A Stainless-Steel Case Budget Digital Watch? The Armitron Rubik

Armitron Rubik

Dimensions: 34.5mm wide, 9mm thick, 39mm lug-to-lug, 18mm lug width

Case: stainless steel

Case Back: stainless steel

Strap: stainless steel

Crystal: mineral crystal

Movement: quartz

Water Resistance: 50m

I remember Armitron watches from my childhood, as my father was a fan and had some of their earliest digital models, so Armitron has been on my radar for a while. I do have one analog model, a solar field watch that is in my odds and ends box. I just never really clicked with it. I periodically take a look at their newer releases, so I was excited to see the release of their Retro Collection. I got a Griffy first and have been very happy with it. It’s the budget version of the Bulova Computron, Yema LED, or Hamilton Pulsar, and it's a great little watch. My experience with the Griffy led to me looking at other releases in their Retro Collection and I decided to get a Rubik. That was a great decision. As much as I like the Griffy, I like the Rubik even more. This watch evokes a nostalgic feeling of the digital watches offered by Seiko, Citizen, Bulova, and others from the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, which is not surprising as Armitron was an up-and-coming new US watchmaker in that period. I think the Rubik is even more evocative of that retro vibe than the Griffy, owing to the large and overly bright display on the Griffy.

What is truly remarkable about this watch is the fact that you get a stainless-steel case and bracelet for the price of a Casio or Timex digital watch with a resin case. It lists on Armitron’s website for $55, but you can usually find it for less on Amazon or eBay. It has a list of features close to a Casio or Timex and includes hour, minute, seconds, day of the week, date, 100-year calendar, stopwatch with lap and split time, alarm, hourly chime, 12/24-hour format, second time zone and LCD backlight, which is not horrible but is not anywhere near Indiglo or Illuminator quality. If I can forgive Timex for not including Indiglo on the Q Digital, I can easily overlook a somewhat weak backlight on the Rubik. Another small issue is the volume of the alarm. It is a bit faint when on the wrist, but it does sound for a full 40 seconds, which is longer than any other digital watch alarm in my collection.

I would definitely recommend this watch to anyone with a love of digital watches, or even anyone who just likes them. You will be getting a full stainless-steel case watch with quite a bit of functionality from a company with more than a bit of their own horological heritage and history.