Up for review today is the Cobalt V from Momentum Watches, a Vancouver company specializing in functional and legible watches. We're always glad to find a great watch in this price range, and I think the Cobalt V is going to make a lot of fans. Let's get started with the specifications:

• Solid titanium case, black ion-plated.
• Mineral crystal.
• 44mm by 10.7mm, 65g.
• Rubber or leather strap (the review unit is vanilla-scented natural rubber).
• Japanese quartz movement with 5-year battery.
• Grade-A Superluminova lume on hands and dial.
• Screwdown crown and caseback.
• Water resistant to 100m (330ft).
• List price of $185.

Read on for the full review.

Timex has a new military model available for sale on their website, and we love the styling as much as the price. The Timex Military Classic is a quartz driven stainless steel watch that Timex designed to be reminiscent of WWII aviation equipment. Regardless of its roots, this piece has a nice military feel and a price that will please most. For $100, you get indigo backlighting, 100m water resistance, and a nylon strap.

Timex

By James Stacey

Watches are often known for their connection to culture, sports, world records, or famous people. Rolex is known for reaching the top of Mt. Everest and the bottom of the ocean; Tag Heuer for a rich background in motor sports and sailing; Omega for reaching the moon, and now as watch James Bond prefers. The watch we have in today comes from a California label that has been making watches since 1998, but is seemingly best known for making the watch that is worn by none other than the President of the United States.

We first noticed Jorg Gray when President Obama was seen wearing a simple yet classy chronograph (the watch can be seen in many of his photos), and just had to know where it came from. As it turns out, Jorg Gray makes many attractive and modern designs, including the one we are looking at in this review: the JG1900-14 chronograph.

Here are the facts:

• 43x11mm Stainless steel case.
• Mineral crystal.
• Japanese quartz chronograph.
• Screw-down case back.
• Chronograph with date.
• Black leather strap.
• 100 meter water-resistant (about 330 feet).

View the Casio G-Shock GXW-56-1BJF photo gallery.

The new Casio G-Shock GXW-56 — and its American counterpart, the GX-56 — are proof that huge is the new big. With a case 55.5mm wide at its widest point, and 17.5mm high, the GXW-56 is the biggest G-Shock ever made. (Yes, they are even larger than the venerable Frogman.)

(Before going any further, I want to point out the differences between the GXW and the GX. The GXW is the Japanese version and has multi-band atomic timekeeping. The GX is the American version which is less expensive, and has all the features of the GXW except atomic time calibration. This review focuses specifically on a GXW-56-1BJF which I imported from Japan in order to get atomic time calibration, but most of what I cover here pertains to the GX, as well.)

The thinking behind the GXW-56 (and the GX-56) is that, in the overall scheme of things, typical G-Shocks simply aren't all that big anymore. Yes, they are certainly bigger than your average timepiece, but if you look at the watches that are really driving the trends right now, G-Shocks don't completely dominate in terms of size. So in order to maintain their status as trend-setters (and make no mistake — G-Shocks are as much about fashion as they are toughness; if you don't believe me, read my coverage of Shock the World), it was time for G-Shocks to take the next step.

Fortunately, Casio decided to do something constructive with all that extra space in the case: they filled it with aGEL which they describe like this:

aGEL® is a soft silicone gel material with outstanding shock-absorbing characteristics.

So what is this mysterious new aGEL material? aGEL, or Alpha GEL, is the brand name for the soft silicone gel material which was first made famous by Asics Gel running shoes, and it helps to make the GXW-56 even more shock and vibration resistant than your standard G-Shock.

But the GXW-56 isn't all about size. It also has the functionality and features that we've come to expect from G-Shocks. Here's an exhaustive list:

Bell & Ross has just caught my eye with one of the more interesting aviation watches I've seen in some time: the Instrument BR 01-92 Compass.

As you can see, the design is inspired by a traditional aviation compass. Rather than hands that move around a dial, the movement contains two disks — one for hours and one for minutes — that rotate beneath a stationary vertical line. The time is read through the top window while the other side of the disks are visible through the tinted bottom crystal. Very unique.

Here are the facts:

• Automatic ETA 2892 movement.
• Hours and minutes (no date or seconds).
• Stainless steel 46mm PVD-finished case.
• Screwdown crown.
• Water-resistant to 100 meters (about 330 feet).
• Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating (darkened on the lower portion).
• Leather and rubber strap.
• Limited to 500 pieces.

Nice looking piece, in my opinion. I don't know how long it would take to adjust to telling time using rotating disks rather than hands, but I suspect one would adapt pretty quickly.

No work on pricing or availability as of yet.

By Christian Cantrell

I just got back from Casio's 2010 Shock the World press event in New York, and I have plenty to show. We all had a blast checking out some new G-Shock models, meeting folks from Casio (and Casio's PR team), rubbing elbows with celebrities, and hanging out at what turned out to be a pretty wild concert.

Here are the highlights:

Timex has just launched what appears to be one of the most sophisticated training watches currently available. We have one incoming for a hands-on review so we'll have a lot more to share soon, but here's what we know so far:

• Integrated GPS.
• Calculates pace, speed, and distance in real-time.
• Records up to 100 location waypoints and remembers up to 50 custom routes.
• Customizable display shows up to four data windows.
• 20-workout memory with dated summary records up to 1,000 laps of information.
• Chronograph with interval and countdown timers measures performance.
• Records elapsed time, calories burned, and performance data for each lap.
• Performance pacer helps meet finish-time goals.
• Hands-free option automatically starts and stops data capture functions.
• Performance and route data downloads to online training software powered by TrainingPeaks.
• Advanced desktop software manages users' settings for easy customization.
• Battery recharges when connected to USB port or AC adaptor.
• Compatible with Windows XP or newer, and Mac OS X 10.4 or newer.
• Compatible with Timex heart rate and bike sensors using ANT+.
• Compatible with third-party bike power sensors using ANT+.
• Compatible with Timex digital 2.4 chest sensor heart rate monitor.

In other words, this looks like it comes pretty close to being the ultimate piece of digital training equipment for serious athletes. But what we want to know is how easy is it to use (all this functionality is superfluous if you can't remember how to use it), and how good and robust is the software (we've had trouble with Timex software on Mac in the past). We have one of these instruments on its way from Timex Ironman, so we'll find out soon enough and report back.

Casio G-Shocks play many roles: fashion icons, hardcore tool watches, respectable divers, etc. Today, we look at something of a new phase for the G-Shock line in the form of a “multi role fighter.” The Casio G-Shock GW-2000 sports aviation styling while retaining the GMT features of many of its older siblings. The GW-2000 combines the radio controlled technology which Casio is now famous for with a refreshed style more reminiscent of the MR-G series.

Let's take a look at the details:

• Mineral glass crystal.
• 47mm at the widest point (wears more like 43mm).
• 15m thick.
• Radio controlled atomic calibrated module.
• Solar powered.
• Stopwatch with a resolution of 1/20^th of a second.
• 24-hour countdown timer.
• Alarm.
• Multiple timezones.
• Perpetual calendar (with day and date).
• Water-resistant to 200 meters (about 650 feet).
• Neobright luminous paint.

View the Seiko SBQJ015 Photo Gallery.

When I realized that most of my collection had shifted toward divers and sports watches, I started to keep an eye out for something a little more elegant — something that might be slightly more at home with dress shirt than a 15mm high piece of military equipment or a plastic digital G-Shock. The problem was that I refuse to sacrifice functionality for looks. I love handsome watches, but they have to work as well as they look, or I'm not interested.

The Seiko SBQJ015 is an excellent balance. It's a handsome watch with just the right amount of bling for me (meaning very little), and it has an incredibly impressive list of features:

• Titanium case and bracelet tempered with a process Seiko calls Diashield which essentially makes the titanium much harder than stainless steel. (I've worn mine in all kinds of situations, and it doesn't have a single scratch.)
• Sapphire crystal.
• Perpetual calendar.
• GMT hand.
• Independently adjustable hour hand which allows you adjust the time when traveling between time zones without having to stop the watch or change the minutes.
• Equipped with Sieko's famous 8F56 movement which is accurate to within ±20 seconds per year. That's about as much variance as you can expect to see per month in an average non-atomic quartz watch.
• 10-year battery.
• Water-resistent to 100 meters, or about 330 feet.
• A perfect 40mm in diameter (for my narrow wrist, anyway) excluding the crown, and about 44mm total.

These days, it seems new designs are increasingly rare in the modern watch world as so many new watches share major design elements with watches we've seen in the past. How many different brand names have you seen that fundamentally look like a Rolex Submariner? Halios is looking to shake this derivative funk with the release of their highly anticipated BlueRing diver.

We were lucky enough to score a review sample in the form of a blue dialed and brushed steel model direct from Vancouver. Frequent visitors will remember our review of the Holotype about a year ago and how we came away impressed by the design, quality, and value of their first offering. The BlueRing expands on the Halios brand with better technology, a fresh design, and a more wearable package.

Let's start with the details:

• 44.5x14.5mm stainless steel case.
• Sapphire crystal.
• ETA 2824-2 automatic movement.
• 22mm lugs.
• 300m/1000ft water resistance.
• Available in brushed or blasted finish.
• SII NE15 movement (black dial version), or the ETA 2824-2 (blue and silver dial versions).