Skagen Black Mesh Titanium Men's Watch

Being somewhat picky and not much of a watch enthusiast, I did a bit of research to try and find a nice looking watch that ultimately didn't at all feel like I was wearing a watch. I visited several Jewelers as well as a handful of watch shops when I stumbled accross this Skagen watch. I was immediately struck by the beauty of the black titanium as well as how thin the watch and band were.

A little more research lead to my recent purchase of this beautiful watch. So far I'm in love with it! The luminous hands and numbers leave a little to be desired as they need to be exposed to a bright light before being visible in the dark (and if you have a bright light, why would you even need luminous hands?). Regardless, the bright numbers and hands are fairly easy to see even in low light due to the way they catch the available light on their own.

This watch is sleek, light weight and comfortable. I'm a very satisfied customer.

This is a very nice watch; and when you consider the fact that it is under a hundred dollars, it's a bargain too. The watch is very light and thin, however, the face is large enough to read easily. The band is capable of fine adjustment, which is easily done by the wearer, allowing the watch to fit any wrist perfectly. Further, the band, although made of metal, is very comfortable and doesn't pull wrist and arm hair. It is a classy looking watch that fits well with casual or dress attire.

The watch is extremely thin and sleek. I have gotten quite a few compliments on this watch, and I think it goes well with about anything. The clasp is very effective as it has a hook, a clasp, and a safety clasp to keep it attached. The clasp is also very simple to use once you figure it out (which took me about three minutes). The numbers are large and easy to read (which wasn't really a concern for me but it is still nice). Overall I am extremely pleased with this very light and inexpensive yet good looking watch.

Update: While this is an excellent watch, it is not very durable. I only wear it for the daily activities of a college student and am pretty careful not to bang it on things. However, about 6 months after I bought it I started noticing some minor scratches, and within a year it had a major crack in the face crystal. Also after about a year I had problems with the band, which eventually broke apart. I still love this watch and I would like to buy another one, but the lack of durability makes it a bad value for me.

This is the 2nd Skagen watch that I've owned. The first one suffered from the same clasp problems that others have described and it often popped open on me. I thought I just had some bad luck with that one. As it was getting old and beat up, I bought this one. Almost the same watch except this one was black instead of silver like my old one was.

I've only had this watch for a couple of weeks, but I cannot wear it any longer. I like the slim lightweight watches that they produce, but the clasps are just horrible. The clasp on this one is stainless steel while the band in titanium. It is painted black in order to match the band.

Within just a few days of starting to wear this watch, I developed a very itchy rash on my wrist right where the clasp touches it. I didn't make the connection to the watch for about 2 days and my rash was just getting worse. I thought there might be some kind of left over chemical from cleaning / painting on the watch that was causing my reaction. I've worn a watch all of my adult life and I have never had a problem like this before.

I decided to clean the clasp with some cotton swabs and alcohol. When I sat down to clean the watch, I realized that the paint is coming off of the clasp already. This was before I even started cleaning so it was not caused by the alcohol. I work in an office so I'm not very hard on watches. There should be no reason that the watch is losing it's paint into my skin with less than a week of wear on it.

[...]

I've had this watch about 6 months now. I still love it. Now to address some of the reviews I've read here.

Watch Band:
After 6 months, I have noticed a small area where the paint has worn off a little, it's hardly even noticeable unless you get the light just right on it. I've only lost paint on the clasp around the edges where it rubs on stuff. Also, the spot where it has rubbed off the band is where it rests on the desk when I type on the computer.

Clasp:
I am a full time police officer and part time firefighter/EMT. With all of my daily activity, I have NEVER had my watch fall off. Once in a great while the outer clasp may unlatch, but the second clasp has never come undone. BIG NOTE here, when I first bought the watch, I was trying to adjust the clasp to fit my wrist. I accidentally put the clasp on backwards and didn't realize it at first since I wasn't use to it yet. The watch would clasp, but would come undone very easy because the secondary clasp wasn't actually latching properly, actually not at all. There is also a small thin piece of metal that needs to be properly placed on the band or else it won't cinch down on the band either. So yes, the initial familiarization with the clasp can cause problems, once you figure it out, it is very secure. Most comfortable metal watch band I have ever wore.

Watch Face:
I have struck my watch several times on rough surfaces. I have two tiny tiny scratches on the quartz, and one small scratch on the casing paint.

I love this watch. And unless something goes wrong in the near future, I'll likely buy a Skagen again the next time. I really like the look, how thin they are, and they are by far the most comfortable watch I've ever had.... And so to all those reviewers that complain about the clasp, I think it's user error. Read the book it comes with very carefully, and you should be fine.

****UPDATE 03-06-13****
I've owned this watch nearly two years now. The quartz did end up cracking a few months ago, however it remained water tight. It continues to spread though. The clasp is still rock solid, to this day it stays very secure and never comes undone. There was a bit more fading with the band in high wear areas, but still only noticeable upon close inspection in the right light. The paint on the face has held up very well too, still only a few micro scratches. The mesh band does tend to stretch a little over time, but very little. Overall I'm still very happy with this watch, despite the quartz cracking. I plan to replace it with another Skagen when the face stops being water proof. Lets hope the newer versions have better quartz. Read more ›