Wristwatch Review: Walmart $12 MZ Berger Analog-Digital Men's Fashion Wristwatch

I love shopping at Walmart. Every time I shop at Walmart, I'm tempted by the racks and racks of cheap wristwatches. With prices as low as $9, the bargain watches are hard to resist. Often, I avoid the cheap watches by focusing on the name-brand watches. Other times, I avoid the cheap watches by pointing out their shortcomings. Recently, however, I succumbed. I found a huge wristwatch with a big face, large legible hands, and an analog / digital face. It had a big black Velcro wrist strap that fit me and best of all it was only $12.

This funky, clunky, Walmart watch has a 40mm face (50mm if you count the bezel, crown, and buttons) and is nearly 13mm thick. It's huge, legible, and attractively styled. This Walmart watch is even bigger than my Relic "Wet" Multi-Function Diver Style watch. This intriguing Walmart watch keeps time with both traditional analog hands and a built in LCD digital watch face. The watch is very legible and walks a fine line between the clunky style of an urban watch and the rugged style of a purposeful sports watch.

When I got this Walmart watch home, I found out from the warrantee literature and caseback that it was imported for Walmart by MZ Berger. According to the MZ Berger website, "MZB is a design, marketing, and distribution company that specializes in products designed with fashion and value in mind. The company has an extensive line of watches, clocks, jewelry, accessories, and personal care products sold under the company's proprietary and licensed brands." MZ Berger watches are sold under brand names like Sharp, Elgin, Vernier and Izod. The company has a watch factory in China and corporate offices in New York, Arkansas, Hong Kong, China, and Canada.

This MZ Berger watch features a Japanese movement, a Chinese module, a stainless steel back, and a base metal case. Base metals are typically metals like zinc or tin. Regardless, the case seems very solid and has an intriguing dark color with a very high shine. This MZ Berger watch's color can be described as pewter, dark gray, or a shiny charcoal or black. It certainly complements the back of the analog face around the watch and the gray of the LCD that dominates the center of the watch. The strap is black Velcro reinforced strategically with leather or simulated leader in areas where strength is needed. The Velcro band makes the this Walmart watch comfortable to wear all day while typing at work. While it is a wild compared to my Relic LCD face dress watches, I wore this MZ Berger to work without incident.

Obviously, you can spend more money on a quartz watch. But, since Japanese movements and Chinese cases are commonplace and I can't afford a prestigious European automatic, why not rely on a Walmart find? Walmart sells everything from rifles to wedding rings. I had done well with those buys and I think I did great with my $12 Walmart Watch. Ultimately, this Walmart watch imported by MZ Berger is comfortable to wear, easy to read, and just looks cool.

Sources:

MZ Berger Website (http://www.mzberger.net )