’ have put their fifth model up for sale, and the first true diver of the bunch.

Orbital by element watch, A Family Affair

By Matt Himmelstein July 17, 2014

There are a lot of kickstarter watch projects where the creator has a dream of designing a watch, and then connects with a manufacturer in China to produce the watch. Well, element watches adds a twist to that formula, in that the watch manufacturer back in China is owned by the designer’s father. The Orbital by element watch is the company’s second bite at the kickstarter apple, and in my opinion it is a more attractive watch than the (unsuccessful) first project.

Squale Dive Watches on Touch of Modern

By Matt Himmelstein June 4, 2014

Touch of Modern, a web site that I like to browse and where we point readers from time to time is running a limited time sale of Swiss dive watches from Squale Watches. The watches range from the basic diver, the Atmos, to a vintage Tiger from the 70s/80s that has been rebuilt housing an ETA 2892 movement, new hands, new gaskets, and a new rubber strap.

Budget Watches Pick up Momentum

By Matt Himmelstein May 22, 2014

Today I want to point you two watch offerings from Momentum Watch Company, the Torpedo and the Steelix, that are what you might consider budget buys. Momentum makes a number of watches, including some diver offerings, which is where the Torpedo sits, which the Steelix is more of a Field watch. Both watches have a 44mm diameter brushed stainless steel case with the crown at 4:00. The watches contain a Japanese quartz movement, have anti-glare coated mineral crystals and are depth rated to 200 feet.

Would This be the Swiss Navy Watch?

By Matt Himmelstein April 22, 2014

Victorinox, yes the Victorinox that makes the ubiquitous Swiss Army Knife, has been in the watch business for a while. While a number of their watch offerings have been attractive, I rarely see something from them that makes me want to buy one. Well, I think they found their sweet spot, at least when it comes to what I like in a sports watch. A limited edition, Swiss automatic chronograph dive watch, and a serious dive watch at that.

Ocean 7 LM-8 Professional Deep Diver, Hands On

By Matt Himmelstein March 31, 2014

Ocean 7 was nice enough to ship out their LM-8 Professional Deep Diver watch for a review, and I was able to spend a few days with it. The first thing you notice when you take it out of the box is that this watch is substantial, which is to be expected for a watch rated to 2,000 meters. OK, it is more than substantial, it is heavy. And big. There is a possibility that I have held heavier wrist watches (I am sure there are some beasts out there that I have not seen as well), but if I have, it was not by much. The stainless bracelet that comes with the watch is also substantial, requiring the removal of three links to make it wearable for me. Thankfully, the bracelet uses screw in pins, not push pins, so removal is easily and safely done with a small screwdriver. I really appreciated this touch. Once on, the weight is not really that noticeable in every day wear, you know it is there, but it is not a big deal. Now, I wouldn’t take this out on the golf course, there I think the weight would mess up my swing (and it does not need to be messed up any more than it is), but it isn’t weighing down my arm down or causing any fatigue.

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