Wristwatch Review: Armitron Men's Chronograph Square Black Digital Sport Watch

The Armitron Men's Square Black Digital Sport Watch (408115BLK) doesn't have a camera, or a phone, or a memory bank, or an MP3 player, an onboard video game system, an apps library, or a wireless connection. However, the watch face is angled at about 10-degrees towards the wearer. That angle, a stainless steel bezel and back, and a completely smooth exterior make all the difference. This watch is perfectly appropriate for the business casual office, but looks like it would be equally at home on the set of Star Trek, Space 1999, or Battlestar Galactica.

While a 10-degree tilt in the watch face does not sound like much, when combined with time digits that are 1 centimeter tall, this Armitron digital watch design allows wearers to tell the time while their wrist sits level on a desk, keyboard, or conference room table. Those poor souls trapped in interminable meetings can finally tell when their meeting ends without obviously looking at their watches and without pulling out cell phones, or booting up laptops.

Beyond the tilted face, the top of the case (or bezel) is made of stainless steel and set into black plastic material. Turning the watch over, the back is also stainless steel. When combined with a black rubber watch band, this Armitron Men's Chronograph Square Digital Sport Watch has a black and stainless color combination that fits in well with the recent trend towards stainless kitchen appliances and car interiors. While this Armitron digital watch has buttons in the traditional A,B,C, and D positions of most digital watches, the buttons are recessed so that they are completely flush with the case. Ultimately, the result is a very modern and futuristic design. Sitting side by side with my Square-Faced Mossimo Watch in my Joan Rivers Watch Box Organizer, the completely smooth character of the Armitron Squared Faced Digital looks like modern art.

Despite the sleek ultra-modern exterior, the internals of the humble Armitron All-Sport watch lie beneath the beautiful exterior of this Armitron Square Faced Digital Watch. While the Armitron All-Sport Digital watch is a rugged looking and functional watch, the square faced version has a very different character. This square-faced digital watch (Model 408115BLK) looks like something suitable for a technology consultant. Of course, compared with the traditional Armitron All-Sport, the flush buttons of this watch might be a little inconvenient when using the stop watch functions. However, the Armitron Men's Chronograph Square Black Digital Sport Watch has all of the traditional functions of a digital watch: calendar, 24-hour alarm, hourly chime, chronograph, countdown time, a second time zone, 12/24 military clock, and an instalight back-light. If there is any real frustration associated with this watch, it is simply learning to work all the functions while reading the small print in the directions. While learning to use all the digital watch functions didn't really take long, it made me remember why I like analog watches like my Timex Expedition watch or my old Lorus watch. However, I was very pleased that this fashionable Armitron watch fit my 8 1/2-inch wrists without any problem.

Ultimately, the Armitron Men's Chronograph Square Digital Sport Watch is a good, simple, and solid wrist watch at only $20.