Wristwatch Review: Merona Men's Round Dial Analog Dress Watch from Target

If you are looking for a professional-looking dress watch to wear for work or special occasions, you should peruse the men's watches at Target. The big box department store's Merona watch brand offers some sophisticated wristwatch options. The Merona Men's Analog Round Dial Dress Watch (Model FMDM219-99) offers a very upscale look for only about $15.

What's the Merona secret? The quartz watch movement is a mature technology. This means that there are a wide variety of accurate timepieces to choose from regardless of brand. As a consumer, the key differentiators between quartz watches are style and extra features. Off brand and house brand watches can often provide the style and appearance of high end brands at a fraction of the cost. Marketing expenses are much reduced for a house brand.

One major way Merona cuts cost is by having non-functional, decorative, sub-dials on some watches. I've avoided many Merona watches for a long time because I personally like everything on any watch I buy to have a functional purpose. However, I recently found a pure dress watch by Merona that I really like. The watch has a dark graphite gray band and case and a smooth two-tone black face. The face has an outer bezel-like ring of pure black around a lighter black face with a slightly bluish cast. It mimics a high end Movado by placing a single bright crystal at 12 o'clock and having simple hash marks at five minute intervals. The ultimate effect is one of smooth simple elegance.

Surprisingly for a watch of this price, the Merona has a Japanese movement and a nicely etched stainless case back. The case back reveals the brand, the replacement battery needed, and that the watch has a base metal bezel. The band is metal and incorporates links divided by circles. It adds to the upscale look of this inexpensive watch. Of course, if you look at every surface very, very, closely, you'll notice that the "diamond" at 12 o'clock is just a small glass chip surrounded by a foil reflector. You'll also notice that the fit and finish of this watch not as perfect as a fine Swiss time keeping machine. However, this Merona is a $15 watch and it certainly competes with brands like Armitron, Casio, and Timex. From any distance, this watch will look great to the casual observer.

Overall, this Merona is a store brand watch that the wearer can be proud to wear and would be perfectly appropriate for a job interview, a date, or any formal occasion.

Other articles by this contributor:
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Wristwatch Review: Armitron Diamond Men's Analog Dress Watch

Wristwatch Review: Pulsar Men's Analog Dress Watch