Seemingly following in the footsteps of Vacheron Constantin, Ulysse Nardin steps away from aggressive modern style watches with this throwback timepiece aptly named the Classico. Forget the cheesy, super market pasta sauce sounding name and you get three versions of a pretty decent watch. The 40mm wide case is done in either 18k rose or white gold, and is water resistant to 50 meters. Dial colors include silvered, black, or blue. Design is right out of your grandfather's heyday. If it suited his type well, how wrong can you go?

The watch has a good movement too. An in-house made UN caliber 815 automatic movement that has been COSC certified, with a solid 22k automatic rotor visible through the sapphire caseback window . Good thing it has a date as well. Some of these throw-back models are too minimalistic for my taste. I prefer a date on watches personally. Here the petite window is nicely framed in gold. The sunburst polish on the dial is a nice retro touch as well (also the lug design). Pleasing as well is the fact that the hands and luminant covered, and there are lume dots over the hour markers. The alligator straps are brown for the pictured version, while the black and blue dialed versions are matched to black and blue straps respectively. Should be available soon.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Dior has slowly but increasingly been sneaking out watch releases over the past few years. High style, without as many ephemeral qualities as you might think. Meaning the watches could easily be classics decades from now. Love them or leave them you have to admit they are interesting. Here are two new styles for the Christal watch line. Called the Christal 42mm Automatic (not very creative for a name), the watches are designed with what feels like a combo between modern sporty dive style watch and art deco.

The case is 42mm wide in steel. There are black sapphires on the bracelet in pyramid shapes, with two different style bracelets available. The dial is black lacquer with a continuation of the pyramid theme in the center. The version with diamonds has a "weave" patten done in the middle with diamonds. I like the design of the case and bracelet much better than the dial, as the latter feels cluttered. It has all the hours in Arabic numerals, and then markers in between them. It just feels confusing at the very least.

Inside the watch is a Swiss ETA 2824-2 automatic movement. It is visible though the sapphire crystal caseback window, with a black lacquer topped rotor. The diamond version has 1.47 carats, and a total of 190 stones tastefully applied. Available soon.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Summer is more than here, it is in middle season territory and hopefully you've been able to enjoy yourself despite economic issues that have have put a damper in your summer recreational budget. Part of summer time fun is summer time gear. What better item to define this ideal (especially these days) than a value priced luxury watch born from the surf-rich shores of Hawaii. Enter one of my favorite sporty timepieces this year - the Bathys Benthic line. A watch available in various styles, pictured is the Benthic Automatic (a quartz version is also available) with a mother of pearl or solid color dial. Note that the watch is currently available with a rubber strap. The pictured metal bracelet is coming soon I hear - but I wanted to show you how pretty it will look.

The steel case (also available in black PVD) is just over 44mm wide with a rotating diver's bezel. The dial is mother of pearl, black, or orange. You'll appreciate the large sized numerals and hour indicators that are treated well with luminant. The hands are easy to read and in different shapes to assist with legibility. The automatic version has a Swiss ETA 2892 movement inside, and is possibly the best priced watch on the market with this high grade movement inside. With 200 meters of water resistance, this watch is truly a diver's buddy, a surfer's friend, or a night club companion. It comes in a rugged Pelican travel case and is well priced at just under $1,700 (likely a smidgen more with the metal bracelet when it arrives). The quartz version of the watch is less.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

This set of three watches from Montblanc represents a unique collection each with emphasis on using diamonds in different aesthetic manners - showcasing three of the ways that diamonds are frequently used on women's watches to make them (and the wearer) more beautiful. The collection is the Star Eternal Lady line of watches and includes an automatic three hand model, an automatic with a moon phase indication complication, and a quartz movement based model.

What each model shares in common is the highly decorated 18k white gold case set with diamonds all over the case including 42 on the bezel, as well as a mother of pearl dial. The Star Lady Diamonds Automatic model features a clustered dial look. In addition to the 'galaxy' of diamonds, there is a special array of diamonds that shapes the iconic Montblanc emblem. Next, the Star Eternal Lady Moonphase Diamonds automatic features a more traditional use of diamonds used for hour indicators as well and for rings around the various dials. The third model, being the Star Eternal Lady Diamonds with the quartz movement represents use of diamonds to create organic patterns on the bezel - a particularly common use of diamonds, but difficult to pull-off well. In total, the three watches have over 1,500 Wesselton diamonds total which amount to over 10 carats. The watches come together in a box set.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

I think Perrelet got it smack dab n the middle between formal and sport watches with this Automatic Tourbillon watch in titanium (and 18k rose gold). A few years ago it would have been absurd to mix gold and titanium, and today looking at this watch, the harmony seems almost natural.

With what could be described as a very Jaquet Droz inspired dial layout, the face of this watch has an off-center dial with a large, nicely made tourbillon serving as the small seconds. No nonsense gold colored hour markers are both aggressive and classy, while the splash of carbon fiber tells you that this is a less sensitive watch. Inside the 42mm wide case with its sandwiched titanium and smooth gold bezel and back, an automatic Perrelet caliber P161 runs with a massive 110 hours of power reserve. Really nice to have that type of power life as well as automatic winding. Lastly, it is certified as a chronometer, something less than average for a tourbillon based timepiece.

While the watch looks effortlessly marketable, it is in a limited edition of just 20 pieces. This does sort of make sense since the market for ultra-expensive complex sport watches is still niche to say the least. A rubber strap, double anti reflective coating on the sapphire crystal and 50 meters of water resistance make this an all too tempting investment to get dirty. For more information you can contact Perrelet USA at (954) 575-7980.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

I think a lot of people only consider getting an automatic pet feeder when planning a vacation, but they're actually pretty handy year round for keeping your pets on a regular eating schedule even if yours isn't. And the Perfect Pet Feeder was designed to do just that, or in their words it's meant to "feed your pet flawlessly, for a lifetime." How can you argue with that?

Made of stylishly shaped durable stainless steel, it's dishwasher safe and has battery back-up to keep things going smoothly in the event of a power outage. Programmable for up to 6 meals/snacks for 1 or 2 pets, this is just the thing to take some of the hectic stress out of your life (and your pets). I know my dog would love to know she doesn't have to wait for me to get up on Saturday morning before she gets breakfast! $699

Want the look of an automatic movement watch with the accuracy of the quartz movement? Fossil attempts to do that with their twist line and all for under $100. What's the magic? It's basically a quartz watch with a little slice cut out of the dial that shows an automatic movement which powers the second dial. The stainless steel watch is available in mens and ladies versions in rectangular and round shapes.

The Virtuoso is a self-playing violin that was developed by a former NASA administrator. The instrument does not have any built in speakers, though it appears to be mounted atop one, and uses no wiring or gadgetry to produce sound. The sound is actually produced by the bow being pushed and pulled across the strings of the violin, just as though a real player had taken it up! Not only is the instrument interesting to watch and listen to, but it takes up far less room than a player piano would, making it more practical for those who live in smaller spaces and do not play instruments but want the sound of classical music performed live in their home. Price: $17,500.

[via SciFi Tech]