This collection is probably already completely sold out by the time this is actually posted, but Seiko and Rowing Blazers has released a third round of watches, and they still look pretty good.

Rowing Blazers is a more luxurious brand focusing on a preppy aesthetic, for rich people. I’m not 100% sold on that, but the watches they have released with Seiko look so great.

There are four dial variants, a purple dial, a pink dial, a yellow dial, and a white cream dial. Each of them are based off of the Seiko 5 with really interesting color combinations that feel modern and fun compared to the colors Seiko normally uses. They come with a metal three link bracelet and a nato strap in a limited edition tin.

I love this particular Seiko 5 chassis, it’s so sporty and doesn’t look like anything else on the market just on it’s own, now add more modern color combinations (if not a bit corporate) and you have a winner in my books.

I probably should have mentioned that the Wind Up Watch Fair has been going on for the last couple weeks, and that might be the reason there are so many new watch releases. Nevertheless, yet another new watch, and another new favorite honestly. This is the Vero Meridian and I think I can finally get on board with Vero. As usual all photos used are from the brands website and this is not a review.

I have mixed feelings around Vero, on one hand their designs have been too “Every Day Carry-y” for me, that will be a recurring verb here. On the other hand, they’re based in Portland, only a few hours away from me, make great tool watches and truly have their own design language. The Meridian takes those great things, and amplifies them to make a watch I really really like.

The Meridian comes in two really nice colors, a beige with a a blue and a red outer ring at the edge of the dial, and an inverted blue dial variant, both on a pleasant looking sector dial. I am loving sector dials the more I see them, and this one has a pleasant step down reminiscent of the Traska Summiteer. The handset and arabic numerals are simple and get the job done, but don’t look boring thanks to the proportions. The lume is not the great, but it’s there at least.

The case and bracelet are incredible, coming in at a diameter of 38 millimeters and a lug to lug of 44.5 millimeters, it will wear nicely on quite a few wrists. And what a relief that is, because that case looks incredible, a chunky bezel that has circular brushing on the top mixed with polished bits on the bracelet and sides of the case gives an interesting but simple tool watch look. The bracelet looks incredible, five links across, similar to vintage beads of rice bracelets, and uses the NodeX system for tool-less micro adjustments.

The movement is just a Sellita SW-210-01, but it is so well finished with heat blued screws black rhodium plating, and “snail-finished gears” The case back is engraved nicely with the watches tagline, a little thing showing how to open the case back, and boring stuff like the lug width and the water resistance.

This is the first Vero watch design that I’m actually interested in, my only real problems being the 38 millimeter diameter. (I’m partial to 36 millimeters) I hope Vero continues to explore colorful small watches in the meantime, i’ll dream about the Vero Meridian.