Watch Reviews
Honest watch opinions about watches we love, hate, and all those in-between.
TAG Heuer Carrera ‘Glassbox’ 39mm: The Carrera Chronograph You’ve Been Waiting For?
I love vintage Heuer chronographs like the various Skippers and Autavias, and this new release looked like a step in the right direction for a brand who has been struggling to define their role and identity in the watch market for a few years. So when I had an opportunity to review a Tag of my choosing, the Tag Heuer Carrera Glassbox was first on my wrist….
TBWS Watch Reviews: What To Expect
What are our watch reviews all about? Honesty and real-world insights. We’re watch lovers first which means we always try and conduct reviews from the viewpoint of an actual normal person’s wearing perspective. We generally don’t cover watches that are ridiculously overpriced or just not accessible to real, down to earth watch folk like us. We specifically focus on affordable watch reviews because that’s what we’ve always wanted more of in the watch blog world.
Watch reviews are generally conducted and broken down into focusing on 4 parts of a timepiece.
Watch Reviews in 4 Parts:
- The Case
- The Dial
- The Strap/Bracelet
- The Movement
After-which we round out our review with an overall perspective on the watch. Please check out the sections below detailing how we approach each section of the review.
The Case:
Design and real-world wearability are huge factors for us in how we conduct watch reviews. That’s why we start with the case. We always try and focus on the intersection (and sometimes the divergence) between how a watch case looks and how it actually wears on the wrist. We also critique the overall quality of finishing, which is becoming something watch folks are looking for more of in affordable watch reviews.
The Dial:
This is traditionally where the visual impact of the watch occurs. But what makes a watch dial aesthetically and functionally successful? That’s one of the main things we explore with out watch reviews. A dial isn’t just about the colors – it’s about how the brand decided to balance all the interior dial elements in relation to each other. Our watch reviews tend to focus on digging deep into the symmetry and asymmetry of what makes a dial visually successful (whether the aim of the watch is to be aesthetically pleasing, functional, or both).
The Strap/Bracelet:
As watch blogs have evolved scrutiny of straps and bracelets has increased. That’s because traditionally pulling back on quality in this area has been a cost-cutting measure which inevitably impacts the consumer in most circumstances. That’s why TBWS focuses so heavily on straps/bracelets in our watch reviews. Breaking down the materials, construction, changeability, and overall aesthetics, a TBWS watch review will offer a holistic perspective on what to expect with a timepiece’s strap/bracelet.
The Movement:
Rarely seen but impossible to live without. In traditional watch reviews movements never received too much attention. But as consumers begin to become more and more curious about every aspect of what they’re spending their hard earned money on, attention on what makes a watch tick has increased. That’s why we dedicated an appropriate portion of our watch reviews to focusing on a timepiece’s movement. Whether it’s a mechanical or quartz mechanism, the TBWS watch blog appreciates all movement types and is dedicated to offering an authentic opinion on both the movement itself and how it’s actually utilized and featured by the watch brand. Plus, we’re movement geeks. So we love talking about this stuff.
If you have any questions about how we conduct watch reviews please feel free to contact us at [email protected]. And be sure to check out our weekly watch podcast!