Tommy Bahama and Watch Gang 8-Charles Hutton

Vintage Styling

I bought my first Tommy Bahama shirt back in the mid 90's while working at Nordstrom Glendale. It was expensive, even with my discount, and it was my go-to dress Hawaiian shirt for a long time. I still have it somewhere-I'm not all that hard on my clothes and haven't changed shirt sizes in forever.

There is no Tommy Bahama, which most people probably realize. It was dreamed up by a couple of guys who wanted to create high-end casual clothes, their vision of what a jet-setting beach bum would wear. I've got several Tommy Bahama shirts (I especially like their Christmas shirts), some glasses, house wear and a few decorative items. I also have three of their watches.

Room for engraving

I've never paid full price for a Tommy Bahama watch. It seems as though people take pretty good care of them, but don't ever want to change the battery, and so I've found many on various auction sites for prices that I'm willing to pay. They look nice, and the three that I own say that they have either Swiss or Japanese quartz movements. I've been trying to find out who made them-there aren't any on the Tommy Bahama website at the moment. My best guess is the Geneva Group, which is alluded to in an old online article. The Geneva Group makes several lifestyle brand watches.

A replacement band

Of the three I own, my favorite is the yellow faced one. I bought a nice yellow leather racer band for it, and I think the watch looks pretty sharp. It's easy to read and stands out, but not too much.

The watches seem solid enough, (though on my black faced diver some water got in and left a stain on the crystal), and are based on vintage or casual diver/sports styles, kind of like their shirts, reflecting a past that never was. Initially they sold for anywhere between $115 and $350. There's a couple of hundred on eBay right now for under $100.

Diver with a water stain

Shinola watches operate in a similar niche, a reflection of a past that never was.

Charles Hutton

The Charles Hutton came in a large box, and inside there was a leather watch carrying case, large enough for at least two watches-a nice bonus as I find that when I travel, I'm now bringing a few watches with me, for no other reason than I have many and I can. It is a nice leather pouch.

The watch inside is heavy. After removing four links from the band so that it would fit, I feel it on my arm. According to the Charles Hutton website, it's a Longbridge ($270 list) with a green face, and a case size of 42mm by a thickness of 11.5 mm. It has a Japanese quartz movement made by Hattori (used by Seiko, Lorus and Pulsar).

The brand seems to be based out of England, and is named after an English mathematician. In their story, they say that they base their designs on the "Classic British lifestyle" and specialize in chronographs and other complications. The website has a section devoted to James Bond, calling him the "Quintessential British Gentleman," and saying their watches are built for the modern man in a James Bond way. There are people who keep track of the watches worn in all James Bond films (James Bond favors Rolex and Omega, with some Seiko digitals in the 70s), and Bond seems to prefer diver watches, but I'm not going to mention that to the Charles Hutton people. 

Charles Hutton is sold at Macy's and this Longbridge is currently going for around $100 in eBay. Prices for watches on their website range from $225 to $285.

Did I mention it was heavy? Along with being heavy, there seems to be some sharp edges around the the bezel and base. Not enough to cut, but enough to be slightly uncomfortable as I type this out. As I gather more watches, the little things start to come into play, and the little bit of sharpness does matter-I imagine at the end of a long day you'd really notice it and the weight. 

I do like the pin that holds in the hands, and the day/date function is interesting, with what seems like two additional dials working on the inside of the watch. Also interesting is that the date works in a reverse clockwise way.

The look is unique and I like it. But the weight and the sharp edges probably would have kept me from buying it in another setting.  Eight Watchgang watches, and only a couple would I actually have bought. I might have to give this up-we'll see.

Next Day

I've worn this watch for the better part of two days, and the weight is as such that it starts to slide down my wrist. I can't remove more links without it being too tight to wear, so the weight does come into play as the day progresses. It does look good on my wrist, but again, as I acquire more watches the little things matter.

Austin

The memorial is in the distance

A week before Covid shut down the world in March of 2020, a small tragedy hit here in Ventura. The high school cross country team was out for a run after school. While they were running down Seaward Avenue toward the beach when a truck lost control, striking one of the runners and killing him.

The runner's name was Austin, and he was a 10th grader. I was coming home later that day, and the road was closed. I could see the lights of the police cars and ambulance, but didn't think anything of it at the time beyond someone had an accident.

I received a phone call from a friend later asking if I had heard about the kid being struck, and did I know him. My son had run cross country but had graduated before this kid got to high school. My youngest was a year behind Austin and knew who he was but didn't know him. 

When my son ran cross country, it was not unusual to see him and his fellow runners running down the various streets here in Ventura. Going from the high school down Seaward was a standard run, and once in a while I would see my son and his teammates running down the sidewalk. It's downhill to the beach, and the team would get there and then run the Promenade. Though my son was never a Varsity runner, Ventura XC did instill a sense of pride and love for running, and even now, as a member of the Marine Corps, he still runs beyond what would be normal PT. I felt bad for Austin's family, of course, but also for Austin's teammates and especially for Austin's Coaches. The Cross Country Coaches were great with my son, who was essentially a space taker on a team that would win state, making him feel wanted and important. How horrible it would be for a coach to send kids out running and then have one not make it back.

I guess I could look, but if I recall, drugs and alcohol were not a factor. The truck that struck Austin lost  control, jumped the curb and hit the runner. It was an accident.

Ventura is a small town, and we knew people who knew him and the family. A roadside shrine went up on the chain link fence where the accident happened, and was maintained all through the lock down. Recently a cap and gown was added to the memorial.

Austin would have graduated this year. He was by all accounts a good kid, active in his church and a Ventura County Sheriff's Office Explorer Scout. 

If Covid had shut down the world a week earlier, Austin would have been able to graduate with his class.

Shinola and another Watch Gang Watch-Earnshaw

Growing up, I often heard my father say about someone, "They don't know shit from shinola." I knew what he meant-that someone didn't know what they were talking about, but I didn't know why 'shinola.'

 Many, many years later, I was in my mother-in-law's store and saw this vintage rack where they displayed a few cans of Kiwi shoe polish, and then it all became clear. Shinola! A brand of shoe polish! Shoe polish kind of looks like poop, and you get poop on your shoes, and the person who didn't look too closely might mistake the two! As I take a quick look at Wikipedia, Shinola was specifically a boot polish, and with my Dad's many years in the military, a boot polish allusion would be totally appropriate for him. That I didn't know boot polish was irrelevant to his using the phrase. I knew what he meant, and that was all that I needed.

Moving on, about a decade ago I started reading about Shinola watches. The origin story was a good one, a group of guys wanting to restart American manufacturing by heading to one of the great manufacturing cities of the last century, Detroit, and opening up a factory for high quality goods like watches and leather products. 

If I remember correctly, initially they had only quartz watches that were vintage in styling and larger in size-a modern take on old watches. I saw them in magazines and liked the look, though I thought they were priced a little on the high side. I did want one, though, and would look at their shops in Los Angeles and the Bay area with a bit of longing. I really liked their leather goods, too, as well as their pens and bicycles.

About five years or six years ago I was at TJ Maxx looking at their watch case and came across a Filson Argonite 715. I'd never heard of Filson, but I knew the Argonite tag, and turned it over to reveal the Shinola connection. If I recall, it was around $150, and though high for something from TJ Maxx,  I knew that was a good price for a Shinola and I bought it. I later found out that Filson is an outdoor goods manufacturer in the Northwest with a solid reputation. From what I can gather plowing through the internet right now, it was somewhere between $600-900.

The leather band has picked up a nice patina over the years, with both Shinola and Filson logos. Some online research shows that both companies are owned by the same development group explaining the partnership between the two. Apparently, it didn't go as well as they would have liked, because no watches are currently shown on the Filson site.

The other Shinola I have I picked up from an online auction for $100. I didn't think I'd win, and I wasn't too sure what to make of it when I received it. I was going to change the band, but the guy who replaces my watch batteries was impressed and said I should keep it the way it is. It's comfortable on the wrist and does have a nice look to it. 

I do still think that Shinola is a bit overpriced for what it is, but if I can find them below $200, I might by another.

 

More Watchgang Watches

I've had this Earnshaw watch for a few months now, and I thought maybe I should get it out of the box. I did open it when I got it, but I really didn't have a call to wear it. It's dressy without being too dressy, but not necessarily a beater either, dwelling in a watch limbo for me. But I have a few minutes and so here we go.

I had to hunt on the website to find it, but it is a Maudslay in Scotsman Blue. According to their site, it runs $400 and as of this writing there is only one left. It's not quite a skeleton, though you can see part of the 21 Jewel Miyota Movement ticking away. The movement, by Citizen, is a solid performer, so the watch should keep good time.

The blue leather strap is interesting. It doesn't really feel like leather, but more like pleather, and I don't really like the feel on my wrist, especially compared to watchbands like the one on the Filson that I spoke about above. The band also seems long-I've got it in the third hole, and there are six more holes in it-that would be a seriously huge wrist.

The blue accents of the watch are nice, with roman numerals at 12, 3, 6 and 9. There is some lume on the hands, but not too much. The calendar being out in the open is interesting, and not unappealing but not wowing me either. 

The Earnshaw origin story says that they're named after the watchmaker that made Darwin's watch, and all their watches are named after explorers. There are a few Maudslay's listed in Wikipedia, and I'm assuming that this watch is named after Alfred Maudslay, the diplomat and explorer.

The company is based in England, though I can find no indication that the watch was made there. My best guess is that it was made in China. That's not a bad thing, and it explains why their prices are so low. 

 

I wore it for a few days, and though I really didn't care for the look or feel of the band, it wasn't terrible. I noticed that there was some lume, but it seemed to fade away rather quickly. The watch itself is a little bigger than I like them, but I'm sure that I'll wear it more.

Death Race! And Swimming in the Bay

Death Race!

In 1976, my sister and I both had that morbid fixation that many teenagers had, with the added twist that we were both very well read. And one day, while reading the LA Times, I saw a negative article on the video game Death Race. 

Compared to modern video games like Grand Theft Auto, it was pretty tame. In graphics that seem only a shade more sophisticated than Pong and not as advanced as Asteroids, the objective was to run over people walking on the screen. Adding to the challenge, when one of the people was hit, a tombstone immediately popped up, necessitating using reverse to continue with the killing. The more people you ran over, the more tombstones and the more difficult it became to achieve the objective.

Look out, running stick figures!

The manufacturer claimed that it wasn't people, but 'gremlins' that were being run over. No matter, only a handful of the games were manufactured, and once the AP picked up the story, many were removed amid protest. It looked like I would never be able to play one. 

Some kids spent all their time in the arcade back then, playing favorite games for hours seemingly on the same quarter. I wasn't very good, though, seldom earning the extra life or ball or whatever. The value to entertainment ratio was low-I seemed to go through a lot more quarters than everyone else did, and generally preferred to spend my money on records and other things. Still, the idea of Death Race fascinated me and I searched all the local arcades. Finally, probably in '79 or '80, my Mom took my sister and me to Knott's Berry Farm, and in the arcade we saw it-Death Race. My sister and I quickly changed our dollars and set about on mass mayhem, gleefully running over the figures, laughing as we got stuck on the tombstones and had to shift into reverse, both trying to get past 'Bone Cracker' (4-10 kills) and 'Gremlin Hunter' (11-20 kills) in the allotted minute of time. I don't think either of us made it to 'Expert Driver' (which could possibly be a reflection on our current driving skills).

I think I've seen the game at one other place, but I don't recall where, and whenever I'm someplace with older arcade games I have a quick look to see if Death Race is around. According to the Arcade Museum website, though it was reasonably popular, only about 500 or so consoles were made. Again, the graphics are very primitive, and I can't imagine a high demand to play. But it does have that nostalgia appeal to me, recalling a day in Knott's Berry Farm when things were going pretty well in my life.

In San Francisco I was walking by the Musée Mécanique on Fisherman's Wharf, and thought I'd take a quick look around. Most of the things in the building seemed like scary fortune telling machines and creepy mechanical marionettes, the kind of things that start bad horror movies. There were a few old pinball machines and a couple of mechanical player piano type things, but in the back, hidden along a sidewall, was the holy grail-Death Race, looking like a well cared for machine. I immediately pulled a quarter out of my pocket, and dropped it in and it all came back to me in a hurry-running over a figure, a tombstone immediately sprouting up and having to shift into reverse. I had forgotten that as you run over a figure, the others on the screen move faster, making them harder to catch. They'll also duck behind the tombstones or run up on the 'curb.' 

I settled for 'Bonecracker' before continuing my day.

 

Swimming in the Bay

Aquatic Park with Alcatraz in the distance

 

In 1991 I competed in the 'Escape From Alcatraz' triathlon. I was in my late 20's and in one of my peak physical condition phases, having done the San Francisco Marathon the previous spring and competing in Master's Swimming events. I thought doing a 1.5 mile swim, 20 mile bike ride through the city and across the Golden Gate and following it all up with a 18 mile run through the Marin Headlands would be a good time, 

It was a good time, actually, and I learned something important about my athletic ability. I was a great rough water swimmer-I was out of the water 10th overall, in sight of all the race leaders (Mike Pigg, who won, and Scott Tinley) and I think I could have gone faster except that I didn't have my glasses on and really couldn't see. I'm an okay runner, but I'm a terrible bike rider. I felt like the entire race went past me on the bike, and it was a bit demoralizing. I wasn't really tired, but I definitely had a weakness.

I had some other memories, too, of that swim. The temperature was in the mid 50s, and I did it without a wetsuit. I remember going to a mandatory meeting of all the triathletes (and staring at the legs of legendary triathlete, Paula Newby-Fraser, far and away the best legs I've ever seen) the day before, and them recommending you swim that day so you'd have an idea of what you were getting into. I went to Aquatic Park and calculated that the swim should take me about 1/2 an hour. I jumped in, and the wind was knocked out of me. It was a good 10 minutes before I could breath normally. That lasted about 10 more minutes, and then my toes went numb, which spread to my feet and hands. At 30 minutes, my jaw also went numb, and it was time to get out.

In the race the next day, the same thing happened in the same sequence, and as I had calculated, I was out in about 30 minutes.

Every time I've been in San Francisco over the 30 years since, I've looked at Alcatraz and think to myself, "I could still swim that."

The last time I was in San Francisco, I notice a few people swimming in Aquatic Park and asked a pair of older women, both in wet suits, sitting in the stadium if they had just swam. 

"Oh yes, it's a lovely swim, lots of people do it." I chatted with them a few more minutes and made plans to swim it the next time I was in town.

Last week, I brought my swim suit, and since I was staying in Cow Hollow, walking distance from Aquatic Park, I told myself if it was a sunny day I'd give it a try. But it's not an easy thing to decide. The water is cold, there's no lifeguard, and if I go under, no one would know. I woke up at 5:30 AM, thinking about it, and again at 6:30, staring at the ceiling of the motel I was in. At 7 I decided to look up whatever information was on the internet, and found a few suggestions, among them to bring warm liquids to warm up the core, which continues to drop in temperature even after getting out. 

The water temperature was a chilly 59, okay for the air but very cold in the water. I decided that I was going to do it, so I through on my trunks, some shorts over that, a sweat shirt and some shoes. I brought $10 with me to buy coffee on the way back, and headed toward the water.

I had a thick cap and prescription goggles, and walked to Aquatic Park. When I arrived, a well insulated woman was putting her stuff on the bleachers preparing to get in. I asked about swimming etiquette, and she said that there was plenty of room for everyone. I saw people swimming counterclockwise around the buoys, and before I could talk myself out of it, I headed to the water.

It was cold. Very, very cold.

But I dove in before I could talk myself out of it, and after about 10 minutes, started to swim comfortably along. I chatted with some people in the water, and commented on what a beautiful day it was for a swim. At the end of 30 minutes, I was thinking maybe I should get some stroke work in before getting out, but told myself that my goal was 30 minutes, and 30 minutes was what I had done.

The chills didn't hit until I was in the bleachers drying off, and they rippled in a way that I never felt before, from somewhere deep inside of me. It was intense, and I understood what I had read before about core temps. 

But while sitting there, a man walked up and started to prepare to swim. He asked how the water was, and I told him that all things considered, it wasn't that bad, but that now I was getting chills and wanted some coffee. He said that he only swam on days that were like that, clear, sunny, warm and no wind. He also suggested I head up Polk Street to St. Frank's Coffee. A walk to thaw sounded like a good idea.

What I didn't realize is that Polk Street is all uphill.

My feet weren't quite responsive due to the cold temps. The warm sunshine felt good, but the actually walk turned out to be challenging-not because of the hill, though I'm sure that didn't help-but because chills were still rippling through my body for the next 15 minutes, about the time it took to get to St. Franks.

The shop looked very cool, and the coffee was good, but not amazing, and priced a touch on the high side. I wouldn't not go if it were the only shop nearby, but I wouldn't make a special walk either. I still prefer Philz, which actually was on the next block. 

After the swim, though, I'm thinking sometime soon I will conquer the swim from Alcatraz once more.

Ventura Music Hall

X rocking the Ventura Concert Hall

 

 

 

The Ventura Music Hall opened a few months back in the space that once held The Ventura Bowling Center and then Discovery Bowl on Thompson, walking distance from my house. No more bowling, now it's a straight concert/club venue.

A variety of acts have played the venue and are on the upcoming calendar, and I had given serious thought to seeing both Flogging Molly and Bob Mould, but the thought of seeing long time favorites X was just too much to pass up-especially with a ticket price of $25.

The venue itself is pretty nice. Discovery Bowl had cleaned up the bar area in the front, and the bar served a nice selection of local micro-brews. The ceiling, if you get the chance to look up, is an interesting lattice work of wood-the building itself was built during WW II, meaning that there was no steel used in construction.

 

I first saw X in 1981 at the Roxy in Hollywood, and I remember that show was crazy-it scared me a bit. The mosh pit was huge, and I learned how to stand at the edge and push people back in or twist my shoulders to send people flying-whatever was needed. But this crowd looked to be my age or older-X drew an older crowd then the other bands I saw back in the day-and those same people were probably here. That meant that when the mosh pit broke out, it would last about half a song.

Back in the day, even slow songs got a slower moving mosh pit-that didn't happen here. X never liked stage divers, so of course there was none of that in the geriatric crowd that I watched the show with.

The sound mix wasn't great-the vocals were buried. The instruments sounded awesome-Billy Zoom's guitar lines rang true, and you could feel the power of DJ Bonebreak's drumming, but the harmonies make this band, and John Doe and Exene's vocals were low in the mix. The instruments locked into their groove, playing as well as when I saw them in the 80s. The songs from Alphabetland fit in well-the title track sounded like a vintage X song. For whatever it's worth, however, I miss Billy Zoom's Gretsch Silver Jet. He appeared to be playing a Gretsch Country Gentlemen, but I'm not an expert and could be wrong.
 

X does tour with an additional player, Craig Packham, who comes out when Billy Zoom plays the saxaphone or DJ Bonebreak plays the vibraphone. It's obvious, because DJ usually plays more complicated drum parts then the 4/4 that is being played when he moves to vibes.

Check the ceiling woodwork!

Hopefully, the sound mix was an anomaly, though it was a bummer to not get John and Exene's full harmonies. But the venue was good-good site lines all over the house and not too big. I'll see X again when they come through, and I'd happily see people playing at the Ventura Concert Hall.

Still With Watchgang-Grayton

I'm still getting Watchgang watches, and a few that I've written about have moved into my regular watch rotation. On the other hand, a few are still in their boxes because for a variety of reasons they haven't struck me as watches that I need to wear.

I was thinking about canceling my subscription-I've been buying a few watches off of eBay and Goodwill and I only have so many places to wear them. I did scale back to getting a watch every two months instead of every month. I wasn't really thrilled with what I was being sent, and I have too many watches.

I noticed that the Watchgang bill hit my credit card last week, so I figured I'd get a look at this one, and maybe stop if it didn't appeal to me.

The usual white envelope held a box from Grayton. I'd never heard of them before, which again, doesn't mean a great deal. I've discovered that there are several micro-brands out there, and a quick internet search turned up an online only watch brand that specialized in mechanical watches. They describe themselves as 'urbanites,' taking their design cues from the great cities of the world.

Opening the box revealed this pretty nice grey flannel watch sleeve.  I guess I could use it for sunglasses or just to carry this watch in when I travel. I don't travel that much, but the thought is nice.

The watch was well packed, with the usual clear cellophane type plastic on the front and back, and some extra tissue where the band met the case. The leather of the band was thick but supple, something that I prefer over metal bracelets.

The back is clear, showing the Seiko NH35 movement. It's nice to see it, but there's nothing really special about it. No unusual looking jewels or anything, just a movement ticking away. Interestingly, every watch sent by Watchgang has been running when I open the box-even the automatics, which means someone at Watchgang winds everything before it goes in the mail.

It's a 40mm watch, my favorite size, and had a tag with an msrp of $280. Back on their website, the watch is Elegant Sport Leather Bourbon. Checking eBay, this watch wasn't up, but there were about 40 Graytons listed, ranging in price from $20 to $350 for something really fancy. Their website has an interesting dial within a dial that tops out at $620, with their least expensive being $195.

The watch felt really nice on my arm. I think the 40mm is a good size for my wrist, the leather wrapped on my arm well and though it feels solid, the watch isn't heavy. I don't know that I would have picked a brown watch-the second brown faced watch that I've received from Watchgang and now the second one I own, but it's supple on my wrist. The watch looks clean-not too fancy but clearly better than a Timex or Armitron.

I don't think I'm going to collect compliments or comments on it, but I put it on and have been wearing it the last few days. It is very comfortable and easy to read. The lume isn't very good, so if you plan on looking at your watch in the dark, this won't be the one for you. I don't really think it's the type of watch that loans itself to that type of wear.

The short version is that I like it. The brown face has grown on me, the band is comfortable and it's simple and clean. The G on the fancy clasp is a nice touch-there's a G on the crown as well, the number markings are simple, and the shape of the hands is classic. The red second hand provides enough contrast to be easily seen, and though the date isn't magnified, the numbers are big enough to be visible. It's quiet for an automatic, too.

I don't think that I'll rush and buy another Grayton anytime soon-I've got many watches already that fill the 'classic automatic' niche in my collection, and nothing on their website really jumped out at me-but it's a good value for an automatic watch.

Micky Mouse and Watchgang Six-Blackwell

 Mickey Mouse and Watchgang 6

From August 1983

My mother bought me my first Mickey Mouse watch for my 20th birthday in 1983. A friend of hers worked for Disney, and this was supposed to be a watch that was only available to employees. I don't know if that's true, but I liked it and used it for my dress watch for the next few years. It's a Bradley, a company that specialized in character watches, and it's Swiss made but only seven jewels. It still runs and keeps reasonably good time, and I pull it out regularly. I had always wanted a Mickey Mouse watch, but when I was little, I picked the Harlem Globetrotter watch, and in high school I was 'too cool' for a Mickey Mouse watch.

 

My Swatch was my daily watch, and I saved this for special occasions. But the battery died, and before Amazon, it was difficult to get Swatch batteries. I needed a watch for a delivery job I had, so I started using this daily, quickly causing the thin gold plating to wear away.

The next Micky Mouse watch I received was the one on the left of this group of four. It was a gift from about 1988, a quartz Lorus watch that does the job and has Micky Mouse on the face.

The Goofy watch is fun-it runs backwards! I bought it in the late 80's, and interestingly, if I wore it for more than two days straight, I started to read all analog clocks backward. It made for some mental confusion. It's a Pedre, a brand that still exists, though I don't know if it's the same Pedre. I remember that Lorus also made a backwards running Goofy, but I bought this one because it looked much nicer and it was supposed to be a limited edition. It's not running at the moment, and I don't know if it's broken or just needs a battery. Something to check into tomorrow.

Next to it is a very cheap Christmas Mickey that my Mom bought me, and next to that is a fancier looking square Mickey that also isn't running at the moment.

The last Mickey that I bought was this orange one that I like a lot, especially after I changed the band to this one. I think it's from around five or six years ago.

 Watchgang Six

 

This is a hefty and serious looking black box. The Blackwell is off to a good start. Inside the box, you get a bag:

But you don't wear either the box or the bag. Now, what does the watch look like? Well, it looks like this:

I'm not sure that I like it, but I'm not sure that I don't. I does have a very definite look. I like the rice grain band, and though I couldn't photograph it, it has a domed crystal that give it an interesting view from the side. According to the Blackwell website, this is a Guggen Mesh Light, listed at $250. The dial has a spider web design, and the back has the Guggenheim engraved.

At 44mm, it's a big watch and does have heft on the wrist. At this size, the domed crystal could be a liability-I could see myself banging it up pretty good. 

Interestingly, it's not a chronograph, but a dual time watch. The small dial on the face on the left is for a different time zone. Since the origin story for the brand is New York City, I set it for New York. The small dial on the right is a 24 hour dial, but I figured that out from looking at the watch right now (it's almost 6 PM) and realizing that I took the pictures at 3 PM-it isn't mentioned in the online manual. Both dials are really too small to be practical, but they do add to the look. 

I'm going to give this one a wear this weekend, and finish this up next week.

Two Weeks Later

I've worn it a few times, and was surprised that it was comfortable on my wrist. I thought that the size would cause me to bang it into things, but I apparently did not. As they day progressed, I liked the look. This one is a keeper.

July 29, 2022 Update

When I wrote this, I forgot that I do have a Donald Duck watch-two actually, though one is broken beyond repair. This one I bought at Disneyland in the mid 90s. It's a limited edition Ingersoll. Three are currently up on eBay for between $130-$595. 

There's also a Pedre that looks very similar, but has a fancy band. I remember that both were at Disneyland when I bought this, but the Pedre cost a little more and the things on the band looked like the would get in the way. 

I didn't wear this much when I got it-I usually went with the Goofy when I felt the need for a character watch, so it's in surprisingly good shape. I've busted it out a few times this summer. 

The one broken beyond repair my daughter had bought me for Father's Day. It was at Big 5, and it was very cheap watch in both cost and quality, and was broken with light wear rather quickly.