Summer is almost here, well not really but I swear it will get warmer soon.
It's been a while since I wore my Islander ISL-68. Its fully lumed Great Wave Off Kanagawa dial gives it a summer vibe that invoke spending the sunset hours at a beachfront bar sipping unpronounceable drinks topped with ridiculously small paper umbrellas.
Meanwhile I still had to wear a sweater today when I got out to drink my morning coffee.
But I'm an optimist and I know that within a few weeks I'll be back to the usual routine of rushing between air conditioned places in order to avoid a heat stroke. Ah, the pleasures of summer: The humidity, the mosquito's bites, wearing shorts while sitting on a seat that was cooking in the sun for hours...
The main issue that I have with the ISL-68 isn't its lack of weather polyvalence, but it's heft. I bought it because I wanted a turtle, but the bad people at Seiko decided I could either have one that was too large for me or a mini that had a cyclops and didn't really look like a shrunk turtle. The ISL, being slightly smaller than a turtle but with the same case shape and crown placement was just what I wanted. Or so I thought.
I never considered that it was also a THICK beast with a total height easily exceeding 15mm and that it was also blessed with a massive bracelet.
As a consequence, the ISL-68 is a heavy beast. It's well made, it's reliable, it has a very nice dial and fitting it with a 12Hr bezel enabled LIW to keep the dial clean while maintaining legibility.
But apparently it was not enough because the ISL-68 was discontinued after a relatively short period. I'm just happy that I own one, even if it's too heavy and too specific to be worn everyday.
I'm a big fan of watches that are interesting because they are either unique, have interesting features, well designed or simply offer a great value for their price.
Got almost 80F the other day where I'm at. So, definitely getting summer vibes.
I love Hokusai!!
Have to tried a different strap, I also somewhat stopped some watches due to heft. 🥲