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(More customer reviews)I bought this watch from an authorized dealer (not on Amazon) to get the warrenty and service, and ensure I did not receive a replica or fake. I searched thousands of watches over the course of a year, and even traveled to Singapore and Indonesia, before settling on this one. I can't afford to be a collector, but I bought this watch for the same reason I drive a Lexus: I like a combination useful features, classy looks, and unrivaled reliability. And I'm willing to pay a little more for such a product when I expect to get years of good use out of it.
The new Airboss Mach 3 (released in the US November 2009) has been on my wrist for about a week. Initial impressions: It's slightly bigger that in looked in web photos, and the face looks slightly more "busy". I was looking at some 45mm case watches and I'm relieved this one is only 43mm. It works for me, but any bigger would be too big. In web photos, the tick marks on the dials aren't nearly as striking and don't stand out like they do in person. This is partially due to the anti-reflective coating on the front and back of the sapphire crystal, and partially due to the fact cameras simply don't see things like our eyes. I'd suggest a hands-on evaluation before spending this much on a watch, but I didn't have much choice because it's extremely difficult to find in stores.
My father and brother both wear Victorinox Swiss Army models from the Active and Classic lines. As tough and reliable as their watches are, I reason an Airboss from the Professional line should be even better. While the Airboss Mach 4 and Mach 6 models have automatic movements, the Mach 3 is Quartz, battery operated. This means you get Airboss quality and looks for less, you just have to change the battery every couple years.
So you're probably thinking "why'd this dude buy this watch after looking at thousands?" Well, I had a list of requirements (some of which changed during the course of my search) and the Mach 3 has some unique features I really like. What I wanted:
1. Sapphire crystal (I was tired of my Swatch Irony's acrylic crystal getting scratched and having to be buffed)
2. Simple, easy to read face with arabic numerals (this cut out almost all Seikos)
3. Steel band (I decided to try leather since I liked everything else about the Mach 3)
4. $300 price range (had to save up twice as long to pay over twice this for the watch I really wanted)
As I searched, I fell in love with pilot style watches. Not the Citizen Skyhawk type, but the military, WWII, Junkers type. Simple and elegant, but tough and highly legible. That combination of ruggedness and classy style just appeals to me. I also grew fond of inner rotating bezels (a ring with minutes or markings behind the crystal which can be turned by a knob on the case).
This brings me to the most unique feature of the Mach 3. This inner, rotating bezel has minutes around it, but they are running BACKWARDS. Where most watches have "5", the Mach 3 says "55" and counts down to 0 as it goes around. At first this struck me as odd, then I understood. Every watch with a chronograph tells you ELAPSED TIME, or how much time has passed since you pressed the start pusher. But this bezel is a "visual countdown timer", meaning it tells you "TIME REMAINING". So if your friend says "meet me in 45 minutes", you position the 45 on the bezel at the tip of the minute hand. From now until the minute hand reaches 0 (upside-down triangle) it always points to how much time you have left. If you go out for a 1-hour lunch from work, position the triangle at your minute hand. You'll always know how much lunch break is remaining at a glace. Cool huh? The Wenger Aerograph has an EXTERNAL rotating bezel with a visual countdown timer, but you sacrifice a sapphire crystal for a mineral crystal, and styling and quality is not up to the Airboss in my opinion.
The other cool feature, which is still unique but not quite as rare, is the chronograph. The minute hand is on the main dial (instead of a tiny subdial like most chrono watches) which makes reading elapsed minutes MUCH easier! So two skinny chrono hands (seconds & minutes) and two thick hands (time hours and minutes) share the main dial, and do it well without interferring with each other. Also, most chrono watches have a small 30 or 60 minute dial. When the hour (or half hour) is up, it just starts over again. The Mach 3 has a slightly larger 12-hour dial, along with the regular 10th/sec dial. This means you can time an event for up to 12 hours at 10th-of-a-second resolution. Now that's versatility!
Another observation: the date has been placed at 10 o'clock instead of 3, 4 or 6 like most watches. I'm assuming this is because the visual countdown timer on the bezel means a 10 shows at the 10 o'clock position on the bezel, while the date takes it's place on the face. This leaves more room for the 12-hour dial and gives the face a cleaner, more balanced look.
As far as price, I'd say this is a mid-priced watch. Some people would say nearly $700 MSRP is expensive. I agree, but many Tag Hauer models and other Swiss brands of equal quality and less fuctionality cost much more (well over $1,000). And while there are watches out there priced at well over $100,000, most "higher priced" watches are $1,000 to $5,000. Watches like my old Swatch Irony chronograph, near the $100 price point, provide a "lower priced", great value for college students, like I was when I bought it 7 years ago. You just have to do your homework, because not every $100-$200 watch is created equal in terms of quality.
So the Airboss Mach 3 does what a watch should: It tells time, forward and backward, and does it very well. And this timepiece is built so solidly, I expect it to be ticking after I die of old age, and I can pass it on to my son or grandson.
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Victorinox Swiss Army Men's 241380 AirBoss Mach 3 Black Dial WatchThe stylish Swiss Army Men's AirBoss Mach 3 Black Dial Watch with fun details mimics the dashboard of a fighter plane. The large, circular dial features peek-a-boo, silver-toned Arabic numeral hour indexes, luminous silver-toned hour and minute hands, and a thin, yellow seconds hand. Two subdials provide chronograph function and there's a date display at the 10 o'clock position along with a convenient minute track along the perimeter. The bi-directional internal rotating bezel activates a countdown features with indexes from 60 to zero. The oversized pushers are located on the left side of the dial. Both the bezel and case are made from stainless steel for durability while the anti-reflective, sapphire crystal provides ultimate scratch resistance. The aviator-style watch strap is made from luxurious calfskin leather and is secured with a buckle clasp. This cool, trendy watch is equipped with Swiss quartz movement and is water resistant to 330 feet (100 meters).
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