Welcome back to our weekly installment, Watching the Web, where we have a quick look at some interesting watches and articles that have popped up over the last week, as well as taking a second look at what some of our more popular articles this week were. Today, we’ve got a look at how to age an undyed leather strap, and the first hands-on review I’ve seen for the new Omega Seamaster 300. After those, we’ll highlight (as usual) some of our more popular posts from the last week. Read on to see what we’ve got in store for you.
So, first up, let’s talk about undyed leather straps. I’ve reviewed quite a variety of different straps, but none of the leather ones I’ve had in have been undyed. Frankly, this is something I’m more used to seeing offered from belt makers, but the concept is the same – by picking up an undyed piece of leather, its given the opportunity to pick up a color and patina that’s unique to you and your environment. As the Timebum found out, though, that can be a hard thing to come by when you only wear the thing a day or two at a time. Check out his article to get a rundown of how he attempted to accelerate the process.
Next up, we’ve got the new-for-2014 Omega Seamaster 300. This is a watch that’s a two-fer of sorts – it’s obviously a dive watch (always a popular style, it seems), but it also plays to the heritage of the line, which gives the vintage cues that many are looking for these days. Over at Hodinkee, Jason Heaton put the watch through its paces (including a dive in Lake Superior), and gives us a rundown of the history of the lineup. I have to say, for a watch that looks like it could’ve come from 60-plus years ago, it’s a looker.
Now, let’s come back to our own pages. First up, we’ve got a review from last month of a watch that has proven to be quite popular – the Swatch Sistem51. For those not familiar with this watch, the overview is that it’s an affordable (at $150) mechanical watch. Of course, if you stop there, you’re missing the facts that the movement itself only has 51 components, and it’s assembled (and timed) in a completely automated fashion. This means that once the case is sealed, you’ve basically got a “disposable” mechanical watch, to be sure. But before it hits that obsolescence point, it’s a great little watch. You can check out our full hands-on review right here.
For our second article to highlight, we’re actually going to go a bit meta – as last weeks’ Watching the Web was one of the more popular posts, surprisingly enough. As you’d expect, we covered a variety of topics in that post. We had a look at the Orient Bambino (and comparison to the prior version) and the Titoni Seascoper, as well as some information pointing you back to our posts on the Magrette Dual Time and the new Smith & Bradley Ambush. To check out the full complement, and get linked back to those articles, head on over here.
Don’t forget that we’re now in a new month, so we’ve started up a new giveaway. August marks my three-year anniversary with the site, so we’ve got a three-watch giveaway for you this time around. Head on over here to get your entries in.
With that, we’ll wrap things up. As always, if there’s something you think we should be covering, feel free to drop us a line. If you bring something up that we end up writing about, we’ll be sure to tip our hats (electronically, if not literally) in your general direction.
Pictures courtesy of the source site
