THE ARAB GATSBY

It seems that Grand Seiko has finally listened to their enthusiasts and came up with something many have wanted. They didn’t just listen to us, but they also innovated and gave us more than we expected, with the new Grand Seiko SLGB003. What many complained about was the fact that if you wanted a smaller case you had to either pick up one of their manual winding or quartz watches, missing out on their crown jewel spring drive movement. Taking 8 years to develop this new movem

A friend, a brother and at times a pain, Ali AlAbdulhadi (a.k.a @ae.kix) has finally pulled something many of us have been waiting for. He has designed his own watch AExTR, true to his taste in watches, it’s a steel diver.  The watch is something you would expect from a vintage diver, but new, it’ll make sense trust me.  The watch completely from the case to the bracelet has been coated to look like a watch that’s been through tough times, the bezel is aluminum and faded to g

At the time there are a number of Arab watch companies and Arab watchmakers making a name for themselves. Including Bedaa a Qatari watch company and Rcaph a Saudi Arabian watch company which I talked about in a previous blog post. But the one that started it all in recent times is Zaman watches. Zaman watches started as an idea that brought to life through exceptional designs and meticulous craftmanship, with a local twist that stays true to the Kuwait culture. Launched in J

Stone dials are hot now, and I mean extremely hot on the market right now. With the Piaget Andy Warhl and other stone dial watches being sought after more than they have been in the past. With that being the case, a phoenix is reborn. Dennison is reborn. A watch company that was started over 175 years ago by the British American Aaron Lufkin Dennison. The company started as a manufacturer of watch cases, creating watch cases for some of the industries’ most renowned brands, i

So, since the start of the year, I’ve used and tested a number of phones, including the Samsung Fold 7, the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold , the OnePlus 13, the Vivo X200 Ultra , and for the past month I’ve been using the Oppo Find X9 Pro. I should say as a disclaimer that I’ve purchased each and every one of these phones, and none of them have been sent to me for testing, because no one has offered. I’ve been wanting to get back to Color OS, and that speaks v

Looking at my watch collection there has always been a watch that’s been missing from my collection, a chronograph. A proper chronograph. Searching around and seeing what the market had available and what was in my budget, there were a couple of viable options to choose from. The Tag Heuer Carrera Chronograph, which comes in a couple of beautiful dial colors, including this dark purple that is breathtaking. Then there is the Tudor Black Bay Chrono, which has become a recent i

Made as a reinterpretation of the Seiko 6105-8000 which came out in 1968, and made famous thanks to the movie Apocalypse Now, where the character Captain Willard is seen wearing it. The Seiko SPB315J was released in 2022 to honor the 6105-8000 especially it being the first iteration of the Seiko “turtle” case. The case still has the “turtle” case shape, while remaining at 41mm which is typical and a lug to lug of 47mm, but what’s different is this reinterpretation of the watc

The number of Homage watch companies on the market is too many to count, and what usually is terrible about that sector of that market is the quality of watches that are put out. Considering all the times you’ve seen a homage watch, the watch seems flimsy poorly built, quartz movement, usually an almost carbon copy of the watch it pays homage to and always seemed like an easy cash grab for these companies. When it comes to RCAPH, it wasn’t created to make a Homage watch brand

A watch so comfortable you will forget that it's on your wrist, the Seiko Speed Runner SBEF005.

I’ve known about this collaboration since its inception, and it’s been tough keeping it a secret. I’ve talked about Kuoe in my past blog post , and the whole experience of purchasing my Kuoe Old Smith 90-002 from their Kyoto Boutique. It was truly an experience that I enjoyed, but I wasn’t the only one to enjoy that experience. My dear friend Salem Al-Mutawa, aka Tokei Ronin, who I have mentioned numerous times on here about being my watch addict enabler, felt the same way w

Do I love tech? Yes. Do I love photography? Yes, I do. Do I hate lugging around my camera with me everywhere? Definitely! Is there a solution? Of course there is, but to many its blasphemous, and that’s finding a phone with camera specs that are almost on par with a handheld camera. To many of photographer friends it is actually blasphemous because nothing beats a camera, regardless oh how good you camera phone is. Even though in recent years some phone companies have been wo

This watch has been on my radar for years, and I mean years. Since I was in college and learning about watches I would walk into retail stores and see the watches that catch my eye and learn more about the watch world. I would keep going back and forth into the Morad Behbehani Store and stare at the pieces but at one section of the boutique particularly Zenith. My father owned a Zenith, which I would constantly see on his wrist. It was mesmerizing, as a child seeing a watch t

So, I’ve always had beef with G-Shock, it’s been a love and hate relationship with the brand. Their designs are rugged and the perfect EDC daily wear, a watch that can be worn throughout the day and doesn’t break the bank. That’s what I used to think until I saw the prices of some of them. That’s why I only have one G-Shock. Now there is a new contender for the perfect EDC daily wear. Not only the fact it’s a daily watch that can actually take a beating, but because the price

Ever since I got into watches and had adult money to make my own financial mistakes, I always had my eye on the Breitling Aerospace. Every time I got the chance to pull the trigger on one, I found myself not making the purchase and buying something else.    When I couldn’t find any more links for my 25-year-old Omega Seamaster and refused to pay for links a good friend of mine had the Aerospace just sitting there in his shop. So, I hopped in my truck and headed over to see if

I previously owned the Seiko 5 SNXS79, and had it for a couple of years. It was beautiful no nonsense watch that was extremely reasonably priced. Beautiful sunburst silver dial, with a day date function, sitting at 37mm. Then I saw the announcement of the replacement, and I kind of felt like Andy from Toy Story when he drops Woody, and put mine up for sale because I wanted the new one. Don’t get me wrong, there was nothing wrong with my SNXS but the new one was just beautiful

After the birth of my son, I knew I needed to celebrate and commemorate this monumental occasion. I needed to purchase I watch, that maybe one day I would hand down to my son when the time is right. I had booked a ticket to Japan before my son was born, and the thought then hit me. I’m go purchase a watch from the Grand Seiko Flagship store located at the Wako Building in Ginza Tokyo. Now came the difficult choice, I need to choose which Grand Seiko I was going to buy to cele

As a way to get a hold of younger enthusiasts into the doors of Nomos Glashütte, they decided to release the Club Campus in 2017. A watch that stands true to the bauhaus school of design that Nomos Glashütte is renowned for. With the naming being something as a hint towards its target of a younger generation. Coming in two different case sizes of 36mm and 38mm and more dial colors than a person has fingers. The German watch company offering as well two different kind of movem

There are certain watches that have the ability to capture the hearts of enthusiasts, but for a watch to catch the attention of people who couldn’t care about watches is a sign of a watch that has the potential to be iconic. Some watches are considered to be icons such as the Rolex Submariner, the Omega Speedmaster Professional, the Patek Philipe Nautilus, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, among many other watches that have reached iconic status.   Recently it seems that Grand S

A little back story. When Apple announced the iPhone 15 at their keynote, it was the first time in years where I was like no, I cant justify purchasing this phone. Not because of the price, but because the difference between it and it was basically the same phone. So I switched to Android. Which to many may seem like a bit weird, considering the fact that apps are integrated to the Apple ecosystem, including Instagram and Snapchat. Due to the screen size ration being uniform

The historical relevance to the watch industry Omega has in incomparable, considering the Co-Axial escapement that is one of the rare innovations of the watch world, and seeing that Omega utilizing it in many of their watches and mass producing it rather than having it strictly for some watches and not the majority of their movements. To the connection Omega has to NASA, which they keep reminding us with every release of the Omega Speedmaster. Omega, among other watch brands,