Aposon’s Skmei Men’s “S-Shock” Outdoor Digital Quartz Watches

 

As much as Hubby loves his watches, he also needs a few “beaters” that he isn’t worried about getting, well, beaten. The tough part about that is finding a nice cross section between affordability and quality so that it doesn’t fail the first time it’s used. Aposon’s digital watches seem to fill that niche nicely.

The fist thing you notice is they have completely ripped off Casio’s venerable “G-Shock” look. I mean, if you’d told me they bought one from Casio and completely copied almost every design feature, I’d believe you. There are some tell-tale changes, in that some components are of much lower quality than the Casio they copied, but all in all you get a cheap digital watch that kind of looks nice and tells the time. Hubby wore it for yardwork two weeks straight, and while he didn’t beat it against a wall, the watch still took a beating and can still tell him the time. The watch also has a stopwatch and alarm function, as well as an LED backlight for nighttime and darkness. What’s also neat/odd is that you can select one of 5 different colors for that backlight, or a sixth, really weird option for a rainbow effect of it cycling through all the colors, or as hubby started calling it “Disco-o’clock”. The main face of the watch tells you the day, date, and time, along with some superfluous dials that serve no purpose whatsoever. The brand name “Skmei” is at the top of the face, just below the puzzling “Japan battery”. It also claims to be water resistant to 5 ATM, but warns you not to push any buttons while wet or underwater. The strap is a very malleable plastic, not a softer silicone or rubber, and the stainless steel caseback is smooth against the wrist. Short of disassembling the plastic case, I don’t know how or if one could change the battery when it dies, but I suspect at the $11.69 price point, one might be better off just tossing it and buying a new one. The face from edge to edge looks to be in the 48-50mm range and the strap is also wide, probably 23-24mm. I’m guestimating here because Aposon didn’t provide these measurements.

For the gym, shop, or heavy work environment where a nicer watch is sure to be destroyed, these Aposon watches are just the right intersection of affordable, reliable and disposable. It keeps fairly accurate time, but oddly I’ve had to adjust the day (not date) once each on separate occasions, and I would put any stock whatsoever in these watches shock resistance, despite what’s on the face. But for under $12 shipped, it’s great for a beater, or for kids, as long as you’re aware of it’s limitations.

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I received the above product(s) free of charge from Aposon. I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion. My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.

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Topaz UNISEX 5060ABK Rose Gold and Black Face Watch

 

We’ve established that Hubby is a bit of a watch nut. He has one for almost every occasion, save for a nice “dress” watch. So when I got the opportunity to try out a watch from Topaz that would fill that one empty niche in his watch collection, I was thrilled. But, as the song we all know goes, “The thrill is gone”.

When we first got the watch, Amazon had done their usual atrocious packaging job and simply thrown it in the box with a couple of other, larger things. Consequently, when I gave it to hubby, there was a small rattle in the case and the minute hand would “wobble” and move with the normal movement of the arm of the person wearing it. That’s no bueno. So we contacted Topaz about this and they immediately shipped us a replacement. Sadly, though now shipped alone and packaged better, the minute hand on the watch wobbled, even more than last time and would in fact move forward or back by several minutes. All righty then. There’s other issues as well. The Amazon listing says: “WATER RESISTANT to 99 feet.(30M). Withstands rain and splashes of water but not for showering or swimming” How the heck something is supposed to be “water resistant to 30m” but can’t be submerged is beyond my ability to comprehend.

The crown doesn’t screw in, so I would assume that any water in or around it will bork the entire watch. The case is all stainless steel, with a rose-gold electroplating and looks stunning, with the black face and sub-dial at 6 o’clock for the second hand, but the caseback is the pressure type instead of screw down, so replacing the battery would have to be done out of house. The leather band is plush and looks nice as well, but the spring bars that hold it on are so thin that they will bend with the slightest of pressure. Luckily this is a dress watch and shouldn’t be seeing much in the way of any action. The Amazon listing also have the case size at a petite 38mm, but my measurement is closer to 43-44mm. That’s a pretty significant size difference, and one that, to my sensibilities at least, precludes labeling it “unisex”. And while it sports “ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY: State-of-the-art quartz technology movement” (Again, direct from their listing), the minute hand moving around with just the motion of one’s arm would negate any precise timekeeping, “advanced” quartz technology be damned.

In the end this watch looks pretty in my husband’s watch case, but that’s about all it’s really good for. It’s poorly made and manufactured. One problem watch I can explain away, but two with the exact same issue? That’s a quality control problem, and one that directly affects the usability of the product. You can spend the same money (or less!) and get a decent quartz watch from Seiko, Citizen or Timex that won’t have these kinds of issues. I can’t recommend this watch, I’m sorry.

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I received the above product(s) free of charge from Topaz/Noulakha.  I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion.  My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.