There are certain high-end Swiss watches that I've always admired for their style and function, among them is the Ulysse Nardin GMT ± Perpetual. It's a travel watch in the tradition of the Rolex GMT Master, but with a neat twist: It has two buttons that increment or decrement the local time. When you travel, simply press the buttons as required to jump to your destination time zone! Simple to use, hard to make and very functional. However, being a Swiss chronometer of in-house design, the Ulysse Nardin is out of my price range. Imagine my surprise and delight, then, at discovering that well-regarded Swiss brand Oris now has a similar watch, the Oris Atelier Worldtimer.

There are two versions, with and without bracelet. The picture shows the version I prefer, on an leather strap. Features of the watch include

• Sapphire crystals front and back, with interior anti-glare coating and doming on the front for easier visibility.
• Movement based on the ETA 2836, a well-known movement with good serviceability and excellent reputation. Oris modified the 2836 to add the plus/minus buttons, and added a second timezone display at 3 o'clock on the dial.
• Automatic movement, 38 hour power reserve.
• The dial is silver and grey, decorated with guilloche or machine turning.
• Date display at 6 o'clock
• Perfectly sized at 42.5mm
• The hands and indices are lumed with Superliminova, so it should be readable at night as well.
• Water resistant to 30m or 98ft, but I'd be hesitant to get a watch like this damp. This is not a sport watch!

MSRP of the Worldtimer is $2525, or $2625 on the bracelet, which is downright cheap for what it is. I hope to get one of these for review very soon.

One of my favorite watch complications is the GMT hand: a separate (typically fourth) independently settable hand marking 24-hour time. It's extremely useful for people like pilots, travelers, and businesspeople who not only need to be able to switch between different time zones easily, but who also need to be able to keep track of two time zones simultaneously.

The addition of the GMT hand came in the mid-1950s when Pan Am worked with Rolex to create a watch for pilots flying transatlantic flights. You can read more about the history of GMT watches in Christian's review of the Rolex GMT Master II. But for now, back to Citizen.

I recently learned that Citizen has added several new GMT models to their Attesa line of high-end quartz watches. I was particularly struck by the unique, stark, and tough look of the Attesa ATD53-2903. Of course, as is typical of most of the coolest Japanese watches, it's only available in Asia, but since watches know no boarders, I was still able to find plenty of information:

• List price is ¥68,250 (about $600 USD as of 12/21/07).
• 39mm in diameter, 10.9mm thick, and 47g heavy.
• 24-hour indices on the chapter ring.
• DLC coated titanium case (read more about Diamond Like Carbon).
• Eco-drive (solar-powered quartz).
• 100m water resistant (about 330 feet).
• Atomic Radio-set (but only receives the Japanese time signal — bummer).
• ±15 seconds per month (with no radio reception).
• Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating.
• Calf skin band (would really love to see a matching DLC titanium bracelet option).

I really like the look of the Citizen Attesa ATD53-2903. I like the clean and readable face since I find that jet lag reduces my comprehension, and I get very grumpy about unreadable watches while traveling internationally. This Attesa has the sort of clutter-free face and clean, distinct hands (plus nice little touches like anti-glare sapphire crystal) that make for a great travel companion.

There aren't a lot of affordable (i.e. quartz) GMT watches out there, so I'm pleased so see such an attractive new entry from Citizen. If only if were 5-band atomic like the new Oceanus 5 Motors, I think Citizen would have one of the best looking affordable travel watches out there.

By Paul Hubbard

View the Oceanus OCWM700TDA-1AV Photo Gallery (silver titanium).

View the Oceanus OCWM700TBA-1AV Photo Gallery (black titanium).

Announced in July 2007, the sleek and professional Oceanus OCWM700TDA-1A is the latest addition to the Oceanus line of classically styled quartz watches with leading-edge technical features. This Oceanus (which I'll call the 5 Motor Tide Graph) is similar to the OCW600TDA-1AV previously reviewed, however the 5 Motor Tide Graph seems a little more geared toward the worldwide business traveler; not only can it receive atomic time calibration signals in the US, but also in Japan, Germany, and England.

The feature of the Oceanus 5 Motor Tide Graph that I find most interesting is, well, the tide graph. At the top of the multi-function dial at the 3 o'clock position is a small tide chart. Moving from right to left, it indicates local tide height based on latitude and the intertidal interval. Since tides vary with local geography, you can calibrate the watch to match your local cycle.

What sort of globe-trotting person needs a tide graph? My personal theory is new managers who still surf, sail, or dive. I have a co-worker in exactly that role, and he really likes this Oceanus. Combined with the non-corroding titanium case and 100M water resistance, it can go from surfing to staff meeting and look great both places.

I've spent a couple of weeks now with the St. Moritz Aeromax, and I have really enjoyed my time with this bold and unique timepiece. The Aeromax is part of the Momentum family of watches offered by St. Moritz. St. Moritz is a company with a 27-year history in diving watches, and has just recently moved its Momentum brand into sport watches as well. They started in 1980, and have been producing high-quality, entry-level luxury watches for divers ever since. Today they produce 18 different models that will appeal to a wide variety of buyers.

One thing that I found really interesting about St. Moritz is that they have gone out of their way to design and produce unique watches which have a look and feel of their own. In contrast, many of their peers "emulate" the older, more established brands' designs.

In my opinion, the Aeromax does not disappoint. This is one interesting watch with many subtle details that work together to make it a great design. Here's the breakdown:

View the Suunto X9i Photo Gallery

If you like your watches with long feature lists, have we got a watch for you! The Suunto X9i is a wrist-top computer, adding GPS to the usual laundry list of modern digital watch features. There's no question that the Suunto X9i is designed for the great outdoors.

Let's get right down to features. The X9i packs in:

• GPS navigation with a 12-channel receiver.
• USB data and power interface, with PC software and a free interface to Google Earth.
• Altimeter.
• Barometer.
• Thermometer.
• Compass.
• Three alarms.
• Stopwatch.
• Dual time (with good multi-time zone support).
• Rechargeable Li-Ion battery, good for about 500 charge cycles.
• Bitmapped high-res display with electroluminescent backlight.
• Waterproof to 100m or about 330 feet (but see below for more on this).
• Tough resin/plastic case with scratch-resistant mineral crystal.
• Integrated plastic strap with metal teeth, vented for warmer climates.

One unfortunate fact of life for those of use who like Japanese watches is that the most interesting models are often only sold in Japan. There are internet resellers of Japanese models, but you've then got warranty difficulties if service is ever required, as the domestic service centers will require you to ship the watch back to Japan.

I bring this up because of the wonderful Citizen PMT56-2711 from the Promaster line. This particular watch is no longer in production (though it's still available here and there if you look hard enough), and has been superseded by models adding radio synchronization and such (like the new Citizen Attesa). It's an analog quartz watch, solar-powered, with a blue face and titanium case, and there's something very elegant in its simplicity.

Things I like about this watch:

• Surface-hardened titanium case and band, trade name "Duratect". Almost impossible to scratch, and with the brushed finish, it yields a subtle, low-key metal that's quite attractive.
• Domed sapphire crystal. Again, almost impossible to scratch. The interior has an anti-glare coating, which reduces reflections. The doming also reduces reflections and makes it easier to read under water.
• Perpetual calendar. Although this makes for an involved setting procedure, it's nice not to have to worry about resetting the date at the end of some months.
• Eco-Drive. This is Citizen's solar power technology. The face of the watch is a solar cell with a subtle hexagonal pattern that also serves to add visual detail to the dial. The battery on this one is good for five years, so even if you forget it in a drawer, you're unlikely to need to reset it!
• 200m water resistant (about 650 feet). Several people use this watch for SCUBA diving; it's more than enough for any use you're likely to have.
• Travel friendly. Unlike most watches, you can change the hour without stopping the watch. This is fantastic when traveling. You pull out the crown, press the button while rotating the stem, and the hour advances. I used this when going from the west coast to South America, and I can testify to its usefulness. With other watches, more than once I've set the local time wrong due to jet lag haze. Also nice for accuracy fans, since the seconds and minutes are not affected.
• Power saving modes. This adds some personality to the watch, and makes it fun to interact with. After a minute or two of darkness, the second hand stops at 12 and stays there until light returns. Meanwhile, the minute and hour hands continue to display the correct time. If light remains off for three days, all the hands stop, only to spin to the correct time when you take it out of the drawer. These makes the watch seem a bit more alive -- more than once, I extend my arm and watched the second hand wake up from falling asleep under my coat. The watch will warn you if the battery was depleted far enough that it lost time.
• Luminosity. The face has large, clear markers with Luminova on them, making it easy to read at night. The second hand is not lumed, instead having a painted red tip. Perhaps they left the lume off the second hand due to the power saving feature above (you only need lume in the dark, and in the dark, the second hand doesn't move), but either way I rarely need to see seconds in the dark, anyway.
• Readability. The face is a mixture of military style numbers (sans-serif, upright and distinct) with an aviator-style inverted triangle at the 12 o'clock position. The hands are simple white with clean lines and contrast nicely against the blue dial. These, combined with the domed crystal, make for a watch that can be read at a glance at a wide range of angles. Day or night, no problem. The red-tipped second hand is a nice touch, too.
• Weight and size. The combination of 40mm size and titanium makes this watch seem quite light when you pick it up. I've been wearing a much heavier steel watch, but once I adapted, I quite like the reduction in mass. You just don't notice wearing it at all, even on the matching metal (titanium) bracelet.
• The blue of the dial is gorgeous and unobtrusive. They put the minute markers on the chapter ring, so there's a nice balance of empty space and text.

Citizen has just released a new limited watch in their Japan-only Attesa line: the Perfex Multi 3000 20th Anniversary Limited Edition, an atomic Eco-Drive powerhouse that manages to look semi-dressy while still packing in the features:

• Worldwide atomic receiver (works in Japan, US, and in Europe).
• Eco-Drive (Citizen's term for solar powered), with an astounding 2.5 year power reserve.
• Second time zone LCD and an analog UTC subdial.
• 99-minute countdown timer.
• Stopwatch with a resolution of 1/100th of a second and a maximum duration of 24 hours.
• Integrated bracelet (nice enough, but a minor negative for those of us who like to switch to a strap occasionally).
• Two world time alarms.
• Titanium case and bracelet with DLC coating (diamond-like carbon — very scratch-resistant).
• Synthetic sapphire crystal with antireflective coating.
• LED backlight.
• Battery charge indicator.
• Water resistant to 100 meters, or about 330 feet.

The Citizen Attesa Perfex Multi 3000 is 41mm in diameter which is a nice contemporary size without being too large. It's 12.6mm thick, and 102g in weight. The ATV53-2832 goes for ¥115,500, or about $944.

I consider the Attesa line to be in competition with Oceanus watches from Casio and the Seiko Brightz World Time. These are superb watches if you travel frequently as they are maintenance-free (Eco-Drive), extremely accurate (world-wide atomic), and they make it very easy to switch between time zones. The Citizen Attesa even makes a decent dress watch, though the LED display would probably bar them from the most formal settings.

By Paul Hubbard

View the Casio Pathfinder PAW1300-3V picture gallery.

When I reviewed the Casio Pathfinder PAW1200 about a year ago, I referred to it as "one of the most advanced digital timepieces in the world". Of course, it is also one of the biggest. The new PAW1300 takes all the same features and technology of the PAW1200, and fits it into a significantly slimmer package.

How much smaller is the PAW1300 compared to the PAW1200? The PAW1200, weighing in at 83 grams, is 64mm long, 48.9mm wide, and 14.4mm thick. The PAW1300 is a comparatively diminutive 60 grams, and 56.9mm long, 47.4mm wide, and only 11.5mm thick. Yes, we're only talking millimeters here, but with respect to something as small as a watch, every millimeter counts. To have taken almost a full 3mm off the thickness is really very significant.

I don't want to spend a lot of time going over the features of the Pathfinder PAW1300 since I've gone over them in detail in the review of the PAW1200. Rather, I'd like to defer to Watch Report reader Sam Tannous who related his experiences with the new PAW1300 in this email:

We previously wrote about Seiko's innovative Spring Drive watches, and I'm personally a big fan of their Marinemaster Spring Drive diver. At the annual Baselworld conference, Seiko announced the long-awaited Spring Drive chronograph. Unfortunately, it's a 300-piece limited edition, with an exclusive price of €5,500 (about $7,500).

There's a lot to like about the Seiko Spring Drive Chronograph and its design, including:

• Glide motion movement, meaning all hands move completely smoothly, not in "ticks".
• Titanium case and bracelet.
• GMT (24-hour) hand.
• 12-hour chronograph (the only glide motion chronograph in the world).
• 72-hour power reserve indicator.
• Date.
• See-through sapphire caseback.
• Deployment clasp with push-button release.
• Water-resistant to 10 meters, or about 30 feet.

I've always liked the idea of the Spring Drive movement -- primarily for its superior accuracy, and its completely smooth motion -- and now that it has been enhanced with a glide-motion chronograph, I'm extremely intrigued. Hopefully, this technology will move out of the realm of the limited edition and into the mainstream very soon.

By Paul Hubbard

Last year, Rolex introduced the 50th anniversary edition of the GMT Master II. The improvements over the older style GMT Master II (which I reviewed about a year ago) seemed substantial, but there was one major problem: it was only available in two-tone (18k gold and stainless steel). For two-tone lovers, it was a dream come true, but being a pure stainless steel man myself, I decided to hold off even writing about the update until there were other options.

At BaselWorld 2007, Rolex finally made the announcement I've been waiting for: an all stainless steel version of the new GMT Master II. I haven't seen one in person yet, but judging from all the pictures I've seen, it's one of the most beautiful Rolexes ever produced.

I have a particular affinity for the GMT Master II because I think it's one of Rolexes most practical watches. For a detailed breakdown, read my review, but just to summarize, it basically does four things, and it does them perfectly:

1. Tells the time in your time zone.
2. Tells the date in your time zone.
3. Tells the time in a second time zone.
4. Allows you switch between time zones and move the date forward or backward extremely easily.

If you're looking for an elegant but durable travel watch, you won't do any better than the Rolex GMT Master II.

So how did Rolex manage to improve such a well designed watch? As I said, I haven't been able to get my hands on one yet, but from what I can gather, these are the major changes:

I don't have a Seiko Spring Drive yet, but I hope to get my hands on one fairly soon. The biggest reason for my procrastination is that, as usual, Seiko is saving all their most interesting Spring Drive models for Japan (like the Marinemaster GMT Spring Drive). I took a look at the Seiko US Spring Drive site the other day, however, and discovered a few new models since the last time I checked including the white dial SNR007 and the black dial SNR009. They look more or less like their predecessors, the SNR001 and SNR005, with the exception of a 24-hour hand.

Features of the Seiko GMT Spring Drive SNR007 and SNR009 include:

• Spring Drive technology.
• GMT, or 24-hour hand, to keep time in a second time zone.
• 72-hour power reserve.
• Stainless steel case and bracelet.
• Sapphire crystal (with anti-reflective coating).
• See-through sapphire caseback.
• Water-resistant to 10 bar (100 meters, or about 330 feet).

The US Spring Drive collection is getting more interesting, but I'm not ready to pull the trigger yet. If Seiko introduces a Spring Drive diver in the US, though, I'll be the first in line. Maybe we'll see some interesting announcements at Baselworld 2007.

View the Yes Tati photo gallery.

I'm a big fan of Yes watches. I reviewed the Yes Zulu two years ago, and I have the black Kundalini which never fails to draw attention. So when I heard some time ago that Yes was working on an all-digital watch, the project piqued my interest. The Zulu and the Kundalini are stunning watches, but somewhat overpower my narrow wrist, so I hoped a digital Yes watch would give me the unique and innovative perspective on time that is the signature of Yes watches, but in a more appropriately sized package.

The Yes Tati is precisely that. By replacing the analog 24-hour hand that distinguishes the rest of the lineup with an LCD, Yes was able to remove an entire quartz movement and extra battery. The result is a much smaller watch which is just as unique as the other pieces, and with all the same functionality.

Although the Tati is designed for narrower wrists, I wouldn't go so far as to classify it as a ladies watch. While it certainly looks at home on a woman's wrist, the wide leather cuff (easily removable), especially on the black version, makes it appropriate for men, as well -- especially those of us who were cursed with a combination of watch lust and skinny wrists. The soft leather strap makes the Tati both light weight, and very comfortable against the skin.

Yes watches have some of the most interesting and expressive names of any watch brand, and the Tati is no exception. I expected Tati to refer to a distant mountain range, or perhaps the name of an ancient sun goddess, but it turns out that the origins of the name are even more interesting. Tati is short for Tatiana, Yes Watches CEO Bjørn Kartomten's daughter, and judging from my conversations with Bjørn, the inspiration for much of what he does.

If you are new to Yes watches, it's important to realize that they are not all about aesthetics. In fact, Yes watches were specifically born out of a desire to present a more complete picture of time by bringing together manmade horological concepts like hours, minutes, and seconds with nature's concepts of time like sunrise, sunset, and moon phases. It turns out that integrating these two words means cramming an incredible number of features into a relatively small case.

View the Oceanus 5 Motor photo gallery.

Oceanus seems to represent Casio's desire to creep upmarket in the US. In Japan, you can actually drop over $1,000 on a high-end Casio G-Shock, but to most Americans, the brand Casio usually means geeky at best, and cheap at worst. Frequent readers of Watch Report know better, however. In my opinion, Casio makes some of the most technologically advanced, rugged, and interesting digital watches available. But since Casio doesn't have time to wait for Watch Report to enlighten the entire American watch-buying public, they have repackaged their ingenuity into a shiny new brand: Oceanus.

I do think Oceanus watches are deserving of a brand all their own. With features that go beyond even my favorite US G-Shocks (titanium construction, handsome, low-profile cases, sapphire crystals), they deserve a chance to make their own way in the market.

The Oceanus 5 Motor is a further refinement of the Oceanus line. It boasts most of the features of the Oceanus Chronograph, but without the LCD in the 3 o'clock position. Why was Casio motivated to completely remove the LCD and figure out how to cram five individual motors into a single case? The point of the Oceanus 5 Motor is that it's a geeky watch that doesn't look like a geeky watch, so the fewer LCDs and LEDs, the better.

The downside of removing the LCD is that the watch gets slightly more complicated. The unit I received didn't come with an instruction manual, and after about 10 minutes of playing with buttons and watching the seven hands (seven!) spin and reel, I headed online to hunt down a PDF version of the booklet. Fortunately, with a little guidance, I found the 5 Motor fairly easy to use, however if you're the type who refuses to read manuals, you probably won't get the most out of this watch.

View the Rolex GMT Master II photo gallery.

The Rolex GMT Master II is a great looking and very functional high-end Swiss timepiece. It's a beautiful watch which is sophisticated in both appearance and operation, yet it somehow manages to present itself as understated and modest. The Rolex GMT Master II has a long and interesting history, and is certainly one of the most popular Rolex Professional models.

The big feature of the Rolex GMT Master II is the additional 24-hour hand which tracks hours against the bi-directional rotating bezel in "military time" as opposed to standard 12-hour time. It was originally created for Pan Am pilots back in the early days of transatlantic flights. Pan Am pilots used GMT time, so they wanted a watch that would allow them to monitor both GMT and local time simultaneously. The watch's movement became more sophisticated over the years, and now allows the standard hour hand and the date to be set independently of the other hands which makes moving from one time zone to the next very smooth and simple.

Features of the Rolex GMT Master II include:

View the Seiko Brightz World Time (SAGZ007) photo gallery.

The Seiko Brightz World Time watch is a great combination of technology and class. It has all the style of the Brightz line of timepieces, and all the convenience of atomic solar technology (which means you never have to get the battery changed, and you never have to set it). If you're a frequent traveler, there's plenty more to like about the Seiko Brightz World Time since it can easily be set to one of 24 time zones, and it will calibrate with atomic clocks in the US, Japan, and in Europe (details below).

The first thing you will notice about the Seiko Brightz World Time is its weight, or rather, the lack there of. The World Time is definitely one of the lightest watches I own, which initially makes it feel cheap, though I assure you it is not. The World Time is so light because the entire case and bracelet are made of polished titanium, which means it is as strong as it light. The crystal is highly scratch-resistant synthetic sapphire.

When I think atomic, I usually think Japanese. Traditionally Casio, and increasingly Seiko. I'm happy to report, however, that it's time to start thinking German, as well.

Not only is the new Junghans Mega 1000 atomic, but it's a worldwide atomic watch, as well, which means it is capable of receiving time signals transmitted by almost all the atomic clocks in the world. The Junghans Mega 1000 can calibrate with atomic clocks in Mainflingen, Germany, Fort Collins, Colorado, and the two atomic clocks in Japan (the only one missing is the one in Rugby, England, but I think the theory is that the one in Mainflingen has Europe pretty well covered). Multi-time signal functionality definitely the new trend in atomic watches as evidenced by the new Seiko Brightz worldwide atomic watch, and the new Casio Triple-region Waveceptor.

Features of the Junghans Mega 1000 include:

• World-wide atomic functionality.
• Manual synchronization (meaning that instead of waiting for the watch to synchronize in the middle of the night, you can force it to synchronize at any time -- pretty standard feature for atomic watches).
• Automatic DST adjustment.
• Easy time zone adjustment when traveling.
• Dual time (monitor the time in a second time zone).
• Automatic date.
• Reception indicator (lets you know whether the watch has been synchronized recently).
• Stopwatch with split time memory and a resolution of 1/100th of a second.
• Countdown timer.
• Daily alarm.
• Electro-luminescent backlight.
• Low battery indicator (expect about 2 years out of the Mega 1000's battery).
• Multiple display languages (English, French, and German).
• Mineral glass crystal.
• Water-resistant to 5 bar, 50 meters, or 165 feet.

If you can read German, check out Junghans' site for more information, or you can download the Mega 1000 instruction manual (PDF, multilingual).

Not to be outdone by the new Seiko Brightz worldwide atomic watch, Casio has recently released their own triple-region atomic watch. What makes the new Casio Waveceptor special is that it will calibrate with atomic time signals anywhere in the world, or at least anywhere where there is an atomic clock transmitting a time signal, which is Japan, Europe (England and Germany), and North America (a 3,000 mile radius around Fort Collins, Colorado). Features of the new Casio triple-region Waveceptor include:

• Worldwide time calibration (at least in the regions of the world where there are atomic clocks).
• Support for displaying the day of the week in 5 different languages.
• Preprogrammed calendar up to the year 2098.
• Water-resistant to 50 meters, or about 165 feet.
• Stainless steel case and bracelet.
• Mineral glass crystal.
• Three-year battery.

The new Casio Waveceptor (ref. WVQ-200HDE-2BVER) is available starting this month in Europe, and seems to go for €100, or about $122. The Seiko Brightz worldwide atomic watch is a higher-end timepiece (I'm expecting it to go for around $850), but if all you need is worldwide time calibration, and you don't have a lot of money to spend, the Casio might be the way to go.

View the Tissot Navigator 3000 photo album.

The Tissot Navigator 3000 is the newest in Tissot's line of "Touch Screen" watches. The Touch Screen collection is comprised of four watches (the T-Touch, the High-T, the Silen-T, and the Navigator 3000) which are primarily operated by touching the sapphire crystal in various locations as opposed to pushing buttons.

All four of the Touch Screen watches are dramatically different. The High-T is an MSN Direct SPOT watch, the Silen-T is a more formal timepiece, and the T-Touch is made for hiking and other outdoor activities. The Navigator 3000, in contrast, is primarily a travel watch. The origins of the Navigator 3000 go all the way back to 1853 when Tissot created a pocket watch capable of displaying multiple time zones. 100 years later came the original Tissot Navigator multiple time zone watch, and most recently, the Tissot Navigator 3000 with several new and very advanced features:

If you're a regular Watch Report reader, you know how much I love the combination of atomic and solar, which usually means Casio. It looks like Seiko is getting serious about their atomic solar collections, however, and has announced the first atomic watch which works worldwide. Of course, "worldwide" means wherever there is an atomic clock, which is Japan (Fukushima and Kyushu), Germany (Frankfurt), and the US (Fort Collins, Colorado). In contrast, the atomic Casios I have only work in Japan and the US (and unfortunately, Casio makes plenty that only work in Japan).

Initially, the watches will be additions to the Seiko Brightz line, which I love. Features will include:

• Worldwide radio-controlled atomic time calibration (Japan, Germany, and the US).
• Solar powered. When fully charged, the battery will hold enough power to run continuously for 6 months, or 1.5 years using the power saving function.
• Manual receiving function (which means you can calibrate the watch without waiting for its scheduled calibration time which is the middle of the night).
• Receive results display function (which means the watch will let you know that it has successfully calibrated).
• World time in 24 time zones.
• Automatic hand adjustment. If the hands become misaligned (as hands sometimes do due to magnetism or shock), it will automatically realign them.
• Bright titanium case and bracelet.
• Water-resistant to 10 ATM (that's 10 BAR, 100 meters, or 330 feet).

View the Seiko Sportura SNJ005 photo gallery.

With its impressive world time functions, the SNJ005 is the Sportura for the world traveler. It stands out among its three brothers because it is the only Sportura that is digital as well as analog. It manages to retain its family resemblance, however, thanks to the inverted LCD (white on black rather than black on white) which blends in almost perfectly with the rest of the face and gives it the same jet-black dial as the other Sporturas. And like the rest of the line, the SNJ005 is all stainless steel with a sapphire crystal, screwdown caseback, and double locking clasp.

Features of the Seiko SNJ005 include:

• World time. Quickly and easily check the time and date in 28 different cities.
• Time transfer function. (See below for an explanation.)
• World time alarm. (More on this feature below.)
• Automatic calendar (up to the year 2050).
• Stopwatch with a resolution of 1/1,000th of a second (no, that's not a typo!). The maximum time is 100 hours.
• Water-resistant to 100 meters, or about 330 feet.

Seiko continues to build amazing watches on top of their innovative new Spring Drive system. One of the latest is the Seiko Marinemaster GMT. I almost posted nothing but a picture of this watch because I think the mere sight of it says it all: it is big, beautiful, durable, and simultaneously both modern and classic.

I have an old Seiko titanium Kinetic Scubamaster which is one of my favorite watches in the world, and one of the things I really like about this family of watches is the amount of functionality Seiko packs into them. The Marinemaster has a 24-hour hand for tracking time in a second time zone, but rather than putting the hours for the second time zone on the bezel like most GMT watches do, the numbers are actually inside the bezel, around the perimeter of the dial. This leaves the bezel free for your standard dive time functionality, which means you get a GMT and a diver all in one. Of course, this makes the watch slightly less flexible purely as a GMT watch since the hours are typically marked on the bi-directional rotating bezel so that you can easily check times in other time zones (rotating the bezel clockwise takes hours off the second time zone while rotating it counterclockwise adds hours), however if you don't need the additional GMT flexibility, it's nice having the diver functionality, instead.

Features of the Seiko Marinemaster GMT:

The new Seiko Milemarker is an interesting combination of modern and classic technologies. On the modern side, the Milemarker has a 10 year battery, perpetual calendar, and an extremely accurate quartz movement which deviates less than 20 seconds per year (yes, that's per year, not per month). The more classic technologies include a map wheel and a manual compass.

The map wheel works by allowing you to trace routes along any map that has a scale, then calculate the distance between the two points. Not exactly a GPS, but then again, no batteries or satellites required. The compass works in conjunction with the 24-hour hand and the rotating bezel. Point the 24-hour hand toward the sun, and the 12 o'clock position will be pointing roughly north. This is definitely a watch for hikers and orienteers who like to do things the old-fashioned way, but with a certain amount of style.

Features of the Seiko Milemarker include...

I know from reading my server logs that a lot of people come to Watch Report to read the post on the new Tissot Navigator 3000. For all you Tissot fans out there, here's the rest of the story:

According to a supplier for Jared, the Tissot Navigator 3000 will be available in late April of this year. It will retail for $695, though it should be available at a 10-30% discount, putting the actual price of the watch anywhere from $486.50 to $625.50 (I'm guessing it will actually go for around $500). I was also told that Jared would be the first in the US to sell the Tissot Navigator 3000. On the one hand, I'm skeptical since I was told this by a Jared supplier, however on the other hand, they have the best selection of Tissot that I know of, so it sounds plausible.

For more information on the Tissot Navigator 3000, see Tissot Announces New Tactile Watch: The Navigator 3000.

View the YES Zulu watch photo gallery.

It's not unusual to see cool new features and functionality packed into digital watches these days: MP3 players, infrared remote controls, cameras, compasses, flashlights, PDAs. Telling time has even become secondary for many watches by companies like Casio, Timex, Suunto, Fossil, and dozens of small new high-tech watch manufacturers. What is unusual, however, is to see a new and innovative high-tech watch whose primary function is not only to tell time, but to do so in traditional and even ancient ways. The YES Zulu watch combines fine Swiss quartz movements with Japanese microchips and complex algorithms to provide the most complete and comprehensive picture of time that I have ever seen in a watch.

The YES watch philosophy is that time is more than just 365 days in a year, 24 hours in a day, 60 minutes in an hour, and 60 seconds in a minute. Although that is how most of us experience time day to day -- and indeed, YES watches do capture the concept perfectly well -- there are other cycles and rhythms that play very important roles in our lives, whether we choose to acknowledge them or not. Most notably, sunrise and sunset, moon rise and moon set, solar noon, high and low tide, and lunar phases -- all of which (and more) the YES watch captures and conveys.

Swiss watchmaker Tissot recently announced a new member of their Tactile line: the Navigator 3000. It has appeared as a blurry picture next to a "coming soon" teaser on their site for quite some time, but now the picture is finally clear, and some specs and pictures have been published.

Before I get into the details of the Navigator, I'd like to mention a few things about Tissot Tactile watches in general. First of all, I happen to be wearing a T-Touch on on my wrist right now (detailed review forthcoming), and I love it. The Tactile line of watches allows you to navigate by tapping the sapphire crystal in different locations rather than pressing a mode button over and over. They are technically impressive, classy watches, and I think the Navigator 3000 is a great addition.

Features of the Navigator 3000 include:

• Tactile crystal to navigate through five modes and multiple time zones.
• World time (150 countries or cities).
• Countdown timer.
• Stopwatch.
• Two programmable alarms and five alarm melodies.
• Multiple date formats.
• Backlight to illuminate the LCD.