Welcome back to Watching the Web, where I take a look at watch related posts that have caught my eye on other sites, as well as point out some of our own more popular recent posts. This week, I am going to point you to three affordable automatic/mechanical watches. From our pages, we have a high end Breguet, a Scandinavian smartwatch, and leather straps out of Russia.
I will start off with A Blog To Watch’s coverage of the Martenero Edgermere. Clean face, a little color, a little quirk with the sub dial at 5:00, a reliable Miyota automatic movement, no date window, and a price tag of$550. OK, I may want a bit more size than the 40mm here, but it is a sharp looking sporty weekender fora very reasonable price.
AVI-8 is a brand I like quite a bit, and Watch Report has a review of the Hawker Hurricane Battle of Britain special edition of the watch. It is a nice looking vintage military inspired looking watch. Again, a nice casual piece that is perfect for weekends. Again sporting a Japanese Miyota movement and clocking in at under $500, it has a nice customized rotor design visible through the exhibition caseback.
Lastly, I have Worn & Wound’s review of the Archimede Pilot 42 KS, with the hand wound Unitas 6498. I really like the look of this movement through the exhibition caseback, and I like the feeling of connection you get when you hand wind your watch. The design is a clean Flieger style with the classic oversized crown.
So, with ABTW and Worn & Wound highlighting some affordable watches, you guys made the $13,900 Breguet Type XXI our most read post. John looked at this lovely watch and wants you to know that he wants one.
I am not a fan of smartwatches, but if I were to pick one up, it would be something like the Skagen Hagen Connected watch. Yes, I wish they used automatic movements, but I generally like Skagen watches, and the connected watch option here fits in nicely with the line. It is a clean look and offers some connectivity without advertising that you have to be tethered to your phone.
Lastly, we have Victor’s take on a pair of aftermarket straps from Difues. A strap change can really refresh the look of an existing watch, and it is way cheaper (generally) than picking up a whole new watch. For generally less than $50, these are nice looking options.
Did you know that John Biggs’ book, Marie Antionette’s Watch, is free to read with Kindle Unlimited, or you can buy a paperback from Amazon. Oh, and even if you don’t have a Kindle, you can always read via their free apps or their cloud reader (check those out here
Want to be more than just a visitor to our little corner of the internet? How about pledging some support for us over on Patreon. There are some compelling funding levels (including site redesigns and removing ads, and getting a copy of the Marie Antoinette book), but really, we just want to ensure we keep this lean ship running and the lights on. You can check out John’s latest post right here. This is a fun thing we get to do on the side, and we want to keep bringing you the content that you have come to rely on from us, and work to make it even better.
Here we are, nearing the end of October, with a bit more than a week left to enter our monthly drawing. This month is is for the Spinnaker Del Sol Chronograph, a sporting looking solar-powered quartz watch. There is a two-part entry process so head to the contest page and get started.
We also want to put the call out for wrist shots of our reader’s favorite (or at least favorite of the moment) watches. Put together an email of your wrist shot and tell us a little about the watch and why you love it. If you happened to be introduced to it through our site (or won it through a give-away), even better. Just make sure the image is a JPEG and at least 800 pixels wide. And 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.
