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TechAffect Colour Arc LED Watch
by zombieflesh
I hate to be without a watch and always feel lost if I don't know the time. I'm one of those people that likes planning and having a reliable timepiece is essential. I found this Techaffect Colour Arc LED watch on www.amazon.co.uk where it was selling for just £7.99 at the time of purchase. I needed a new watch after my previous one was ... wearing out and the battery dying prompted me to snap this up.
Product description "Fashionable LED watch with 29 colourful LEDs in a Rainbow Arc. The Colour Arc from TechAffect has 29 superbright LED lights that display the time, as well as day and month."
I loved the look of this watch as it is a statement piece and guaranteed to attract attention. It has a large square face measuring 35mm x 40mm and a thick black strap. When the face is inactive you can see rows of dots and numbers, but it's when you press the button to activate the face that this really starts to get interesting! The watch is very different to most in that you cannot just give it a quick glance to tell the time. The time is displayed by a series of LEDs which remain inactive until you press the button on the side of the watch to see the time display. The watch then lights up for you. The first arc gives you the hour, the second arc the 'deca' minutes, and the third arc the minutes. The top arc runs from 1-12, the centre arc from 10-50 (in 10's) and the bottom arc from 1-9. So if I light up my watch and the LEDs show "4" in the top arc, "10" in the centre arc, and "2" in the bottom arc, then I know that the time is 4.12. There is an additional set of LEDs in the corner to show AM and PM, but I guess more people would be able to gauge whether it's day time or night time anyway! To see the date you need to press the button on the side of the watch twice in quick succession. The date display works in a similar way to the time. The first arc tells you month number, second arc the 'deca' days, and the third arc days. This might all sound a very long-winded and fussy way to have to work out the time, but it was extremely quick to get to grips with and after using it for a little while it became second nature to read the time in this way so I can pick it up straight away now.
This watch does come with a set of instructions to enable you to set it for the first time, but I must admit that I struggled and couldn't do it properly, so I had to enlist a friend to help me. They managed it in around 2 minutes flat so no problem there, but I am now dreading when the clocks change and I need to try and figure it out again! It also seems that the date function was not set up quite right and so the date display is not working for me properly. I think it is quite difficult to get the watch set up and make sure that the display is working correctly, but this is crucial for the product to actually function as intended, so it's a shame it couldn't have been made a little simpler.
The watch face is the real attraction here, and it does look amazing when lit up. The rows of LEDs alternate between blue and red, and it looks really cool when being used to tell the time. It gets a lot of attention and people always ask me questions about it when they see me using it. All of my male friends have been incredibly envious and want one too, so I'd suggest that it would make a nice (and cheap!) gift for any geeky men in your life that like their silly gadgets. I think the best thing about it is the design and the look. It is a really fun time piece that looks very technical and futuristic. Unfortunately the overall quality of the watch is not so good. I have skinny little girly wrists and need to tighten the strap to the smallest setting so that the watch fits me without slipping around. Within only a few days of owning the watch I had managed to break the clasp and one of the fasteners, the first I could fix back into place, but the second was a goner and now I'm left with just the one fastener. The strap is made of a synthetic material and does not feel as nice as a proper leather strap and I am considering replacing it. As for time keeping, I have had absolutely no problems with it at all. It keeps time perfectly, and as this is the purpose of wearing a watch, it does its job well. I was a bit worried that the battery would die out straight away from having to light up all the LEDs, but it is lasting well so far, and I only press the button when needed so it's not lit up that often.
Overall, I think this was a good buy for the price, and is a good choice if you like the unusual display style.
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Casio F91W1XY
by haco
When I was choosing a new watch for everyday wear I wanted something which was cheap and would do the job. Whilst browsing the Argos website I was this model appealed to me as it was less than £10, was digital, and had an alarm and stopwatch. To be honest, I've possibly used the stopwatch once BUT it's nice to have the function there ... if you ever need to time something! The watch is also water resistant, however I wouldn't wear it in the shower or whilst swimming but it's got wet whilst I've washed my hands and it's still absolutely fine.
The watch is very simple to use with a large display and three buttons surrounding the face. There's a backlight button which is extremely handy to have, a mode button and an alarm on/off button. It's incredibly easy to set the time on the watch but for the first time using it I'd definitely recommend having a flick through the instructions so you know what you're doing first. When you've done it once, it's much easier to change it again. The alarm function is also very good. I used my watch as an alarm on holiday as I didn't want to take my iPhone with me, and the alarm sound is quite loud and never failed to wake me up.
One small problem I have with this watch is that sometimes I accidentally press some of the buttons if I bend my hand backwards (usually done whilst stretching/yawing haha). This isn't usually a problem because you can just press the 'mode' button to get it back to normal, but if you're in a quiet area then the little beep which comes with each press of the button can be a little strange..
Apart from that extremely minor issue I would say this watch is pretty close to being perfect! If you want a nice little watch which you can use every day and not worry too much about it getting scratched then this Casio is perfect for you!
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Ice-Watch Classic Solid
by FrostBite
I have a little bit of a watch addiction, I love them and often don't tend to wear it as a method of telling the time but as a bracelet - a fashion accessory. I first started my watch collection at about the age of 15 when the Baby G watches were all the rage, I would ask for one at christmas and be amazed by the on screen graphics and ... multiple functions available. Ever since I have gone through a variety of styles with leather straps, analogue faces and a variety of colours. I will also add here that I have a thing about neon and bright colours, love them!!
I remember the Ice range catching my eye on one shopping trip, I often look in the jewellers window even when I can't afford the stuff inside. The watches were everything I loved - bold, colourful, bright and a statement piece; unfortunately they were a little pricey. A little disheartened I carried on my shop and found similar watches on a market; all the markings of an Ice watch but after a few months stopped working so please do not go for the imitation as you'll only end up spending more money anayway.
So after my watch decided to break (unsuprisingly) I was amazed to find my partner had bought me a pink Ice watch as a gift. I was understandably chuffed, I guard the watch with my life!!
Ice watches are a brand of watch which can be found at a number of high street retailers such as H Samuels, Beaverbrooks, independent jewellers and online at places such as Amazon and Ebay. However, just be very careful when buying the watches online as there are many imitations of a very poor quality. Obvious signs of a fake are the words 'made in Belgtam' on the back, flat numbers on the face, brand names on the straps, holes not pucnhed through properly on the strap and the seconds hand will be red.
The fab thing about Ice watches are the variety of colours and styles available; they are produced in black, white, pink, red, blue, green, purple, pink, yellow and orange; the colours in the classics range are both bold and pastel. Some of the watches have crystal detail, hearts on the face, chronograph movement, special edition summer designs, collaborations with fashion deisgners, solid straps and rubber straps. The watch I recieved as a gift was from the solid range, this is the classic Ice watch and mine was pink, however it is unisex with a face diameter of 43mm. My wrists are only 5.5" and this watch does not look too big and the straps/fastenings always fit me fine from the Ice range. There is the small range for ladies and children (38mm) and the large for those wanting to make a statement or men (48mm).
All the watches are individually priced and this depends on the age of the model and how many additional features are present. Currently the Classic Solid Ice watch collection is selling at Asquith Jewellers for £57 with a £3 saving. The watch comes in a matching coloured lego style box which can be used as a money box when the watch is removed; I also have instructions, a black Ice watch box and little bag with a ribbon fastener. The watch itself has a two year guarantee from the manufacturer which makes it a quality item from the get go.
The watch itself is tightly packed in the little lego display box so had arrived to us undamaged. It arrived with all the little extras such as the bag which is a nice touch and I use this to store my watches in.
This classic Ice watch is the one I would say is more suited to everyone as it is a classic analogue watch with no fussy details and just a plain colour. The watch has the numbers 3, 6 and 9 on the face and an arrow for 12. The watch has three hands and a rotating bezel which can sometimes get caught on long sleeves and turn itself around (I am a little OCD with my rotating bezel). The straps on this watch are plastic based links which form the bracelet type fastening with a fold over clasp, links can be removed so that the watch can be made for your own size. Some types of the watch also come with the date (this would be positioned where the number 3 is) and others have a chronograph element. This method of display makes it very easy to tell the time even at a glance.
The watch is water resistant up to a depth of 50M. I can't say I would ever take the watch swimming as I would not want to risk ruining it for the cost; I have also never used the watch whilst showering or doing the washing up so I cannot say whether this is true but I would assume it is as they supply a two year guarantee with each watch.
After six months I still have the watch going strong and it definately adds to any outfit of the theme matching pink. I hope to be able to get myself a wider range of colours to wear with more of my clothes. The watch does make a bold statement and I often get complimented on my choice of timepiece whether at work or during my time out and about. My mam especially likes the design of the watch as she has quite poor eyesight and has to choose her watches according to face clarity.
The watch is very comfortable to wear and does not make the wrist feel hot and sweaty like some do. I wear my watches on my right wrist (although I am right handed), and despite the silver nobbly bit being against my arm it does not get in the way or leave any marks.
The watch has quartz movement and keeps the time well unlike my cheaper watches which seem to lose time as the days go on. The watch does become loud though when you are in a quiet room so do not keep it next to your bed at night unless 'tick . . . tick . . . tick' helps you sleep.
All in all a good quality watch at a good quality price which will last you definitely longer than the imitations on the market. If you want to make a statement then this is the watch for you.
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