Should You Ever Visit Japan

If memory serves me correctly, I first encountered Oceanus in the somewhat short-lived Men's Vogue (US Edition).  At the time I was sorta' pissed off because I had worked like the Devil to get DOXA included in the "Worn/Re-Worn" special section at the front of each issue.  For all of my effort, we got the one page and were grateful.  Had my boss not insisted on trying to jam 5000 factoids into that one page it might have had a bigger impact, but I digress.

Anyway, on the pages opposite, there was a flood of words and facts about a quartz watch with a goofy name - Oceanus!  I got an earful about how come they got so much "language" and we didn't, with instructions to make the people at Vogue (you know, the people who actually gave us the feature without demanding payment) aware of the displeasure my boss felt.  I opted to ignore those instructions. And in truth, I didn't give much of a second or third thought to Oceanus, and like Men's Vogue (US Edition) it was come and gone from these shores in fairly short order.

Fast forward 10 years and I was part of a press junket for G-Shock in which we were briefly introduced to the rest fo the Casio product family.  Fun fact - Casio is BIG in the overhead projector and desk top calculator worlds.  And there almost ignored were a few samples of the Oceanus model -

Shamelessly borrowed from the world-wide info-web

And for one Ohio retailer and myself, it was like when peanut-butter met jelly!  These are really good looking watches, and while they are quartz they prove the theory that there is nothing dumb about quartz.

This is the Casio Oceanus OCW-T200S-2AJF Bluetooth.  And before you scoff and say "Basic quartz with date", allow me to educate you.  Bluetooth is one of the key, operative words.  As I learned from the G-Shock I picked up on that trip 2 years ago, the Bluetooth function links to your cell phone, guaranteeing that your time is correct.  Change timezones?  So long as your phone is with you, it's no problem!  And solar!  So those frequent battery changes will be (for the most part) a thing of the past.

What I've learned during my time as a watch dog is that while mechanical is sexy, and haute is "haughty", it represents a very small portion of the market.  Mechanical watches were simply the result of the technology that was available at that time. Yes, many millions of dollars are invested in improving mechanical technology, and I am just as guilty of appreciating a mechanical movement. But if I am being honest with myself? I am more and more appreciating things that are well made that do not require so much effort. I love Apple products for this reason, my car has an automatic transmission, and I bought a K-Cup machine for my school because although it's not as sexy as some of the more expensive options that let you play "Kitchen Barista", I can honestly say after my tour of duty as a Starbucks manager, it's not something I dream of doing several times a day when I'm in a hurry.

Now unfortunately, as the aforementioned Ohio retailer and I discovered back in Japan, the Oceanus is not available here in the US. But there are outlets in Japan that sell and ship, and if you're looking for something that will look really good, be bang on perfect in time keeping, and not cost you several hundreds of dollars every few years for serving - I would highly recommend the Oceanus.

The Golden Bridge Rectangle 40th Anniversary

From Corum in yellow and white gold.  Today we're going to focus on the yellow gold model -

Courtesy of Corum

40 years in the making, this release honors the original and all that followed it.

Limited to 40 pieces, so if you are of a mind, don't dawdle!

Here are the pertinents -

MOVEMENT

Movement number:
CO 113

Winding system:
Manual

Functions:
Hour & Minute

Power reserve:
40 hours

Frequency:
4 Hz, 28'800 vph

Dimension:
14 3/4''' x 5'''

Rubies:
19

Movement finishes:
Bridges and plate in 18kt gold

CASE

Shape:
Rectangular

Dimension:
29.50 x 42.20

Thickness:
8.90 mm

Case material:
5N 18kt rose gold • Engraved "LE" inscription

Crown material:
5N 18kt rose gold

Crystal:
Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment

Back type:
Screwed in open back cover in 5N 18kt rose gold with glare proof sapphire crystal

Water-resistance:
30 meters / 3 ATM

HANDS

Hour and minute:
Baton • Rhodium-coated • Faceted

BRACELET

Material:
Alligator leather

Colours:
Brown

Interhorn/Buckle:
22/18 mm

Buckle type:
Triple folding clasp

Buckle material:
5N 18kt rose gold

The Edition 95

 From Laco -

Courtesy of Laco

This is one of the annual editions that will mark each year as Laco approaches their 100th anniversary.

Courtesy of Laco

The case is of stainless steel and measures 42.5 mm in diameter.

Courtesy of Laco

The movement is the Unitas/ETA 6498.1

It is limited to 95 pieces, and available for pre-order now. 

Here are the pertinents, straight from the source -

MOVEMENT: 

handwinding movement Laco 98, bridges with Côtes de Genève, thermical blued screws, ratchet wheel and crown wheel with sun ray finish, ratchet wheel with engraved limited number, basic movement ETA 6498.1 (Elaboré), 17 jewels

CASE: 

stainless steel case with a polished and sandblasted finish, fluted bezel, flat and anti- reflective sapphire crystal, screwed case back with extra large sapphire crystal opening

FACE: 

Blue dial, arabic numerals with luminous material Superluminova C1 blue line, small second at 6 h

HANDS: 

thermally blued hands also filled with Superluminova C1 blue line

STRAP: 

Brown leather strap, stainless steel buckleBOX:Blue gift box with matching cardboard box 

EXTRAS:

Including limited edition collectors pin and certificate of authenticity

DIAMETER:

42.5 mmHEIGHT10.7 mm

LUG WIDTH:

22.0 mm

LUG TO LUG:

49.8 mm

WATERPROOF:

up to 10 ATM

WEIGHT:

80.5 g (incl. strap)