Hamilton is a Swiss brand and their watches tend to feature a lot of features. This one is actually a sailing watch from the Regatta series which is part of their Navy family. The case is stainless steel with a 44mm diameter. On the dial face, there is a lot of detailing – the interior rotating bezel indicates a compass in the lower circumference and a starboard layline on the outer circumference. It can be adjusted by the crowns on the right side. The exterior rotating bezel indicates the port layline. A sailing countdown display is down at the 6 o’clock position – definitely something that would be more meaningful if you are into sailing. The chronograph is controlled by the push-buttons to the left. There is also a crown on the left side to adjust day/date which is on the 9 o’clock position – an unusual placement. Overall though, it does balance the case nicely. A striking feature of this piece is its color. How many watches can look blue and sophisticated at the same time? This one manages to somehow do both. The dial face is blue, which perfectly suits a sailing watch. But it also has a blue rubber strap that stands out without looking out of place in any way. The strap has white stitching, giving it more of a sporty look, and then there is the tang buckle with the Hamilton H pin.

It has scratch resistant sapphire crystal on both sides – yes; the back is transparent giving a peep into the self-winding movement. The crowns are screw-down – which makes sense for a sailing watch. Though I feel the crowns and buttons could have been better designed for such a detailed watch. There are no accents or coloring. It’s a very plain look. If you see the watch sideways, it doesn’t stand out as a sporty watch.

But if you are looking for a distinctive color on a dressy watch, this one fits the bill. Check it out here -

http://www.countshop.com/Hamilton-H77636343

Luminox is known for their military watches – they have 3 categories: AIR, SEA, LAND. In the sea category, the Navy SEAL series has been very popular. This one is from the Deep Dive series – model 1501. It borrows from the Navy SEAL look, but it’s a serious dive watch! For starters, it has a depth resistance of 500 meters. It’s common to find 200M resistance but 500M is more challenging to engineer. The sapphire crystal must be twice as thick, and also the caseback. Steel deforms at that depth so the overall case construction has to be more robust and rugged. This is what gives the case its thickness. The case diameter is 44mm without the crown and the screw-down crown has a special purpose protector. Not only does it hold the crown in place, it actually locks the rotating bezel as well. These and other such features make this an official dive watch that meets international standards – such as shock resistance, magnetic resistance, chemical resistance to withstand ocean salinity. It also has an automatic helium release valve – something that divers care about since prolonged dives in pressurized environments, tiny helium molecules can get inside and the pressure build-up can damage the watch.

The most relevant feature from Luminox’ perspective is the visibility. First of all, the glass has anti-reflective coating. In deep sea diving, being able to read the watch in absolute darkness becomes important – and that’s where the Luminox illumination system for which the brand is famous kicks in. The hands and markers have the tritium tubes that glow in the dark unaided by any external source of light or power. They don’t need any activation. What Luminox has done for this watch is that they have triple tubes at the 12 o’clock marker and double tubes on the broader minute hand, just adding that extra bit of noticeability.

There is also a date window (at the 3 o’clock position). The movement is an automatic Swiss ETA 2826. The case-back is screw-down and has the deep dive logo. The watch comes with an integrated strap, soft PU which has been stretch-tested by applying a force of 20 newtons on each side. It has a triple-pin buckle and 2 belt loops. It’s a very comfortable strap, nice and secure. It comes with an additional strap extender for use over wet suits.

The watch comes in a special box and also has a deep dive certificate. Check it out here - http://www.countshop.com/Luminox-1501

This review is dedicated to all the Elvis fans out there. The watch we are looking at is a limited edition model of the iconic Ventura watch, to mark what would have been the 'King's' 75th birthday in 2010. It features the distinctive, shield-shaped timepiece, worn by Elvis in the 1961 movie 'Blue Hawaii'. It certainly is a striking look – very stylish. It obviously holds more appeal for collectors. You would probably want to wear it for an evening out and about. The automatic movement is visible through the scratch resistant sapphire crystal from both sides – front and back. I quite like the shape and design – it’s been done in a tasteful way to keep the watch looking distinctive without looking odd or tacky. In the beginning, it does take practice to read the dial. There aren’t any numerals anyway. I would have probably preferred it if they would at least make the hour markers a bit more prominent. 

The case is stainless steel with a gunmetal color and a black rubber strap. If you don’t like the strap though, you don’t have very many options because the lugs are angled to accommodate the shape of the watch… so you are not likely to find alternatives. But if you are ok with the watch just as it is, and if you are a fan of Elvis, then these shortcomings won’t bother you. 

It’s a limited edition watch so not many sellers will be carrying it. You can check to see if there is still some stock available at CountShop - http://www.countshop.com/Hamilton-H24615331