Meister (MSTR) Aviator w/ Black Croc Leather Strap Watch Review

Lately, I am on a kick enjoying reviewing watches that present themselves as truly good values. Today, I’d like to share my thoughts about a new Aviator model from Meister (MSTR) Watches. Good looking Aviator style watches can be difficult to locate at times, especially at a reasonable price. Before we get into the watch, I want to share a little bit about MSTR watches as described on their website. The word “Meister” is a translation from “Master” in German, which is a respected leader and teacher. A Meister is known for inspiring others and laying foundations for the future. According to MSTR: “This timepiece series was created to push the boundaries of contemporary fashion without compromising traditional craftsmanship. Meister watches feature multi-pieced designs that blend various materials such as carbon fiber, stainless steel, and an assortment of rare leathers into a bold collection of functional timepieces.” You can read more about MSTR Watches at HERE.  One of their newest releases in the Aviator series is the Silver And Black Croc Leather Strap Watch with a current retail price of an extremely reasonable $250USD. Some of the basic specifications of this Aviator model are as follows:

Case: Silver Stainless Steel (316L)

Case Size: 45mm

Crown: Silver Stainless Steel Crown

Bezel: Silver Stainless Steel

Water Resistant: 100 Meters

Movement: Quartz Chronograph Movement

Lens: Scratch Resistant Mineral Crystal

Strap: Black Croc Leather Band

Buckle: Silver Stainless Steel

$250 USD

As always, I like to first start off by taking a look at the packaging. The watch comes packed in a cardboard box with an outer sleeve. The packaging is fairly simplistic and will provide adequate protection for the watch during shipping. The packaging is neither extravagant nor functional, as it will most likely wide up in the closet with the rest of our watch boxes. Of course the typical manuals, etc. are packed along with the watch inside the inner box. I know that MSTR is currently looking into creating new watch models, and I believe some additional research should be placed into the packaging as well. Absolutely nothing beats a good travel roll or a good zip style travel case, and I hope this type of functional packaging is researched for MSTR future releases.

Moving on to the watch case, the Aviator is constructed of 316L stainless steel with a mirror polished finish throughout the upper portion of the case. The high polish finish is quite superb but I would really like to see this model with a fully brushed finish. The case measures what many consider a perfect 45mm in diameter and right around 49mm with the crown. The only aspect that I am not thrilled about in regards to the case is the branding on the non-crown side of the case. Personally, I prefer a clean non crown side of the case or maybe a Helium Release Valve or symbol type logo but definitely something small and not “in your face” large. The other specifications of the case include 52mm lug tip to lug tip, and right around 15mm in overall case thickness. The watch weighs a pedestrian 79 grams, so combining the weight with the other case specifications the watch is going to provide quite a bit of wrist presence while feeling almost feather-like on the wrist.