Time for Holiday Gifts!

It is that time of year again! Time to go looking for gifts for all the loved ones in your life. For those of you who have loved ones who love pens and watches, I will be posting about some great gifts and deals online!

First deal is on watches. World of Watches is running a great holiday special. WoW is running a Christmas Coupon Spectacular with some great deals. With some watches at up to $500.00 off, there are some incredible deals to be had.

World of Watches is one of my favorite places to drool over watches. It offers one of the larger online selections of watches, ranging from simple inexpensive to complicated bling. I highly recommend World of Watches. If anyone wanted to get me a gift from there, I would not complain at all!

A Well Spent Saturday Afternoon

Every year during the first weekend in May, Hubby and I travel to Mansfield, OH for the annual Civil War Show. Hubby is a Civil War author, and has not missed a Mansfield show in over 10 years. Every year, but one, I have gone with him. Walked through the buildings, and visited all of the vendors and book sellers. It is great fun for my hubby, and I love seeing him having fun like that. He is like a little kid looking through the pictures, tin-types, relics, and books.

This weekend, the shoe was on the other foot. The Ohio Pen Show was held this weekend in Dublin, Ohio. It was pen Mecca for the collector. Exhibitors from all over the U.S. were at the show. There were a few manufacturers there, but most of the tables went to dealers. Stylus Magazine had a table, and this blogger took advantage of the extra discount offered for new sign-ups at the show. I loved looking at all of the dealer tables. I was good–too good. I signed up for magazines, bought one automatic pencil, and that was it!

One dealer at the show is relatively new to the art and business of pen making. Edison Pen Co. owner, Brian, was there. Hubby really liked one of the Edison pens, and the nib was spectacular. I am not fond of medium nibs, but it was very smooth and Hubby loved it. I am sure that we will be partaking of Edison Pen Co.’s wares often.

The show inspired me again. I will be posting more about it, the dealers, and manufacturers over the next week!

When You Wish Upon A Star..

The Monteverde Pen Company is introducing a new collection of pens this fall. To honor the great contributions that Walt Disney made through idea and film, Monteverde created three new lines of pens:

The Sleeping Beauty Collection

The Sleeping Beauty Collection

The Fantasia Collection

The Fantasia Collection

The Walt Disney Signature Collection

The Walt Disney Signature Collection

The Disney movies inspired dreams and feelings for the rich characters and story lines. I have very fond memories of seeing the Disney movies, and loving the characters in them. These pens inspire similar feelings. The rich colors, beautiful lines, and styles represent the movies of the Disney Studios. Each collection includes a fountain pen, rollerball, and ballpoint. The Sleeping Beauty collection is crafted out of pearly white resin, and has a rose on the end cap. The Fantasia collection’s deep blue resin body is painted from the inside, using a technique called Nabu, and a blue agate is set into the clip. The Walt Disney Signature collection has carbon fiber accents in the pen cap, as well as an onyx stone set in the clip.

The collections are limited to 1959 of each pen type for the Sleeping Beauty line, 1940 of each pen type for the Fantasia line, and 1901 of each pen type for the Walt Disney Signature line. The number of pens in each line is in honor of the release year of the movie it represents, or in the case of the Walt Disney Signature, the birth year of Walt Disney himself.

Any true collector of Disneyana would love one of these pens. I know I would!

For the Baseball Lover in Us All

Looking for a pen for the baseball lover? Want to celebrate a good post-season for your team? Want to say that you actually own a piece of baseball history? Here is a pen just for that purpose.

Ball Park Pens manufactures a line of pens made from the wood from the seats of several of the oldest, and most famous ballparks in the country. The pens are crafted from the wood from the seats of Comiskey Park, Baltimore Memorial Stadium, Milwaukee County Stadium, Crosley Field, Wrigley Field, Yankee Stadium, Ebbets Field, Forbes Field, and more. The seat wood was saved from the demolition of the parks, or in the case of Wrigley Field, from the renovation of the seating areas in the park. Not all of the parks are baseball parks. The company makes pens from other stadiums as well, including the Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Memorial Stadium, Ohio Stadium, and Green Bay Stadium, to name a few. There are two styles of pens, the color top pen, and the classic pen. Fenway Park pendantIf you don’t like to write, cuff-links, pendants, and bracelets are also available. The pendants and bracelets make great gifts for women.

Each item comes with a certificate of authenticity, stating what stadium the wood in the product came from. The company has been featured in Stylus Magazine, Playboy Magazine, and others. Now anyone can own a piece of sports history!

Review: Invicta Lady Abyss Swiss Quartz

A ladies dive watch with a simple, pretty face. This is the best way to describe the Invicta Lady Abyss Swiss Quartz watch. The Lady Abyss is a true dive watch. However, it is a dive watch with a few flaws.

While simple in design–a three-handed watch with a date window–it is as rugged as a dive watch needs to be. The Lady Abyss has a 34mm case, and a face that is large and clear enough to be read easily in good light. The Mother of Pearl in the face is subtle, and pretty. The date window is magnified through the crystal via a small magnifying. The hour markers, hands, and pointer mark on the unidirectional rotating bezel are painted with Tritnite® luminous paint. Tritnite® does allow the watch markers to glow in the dark if it is charged in bright light, but does not hold its luminosity for very long. This makes it unreliable in very low light for extended periods of time.

The band of the Lady Abyss is sturdy, and does not feel cheap or flimsy. The links are stainless steel, and move easily. However, the pins between the links are easily moved with a small pin, and may become loosened over time. The fold-over clasp is tight and strong, and with the safety should not open under stress.

The Invicta Lady Abyss Swiss Quartz watch is not the most complicated dive watch available for women. However, if you are looking for a simple, sturdy watch capable of withstanding the rigors of basic scuba diving and snorkeling, this would make a good choice.

Invicta Lady AbyssCase material: stainless-steel
Case diameter: 32 millimeters
Case Thickness: 6 millimeters
Band material: stainless-steel
Band length: womens-standard
Band width: 14 millimeters
Dial color: white-mother-of-pearl
Bezel material: stainless-steel
Bezel Function: Uni-directional
Calendar: Date window
Movement: swiss-quartz
Water resistant depth: 660 Feet

The Ultimate in Low-Maintenance

A low-maintenance watch, in my book, is one that does not have to be set for the time or the date, does not have to be wound, and looks good while doing those things. The Oceanus Ladies 5-motor watch does all of these things.

Oceanus ladies five-motor, solar, atomic chronographOceanus is Casio’s higher-end chronograph line, and this model follows in classic chrono fashion. It is a classic five-motor chronograph, with a clean sporty face. Each motor controls a movement on the watch face (second hand, chronograph, dual time, date, and 24 hour time). There is no crown on this watch. It does not need one. Once the watch is set for the home time-zone, it will set itself for the time and date. It automatically receives signals from the time-keeping center in Fort Collins, CO every day, resetting the time to split-second accuracy. It can also be manually reset, so you will always know the true accurate time. Along with resetting itself for the time, the date is also automatically set. Never again will you need to fumble to reset the date on your watch at the beginning of a new month. It sets itself for Daylight Savings Time, too.

 

 

The face of the watch is a solar cell, powering the watch for up to four months on one full charge. As long as the watch is kept in relatively bright light for part of the day, it will never stop. It never needs a battery change, or an automatic watch winder to power it. It just needs to be worn in the light.

 

The ladies model of this watch comes in a nice stainless steel case, with either a bracelet or a leather strap. The face is available in black, soft pink, or white. It is not available in too many brick-and-mortar stores yet, but there are several online stores carrying it.

Bright, Like the Sun!

I have always loved the Namiki Vanishing Point Pen collections. I own one, and it is wonderful to write with. Recently, Namiki came out with a new color for this wonderful pen. Yellow! Well, Namiki calls this color Goldenrod, but it looks like a bright pretty yellow to me.

The Namiki Vanishing Point Pen

For those who do not know about the Vanishing Point pens, Namiki designed a fountain pen with a mechanism that is similar to that of a ballpoint click pen. Click the pen, the fountain pen nib comes out. Click it again, and the nib is hidden behind a sleeve that protects it, and prevents it from drying out. It is an ingenious design. It also allows you to carry this pen without worrying about the nib, losing the cap, etc. Fine, medium, and broad nibs are available in the pen, meaning most will find a nib size that suits their writing style. It takes both Pilot cartridges, as well as a converter, making it convenient to fill, as well. Both men and women would like the width of the barrel–it is comfortable, without being too skinny or broad.

If you have the opportunity to pick up one of these beauties, I highly recommend it.

Cheap Thrills

Skagen Steel Watch Sometimes, you just find a great deal that you can’t pass up. I found one of those this week. A local discount department store had a small display of several brands of mid-range watches at nearly half off. I had to partake–it would have been a crime if I hadn’t.

Here is my new watch. An inexpensive one, as watches go, but a nice one. It is a Skagen from last year’s collection. The face is rectangle mother-of-pearl, with tiny crystals at all points but 12, 3, 6, and 9. It is a different shape and style for me. This is my first rectangle-shaped every-day style watch. I think I will like it. I was hoping to find a good, mid-sized chronograph or multi-function watch, but settled for a simple face with a date window.

The best part about inexpensive watches, is that you CAN wear them for every day. I wear watches to match what I am wearing, or what I am doing. I have several everyday watches, and I change them like my moods. I think my mood will be rectangle tomorrow…