Timechant Watches Review
You might not be familiar with Timechant watches. While that is the name of the company, they primarily market their watches under the names of their brands, the best-known of which are Five Senses watches and NYSW watches (New York Standard Watch.)
Timechant watches offer high accuracy and reliability at an affordable price point. You won’t find gold or diamonds or overly elaborate complications, but many of their models offer some other interesting features that may inspire you to want to check out the brand.
Read on for the full Timechant watches review.
Build Quality
Movements
Innovation
Styling and Features
Care and Maintenance
Warranty
Prices
Where to Buy
Summary
Timechant Watches Build Quality
The build quality is best described as adequate. Cases are made from something described as “alloy.” The watch face is protected y mineral crystal, or if you prefer, regular glass. We weren’t able to find any information at all about water resistance, so it’s best to assume that these watches are not water resistant.
The watches are made in Hong Kong, and their models all feature battery operated quartz electronic movements. These movements are sourced either from Chinese manufacturers or, in the case of a few models, from Citizen in Japan.
Many Chinese manufacturers use Japanese movements because Chinese consumers like to buy foreign goods and including a foreign movement makes it easier for them to sell domestically. For U.S. buyers, the inclusion of a Citizen movement in Timechant watches means that the watch is likely to be more accurate and reliable than if it were made with a no-name Chinese movement.
That said, most quartz movements from any source are fairly accurate these days. That’s likely the case for all of the watches in the company’s product line.
Click here to shop for Timechant watches at Amazon.
Despite their relatively low price points, these watches do offer some interesting innovation. Many of their watches are advertised as being “atomic.” That doesn’t mean that they are nuclear powered, but rather it means that they are able to set the time automatically and maintain accurate time by synchronizing with a radio signal broadcast from a U.S. government-owned atomic clock located in Ft. Collins, Colorado.
Another interesting innovation is their talking feature. This feature is billed as being useful for people with poor vision, but anyone can make use of it. With the press of a button, the watch can tell you the time or the date by speaking it to you in a male voice.
Finally, many of the watches are solar powered. These watches have a built-in battery, but the battery is recharged via a solar cell that is built in to the watch face, making it unnecessary to replace the battery at regular intervals, as one ordinarily needs to do with a quartz watch.
The company has several different brands, the best-known of which are the Five Senses brand and the NYSW (New York Standard Watch) brand. Each has their own styling, though the “atomic” and talking features can be found in both brands.
The NYSW watches tend to have the most traditional looks. These watches have a simpler, more austere look to them and include analog displays.
The Five Senses watches are a bit more diverse in styling, and some of the watches in this line have digital displays, rather than analog displays. There’s at least one watch in the line that looks like a chronograph, but isn’t one. The description says “sub-dials and small hands are for decoration only.) That’s odd, but it’s a solar powered radio watch that speaks the time and looks like a chronograph, but is not.
A few analog models include a digital date complication.
Models in the main product line are mostly men’s models, though they do include a few watches for women. Styling is mostly of the unisex variety, so men and women can wear them.
Care and maintenance is fairly typical of all quartz watches. You will have to replace the battery every few years. You can do this yourself or have a jeweler do it for you. Aside from this issue, you should try to keep your Timechant watches away from strong magnetic fields or extremes of temperature, as these can harm the movement.
You should also try to keep your watch away from water, as they are not particularly water resistant. With proper care, you should get a few years of solid use from your watch.
You can see a video about Timechant watches here:
For a relatively inexpensive watch, the warranty is fairly good. You’ll receive a two year warranty against defects in materials and craftsmanship with the purchase of your watch. Obviously, this warranty doesn’t cover batteries or abuse, but if you have any problems, you can visit the company’s Website or contact your retailer and they’ll arrange to have the watch replaced or repaired.
Many Chinese watches come with no stated warranty at all, but the warranty of two years is more or less the industry standard. It’s the same length of warranty that you’d receive if you were buying a Rolex, for example.
Prices are quite reasonable. The company makes dozens of different models, but most of them seem to be priced in the $30-$60 range. We didn’t seen any models for sale that were priced at more than about $80 or so, making them quiet affordable, especially for a watch that will set itself automatically and tell you the time by voice.
You can find them for sale at a number of online retailers, and that’s where you’ll find the best deals if you’re looking for a discount. You may find them in a few discount stores, too, but you almost certainly won’t see them in jewelry stores or fine department stores.
Timechant Watches Summary
If you’re looking for gold, platinum, elaborate mechanical complications or fine gemstones, this brand may not be the best choice for you. They do offer a good, reliable watch with some interesting features.
Many of their models offer the ability to set themselves automatically by synchronizing with an atomic clock via radio. They can also speak the time and the date to you, if you like. A number of models are also capable of recharging via solar power, making it unnecessary to regularly replace the battery.
On top of all of that, most models are quite affordable, with nearly all of the product line priced in the $30-$80 range. If you like innovation, accuracy and affordability, you may find Timechant watches to be a good choice.