A visual thinker
The Aquastar Match Race line immediately caught my eye with its visual display of the countdown using five small circles above the time. Every thirty seconds equals half a circle, and you’ll see the circles empty from left to right as the clock ticks down. The watch also gives you a double beep every minute and a single beep every second during the final 10 seconds. It was the quietest watch I tested (which can be a good thing if you don’t want a lot of noise in sequence). A double-click of the sync button rounds the clock down to the next minute, and the stopwatch starts after the gun.

The Swiss import is simple with a single screen on the mineral crystal display. The back of the stainless steel case is engraved with the time zones for major cities—a perfect bonus for traveling. It was one of the smaller models of the group, but it’s also a little heavier because of the materials it’s made with. My model (9010) has a black rubber band, but the bands also come in navy, orange, and yellow in rubber, leather, and Velcro.
$109-$122