Phosphor Appear watch review

Anyone who knows me know that I love anything pink. Throw some  rhinestones in, and that's the icing on the cake. That's why it was love at first sight when I noticed the Phosphor Appear watch on the wrist of a stranger at CES. Seriously, a watch that uses Swarovski crystals to display the time? After seeing it in action, we put it to the test. I've had the Phosphor Appear for a couple of weeks now. Is the watch as good as I first thought? Read on for our full review.

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BACKSTORY

I wasn't in the market for a new watch. My last purchase was the Toy Watch that I saw in The Blind Side which I loved from the first moment I saw Sandra Bullock wearing it.  While we were at CES in Las Vegas I saw the Phosphor watch on a woman's wrist, and it was my Sandra Bullock moment all over again. It was striking, and I had to have it!  Since I'm in a relationship with a man who reviews and reports on electronics and gadgets for a living, I get to see some pretty cool things on a daily basis. That said, whenever someone asks me my opinion on my favorite thing at CES 2012, my answer is always the pink rhinestone Phosphor watch.

DESIGN

The Phosphor Appear has a nylon band or leather strap but the "nylon" is more like a plastic, very similar to what I have with the Toy Watch.  I wish they didn't use the word nylon to describe it since it makes me think of a stretchy fabric which, to me, isn't cute.  This watch is very cute! The Appear comes in 6 different colored "bracelets" (if you select the nylon style, they are called bracelets,) or 6 different straps if you prefer leather. You can choose from basics like black, white, and clear, but there are also more fun colors like pink or a bright red - definitely some attention-getters.

USING THE PHOSPHOR APPEAR
The way the watch works is pretty cool. When you first see it, it looks like the time is being displayed through a bunch of crystals. You can even decide to not show any time at all, which makes it look like you're just wearing a face of beautiful Swarovski crystals on a strap.  If you push the top button you will display the time mode and see the hour and minutes.  If you press the bottom button then the seconds are displayed which will stay ticking away for one minute. There is a mechanical tick that goes with this watch and this was not something I enjoyed at first but over time I noticed it less and some people might find it soothing.  If it really bothers you, you can change the view back to the all-crystal view and you don't hear anything.

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I brought this watch with me on a trip to another time zone and found it very easy to change the time.  I chipped a nail changing the time on my other watch, so I really do appreciate the simplicity of just holding a button for a few seconds.  I've worn this almost every day and I felt it looked great at the office in work clothes, in casual clothes, and when going out for date night.  I did find the numbers a little hard to read in dimly-lit environments, but the look was so stylish and different that it made up for it. If there are future versions planned for this watch, I'd like to add the suggestion of a backlight for evening, along with the ability to display the date.

SUMMARY

Since the price is fairly reasonable at $225 USD for the nylon version (and $249 for the leather strap,) we would definitely recommend the Phosphor Appear. With all of the Swarovski crystals in there, and the eye-catching look, it really does feel like a nice, functional piece of jewelry. I also love a watch with a larger face, and the Phosphor Appear, while not huge, is a little bigger than average.I think any of these styles would be a great gift for a teenager.

Visit the Phosphor Web site to learn more about the Phosphor Appear, where you can view animated images to see how the watchface changes between displaying the time and counting seconds, as well as the "off" mode that hides the time altogether.