View the Rolex Sea-Dweller photo gallery.

Without a doubt, the Rolex Sea-Dweller is one of my favorite watches of all time. It represents everything I look for in a watch of this sort: simplicity, quality, functionality, and stark beauty.

The Sea-Dweller is one of the less common Rolex sport models. While the Submariner is produced in several combinations of materials and colors, there is only one Sea-Dweller. It is only available in all stainless steel, and only with a black dial and black bezel. Rolex designed the Sea-Dweller purely as a dive tool — not a fashion accessory.

Features of the Rolex Sea-Dweller:

• Guaranteed waterproof to 1,200 meters, or 4,000 feet (that's significantly higher than the 1,000 foot rating of the Submariner).
• 40mm stainless steel case which sits 14.5mm high.
• Ultra-thick synthetic sapphire crystal.
• Unidirectional rotating bezel with a corrosion resistant anodized aluminum insert.
• No date magnifier. I don't mind the "cyclops" on my Explorer II, but I prefer the cleaner look of the Sea-Dweller.
• Helium escape valve. Developed in cooperation with the French industrial diving company, Comex, the helium escape valve allows helium molecules to safely escape without popping the crystal off the watch during decompression (I told you this is a hardcore dive tool).
• Dive extension. The dive extension on the Sea-Dweller is actually nothing to write home about, but it's sufficient. This is one of the biggest improvements of the new Sea-Dweller DEEPSEA.
• Triplock screwdown crown. The Triplock system uses an additional rubber gasket (clearly visible when the crown is unscrewed) beyond the Twinlock system used on many other Rolex sport models like the old GMT Master II and the Explorer II. The crown threads beautifully, and feels incredibly robust and secure.
• Quick-change and quick-set date. Quick-change means that the date changes over to the next day instantly almost exactly at midnight (as opposed to changing gradually over the course of several minutes before and after midnight). Quick-set means that you can set the date while the crown is pulled out to the second position rather than having to change the time in order to change the date.

Some other interesting facts about the Rolex Sea-Dweller, and Rolex in general:

View the Seiko Velatura SRH005 photo gallery.

I've always been a big fan Seiko Kinetic watches. There's something about generating power through physical movement that I somehow find more intriguing than a static and stationary solar cell. I like how you can hear the rotor turn, and even feel the friction that generates the power. And I like how the power reserve indicator let you know if you've been giving your Seiko Kinetic enough wrist time. It may sound strange, but there's something a little more alive about a Kinetic watch than its solar or battery powered counterparts.

With the introduction of the new Kinetic Direct Drive movement which appears in four of Seiko's new Velatura watches (two available in the US — the SRH001 and the SRH005), the Kinetic experience gets even more interesting. Kinetic Direct Drive movements allow the watch to be "hand wound". Before the Direct Drive, there were three ways to charge your Seiko Kinetic:

1. Wave it back and forth for a minute or two to spin the rotor. Anyone who has ever owned a Kinetic is probably familiar with this motion.
2. Wear it. Daily use is more than enough to keep a Kinetic watch sufficiently charged. It's only when you have a Kinetic that is part of an extensive watch rotation that you have to concern yourself with keeping it charged.
3. Place it on a Kinetic charging unit. You can buy charging stands which conduct power directly into the capacitor through the case and dial of the watch to essentially "quick charge" it.

But now with the Kinetic Direct Drive, you can charge the capacitor directly simply by turning the driving wheel. The procedure is certainly much more natural and subtle than the martini shaking motion of the past.

The Seiko Kinetic Direct Drive takes what I love about Kinetic movements to the next level by making the charging process not just active, but actually interactive. Shortly after you start turning the drive wheel to charge the watch, the power reserve indicator jumps to life and turns into a real-time power generation indicator. It's a bit like a Kinetic tachometer, you might say. Here's how it works:

View the Timex iControl Photo Gallery.

MP3 players are becoming an increasingly standard piece of workout equipment. Music can help keep runners "in the zone" or help keep weight lifters' adrenaline pumping, and audio books and podcasts can help us make more efficient use of our workout time. Now that MP3 players are small enough, battery life is long enough, hard drives and flash memory is large enough, and prices are low enough, just about any athlete can have access hours of audio content anywhere their workout takes them.

But not all the problems have been solved. Although the iPod's user interface is widely considered revolutionary for its simplicity and intuitiveness, there's no getting around the fact that interacting with an MP3 player while working out is usually not very convenient. Removing your iPod from wherever it's stashed can be tricky while running, and after you've managed to retrieve it, the controls can be clumsy to use and the screen difficult to see. Of course, the risk of fiddling with your MP3 player too much while working out is that it can easily break your concentration and flow.

Enter the Timex iControl watch. Timex IRONMAN watches have always been designed to make interacting with them while running as simple and natural as possible, so why not extend the functionality of your watch to also control your iPod?

The Timex iControl watch is a fully functional IRONMAN with the following features:

View the MTM Black Seal photo gallery.

I did my first review of an MTM Special Ops watch almost exactly two years ago. If I remember correctly, it was the only MTM model available at the time. MTM is now up to no fewer than eight different models with a very impressive selection of materials, finishes, and features. Although each MTM model is interesting in its own right, the new MTM Black Seal Xtreme Dive Watch stands out as an unusual and impressive feat of engineering.

You may remember the MTM Black Seal from an article we did last month on extreme dive watches. The most notable feature is the fact that it's completely waterproof. What's the difference between being waterproof and water resistant? The easiest way to explain it is that the MTM Black Seal is completely unambiguous in its claims regarding water and pressure resistance: the Black Seal has been proven in a Swiss laboratory to remain fully intact at the deepest known point on earth, the Mariana Trench, which is about 12,000 meters, or about 39,370 feet.

MTM's secret is the silicon oil filled case which is designed to equalize the pressure exerted on the watch in a way which makes it virtually compression-proof. There are a few other watches out there which make the same claim, but none with quite the unique feature set of the MTM Black Seal:

View the Seiko Orange Monster photo gallery.

After James' review of extreme dive watches, I'd like to bring you back to Earth with a review of a modern classic: the Seiko Orange Monster.

Introduced in early 2001, and officially called the SKX781, this bold diver from Seiko quickly inherited its nickname from its older sibling, the "Black Monster" (SKX779). There are also more expensive limited editions available in blue, yellow, PVD black, and red.

Let's start with some specifications:

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:

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 Casio Pathfinder PAW1200 picture gallery.

I've been waiting for this watch for a while now, so it's a real pleasure to finally have the opportunity to review it. The Casio Pathfinder PAW1200 is what I've referred to several times as the ultimate Pathfinder, perhaps the ultimate Casio, and certainly one of the most advanced digital timepieces in the world.

What makes the Casio Pathfinder PAW1200 series special is the fact that it brings so many features together into one watch. I'll get into plenty of detail on each individual feature shortly, but most notably, the PAW1200 series is the first to bring together the triple-sensor functionality of the Pathfinder line (compass, barometer, and thermometer), atomic time calibration, and solar power. I have several solar-powered watches, several atomic watches, and a few triple-sensor watches by various manufacturers, but the PAW1200 is the only watch that I know of with all of these features. And as if that isn't enough, the PAW1200 series is what Casio calls a multi-band atomic watch, which means it will calibrated with almost every atomic clock in the world (details below).

View the Casio G-Shock GW-400J photo gallery.

When I first saw the new Casio GW-400J vibrating watch, I knew I was going to have to get my hands on one. You see, I'm very in to vibrating watches. Not because I'm some kind horological pervert, but because they make so much sense. Ever since a got my Timex Internet Messenger some six years ago or so, I've always felt that digital watches should have vibrating alarms. What good is it having multiple daily alarms, programmable alarms, auto-repeating countdown timers, and an hourly signal if you can't hear them because they are so faint, or because you live in a world where you don't want your geeky watch attracting attention?

Not only was I tempted by the Casio GW-400J's vibrating alarm, but it's even solar powered. And atomic. And it has a countdown timer. True, it's goofy looking, but I just named all my favorite digital watch features, and it's very unusual to find them all in one place. Besides, big black plastic Casios appear to be in right now, at least in San Francisco where I live.

Before I get into my review of the Casio GW-400J, here's a list of features:

I'm only doing a mini review of the Casio G-Shock GW-1310 because it is almost identical to the G-Shock GW-1100 that I reviewed late last year with just a few subtle differences. Before reading what's different between the two watches, you should probably check out that review first, if you haven't already. Here's a quick recap of the features the two watches have in common:

• Solar powered.
• Atomic timekeeping.
• World time.
• Five daily alarms.
• Auto-repeating countdown timer.
• Stopwatch.
• Water resistant to 200 meters, or 600 feet.
• Shock resistant.
• Scratch-resistant mineral crystal.

(Check out the GW-1100 review for a much more detail description of these features.)

The GW-1310 is a newer watch, and has been updated in the following ways:

View the Tissot High-T photo album.

Up until now, I had reviewed SPOT watches from all the MSN Direct watch manufacturers (Swatch, Fossil, Abacus, and Suunto) except Tissot. And now that I have finally had a chance to put the Tissot High-T through its paces, I can honestly say that I have saved the best for last. There are things about all the SPOT watches out there that I like, but the Tissot High-T is by far the highest quality, most feature-rich, and best looking. At $725 retail (and very few discounts to be found), it's also the most expensive, but this is definitely a case where you get what you pay for.

Note: I'm not going to cover the MSN Direct service in detail in this review. For a very detailed overview of the MSN Direct service (including screenshots), see my review of the Swatch Paparazzi.

Before I break down the features of the Tissot High-T, I'm going to lead with a little watch-related anecdote. Part of my interest (some call it an obsession) with watches is in some ways a search for perfection. I am much less interested in the volume of watches in my collection than I am with the quality of those watches, and how close each watch comes to my vision of perfection. So one day, I decided to try to define my vision of perfection for several different types of watches. In the bulky, digital, geeky category, this is what I came up with:

View the Tissot T-Touch photo gallery.

The Tissot T-Touch is the wilderness lover of the Tactile family which currently consists of the High-T, the Silen-T, and the newest member of the family, the Tissot Navigator 3000. You might not guess just from looking at it, but the Tissot T-Touch feels just as at home in the woods, in the mountains, or on long treks as it does in the office or at a cocktail party. The T-Touch combines good looks, rugged functionality, and impressive innovation in way you rarely see in the watch world.

Features of the Tissot T-Touch

• Touch crystal. I love showing this feature to people for the first time because they are almost always completely amazed. Like the rest of the Tactile family, the T-Touch has a touch-sensitive sapphire crystal. Rather than jamming repeatedly on a mode button, simply activate the crystal with the right center button, then touch the crystal in one of seven different areas to change modes, or to return to the default time mode.
• Compass. The Tissot T-Touch's built-in compass can measure magnetic north as well as calculate geographic north.
• Thermometer. The range of the T-Touch's built-in thermometer is -10 C (15 F) and 60 C (140 F). (If you're in an environment which significantly exceeds that range, you should be more concerned about your life than your watch.) It is accurate to about 1 degree C (1.8 F), and the resolution is .4 C (.7 F).
• Barometer. The range of the built-in barometer is 300 hPa (hectoPascals), and it is accurate to + or - 3 hPa. The resolution is 1 hPa.
• Altimeter. Wherever you have a barometer, you usually have an altimeter, as well, since it is possible to calculate altitude by measuring atmospheric pressure. The range is -400 meters (-1300 feet) to 9000 meters (29,500 feet) with a resolution of 1 meter (3 feet).
• Chronograph. Resolution of 1/100 of a second, maximum time of 9:59':59". The T-Touch's stopwatch can record a single split time.
• Alarm. The alarm is a daily alarm -- nothing special -- though it is nice and loud, which I really like. The only thing I don't like about the alarm is that the only way to set it is by incrementing or decrementing minutes which can get a little tiresome if the time you want to set it to is 12 hours away. Fortunately, the minutes do speed up the longer you hold down the buttons (there are three different speeds) which makes it better, however I would rather be able to set the hours, minutes, and meridian separately.
• Analog and digital displays. The LCD can be configured to display the time or date, or data from one of the other many functions. The analog portion of the watch is even used to convey different types of information depending on the mode. (More on the watch's hands below.)
• Dual time zone display (unofficial). This is not an official feature of the Tissot T-Touch, meaning I guess you're not really supposed to do it, but there is a process you can go through to synchronize the analog time with the digital should they ever fall out of step with each other for any reason. If they can be synchronized, I hypothesized, they can be un-synchronized. And indeed they can. During the synchronization process, when the instructions tell you to line the hands up precisely at 12:00, simply add your second time zone's offset, and suddenly you have watch capable of displaying dual time zones.
• Bidirectional rotating bezel. The bezel contains the four compass points rather than numbers so it can be used to orient a map.
• Semi-perpetual date. That means the T-Touch does not have a pre-programmed date function. Rather, it knows how many days are contained in each month, and can generally do a pretty good job of keeping track of the date that way, but gets tripped up between February and March. The instructions say, "For February it is necessary to reset the date when it is only 28 days" which at first I thought must be a typo. According to those instructions, the watch always assumes that it is a leap year, and adds an extra day to February. I tested the watch to see if this was actually the case, and discovered that this was indeed the watch's behavior. A little strange, if you ask me. If I were designing a watch without a pre-programmed date function, I would assume that every year was not a leap year and give February 28 days since leap years only come along every four years (unless the year is divisible by 100 and not divisible by 400). Anyway, this is a minor point, but something Tissot might want to consider changing in the future. The point is, if you get yourself a Tissot T-Touch, make sure you check your date every year around March 1st.
• Metric and American units.
• Water resistant to 30 meters. (3 ATM, 3 BAR, or 100 feet).
• Luminescent hands. (No backlight for the LCD.)
• Quartz movement. For all of you who got here by doing a search on Google for "Tissot T-Touch battery," it takes a Renata CR 1632 which should last about 12 months. I know that seems a little short, but consider all the features it's expected to power.
• 42 mm in diameter, 150.36 grams.
• 2 year warranty.