View the Fossil Philippe Starck photo gallery.

Update (3/18/05): Watch Report reader John Dale recently informed me that the Sand Digital is no longer available on Fossil's site. Thanks, John!

When I first decided to review Fossil's Philippe Starck collection, I initially associated the French designer with minimalism. As I did a little research, browsed his site, and read some interviews, I started to think of Philippe Starck as more of an avant-garde weirdo. Quotes from his site like "Everything has a Birth a Live a Dead" [sic], "We are God," and "We are mutants" probably didn't help my perception. Ultimately, however, I decided the only fair way to judge Philippe Starck would be from his work of which there is certainly no shortage. Starck has designed everything from baby bottles to toilets to lemon squeezers to buildings to an entire street block. If something can be done differently (and someone is willing to pay for it), Starck seems to be happy to do it. And I must admit, whether he's an avant-garde weirdo or not, I like his work. Most of it isn't as out there as his bizarre photographs and philosophies might have you believe, but it's definitely unique enough to be interesting. In other words, I guess you could say that in the end, Starck won me over. And there was one quote I uncovered on his site which I certainly can identify with: "From Technology to Love."

I found Fossil's Philippe Starck collection of digital watches to be entirely consistent with my impression of the rest of Starck's work: unique, minimal, functional, weird, and fun. All the watches in the collection are relatively simple, affordable, and no doubt serve as both time and conversation pieces.

According to this article on Bloomberg.com, the US if facing a very dangerous shortage of watchmakers. Brands like Rolex, Breitling and Omega are selling like crazy, but there are fewer and fewer people around who are qualified to work on them. It seems that while appreciation for fine Swiss mechanical and automatic watches is on the rise, interest in a career as a watchmaker is clearly waning. Swiss watch companies have responded by investing millions of dollars in US watchmaking schools and programs:

Rolex, Swatch Group AG, Breitling SA, Audemars Piguet and other Swiss companies are spending millions of dollars on schools to make sure the watches they sell in the U.S. can get fixed. The U.S. now needs about 4,000 watchmakers in addition to the 7,000 it has, says Jim Lubic, executive director of the American Watchmakers-Clockmakers Institute. As many as 4,000 will retire in the next 10 to 20 years... By contrast, about 140 students are now in U.S. watchmaking programs.

To help attract would-be watchmakers, Rolex is waiving $40,000 worth of tuition for their two-year program in the Amish town of Lititz, Pennsylvania. The school teaches 24 people at a time to diagnose problems with mechanical and automatic watches, repair them, and to make parts by hand. The bad news is that watchmakers of this caliber are only looking at pulling down about $38,000 a year after graduation (ok for those just getting started, but not overly attractive for people looking to switch careers). The good news is that this number is expected to increase by about 30% in the next couple years.

So if you've been trying to think of ways to turn your watch obsession into a profession, now may be your chance. Sales of fine Swiss watches have finally adjusted to the introduction of the Japanese-made quartz movement, and are increasingly finding a new place in our culture as essential luxury items. But in order for this trend to continue, we are going to need people who can repair them.

• Rolex, Swatch, Alarmed by Watchmaker Dearth, Spring for Schools
• Lititz Watch Technicum

Only on Watch Report can a story on Patek Philippe be followed by one on a new Fossil Star Wars watch. But as I'm fond of saying, every watch is right for someone. And if you're a total Star Wars geek, and you don't care who knows it, then this one might be right for you. From the Star Wars online store:

The Clone Wars Animated Series returns this March, and Fossil has a fantastic new watch to commemorate the event. This highly stylized timepiece, which features the animated incarnations of Mace Windu, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and Yoda, has a brushed metal finish and sports an adjustable leather band studded with four polished rivets.

Fans of animation will appreciate the way the face has been designed within the bezel--the images of Mace, Obi-Wan/Anakin, and Yoda appear to "float" on three separate plains within the bezel, simulating the look of an animation cel and background setup. Keep up to the minute with this Forceful animated foursome from the highly collectible Fossil series of watches.

The new Clone Wars watch will run about 105 credits , and will be available in May of 2005. It looks like you may even be able to preorder it if you're afraid of forgetting. If this is the kind of thing you're into wearing on your wrist, you might also want to check out the Fossil Star Wars Driod watch, or see if you can find one of the much sought after Fossil Star Wars Imperial Icon watches.

According to this article by the Russian publication Pravda, Russian President Vladimir Putin wears a $60,000 Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar watch while our own President Bush sports a $50 Timex Indiglo. What's even more interesting is that Putin's annual salary is only $60,000 while Bush's salary, according to Wikipedia, is $400,000 (like he even needs it). Is Putin trading nukes for watches, and did Bush lose a bet? And most curious of all is the fact that Bush's Timex is apparently engraved with the words "George W. Bush President January 20, 2001". That'll be something to pass down through the generations. I didn't know you could even get a Timex engraved. Maybe it was a gift from one of his daughters.

Ok, to be honest, I actually don't judge people by their watches. My philosophy is that every watch is right for someone, whether it's a Timex or a Rolex, a Casio or a Panerai. Still, I was glad to see that Clinton appears to be walking around with a Kobold on his wrist. Kobold seems to be a good way for US politicians to get a piece of Swiss watchmaking tradition while still supporting the US economy. Maybe I'll run for office or plan a trip to the north pole just so I can justify getting one.

View the Abacus Wrist PDA photo gallery.

The first thing I'd like to do is congratulate Fossil for finally bringing the Wrist PDA to market. The Fossil and Abacus Wrist PDAs have been in the works for at least four years, and now they have finally arrived. Thanks, Fossil, for not giving up on the Wrist PDA. In my opinion, it was worth the wait.

Before I get into specifics, I want to answer the biggest question I had when I first started reading about the Abacus and Fossil Wrist PDAs: yes, they do actually work. I don't just mean that they function, but they really do actually work. The screen is big enough, the fonts are readable, the handwriting recognition is impressive, the synching functions as expected, and the battery life is sufficient. That's not to say the Wrist PDA is perfect, however. There are still some bugs to be worked out, and a few rough spots that can definitely use polishing (all of which are described below), but generally speaking, yes, this watch really does put a PDA on your wrist, and yes, it is actually usable. Now let's look at the details.

There's not a lot of information available yet on Omega's new Seamaster Planet Ocean divers, but here's what I know so far:

• Stainless steel case (available in 42mm and 45.5mm).
• Stainless steel bracelet with folding safety clasp, rubber strap, or alligator leather.
• Unidirectional rotating bezel (inner third brushed aluminum, outer two-thirds black or orange).
• Sapphire crystal.
• Date.
• Luminescent (SuperLuminova) hands and markers.
• 48-hour power reserve.
• Water resistant to 600 meters (2000 feet).
• Co-Axial Escapement (reduces friction, improves long-term accuracy, and increases service intervals).
• Available in May of this year for an undisclosed price.

Sign me up for an orange one with a stainless steel bracelet, just like in the picture. I'll post more information when it's available from Omega's site.

Casio has introduced a pretty nice new Oceanus with both an alarm and a chronograph. Features include:

• Water resistant to 100 meters (330 feet).
• 3-dial chronograph (resolution of 1/20 of a second).
• Daily alarm with snooze function.
• Date display.
• Stainless steel case.
• Mineral glass crystal.
• Black or while dial.
• Quartz movement (+/- 20 seconds per month, 2-year battery).
• Retail price about $129.

View the Abacus Wrist Net photo gallery.

There are two things which distinguish the Abacus Wrist Net from the other dozen or so MSN Direct watches currently out there: 1) It is the cheapest ($129 retail), and 2) it is, in my opinion, probably the best looking. If you've been toying with the idea of taking the MSN Direct service for a spin, the Abacus Wrist Net might be just be the price point you've been waiting for. And now that MSN Direct watches get national news and high and low temperatures in your area for free, you can even get a taste of what it's like for your wrist to be constantly connected before committing to a subscription.

In terms of functionality, the Abacus Wrist Net is identical to the Fossil Wrist Net (FX3005) that I recently reviewed. In fact, to get the full story on the Abacus Wrist Net, you should definitely check out my Fossil Wrist Net review since I'm going to try not to be redundant in this article. The three primary differences I found between the two watches are:

1. Appearance. Although the designs of the Abacus and the Fossil Wrist Net watches are similar, there are a few subtle differences. For instance, the Abacus comes with either a black or brown leather and rubber strap while the Fossil is only available in black; the buttons on the Abacus are elongated while the buttons on the Fossil are round; and the Abacus lacks the screws in the four corners of the face which give the Fossil its distinctive look.
2. Watch Faces. The abacus comes with 18 watch faces while the Fossil comes with 26 (not including the two user-selected faces). If you're wavering between the Abacus and the Fossil, I wouldn't make the number of faces a deciding factor, however, since both come with a nice and perfectly sufficient selection (far more extensive than the Swatch Paparazzi).
3. Price. The Abacus Wrist Net retails for $20 less than its Fossil counterpart. The next closest in price is the Swatch Paparazzi which retails for $150, and then the somewhat outdated Suunto n3 which generally goes for around $200.