10,000th Review of the Tissot PRX

I have been told my reviews are too long (how dare you)! so here is my attempt to shorten them and become more to the point and succinct! I will be changing the grading business where each category will be out of 10 and a total score out of 40. And yes, this will be 10,000th Tissot PRX review but I wanted to have a crack at reviewing a truly sentimental watch! 

Sizing (including wearability on the wrist):

This integrated bracelet offering from Tissot has a case diameter of 40mm. Lug to lug is difficult to measure with the solid protruding end links. So if you measure out to the fixed links, it is 50mm. After removing the links it wears very nicely on the wrist so much so that the watch even slides perfectly under a business shirt. Forget lug width. It does not have one! but folks are starting to offer straps. Artisan Straps is one of them (PRX Artisan Straps Link). 

Grade: 8/10

Movement: Yes yes yes it has plastic bits. But millions of PRX (I assume) have been bought and worn and I am yet to see/hear a lot of complaints. I have the version with the Powermatic 80 providing 80h of power reserve with a Nicachron balance hairspring. And this ensures a fairly impressive antimagnetic performance. Simply said the feeling of putting it down on a Friday and then picking it back up on Monday for work and it still ticking away is just AWESOME. Accuracy for the 8 months I have had this watch has also been awesome. It is running on average at +2s/day. I also like Tissot's transparency with the replacement cost of the movement on their website. So total cost of ownership is also calculable.

Grade: 9/10

Bracelet: This is the start of the show for me! You may want to put or buy this watch on a strap, but the watch does NOT work the same without the bracelet. With a butterfly clasp, it is the star of the show just the way it shines when the light hits it. And be it indoor lighting or sunlight, it really elevates the watch into the accessible luxury realm. It is also very comfortable to wear and it does not declare war on your arm hair.

Grade: 10/10 

Case and Dial: The colour of the dial is ice blue and it is the same colour as my wife's dad's first car. No wonder this watch is more on her wrist than mine! Need I say more? OK I will give it a shot. The patterned dial adds depth and texture to the dial that elevates this watch to a new stratosphere. Simple hands and a white date dial make this watch truly a great homage to its 1970s predecessor. Simple text makes the dial look uncluttered (take notes Rolex!). To conclude: clean, simple, and classy.

Grade: 9/10

Overall Grade: 36 out of 40. 

What are your alternatives? Christopher Ward, Rolex OysterQuartz, AP Royal Oak, Patek Phillipe Nautilus, Nivada Grenchen F77 OR  Zenith Defy Skyline. And I am sure I am missing a few but none of the alternatives are as accessible and look as luxurious and classy as the Tissot PRX Powermatic 80

Greatest Seiko Ever

Even my wife loves this watch! That's right ..... She likes a watch I bought. That fact alone does 50% of the heavy lifting for this Seiko to be anointed as the greatest Seiko of all time in my books! 

Is everyone done with my hyperbolies? OK, awesome. Now let us get the facts out of the way first. The technical specifications go a long way not only to elevate your wrist game but make it suitable for wrists of multiple sizes.

Case Material: Stainless Steel

Case Diameter: 42mm (wears smaller)

Case Thickness: 13mm

Band Material: Stainless Steel

Band Width: 21mm

Movement: Quartz

Caliber: 7T62

Chronograph Function: Yes

Alarm Function: Yes

Slide Rule Bezel: Yes

Dial Color: Black

Crystal: Hardlex

Water Resistance: 200 meters (660 feet)

Luminous Hands and Markers: Yes

Clasp: Deployment Clasp

Height: 12mm tall 

Lug to Lug: 44mm

Movement: 

The movement is a 7T62 grab-and-go quartz movement. Frequency of 32,768 Hz and boasts and accuracy of plus minus 15 seconds a month. And let me tell you it runs a LOT better than the specifications state. Although the stated battery life is 3 years, I am 4 years into owning this watch and I am yet to require a battery change. But my favourite function has to be the second time zone function. If you pull out the crown to the outermost position and press the bottom pusher, you can set the watch to any time you want, which really helps me set the time to Indian timezone. And yes that is important to me cause not only is that my home country, but it is one of those half-hour timezones which makes it awkward to track using a GMT hand.

Grade: A+

Case: 

Stainless steel case with 2 screw-down pushers which help add to the 200m water resistance. Brushed lugs and a polished case, create a wonderful contrast. Two screw-down pushers at the 2 and 4 o'clock position along with a screw-down crown give this watch an impressive 200m WR (which is insane for an aviation watch like the Flighty). So it has combined the best of both worlds, a pilot's watch and a dive watch. The bezel is obvious and made of stainless steel with an aluminum insert. The sawtooth edge makes it easy to grab and rotate. The friction is also perfect for the bi-directional bezel. The colorways on the bezel match perfectly with the colours on the dial. Are you ever going to use the bezel? Most likely no. But better to have such a bezel and not need it, rather than needing it and not having it right? 

Grade: A

Bracelet: 

This is probably the weakest link of this watch. With the polished center links, it is an absolute scratch magnet. But that is not the worst of it, cause I always love to wear my watches on the bracelet, it is the second link away from lugs that really sticks out like a sore thumb and it is NOT smooth at all as you will see in the pic below. Another negative is the bracelet does not taper at all. Does not bug me too much but I can see why it might frustrate a few. However, there are 4 holes of micro-adjust and it is super comfortable, so if you can get over that one less-than-pretty link in the bracelet, it is awesome! 

Grade: B+

Dial: 

This is the start of the show! The busyness and the layering of the dial is simply spectacular. Together with the bezel, and the inner chapter ring, the number of functions available for you to play around with is an overkill. But it is not an overkill in a negative sense. It might look really busy but, somehow the use of the real estate is clean and classy. Even the details around the applied Seiko logo, the applied hour markers, and even the polished hands of the subdials is simply perfect. The design of the dial makes the Flighty perfect for a boardroom and also the beach! yes, that is the range of this watch! The hardlex crystal and the distortions it creates are also mesmerizing. And the icing is the yellow tachymeter and 12-clock subdial. Just adds a pop to the watch! 

Grade: A+ (triple plus)

Overall Grade: A. Buy it while they are still available for reasonable prices! You will not regret it! Want a tool watch for all occasions! SNA411 is the answer! 

The Classiest Tag Heuer Ever!

OK OK OK .. I know this might be a controversial opinion but I am yet to come across a Tag Heuer watch that is as classy, sporty, dressy, and timeless as the Tag Heuer Grand Carrera Calibre 6. Readers beware! this watch is not in production anymore by Tag Heuer. So this is as much a public service announcement as much as it is a plea to Tag Heuer to bring this timeless classic back! 

Let me get the specifications out of the way before I shower this watch with praise and maybe set it up for some either favourable or harsh comments from my fellow watch lovers! 

Reference Number: WAV511C

Water Resistance Depth: 10Bar

Movement: Calibre 6 COSC

Case Material: Stainless Steel

Lug Width: 20mm

Case Thickness: 12mm

Dial Window Material Type: Sapphire Crystal

Dial Diameter: 40mm

Lug to Lug: 47mm

Watch Strap Type: Stainless Steel Bracelet

Dial Colour: Dark Brown

Yes Yes this will be a biased take on the watch! This was the first "serious Swiss watch" (whatever the definition of that is these days) that I purchased after moving back to Australia and developing my watch hobby. To that effect, Vintage Watch Co made this experience an absolute breeze (https://vintagewatchco.com.au/). So to say that my take on this watch is going to be slightly biased is a gross understatement. I will do my best to be objective.

Movement: 

As everyone already knows the movement is the heart of any watch. And the heart that beats in this watch is the extremely robust Calibre 6. Based on an ETA 2895-2, housing 27 jewels, COSC certified and beating at 28,800 beats per hour. It also features Côtes de Genève decorating on the rotor which is mesmerising, to say the least. Well at least for me! The power reserve is approximately 40 hours, which might seem substandard as compared to other watch releases from the past 5 years, but the whole package more than makes up for it! The movement does have hacking and hand-winding features. Unscrew the crown and it pops out and that is the hand-winding position. One more position out and that will help you quick set the date and pull it out to the last position and you can get the hours and minutes (and the seconds dial waits till you are done and patiently waits and doesn't move!)

Grade: A (would be a plus if power reserve was higher)

Case: 

The majority of the case is brushed with some edges and the rim of the bezel is polished, which is home to a sapphire crystal with double anti-reflective coating. The crown guards are pronounced and obvious which then protects a Tag Heuer branded crown, which looks like a tyre. Do not be worried about the texture of the crown, cause it is THIS texture that helps you oh so easily turn screw and unscrew the crown. The tactile feel is just fantastic! The lugs are slightly curved, but they do not add significantly to the profile of the watch due to "all wrist size" friendly dimensions. And that is just half the story. Turn this watch over and you will see a seethrough case back which gives you a peak into the heart of the watch (as mentioned before). There are two separate sapphire windows with a case back which is secured using 6 screws. 

Grade: A+

Bracelet:

The watch that I picked up came with a steel bracelet. The majority of it is polished with alternative centre links being polished (yes yes it's a scratch magnet). The bracelet has plenty of half-links for anyone to get a great fit. If you cannot get a great fit you need a new wrist, not a new bracelet (yes yes too harsh I know). The bracelet has a push-button folding clasp, brushed with the Tag Heuer embossed. The bracelet does taper. 20mm to 17mm at the clasp. That gives it that classy touch. 

Grade: A

Dial: 

The dial is brown with a Circular Guilloche. But that is not even the most mesmerising part of the dial. It is the way that the seconds are displayed that really drew me to this watch. The GT engine-inspired, rotating system makes reading the seconds hand at a glance a breeze. You will find the date window at the 3 o'clock position. That is the only minor flaw of this model, in my eyes. They should have moved the Tag Heuer logo down a few millimetres and put the date window at the 12 o-clock position. The symmetry of the dial then would have been simply perfect. There is a bit of text on the dial, but it does not feel over the top. Grand Carrera Calibre 6 are written in 3 different fonts and sizes, followed by an automatic chronometer and is officially certified below the seconds display. It is just enough without being over the top (unlike the thesis that Rolex write on their submariner dials!). If you want to get a watch for the lume, this is not the one for you. It is poor on the best of days. It is a minimalist design for all occasions for sure!  

Grade: B+

Overall grade: A minus (the date position and the lume)

That is my grade. Does that matter? Absolutely NO! My wife is NOT a fan of this watch. It is barely passable for her! Does anyone else find that relatable?