Archimede Outdoor watch
The newest watch from German Archimede is the Outdoor. It is an evolution on some past designs and fits a very specific purpose. To understand the Outdoor you need to look back to a watch that I believe was the thematic influence for the Outdoor, the Timex Camper. These are meant to be outdoors friendly timepieces that are easy to read and durable. They are not meant to be much more, and sit in a sort of functional minimalist category.Size is 38.5mm wide in nice looking lugless steel case. It is rather thin at just 10.6mm thick. The case and watch is meant to be light for a steel watch. According to Archimede, the watch is 120 grams on the metal bracelet, and 70 grams on the leather strap. This is for active people don't want a heavy watch and don't want to wear a plastic watch. In a nutshell, this is a German daily beater that won't complain when you beat it up.The case has a sapphire crystal and is water resistant to 200 meters. The black dial has white text for very high contrast. T

a Birthday surprise!
This past week I had the pleasure of re-visiting the place of my birth: Guam, in the Mariana Islands. My father lives in Japan, and to those in Japan it's an easier trip than say Hawai'i for warm weather (it's snowing in Japan today). He planned a two day father & son birthday trip, something we haven't done in many, many years. (it's been at least 13-14 years since I've seen this tiny little island).Anyways, the main point of the story is, for my birthday he surprised me with a Stainless Steel Diver. As obscure as this island is, they have a few watch boutiques, and AP is one of them (I believe it is operated under the wing of Audemars Piguet Japan, my warranty book lists Japan as the origin...the CEO of AP Japan was actually visiting the shop while I was browsing). My father had visited the island two months ago, and had them set it aside. I knew there was an AP boutique based on some recon I did before going and suggested we walk in, and to my surprise it was already waiting for

AP Number 2 and 3!!!!
So I recently caught the bug really, really hard. After getting a Panda a few weeks ago, I completed the trifecta this week. I had a new AP ROC for a few weeks with a silver dial, but it didn't sing to me. I really liked the simplicity of the 15400 and the black dial, so I got myself one of these beautiesThen one of my all-time faves came up for sale (I am really a diving watch freak) in great shape at a price I could not resist soI am so pumped to have this trio in my stable. They all do it for me in their own way. All three are impeccably finished like only AP can do, but they are all different. The 15400 has an elegance, the perfect sports watch for a suit. The diver is a great weekend watch, but can also be dressed up because of the black dial. Lastly, the Panda is like nothing else that I have with a white dial with black and red accents. The question now is, when will I have time to wear them all along with the others I had in the stable before the APs. I guess one of the better

Service intervals
I just purchased an Omega 2225.80.00 from a coworker. He puchased the watch from a Las Vegas AD in 2008. I provided Omega the serial number and they emailed me back stating the watch was originally sold to an authorized dealer in 2007. The watch is running spot on and I read on Omega's web site that they recommend service at 4-5 years. I am just wondering if I should spend the additional 590.00 for a service at this point since it's working fine, or should I wait until I notice it is not running properly?

Incoming... my first!
I started thinking about a Rolex last fall. At first I thought I wanted a bluesy tt, but then considered it would be too flashy in Portland Oregon. I was also worried that if I got a Rolex it would upstage my boss who wears a 20 year old sub as a daily beater. So, already being an Omega guy as they've been in my family, I went with a Speedmaster as I felt it was understated. I really like the Speedmaster except for two things. 1) It's on a strap not a bracelet. After wearing a Seamaster on a bracelet for 10 years, the strap always feels either too loose or too tight. 2) I feel like I have to baby it, find a safe place to put it if I'm going to swim or do something active. Finally, it didn't scratch the itch. I found myself constantly looking at my boss' sub in meetings. I just got back from a long trip abroad and really could have used a GMT. Couldn't find one at local ADs, didn't find one at ADs abroad. So yesterday morning I reached out to David SW. Within 10 minutes we agreed on