A few posts ago I lamented over the costly breakdown of my beloved Seiko Black Monster and how that has filled a void in my heart, but those days are a distant memory and now there is a new love in my life!

It’s weird how the few watches I own now all caught me by complete surprise, and this one is no exception.  This watch just kind of popped out a display case and when I put it on it was complete magic, and now that I’ve had it for a little over a month now, I can tell you exactly what I think of it.

T17168642 – Tissot

Well to start I didn’t get any ordinary Tissot PRC 200, I got the 2007 limited edition commemorating the 2007 Pan-American games (whatever they are).  The difference is that instead of having white hands, all of the chronograph hands are in a very vivid yellow that contrasts the blue dial nicely, and it has an engraving on the back which I’ve never really been bothered to look at.

To be honest with you though, I’ve never really liked chronographs and watches that are shiny general, but as I age into my late-20’s I’ve noticed that my tastes have been changing and that I really don’t mind.

Something that I don’t really mind either is the tachy-meter and what I love about this quartz chronograph is that it operates kind of like an automatic chronograph so you don’t ever really notice.  The seconds are the 6 o’clock subdial and the push button clasp is solid.  What I love more about this watch is that it’s not some over-sized over-shiny silly thing that are aimed toward men with confidence issues, it’s only 40mm so it sits on your wrist like any ordinary wristwatch:

T17168642 – Tissot

After a month I can say I’m absolutely in love with this watch.  It is the the most dramatic departure from my “normal” tastes in wristwatches, but I believe I have come into an age where I can wear a watch like this and wear it well.

Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely adore Taiwan. I’ve never been there before but my girlfriend is Taiwan born and bred and she is a strong supporter of what is called the Taiwan Green Party, which is the Taiwanese National Party and home to the most fervent fans of traditional Taiwan. I support their politics. I have no idea what those politics may be, but because she supports Taiwan, so do I. She is fiercely nationalistic, and for her type of country-lovin’ Taiwanese I have the perfect watch:

Honestly I have no idea what the official name of this watch is since the only sites I’ve seen with this watch are written in characters I don’t understand, but I simply call it the Ball Taiwan Limited Edition. It is a little puzzling to me why Ball would introduce such a watch, but the marketing genius behind it is undeniable. I’ve never seen a country-specific limited edition watch, but I know tons of people with a very strong national pride. Make an India limited edition, or a China limited edition, and you have the formula to make BILLIONS!

It is said that a train crash occurred in American history because one of the conductors of that train had a watch that was 4 minutes slow. That prompted a man named Ball to found a brand of watches with unparalleled accuracy so that accidents like those could be prevented, and since then whenever anyone wanted to know the correct time they asked a train conductor in part because they knew he carried a BALL. Ball watches have been synonymous with accuracy and reliability ever since. The revival of the brand came as a whisper to me, and are still a whisper as they are very hard to find even online, but today’s Balls are known primarily because of their use of tritium gas tubes which result in superior nighttime illumination seen in no other watch brand.

Personally I’m wondering as to what prompted Ball to make a big divers watch for the generally smaller in stature Taiwanese population, but by all means: If you are fat enough, muscular enough, and if you can find the thing, please get it. If Ball made a South Korea limited edition, I would certainly consider it, but I’ll pass on this Ball.