There Are Pandas, and Then There Are Pandas.
And this isn't either of them! The Pandas we're talking about here, are watches, not bears. And what got me thinking about them (again) was a link posted this morning by @cm.rook who pointed a few of us to the very attractive (and not terribly priced) Yema "Rallygraph" Panda which, in it's most traditional arrangement, looks like the one on the left, but can also be had in the version on the right: The model on the left is a true Panda, while the model on the right is called a reverse Panda. The reason for that distinction is clear--Panda bears, only come in the first arrangement. Now at this point, everyone should be thinking about the most well-know Panda, The Rolex Panda, which is actually a Daytona, and among Rolex Daytonas, the most famous of which is the Paul Newman Daytona, which was famous first, because it was Paul's, and second because it sold at auction for $17.8 million (US Dollars). The story of that auction is well-known so I'll only...
Nov 8, 2019
Two years ago I was looking for a field watch stunt double - that being watches that kinda have the look and feel of field watches but are perhaps….not. I settled on a pair of Timex Ameritus Sport models - mainly because they were inexpensive and I had just the right amount of money leftover on an Amazon gift card to cover the price of both.
The light green dial / olive green bezel version shipped with a matching olive green nato strap which was perfect. The silver dial / silver bezel version originally shipped with a white silicon strap but was quickly replaced with a beige & black nato strap.
The Timex Ameritus Sport models actually look pretty good with color matched coin-edge bezel’s featuring GMT 24hrs markers, lume on the both dial hour markers and hands, and understated but present crown-guards. Also the hour markers and numbers are reversed between these two watches - 12, 3, 6, 9 vs. 1,2,4,5,7,8,10,11.
My only complaint is the ever present loud ticking of the Timex movement, I can hear it from across the room. So like my pair of Seiko SNK series Automatics these Timex Ameritus Sport’s make great weekend around-the-house or wash the car in the driveway watches, I’m glad I got’em!
Movement: Timex cal. M902 Quartz Movement w/hacking.
Complications: Date (Quick Date)
Case: 42mm Silver Tone Brass w/Stainless Steel Case Back
Crystal: Scratch Resistant Mineral
Bezel: Fixed w/GMT 24hrs Markers
Band: 20mm
WR: 50-meter