Watches of today – timepieces, gadgets or a fashion statement?

A watch is one of these things we more than likely all own, at least one.

Its history started in 15^th century, the pocket-watch for the men and the wrist watch for the women… this changed though in the early 20^th century when wrist watches became the one to have, pushing pocket-watch into a faded background. This was then but what about watches today?

The watch was created as a timepiece; at first it’s main and only job, was to tell time… this is no longer the case in today’s digital world. Today we can buy a watch to suit a variety of needs…

Fashion Watches are principally designed with looks in mind. They are used to complete our outfit and are very often treated as jewellery. They can vary from simple, delicate pieces to more rich in colour or decoration – whatever you fancy I bet you can find one on the current market.

Teaching Watches are created with our youngest in mind. They are used as a teaching tool to aid time telling skills and feature more information than usually found on a watch. Different colours help kids to learn quicker and make it much easier to understand all the rules of time telling.

Sport Watches are here to help us achieve our goals. They might have functions like stopwatch, which will help the track runner or they can be water resistant, which might be helpful if you are a swimmer. There are even watches created for a space travel or space walks should you ever find yourself presented with the opportunity 🙂

Gadget Watches combine the timepiece abilities with other tools we might need in life. There are watches with a built in multi lingual data bank – how handy that might be at times where you find yourself surrounded by people speaking in a different language.

I think this list could go on being divided into smaller subcategories… the bottom line is: today there is a watch for every need out there… but do we really need it?

With mobile phones, or should I say smart phones, as well as other gadgets being commonly used by most people such as tablets, mobile media devices, even iPods all tell us the time, how many of us still wear a humble watch simply in order to tell the time?

Not many I am guessing, but… we still wear wrist watches, just for different reasons now 🙂  These days we wear it as a statement, for the wow factor, because it was in our family for generations, because it is cool to have a funky watch or simply because it’s a matter of habit! Today the watch is more of an accessory than an essential device to aid our coping with life, therefore it will probably never go out of fashion, and maybe you just need to upgrade it to a different model.

I personally love watches. They are such a great reflection of our personality.

Do you love watches?

Do you still wear it or is it somewhere at the bottom of your drawer?

To get a perspective on the mind boggling array of watch possibilities on offer now a days you could have a look at a website like The Watch Hut! I did and was shocked, amazed and now I’m saving….

* Post written in collaboration with The Watch Hut.
Source of all pictures: The Watch Hut.

Review – Vinyl Clocks – selected with care for your loved ones

My new The Beatles Paperback Writer Vinyl Clock

A few weeks ago whilst messing about on Twitter I spotted @VinylClocks. They tweeted “Looking for Christmas gift ideas? We can help”. As I am always on the lookout for something new, different and with soul, I decided to check out their website. Almost an hour later I was still reading and discovering how it all works, and what you can get. The idea is simple – you can buy a clock made from an original vinyl… but that is all that is simple about it… then you start thinking about which vinyl you might want to get… and then it all gets a bit hectic… I had tons of questions going through my head: do I get one from a favourite band, should it be an album or a single; should it be my favourite, Marks favourite or something we both enjoy; or maybe I could pick a song which will remind us about some special moment in our life, we all have one… I quit my browsing but bookmarked the page, thinking “It will be perfect for a friend who has everything… a clock to match their musical taste, which will make a perfect, well thought and quite unique gift”

On Tuesday I spotted @VinylClocks tweeting again (not surprising really as I follow them), this time I answered and stated the obvious that I would love to have one… to my surprise after a few emails Tim, the guy I was chatting with, offered me one of their 7” clocks (that was yesterday).

I didn’t choose my clock… but I advised Tim that something from The Beatles collection would suit us perfectly, Mark is getting on after all, plus any red detail would be an added bonus.

Today, to my huge surprise, our postie brought me a lovely pink parcel. I wasn’t expecting anything, at least not yet, so I was very eager to check out what was inside… I am an envelope recycling junky so I cut the top of the shipping bag gently off (so I can still re-use it) in order to have a quick pick inside… there it was… my vinyl clock!

It came very well packed in a shipping bag, Styrofoam, bubble wrap type thingy, box plus warning notes. Glancing at the first of the notes I thought “Ok, maybe I should just wait for Mark to deal with the clock when he gets home, so I don’t damage anything” but my curiosity won me over and I decided that waiting till 6 o’clock is not a realistic option. So taking all precaution as advised in the note I started digging for my clock. Small, precision cuts with a pair of sharp scissors through the bubble wrap thingy and I was already at the main box, easy.

There was however waiting for me a new challenge – my pizza style box had a lot of tape wrapped around it so I needed a sharp knife… a few cuts later and I was inside the box! Wooot… but wait there was a second hidden note with even more instructions 🙂

I took my time and read it all, twice, than started on dismantling the internal parts of the box in order to see my new Vinyl clock… I really wanted to see what Tim had picked for us – and there it was – The Beatles, Paperback Writer – a perfect song and a perfect clock!

Within 10 minutes I had managed to put the battery in (which comes with the clock, handy I thought), set the correct time (not so easy as the original kitchen clock had died), and replaced our old dead wall clock with our shiny new one. This was the only wall clock we had in the house and we didn’t even pick it, it came with the house. Since we bought it 6 years ago (the house I mean) we never found a new clock which grabbed us both despite setting out on a few clock hunting escapades. Our new vinyl clock has hit the mark perfectly! It’s stylish in my opinion and now every time I look at it, I have the song in my head 🙂

All of these is protecting your new clock in transit!

The clock itself is very well made; it feels solid enough, despite being made from a fragile material like vinyl. The clock mechanism is well fitting, nothing rattling or coming loose. The clock arms are awesome – with two gold ones and one red, which zooms around like crazy as it counts of the seconds… ohh and it is not a silent clock… it makes an comforting gentle tick-tock, sound… the clock is supplied with a 1 year warranty (for your piece of mind, I guess). As far as I can tell, prices start from £13.95 +pp (£1 up to £4.50 for zone 3 international shipping). Vinyl Clocks offer a choice of 7”, 10” and 12” clocks. And to make things even better, you can request (free of charge) a gift wrap, including a gift label. Sounds perfect, isn’t?

But and it is a big but, never forget that should you still own a gramophone, turntable or hifi system you can actually play your clock as it is a genuine record! How many clocks can claim that now!

Now something about Vinyl Clocks in general…

It’s not really about the clocks, it’s about the memories.

Music evokes memories. It may be who you were with (or who you wanted to be with), where you were, or just a piece of music that moves you.

We all have favourites / special songs.

All we do is preserve them in time. The website ( www.vinylclocks.com ) is basically a very big juke box. You go on and choose the one you want, or more likely choose the one someone else will want! We then send the clock, and although the music isn’t playing, juts be looking at the label it will be in your head.

This is what Tim said about the company and I totally agree with him.

I love the idea of these clocks. Picking a perfect clock as a gift for someone you love and care about can be a great experience. And what could be better than a useful, elegant gift with an insight into their soul. A vinyl clock is a personalised piece of wall art, which also tells the time!

What do you think?

Do you like the idea?

If so, what vinyl clock would you get?

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I was sent 7” clock free of charge for review purposes. The opinions expressed in this review are honest and my own.