Chase West USA : Your next travel watch?
One of my most important travel accessories while on the move is my watch. When going from hot to cold environments, dry to wet, all travellers should have a watch that’s going to last. For this blog I’m going to be telling you all about my experience with the Chase West USA Charleston Gold watch and why it might be your next travel watch.
Chase West USA are kindly sponsoring this post and are offering you a discount of 15% using my code – PRIMABL – at check out, should you guys wish to order one for yourself after reading my review. Please note that this post contains affiliate links which may result in me receiving a small commission. As part of the sponsorship I received a watch to test out and review. As with any of the sponsored posts I write, I am always objective and promise you a fair and objective review. Now, let’s dive in.
Who are Chase West USA?
With USA in the name you can fathom a guess where Chase West USA originate from. Chase West are a USA based company, with their style originating from the southern states of the USA.
According to their website, they value three things: Freedom – to do what you desire, Style – to stand out from the crowd, and Heritage – to love where you’re from. These values sound great to me and definitely align with my views as a travel writer. But the real test in whether they mean this is in the quality and design of their watches.
When on Chase West USA’s website and social profiles there’s an obvious outdoors theme: rugged, nature, weathered, wilderness. And it is this reason why I was interested in working with them – they are built for people who are on the go but want to look stylish while they’re at it.
What I look for in a watch when travelling
As mentioned above a watch for me is such an important item to pack wherever I go. I wear my watch any time I am outside, it’s gotten to the point where I feel naked without one on.
For me, a watch is a must-have travel companion both for the practical reasons and for the reasons of adding a bit of style to your outfit. Not everything has to be cargo shorts and hiking boots, sometimes pants and a nice top is called for when you want to peruse the high street or old bazaar – the tricky part is finding a watch that can be suitable for both.
When looking for a watch, comfort is high on my list, practicality in terms of water resistance to a certain depth, rugged features, a date window (handy when you’re booking things on the fly), and a watch that can take a few knocks.
Chase West USA: The Charleston Gold
As part of the review I selected the Men’s Charleston Gold with a black watch face and black-leather strap. There are three men’s styles available: Richmond Silver, Charleston Gold, and Austin Black. For women there’s Asheville Silver, Charlotte Rose Gold, and Savannah Black. Each watch offers the option of a black or white face, except for the Austin and Savannah Black which only come with a black face option.
The strap options for men’s watches are black leather, brown leather, brown suede, and tan suede. For women’s watches the strap options are brown leather, tan leather, pink leather, or blue leather.
My Charleston Gold features:
- Case: Polished stainless steel.
- Colour: Rose gold stainless steel.
- Size: 40-millimeter diameter.
- Water resistance: 30 metres.
- Glass: Polished mineral glass.
- Case back: Engraved stainless steel.
- Strap: Interchangeable black-leather strap.
The black watch face is very nice with the black-leather strap and rose gold case. The stainless-steel case is certainly more gold than rose gold, but on the bezel, the rose gold colour is obvious which makes quite an attractive look. Altogether the combination is very sleek.
On the face is an hour, minute, and second hand with a date window as well which is a nice touch. Both the 12 and 6 hours are in Roman numerals with the remaining hours denoted as dashes. Minutes are denoted by smaller dashes on the bezel which again is a nice touch.
Altogether this watch comes as a very stylish package and is definitely one that you can wear while out sightseeing throughout the day and then again when going out for dinner.
Chase West USA: What I liked
The comfort
There’s no denying it, this watch is comfortable. It mainly boils down to the super soft leather strap. Whatever way the strap is finished it feels very soft to the touch and is very nice against your skin.
Sometimes when wearing a watch, depending on the angle of your hand, some part of the watch – usually the crown – digs into your hand but I had no such experience with the Charleston Gold. The crown doesn’t dig into the skin at all and is quite tactile.
The ruggedness
After wearing the watch out and about for a week I have to say I was quite impressed with how well it dealt with Toronto’s harsh winter conditions and the fact it had me as its owner. At no point did the watch feel uncomfortable, become irritating, or need to be taken off.
Being so wrapped up when outside it’s no surprise that you might get a bit sweaty under all the layers; the leather strap held up and didn’t feel sticky to my skin at all.
A couple of heavy falls, knocks against walls, accidental strikes against tables, and general wearing didn’t leave a scratch either so I was quite impressed.
The straps
While on the topic of straps, you may have seen me mention above that the strap is interchangeable. This is made possible by a release mechanism on the strap where it connects to the watch case.
Just this mechanism alone makes this watch great. I have to get a strap on my other watch replaced and having to bring it to a jeweler to be replaced is an annoying task in of itself and can be quite expensive.
Having this interchangeable mechanism also allows you to customise your watch to your outfit and in this day and age where we can customise just about everything, that’s a nice feature.
The finishing touches
On the buckle and the case back, there is an engraved feather and star, and written around the case is “Born on the prairie”. Now I’m no cowboy, but it is still a nice nod to their origin, and I appreciate that.
The price
Probably the most burning question on your mind at this point is the price. Each of the six watches that make up Chase West USA’s current catalogue are US$139 + taxes and shipping. If you wish to buy a replacement or additional strap, each of the options is $20 + taxes and shipping.
Each watch also comes with a two-year warranty and shipping within the USA is free on orders over $100. It’s hard to have an issue with the price. For the quality, style, and functionality of the watch, it is well worth it.
Chase West USA: What I didn’t like
It’s hard to pick flaws with the watch. I went for a black watch face and at night time it can be slightly difficult to read the time if you are in a dark bar, club, dark street – not impossible mind you but you probably won’t be able to tell straight away what time it is with a glance, but again, order a white watch face and issue solved. Still though, I wanted the black watch face and it wouldn’t be enough of a hindrance for me to not order a black watch face again.
Conclusions
It’s hard to find fault with Chase West USA and it’s easy to find praise. The $139(+ taxes and shipping) watch seriously impressed me with its rugged yet stylish design; the finishing touches with nods to its origins; its comfort and durability; and its practicality with interchangeable straps.
For any traveller, lighter is better. I will be happily taking my Chase West USA watch on further adventures knowing that it won’t let me down.
If you’re interested in checking out Chase West USA watches for yourself, be sure to use the discount code PRIMABL, which will bag you 15% off.
Be sure to check out my Eastern Europe adventures where a Chase West USA watch would’ve come in as the perfect travel companion.
