Given how popular our article on the Oulm Watches was, this latest release from moVas seems like it should be right in the wheelhouse of a great many of our readers. While the moVas Exotica Twin Timer shares some looks with those Oulm watches, this is a watch that looks to be built to a much higher spec. This is the first watch the brand has released in the Exotica line, and looks to be their foray into more experimental, or “out there”, designs.
The AVI-8 Hawker Hunter Automatic watch was as unknown to me as the 1950s British jet by the same name. This automatic watch does not disappoint in keeping with AVI-8’s aviation designs that look like the watch was ripped off the plane’s instrument panel and given a leather strap.
OK, it may be a few months before Marty McFly gets Doc Brown’s DeLorian up to 88 miles per hour, but Polish watchmakers G. Gerlach have gone decidedly retro with this red LED watch now available from the site. The G. Gerlach Kosmonaut is an stylish update to those 7-segment LED watches, and specifically to the watch worn by the first and only Polish Kosmonaut, General Miroslaw Hermaszewski.
The brand gets its name from the British horologist, Thomas Earnshaw, who made improvements to chronometers in the late 1700s. This is a polished, stainless steel chronograph powered by a Swiss quartz movement.
When it comes to pilot watches – specifically, Flieger-spec pilot watches – Laco is a name that many are likely very familiar with, and their designs are recongnizeable, in that they follow the specifications set out some time ago for the various Fliegers. Their latest, however, is supposed to be a Type C, and is a design that I do not think I have ever seen before. Or, if nothing else, the Laco Spirit of St. Louis is a less-common style of Flieger.
When it comes to the connected watches, we often see that they bundle in some sort of step tracking, as quantifying our lives has become all the rage (myself included). The Wellograph I looked at did get more into the realm of monitoring more things relevant for fitness (including a heart rate monitor), but it was not something that would feel particularly right on the wrist at the gym or out on the trails. For myself, I have found myself spending more time in the gym, and my Fitbit – while a tidy little tracker for daily use – was not giving me the full picture I wanted. That then brings us to my new workout companion, the Garmin Forerunner 920XT.
Sometimes, a brand will want to branch out into new designs – this happens quite a bit, across many industries. If there is some concern that the new direction might dilute or otherwise confuse what had already been built, a new brand will be created, allowing some other avenues to be explored. Of course, all the expertise and history travel along from the sister brand, which makes what we have with the Belmoto Timepieces an interesting proposition.
When it comes to dive watches, especially those that we see showing up on the crowdfunding sites, they are decidedly more of an entry-level proposition. I am not saying that there is a problem with that (quite the contrary), just stating a fact. That makes it all the more curious – or interesting, depending on your view – that we caught word of a new higher-end sort of an option showing up over on Indiegogo. The Haldor Abissi 1000M just launched, and offers some rather nice specs especially for the pricepoint.
There are certainly no shortage of watches popping up on crowd-funding sites these days. There are so many there days that we have actually dialed back our coverage. A lot of that is due to an abundance of very (VERY) similar watches coming out with little differentiation past a dial color and logo. Then you have something like the Automat Oro Dato that is rather unlike what has come before it, and then it merits some discussion here on these pages.
This Sunday I am doing something a little different. Instead of showing off a few videos, I am going to do a pair of re-reviews, Rewind Reviews if you will, second looks at watches that we have featured here at the site. I have a pair of divers that Patrick reviewed the Benarus Vintage Moray and the Van Speyk Dutch Diver. I have had some time with both watches, and I like them both, though they are very different.
