Thank you all for stopping by and checking out our weekly watching the Web feature, where we take a little time to highlight articles we find of interest on other sites, as well as point you back toward our most popular articles of the last week or so. This week, we learned some news about Frederique Constant, a Terminator-esque watch, and a thorough overview on GPS running watches. Looking at our own pages, we have a new custom-build watch, the latest chronograph from Oris, and an older look at Ingersoll.
The news this week about Citizen buying up Frederique Constant (which also brings Alpina and Atelier DeMonaco along for the ride) certainly caught me by surprise. Hopefully the brand will still keep churning out that affordable Swiss luxury we have come to know and love. For a quick overview of the news, you can check Hodinkee; for a bit meatier take on the news, the article over on aBlogtoWatch is where you need to head.
Who can forget seeing a Terminator ooze through the bars of a jail cell in Terminator 2? That was certainly some impressive visual magic (especially for that day and age), and this new watch wants to grab on to a bit of that effect (with a healthy dose of Porsche Design to the bezel). As the article over on Gizmodo points out, there is more than a little bit of sketchiness to this watch. However, if it does come to be true, this would certainly be one of the cooler $200 watches we have seen as of late.
If, instead, you prefer your watches to be less vaporware, and more actually, you know, functional (past telling the time) then this roundup over at The Wirecutter is worth a peep. As with all categories of products they decide to tackle, they do some rather thorough testing, and come out with their overall pick, as well as some alternate options (and reasons why you might want the alternate). I’m personally still good with this Garmin, but for those curious about the latest and greatest, the Wirecutter article is a great stop.
We like Kickstarter watches (within reason), and we also like custom watches. So, we are rather curious to see how this new combination of those two things – from Revolo Watches – does in the market. You can check out all the details on this new project right here, and then you’ll still have a few days to get in on the project, if you are so inclined.
John makes no secret of his affinity for chronographs (nor do I hide my aversion to them), and this latest from Oris has captured his attention. Will the carbon fiber dial supplant his Omega? Likely not, but even I have to admit that the carbon fiber dial and blue accents are pretty fetching.
Occasionally, in these roundups, I am surprised to see older articles bubble to the top. That happened again this week, with an overview I did on Ingersoll Watches back in 2012. While the current incarnation of the brand (of which we have plenty of reviews) is out there and affordable, digging into the history of this venerable American brand is a worthwhile diversion.
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 read (check those out here
). You can even check out a snippet of the book.
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.
If you’ve not done it yet, you have just a few more days to get in on our current giveaway, the Gavox Squadron. I originally reviewed it for A Blog To watch, but there is a nice summary on the contest page. There is a two-part entry process, so follow the directions and enter for a chance at this cool military themed chono.
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.