Cadence Oarsman Aviator Watch Review

One of the best things about what I do is the opportunity to hear from enthusiastic watch companies who want to share knowledge of their watches with me. This has resulted in my learning not only about a dizzying variety of watches, but also a variety of reasons people make watches. We tend to think of watches as satisfying a sole purpose (to tell the time), but in reality a simple wrist watch can do so much more. Of these things I am thinking of one particular metaphysical function - to evoke emotions.

That's right. In fact I dare say you've never bought a watch devoid of an emotional reason. You don't just get them for practical purposes like a radio. There is another element. Something about how you feel when wearing or looking at a watch. At one end of the spectrum, this is how ultra luxury watch companies sell any watches - as there are inherently no practical reasons a watch should cost in the several hundreds of thousands of dollars. Here however the focus is on a watch under $200, and I'd like to explore the emotional as well as practical elements that it has.

This is the Cadence Oarsman Aviator from an American company located in Philadelphia. Cadence is most known for their rowing watches, and the Oarsman is an extension on this concept. Instead of being one of their digital rowing training watches, the Oarsman has a bit of a different function. It allows you to measure the stroke rate (between 20 and 60 strokes per a minute) of a rowing team or rower that you are watching. Using a Japanese quartz chronograph movement, the seconds subdial has been altered to allow for a proper measurement. The large white subdial measures 1/20 of second intervals and has a cool looking spiral set of numbers from 20 - 60. Using the special rowing rate function is quite easy. You start the chronograph when a rower begins a stroke and you end the chronograph when a lower completes the stoke. Then looking at the red hand on the white subdial, you can see how many stokes per a minute that rower is rowing at.