Oris watches have long been recognized as beautiful crafted Swiss watches. Oris watches may not have the same brand recognition as some other Swiss-made watches but they are never the less an exceptional timepiece that anyone would be proud to own.

I've owned an Oris wristwatch for many years; in fact, my Oris was my first ever Swiss watch. I've never tired of my Oris watch, and although I have since bought other fine Swiss watches, I wear it often and still admire its simple but elegant design. So, perhaps the following review of Oris watches is a personal view, though I have tried to remain objective on the current collection of Oris watches.

Oris watches used to follow the more traditional lines of watch design, but recently the company has endeavoured to offer the consumer more up-to-date watch designs, particularly in the sports watches arena. Oris began making sports watches only as recently as the nineteen seventies. Their first sports watch was the Oris Chromoris. Oris still manufacture the Chronoris today, the most recent model being the Chronoris 2005. The Chronoris Chronograph is a simple design made from stainless steel with a black and orange saddle-leather strap; the strap is supposed to emphasize the 'sportiness' of the watch, however I feel they are better sports watches on the market today. A better sports watch offered by Oris is the TT1 collection. These watches come with mechanical automatic movement with simultaneous indication of 2 individual time zones. You also get a date display at the 3 o'clock position as well as a black dial with luminous display, a curved scratchproof sapphire glass, with water resistance up to 100 meters. In my opinion the Oris TT1 Worldtimer is the best watch in this series. Recently Oris teamed up with the Williams F1 Team to produce the Oris Williams F1 Team sports watch. I'm not a tremendous fan of this watch. Call me a snob, but I wouldn't want a watch I owned to be known by any other brand except the watch brand. Also, I think if you are looking for a sports watch they are other brands of watches that offer better styling.

The Oris Big Crown Collection belongs to their aviation series. The big crown being a reminder of the early days of aviation when pilots had to adjust their watches whilst wearing thick gloves. This collection of watches is more like what I'd expect from Oris. The Oris Big Crown comes with mechanical automatic movement with stop function display of hours and minutes from the centre, small permanent second at nine o'clock, decentralised minute and hour counters, second counter from the centre, date at three o'clock. The is black guilloché with white numerals and indices, white lacquered hands; all contained in a stainless steel case 316L with applied fluted bezel, screwed case back. The watches are water-resistant to 50 m with plexiglass and black calfskin leather strap with Louisiana croco pattern and security clasp. The watch is also available with metal bracelet. The Oris Big Crown is a very beautifully designed piece of engineering.

The Culture series of Oris watches is what Oris is all about. Currently Oris offer the Frank Sinatra collection and the Miles Collection. These watches come in various models offering chronograph, complication, mother of pearl facia and diamonds) for those who like such things). My favourite collection is without doubt the Artelier collection. The Oris Artelier Chronograph, Oris Artelier Complication and Oris Artelier Lady Date are fine watches, but the Oris Artelier Pointer Date is the jewel in the collection. Oris are famed for their pointer date or sweep calendar. The company first developed this feature in 1938 and the pointer date is pretty much unique to Oris. Most watches display the date through a window on the dial but the Oris pointer date is a third arm that moves anti-clockwise around the face; the days of the months being displayed as another circle of number outside the hour marks: the end of the pointer arm being either a t-shape or the more traditional semi-circle. I own a pointer date Oris watch and am only too delighted to show this unique feature to those who appreciate a fine watch.

Without question Oris watches are top rated Swiss watches that are a desired by consumers who appreciate good quality mechanisms with simple but elegant designs. Oris watches are also reasonably priced compared to some other brands of watches and owning a beautiful Oris wristwatch is well within the means of most people.

There is something very satisfying about owning a high-quality watch. Obviously having a watch like this is not simply about having a reliable timepiece. A watch of this kind also is a stylish addition to your wardrobe, and lets the world know that you are a successful person. One of the best choices for a quality high-end wristwatch is the Croton brand.

Croton watches first became available in 1878. The Croton Watch Company started small, on the border of Italy and Switzerland, and by the middle of the 20th century had become popular internationally. The popularity of Croton watches has been due mostly to the combination of the classic, elegant Italian designs and the superb Swiss craftsmanship. They are also considered to be a very good value for the money. While not inexpensive, they are more affordable than premium brands such as Rolex while the quality of the workmanship is at least as good. All Croton watches come with a lifetime warranty. They are worn by young celebrities such as Taylor Swift, Josh Groban, and Miley Cyrus, and the latest designs are advertised in fashion magazines such as Harper's Bazaar. Some vintage Croton watches are sold as collectible art.

In 1991, the Company was acquired by Nationwide Time. The new owners announced that they were committed to bringing out 250 new styles every year at a minimum, and Croton watches have now become available at over 5,000 stores throughout the world. The Nationwide Company has also begun to sell Croton designs on TV shopping networks such as ShopNBC.

The company received some unexpected publicity during the famous 2002 murder trial of Scott Peterson, when there was testimony about fingerprints on a pawned Croton watch that had been inherited by Peterson's slain wife Lacey.

In 2008, to celebrate the 130th anniversary of the company, Croton was re-branded. Now Croton is marketed as a collection of smaller, boutique brands focused on different types of consumers. The new brand names include Nicolet, Manhattan, and Paul Dupree.

For classic and modern designs for men and women, elegance, value, and the highest quality, it's hard to beat Croton watches.

Omega Watches: A Brief History

Omega SA is a high-end watch company based in Biel/Bienne Switzerland. Omega is currently owned by the Swatch Group. The forerunner of Omega was founded at La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland in 1848 by 23-year-old Louis Brandt. After his death, his two sons Louis-Paul and César Brandt built one of Switzerland's largest watch companies. They both passed away in 1903 and left the company in the hands of four young people, the oldest of whom, Paul-Emile Brandt, was not yet 24 but who eventually became the great architect and builder of Omega. His influence would be felt over the next half-century. Omega is still one of the world's most recognizable watch brands today.

As with other luxury watchmakers, Omega has a staggering number of models in various collections, which are updated regularly. Finding a specific Omega watch can be a difficult task due to sheer volume, but don't worry, I'll try to help you out. I have an affinity for Omega watches since my father gave me a 1971 Omega Seamaster Cosmic. When it was time for me to get my own, a Seamaster was the natural choice.

Omega Collections

Omega designs watches for men and for women in 5 collections:

1. Constellation
2. Seamaster
3. Speedmaster
4. De Ville
5. Specialties

If you're shopping for an Omega watch, you'll generally find the first four collections available online. As for the fifth, Specialties are exactly that... specialties (like Beijing 2008), so they're quite rare. I would suggest learning about them on the Omega website before deciding to make a purchase. Buying an Omega watch is a big deal, so you want to do your research and take your time unless you know EXACTLY what you're looking for.

Omega watches are identified by their Reference number, which is unique to each particular model for that given iteration, typically in an ####.##.00 format. For example, two Speedmaster Professional watches may have different reference numbers based on the model year and the case, dial and bracelet colours. An auction site like eBay is a great place to find authentic Omega watches at good prices. However, once you've identified a particular watch you may be interested in, I highly recommend copying the Reference number and visiting the Omega website search page to get a positive identification on the auctioned watch.

Omega Watches With No Name

A practice that was discontinued some 20 years ago, was to on occasion omit the model series name on the face of the watch and simply use the Omega company name. When Omega designed a watch for a particular audience, then it would add the model series to the face. The Omega Railmaster is one such example when it was launched in 1957, but the name has now stuck. Even today, some Omega De Ville watches omit the De Ville name to keep the face less cluttered and more elegant.

A final note about no-name Omega watches is that from the 1960s to the early 1980s, Omega mass-produced bare movements for other manufacturers to build Omega cases. This means that a number of watches from that period were being sold with the Omega company name but with dials and cases that were not Omega. The company ceased this practice because it felt it diluted the Omega brand. Keep this in mind when you find older Omega watches.

Every day, it seems we hear about a new product that claims to do something to make our lives easier and more enjoyable.  It could be a new drug, an easy and delicious way to lose weight, a faster computer, or a more fuel efficient car.  But thanks to the overwhelming number of marketing messages we see and hear on a daily basis, it's hard to take all the claims seriously.  Like they say, you can't believe everything you read, right? 

Well this is how I felt about Philip Stein Teslar watches, especially after they started receiving so much positive media coverage early on.   For awhile there, it seemed like every time I picked up a fashion magazine or tuned into Oprah, they were talking about the stylish beauty and amazing health benefits of Philip Stein watches.  Forgive me, but the skeptic in me comes out whenever I hear nothing but positive stories about a product.  After all, I told myself, if these watches were so amazing, then wouldn't everybody own one already? 

That's when I decided to test the claims made by Philip Stein.  Apparently, I was conducting my research at the same time that many "scammer" web sites were conducting theirs, but I will get back to that later. 

My mission was to prove or disprove the following statements:

• Philip Stein watches use Single Frequency and Multiple Frequency Technology to change the electromagnetic field of the wearer and give them a pervasive sense of calm, better sleep and increased mental awareness.
• Multiple Frequency and Single Frequency technology will both accomplish the same goal in Philip Stein watches, which is to replace the negative extra-low frequencies (ELF) commonly associated with electronic pollution with the same frequencies that are present when the brain is at rest, or in a state of optimal performance (7-9Hz). 

I was relieved to learn later that all the "Teslar scam" sites were basing their opinions on a combination of ignorance (they've never seen nor worn one of the real watches), or frugality (they bought a watch that they thought was a real Teslar, but it turned out to be a replica.  I guess that's what happens when bloggers fail to check their facts. 

Do yourself a favor and check out the facts for yourself at www.philipsteinpress.com.

Treat your special person with a Valentines Day gift to celebrate the occasion. The gift can be anything, whatever you feel just for your partner, which makes the individual happy. You can toss with many ideas about the gift starting with a fantastic bouquet of flowers to diamond studded jewelry. It is not always the romantic partner that you think of presenting a gift. Anyone can occupy the place of your valentine on the occasion. In fact, it is important that you love the company of the specific person and want to express the feeling for the particular individual on the day. The meaning of the celebration on the Valentines Day is to bring people closer to one another.

This time, you can select fashionable watches as Valentines Day gift for your person. You have the variety of watches, I mean wrist watches that speak of high class fashion, which you can choose to communicate your feelings to the special individual. It should speak your emotions in grand style and make the person pleased.

You can visit a watch store or find it online to select your present from varieties of high quality wrist watches. There are well-known brands like Citizen, DKNY, Fossil, Gucci, Adidas, Armani, Omega, Ed Hardy, Tissot, Timex, Disney Mickey, Swiss Army, Bulova, Fendi and Casio and many more, which will give you enough choice to make your pick for the person in your mind.

Watches make perfect style that you prefer and are available in various prices. You will find it really tough to pick out the best for your need. It is more difficult to reach a final selection for watches for women due to the variety in styles because every single watch presents a different attractive image. There are some great models in these watches with an extended price range due to inclusion of trendy accessories. You will find the expensive models with definite edges on style and carry the finest fashion statement.