So Compa

The social media revolution has created a rather interesting business climate. Businesses, formerly more interested in simple dollars and cents, now have to contend with social media. Brick-and-mortar stores more importantly, are now getting on Foursquare, a location-based checkin application found on mobile phones.

Foursquare is a particularly interesting tool because it allows you to check-in to see where your friends are, and have them find you as well. More recently, businesses such as retail shops and restaurants have started to use Foursquare to give customers deals when they come in. Chilis for example, gives all customers who check-in a free basket of chips and salsa.

The best part of Foursquare Specials is that they are free to set up for the business. In the end, you get the benefit of treating your most mobile and social media savvy customers to deals which will get them to come back for more, which is important for customer retention.

Here are some tips in getting started with having a social media strategy for your business. Read on:

1) Expect your customers to ask – As a heavy social media user, I take (some) pride in my mayorships and check-in points and love being able to jump over my friends in greater check-ins than them. In fact, more than once, I’ve asked employees about their social media specials, even if nothing is listed on their Foursquare page. I’m not expecting an entitlement for my patronage, but am more so curious about any benefits social media might bring. Expect your most savvy customers to ask as well, and be prepared with an answer.

2) Make the First Move – When people show up to restaurants, one of the first things they will do beyond checking is check their email or log in to Facebook to show off to their friends where they are or what they are doing. As a restaurant or small business owner, one key objective to undertake is to notice these kind of people and pounce on the opportunity. Asking if they are following the Twitter or Facebook page might get more engaged customers, and show that the establishment is interested in what’s hip right now. It also gives an opportunity to…

3) Incentivize the Presence – Customers love feeling special. Whether it’s being able to win a rewards card for being loyal or showcase a new place down the street to their friends, customers love being able to talk about unique and special social occasions. Social media offers the opportunity to do just that – by making the first move, then incentivizing (“follow us right now, get 50% off your order”), you create the experience that is sure to land a tweet, Facebook status update or a positive recommendation on Yelp.

4) Advertise the Presence – Maybe it’s because I’m in the space, but I always like to look around at how a company advertises and brands itself. 10 years ago it would have been seeing if the establishment had a website, and today, its seeing if the establishment has anything pointing to a social media presence. Knowing that they do have one makes me think that they are more committed to building a brand, interested in reaching out to a community and potentially more responsive to customer service complaints.

Best of luck with the process! Please share, if you can, of any success stories you’ve had from using a location based social media tool. You can get instant views instagram account through the merger with FourSquare application. The advertisement of the products can be done through the Instagram account. The strategies of the promotion can be shared with other person.

It is a fact that simple things in life usually make the difference and it rings true in maintaining an exciting and growing relationship. Romance is one of the important things in the relationship, which keeps it fresh and thrilling. It is necessary to have romance ideas every once in a while in order to keep your relationship burning.

Romance must not be limited to romantic getaways and honeymoons. You must think of many romance ideas to surprise your partner whenever the mood strikes. Make an effort to pamper her and show her how much you treasure your relationship. You can easily add romance at home by changing your usual activities and doing things in a new way. The romance will lead to elimination of doubt from the mind of the person. There will be no need to spy on boyfriend, as proper time is given to the partner.

1. One of the best romance ideas is eating dinner by the fireplace. For a change, cook something special and prepare everything by the fireplace, adding flowers and candles for a more romantic touch.
2. Have breakfast in bed, linger for a while and enjoy each other’s company. Use the best dining ware instead of the usual glasses and plates you use everyday.
3. Try sleeping under the stars. Build a tent and sleep together in your backyard. It is a nice way to spend quality time together in a different and romantic way.
4. Make your home more relaxing and inviting. You can play soft music while having dinner, put some nice flowers in the dining table and candles all over the place. This can heat up the atmosphere for romance. Do the same thing in your bedroom- have a new bedspread, scatter rose petals on the bed, light candles in the nightstand and have dim lights for a more seductive ambiance.
5. Create a night of passion at home. You do not need to spend a fortune to enjoy a romantic night together. The first thing you have to do to make a perfect night for passion is to remove any distractions in the house. If you have children, you can arrange a close friend or a family member to take care for your children for the night. Remember to turn of the television because it is known to be the number one distraction for romance. Send your partner an invitation for the intimate evening with you. Be sure to use an attractive paper and spray your favorite scent on it.
6. It is necessary to know the interests of your partner. Surprise your partner by buying her favorite things and make sure to do this in the most unexpected situations.
7. You can be romantic by doing simple things such as sharing a bowl of ice cream together. Give your partner a foot massage or prepare a bubble bath. Holding hands while watching television may be simple but it is one of the most romantic gestures.
8. If you want to reminisce your wonderful moments together, you can take a romantic trip to the places you used to go. Visit the memorable place where you had your first date and other places that are special to both of you.

Remember that romance is important to maintain the spark in your relationship. Make an effort to do romantic things for your partner to bring you closer and sweeter together.

Promotional products are one of the best way to build a reputation among your customers. Promotional products help in building a repeat impression on the mind of the customers and draw them to your business and brand.

However, as simple as it may be to say, finding the right promotional product for your brand, might prove to be a challenge. It can be overwhelming to consider a large variety of products for this purpose and find something unique and creative to offer to the customers.

At the same time, a brand must not forget that a promotional product must be something in the hands of the customer that makes them feel special and resonates your brand name with them. Most customers, who receive a promotional product from a brand, admit to feel like dealing with them again.

Here are a few gifting ideas for promotional products that will leave a lasting impression on your customers. This will also help you ace the competition and charge ahead of your competitors. These items can be easily procured at Studio D merchandise.

What are the best promotional products?

Promotional pens

Even though a pen may be an ordinary and common item, it is never bound to go out of style. It is one item of utility that is bound to be needed day after day. Also, because it is so useful, the price of such items also remains quite low. Customers love to keep a pen with them, especially if it is a branded one. Also, pens have a lasting shelf life for users and thus, provide a longer term of advertising.

Carry bags

Carry bags are another item of utility that everyone needs on a daily basis. Whether it is for the purpose of carrying other items or taking it for shopping, carry bags will always find a hand to carry them. When your brand name is written across one such bag, it will find more than the desirable number of impressions. Carry bags are the perfect gift item, especially at trade shows.

Mugs

If your business is one which deals in the food industry, the right promotional product that you can give out to your customers are mugs. This serves the dual purpose of establishing the purpose of your business and also helps you express your brand name in style. Anything that is durable and stylish will serve the purpose.

USB drives

USB drives are more vital than we give them credit for. People keep a pen drive handy with them mainly because it proves to be highly useful when on the move. It can be a good idea to share pen drives with your customers since they will remain useful to them for a long time, during which they will also continue to make an impression on likely customers.

Customized desk accessories

For those who work regularly at an office or workplace, the need for desk accessories will always arise. This is where you can make an impression on your customers with customized desk accessories that will catch their attention every time they use those accessories.

These, and many more such items can make the best gifting items for your customers. These can be produced in bulk and at economic rates.

Just this morning I read an aticle on the latest trend for parents. It seems they are buying Internet domain names with the moniker of the child. Some parents even check to see if the domain name is available before making the final decision on the name of the child. The article claims the trend hints at the potential importance of establishing a future digital identity. Parents say they are doing it because it makes it easier to communicate with relatives. They can post photos of the child or keep them abreast of the child’s achievements via the website. They say it’s easier for people to remember the name of the website because all they have to do is remember the name of the child. That is the positive side, but there is also concern that strangers will be able to easily find the website of the child just by knowing their name. So for me, it’s a toss up. Not a must have but a cute and convenient way to share photos. I would be leery of posting too much personal information though.

I did more research and stumbled across all sorts of cool gadgets for young parents today. I don’t know how many actually use them, but they sound interesting to me. But I’ve always been somewhat of a “gadget girl”. My kids are way past the age of needing some of these gadgets but maybe I can test some of them out on grandkids! Here are some of the ones I think would come in very handy.

Baby Wipe Warmer. I think this would be wonderful to use during those middle of the night diaper changes. A warm wipe would be less likely to jolt the baby wide awake than a nice soothing warm wipe.

Remote Fever Monitor. Now this would be quite handy when you need to see if your little one has a fever. It clips to the front of the diaper and will sound an alarm if the baby’s temp goes higher than what you have preset. I’m not sure how loud the alarm is though … it might be too soft to hear or either too loud and scare the baby. But other than that is sounds like a nifty gadget.

Hands Free Breast Pump Kit. Not much explanation needed here! Keeping your hands free to do other tasks is always a good thing when you have kids.

Baby Cry Analyzer. If this thing really works then whoever designed it needs a big hug from every parent in the world! One of the most frustrating things is when your little one is crying and you’ve done everything you know to do and nothing seems to help. The company says the success rate of the gadget is over 90 percent.

Wireless Command Light Controllers. If your baby cries in the middle of the night you don’t have to stumble to the nursery in the dark, and you don’t have to switch on bright lights to blind both you and the baby. The remote control will let you turn on the lights to whatever brightness level you want and gradually bring the level to full brightness if you choose.

Intellicot High Tech Crib. Now this sounds like a great gadget! This crib will rock the baby, keep it cool or warm with automatic temp controls, and help you keep an eye on the baby with the built-in video monitors. The bottom of the crib even raises up using the built in lifting system so you don’t have to bend over or strain your back to get the baby out of the crib.

Even if you don’t use some of the modern gadgets, the internet has certainly made it easier to communicate with other parents. You can get on a blog site or user group and post a question, and within minutes have an answer. Of course you should always use your best judgement when relying on the advice of a virtual stranger but it’s certainly reassuring just to talk or read about things with other first time parents who are probably going through the same things you are.

So what do you think? Is it easier to raise kids these days using the latest technology and gadgets? Do you use any of these gadgets or know of some others that make your job as a parent easier? These gadgets are surely helpful to you when you are new to the parenting thing. Which is why tldevtech.com provides you a list of affordable gadgets that parents can use and make the seemingly difficult task of parenting.

Everyone love to have pets in their homes, but sometimes handling pets gets a difficult task as they create a lot of mess, and it is immensely difficult to clean the mess created by them, especially when you have rugs and carpet all over the floor in your house. Rugs absorb most of the things which lower their quality and make them smell awful. Urine stains are common when you have a pet dog in your house, and cleaning these stains from the rugs and carpets can become a headache for you.

Normal cleansing techniques and not effective enough to get rid of the urine stains from the rugs. You need something and powerful and more unique to clean the urine stains properly off the rugs. The carpet gets a lot of different stains every day, but one of the most stubborn stains out of all is urine stains. There are several steps involved in cleaning a urine stain from the carpet and one of the first steps in checking the material of the rug. Some materials are sensitive to the chemical used in satin cleaning, so you must check it beforehand to avoid getting your rug damaged. If you are fond of Moroccan puffs, then you can check the Internet for best deals on Moroccan Poufs.

Tips to properly clean the urine stains from the rugs

Check the material

One of the most important things to do before cleaning the urine stains from the carpet or rug is checking the material of the rug. The method of cleaning varies with the material used in the rug. Most of the carpet free of glue can easily be cleaned, but if the rug is made up of material like silk or cotton, then you should consult any professional to perform cleaning on these rugs and get rid of urine stains.

Check the dye stability

Before starting the cleaning process, you must check the dye stability of the rug to ensure that it is safe to clean. You can check it by using a neutral Oriental rug cleaner and white cloth. If the cloth is absorbing the dye, then you must not continue, but if the dye is well blended in the cloth, then it is safe to proceed. Although there are some chances that the rug may get damaged, it is very less.

Dust it properly

You must dust the rug properly before cleaning it as there are various pollutants, dust stored in the rug as they all are absorbed by it. It is highly recommended that you dust the rug properly before cleaning the urine stains. There are various ways to dusting, but the most efficient and reliable way is using a vacuum cleaner and vacuuming all the dust out of the rug. After dusting the rug, you must soak it in water as it is the best way to get all the impurities out of the carpet along with the water.

Use the rug cleaning solutions

There are various rug cleaning solutions available in the markets which are tailor-made for cleaning dirty rugs and removing all the urine stains for the rugs. You can use any good quality solutions and cover the rug with it. Leave it for some time and then rinse the rug and hand it to dry completely.

If you’re like most of us, no matter how old you are you can still hear your mother saying “Sit up straight and stop slouching”! But is that good advice? Does mother know best when it comes to combating back pain?

Consider this – back pain is the most common cause of work-related disability in the United States. And according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes, back pain is one of the leading contributors to absenteeism on the job. Between healthcare visits, medication expenses and lost revenue from decreased production and lost wages, complaints of back pain cost millions – if not billions of dollars every year!

So if more people listened to their mother and stopped slouching, would back pain complaints be on the downslide? The treatment of the back pain should be done through the Trusted Spine Surgery Specialist. The techniques of the surgeons will be safe for repairing the damaged nerves of the back.

According to the experts, Moms may never be wrong but they are not always right!

Recent studies have shown that spinal disc movement is most pronounced at a 90 degree angle – the same angle Mom is talking about when she says ‘sit up straight’. This movement, occurring from the strain of weight bearing on the spine, can cause the internal disc material to misalign. Thus the perfect set-up for back pain to rear its ugly head.

But leaning too far forward and slumping over increases the stress and pressure on the spine as well (so you see, Mom wasn’t totally wrong after all!).

So what’s a person to do? After all, millions of us spend an exorbitant amount of time sitting in front of a computer screen all day.

The answer is as simple as it is complicated. Just relax.

Reclining back to a 135 degree angle can combat most stress-related back pain. This was proven to be the best biomechanical sitting position where spinal disc movement is least pronounced.

Sounds great in theory, but how you supposed to get your work done while “relaxing”? The answer depends on you.

First you need a good chair with features such as a lumbar or low back support, the ability for height adjustment and tilt control. Then you need to make adjustments for comfort.

Some people raise the chair height to open up the angle between the thighs and back. But care must be taken to assure your feet can still remain comfortably on the floor. A chair that’s too high can cause pressure on the back of the thighs thus leasing to poor circulation.

Others push the chair closer to the desk and use the tilt feature to open the angle. The trick here is to make sure your head is leaning against the back of the chair. If not you might be tempted to “slump” into the computer screen which will not only increase the pressure on your back, but on your neck, shoulders and diaphragm (the breathing muscles located under your ribcage) as well.

But finding an optimal seated position doesn’t mean your work is done. We are built for movement, so frequent position changes are necessary to further fight the onset of stress-related back pain. Shift weight often or take a few laps around the desk to stretch those strained muscles.

Poor positioning can lead to much more than just a nagging ache in your back. It can cause chronic pain issues, deformity and overall poor health. It can decrease your mental clarity and lead to decreased production on the job.

So next time your boss walks by and asks if you’re slouching on the job, smile and say “I’m combating back pain”!

In years past, people retired and traveled a bit, maybe in an RV. Maybe not and then settled in Florida and complained about how little their children call. Okay, so that was the stereotype. It was probably not as true then, and it certainly is not true these days. People live much longer, fuller lives know, with the average life expectancy breaching the eighty year mark for women- sixty is not “old” like it once was, it’s almost middle age!

Even though these people do not feel “old” anymore, they do sometimes technically quality for senior citizen discounts on a number of goods and services, so that is a huge bonus. Increased good health has more people doing more and more active things well into their “golden years”. Senior Programs team also offers several trips per year which is why every travel enthusiast should subscribe to a program. This is an easy way in which you can travel to popular destinations as you can save a lot of money and time with this smart investment.

Even with better health and increased mobility, sixty is not sixteen, so there might be some things to consider before travel. Have a complete health evaluation before leaving on any type of trip, but especially it is an extended stay. If there are chronic conditions, make sure that your prescriptions are filled and up to date. Keep them in the original prescription bottle, and pack them all together. Because airline guidelines change so frequently, call ahead and find out the best way to accomplish this.

Of course, chronic problems do not always require a pill or a cream to take care of- if there is a bladder control issue, make sure that you protect yourself from any embarrassment with appropriate undergarments. Remember there are frequently long lines in airports with no bathroom breaks allowed.

As people age, they sometimes stop eating or drinking properly. While it is good advice to eat nutritiously and to drink plenty of water at any age, for people who are over sixty that advice is even more important. As we age, we sometimes feel thirst less often, which can lead to dehydration. Couple that with the stress and exhaustion of travel, as well as a different time zone and climate and that might spell big trouble, especially for the older person who is far from home. It is better safe than sorry, so try to get in the habit of drinking water frequently. (Stick with bottled water that you open yourself in while traveling in a foreign country.)

Finally, remember your own limitations. Travel for people over sixty is doable, but it can take some additional planning and adaptations. If you know that you cannot stand up for long periods of time, consider using a wheel chair, at least in the airport. If you walk with a cane or a walker, then continue to do so. Your pride is not worth risking your safety, so use whatever adaptive devices that you need to. Be smart, be safe and take great pictures, but most of all make sure that your travel experience is the best that it can be.

There is a rumor spreading which says “press release is dead” – but it’s not. Fortunately, what other marketers would quote as “outdated” or “too old” is still every business’ tool of the trade in marketing. Nothing really beats the classic because insurance agency press releases are here to stay.

Yes, even in this new media age, press releases are still a hot item because it helps many insurance companies stay afloat in the virtual arena. It helps many insurance agencies gain media following and promote valuable insights within the insurance industry.

Should You Invest in an Insurance Agency Press Release?

The big players in the insurance industry already have press releases as a marketing campaign. This is enough reason to believe the benefits of having news or press releases included in your marketing toolbox as an insurance agent.

Insurance agency press releases can actually do wonders for your business because it helps boost media attention and coverage not just in your community but worldwode. You need not have CNN-kind of breaking news saga, but you might have some project updates or company news that is worth media attention and the headlines like no other.

So, if your insurance agency is releasing a latest insurance product or carrier, launching a website, or promoting a new campaign, then you really need to get the word out thru a press release.

Benefits of Insurance Agency Press Releases

An insurance agency or any other type of business would largely benefit from having a press release distribution. A press release would definitely gain you that publicity and media coverage in the insurance industry.

Cost-Effective Marketing Tool

Insurance agency startups or giants would greatly rake in more brand exposure and reputation with a press release. This is definitely cost-effective public relations and media marketing strategy that would help you gain traction in your business.

It’s practical and highly cost-effective because you can opt for either a paid release or a free release in some reputable and popular distribution sites like Newsvine, PRLog, PR-Inside, and Newswire Today; among others.

Full Control of Your Own Story

A press release or having your own statement distributed to the press would give you complete control over your company news. It’s your story version and that substantiates everything. Despite having others news agencies reporting about your insurance agency, a press release would be able to pull media attention to your message because you alone have full jurisdiction and claim over your own story. A press release helps you spread the message or your intentions, explain your company or product value, and also respond or refute claims that others would have irresponsibly tagged your company.

Improves Reputation Management

Press releases also provide consumer or client alert on certain security breaches or insurance coverage concerns. This is meant to educate and inform your industry and your clients about certain issues or crises happening within the company.

Boosts SEO

A press release is also designed to help with your search engine results pages or SERPs with SEO. Every citation and content would help improve your rankings. This bumps your brand in SEO especially when it’s picked up by a blog, media outlet, or a newspaper. The likes, mentions, and link shares help you gain brand visibility, citations, and brand recognition online which helps boost traffic and referral to your insurance agency.

Provides Social Media Juice

Press releases are often trening on social media. This actually helps provide that point of interest for people to post on their status updates or tweets. This will help drive trafffic to your insurance agency press release and generate tons of buzz to it.

Target New Markets

Specialty insurance is designed to provide coverage to varying client needs. This is why expanding your market reach is important for every insurance agency or company. The digital marketplace is broad and limitless so why not tap on it now? This will help you build new connections and widen your reach in promoting insurance products on an entirely new market scene.

Becomes a Permanent Digital Footprint

Both your online and offline reputation is important as an insurance agency. This is how your clients would perceive you and it would help you gain the trust and confidence of potential clients and the respect of peers in the industry. Press or news releases are stored and becomes a permanent digital record that is open to everyone. This can also be a basis for future press releases and also help boost your blog traffic or be included in your future promotional campaigns.

Promotes Your Expertise in the Insurance Arena

Nothing beats a factual and engaging press release in positioning yourself as an authority or expert in the insurance industry. Becoming more involved in relevant groups or news sites in your industry would help boost your insurance agency’s reputation and get you your leverage as an industry influencer.

With providing factual and wide knowledge and expertise in the insurance subject, you are also able to promote your specialization or niche product such as life insurance, trucking insurance, group benefits insurance, or health insurance.

One lead generation or marketing campaign that insurance agencies must invest on would be press releases. It’s a formal news release or campaign that promotes company or industry news which actually more puts you up as a specialist or expert in the insurance scene. It’s important to gain the trust of your industry peers and clients because this boosts trust and rapport which increases sales as well.

The more people trust you, the more they would buy insurance products from you. Press releases should be a part of your long term marketing strategy because news spreads fast from one publication to the next which allows your news story to go viral and gain media attention which attracts not just potential clients but investors as well.

You want affordable specialty insurance policies for cars. That’s why you want to find the best car insurance company today. Thing is, there are dozens of choices available, which makes it harder for you to select. Merely weighing online reviews and affordable price rates isn’t a good practice in searching for an insurance company as well.

Hence, you must learn how to make a reasonable choice for a car insurance company to trust. This is to get great insurance packages on low rates. Also, you won’t have big difficulties in making an insurance claim when needed.

How to Spot the Best Car Insurance Company for you and your Car?

1. Check Online Reviews wisely

It’s great to see what other people say about any products, services or brands before buying. This goes for car insurance policies and packages and well. But you must know how to use particular reviews to know more about a company.

First, aside from being positive or negative, understand that there are many types of reviews. For example, some tell about a customer’s experience regarding a certain personnel of a company, instead of the offered insurance products. Also, it’s helpful to spot local reviews if you’re eyeing a national company.

Then, talk with the person who’s selling you an insurance package about reviews you’ve seen. Give chance to a company to clarify reviews about them.

2. Look up General Consumer Surveys and other Public Information

General consumer surveys conduct researches about different brands of products and services. They objectively show the pulse or feedback of people to certain choices on the market. Of course, they also list the best car insurance companies.

Such surveys list different insurance companies, and compare those using similar parameters. For example, they show rankings of such companies according to customer service. They often include convenience and speed of car insurance claiming process too.

Aside from general consumer survey, you must check other public information as well. One of the most valuable info to find is the financial stability rates of car insurance companies. Note that they function by giving insurance claims. So, there must be a sufficient financial asset backing them up.

3. Get in Touch with an Insurance Agent

Insurance agents have connections to multiple car insurance companies. In other words, they can help you weigh one option to another. That’s how they can help you find the most suitable car insurance package. Moreover, they’re open for consultations before you buy a package, such as knowing the requirements you must submit.

For example, they know the best insurance offers for used cars. Note that common car insurance companies don’t easily cover used cars, or they usually ask for higher premium. But an insurance agent can help you sort out complex details regarding your situation.

As a bonus, these professionals are open for further queries after you buy an insurance package. They can help you make an insurance claim, for example, or guide you when something goes wrong.

4. Weigh Service Model Factors

Service model is how a company provide their services to clients or customers. In an insurance company, it’s how they connect with customers. For example, some car insurance companies handle clients directly, while others have a sort of intermediary connection. On the latter case, you have to connect with those intermediaries when you want to make a claim.

You can also compare service model between office and non-office. Office service are the typical setup, wherein you have to visit an insurance company’s place for transactions. On the other hand, non-office services are more flexible, such as those which offer online transaction. Think of making a claim through an app or website.

In other words, weighing service model factors means finding one which is most convenient for you.

5. Thoroughly Think of Financial Factors

Remember that financial factors are too complex when calculating for car insurance. That’s because it highlights on your individual situation, so you may have drastically different rate than your neighbor. And the condition of your car, its usage and if it’s new or not are only few big factors that affects rates.

That’s why it’s important to talk with an insurance agent to clarify financial factors while comparing one car insurance company to another. They will guide you by weighing your situation, and lead you to the best possible choices. Information about discounts are available from them too. Moreover, they can inform you about fixing your credit scores when necessary, so you can enjoy lower premium.

Aside from rates, weigh payment plans as well. Choose a car insurance company which offer flexible payment plans. For example, see if they offer discounts for automatic withdrawal, or if they impose discounts when you pay full on the spot.

Jot down these tips to stay on the right track while finding a car insurance company. But if you’re still in doubt, consult an insurance agent to clarify everything to you.

Bronze and brass. They are classic alloys. There’s something about them that makes you think of tall ships, steamers, sextants, astrolabes, old fire trucks, and Roman legions. In a world full of stainless steel, the bronze look gives any timepiece instant gravitas. I like my Fossil Model DE-5004 Decker watch because it has that classic bronze look that would have been perfectly fashionable 80 years ago. The caseback is stainless steel and the case is a bronze-looking base metal. The timepiece is water resistant to 10 atmospheres.

The Fossil has a brown leather band, a parchment-colored dial, white luminous hour and minute hands, a second hand with luminous dot, and chronometer functionality. The case is 44 millimeters in diameter and 12 millimeters thick. The band is 22 millimeters wid, but a tad short. When securing the watch to my 7 1/2 inch wrist, the buckle closes with only two more holes to go. That barely leaves room to get the remainder of the strap through the loops. Nevertheless, the Fossil Decker has a rich look and is comfortable to wear.

The layout of this vintage-looking watch makes sense and works well. The Fossil Decker has a canted date window at the four o’clock position. The date itself is presented in white lettering on a black background. Hours are marked by luminous white batons, minutes are represented by simple black hashmarks, and the bezel has tachymeter markings. The hour and minute hands are rectangular and almost entirely covered with luminous material. It makes the watch easy to read at night, but I think a more ornate set of hands might have been more in keeping with the classical style of this watch. The paul hewitt phreps manufactures the best watches ever classic either flexible this brand is serving the best of the both worlds.

The chronometer uses three subdials on the face of this Fossil. The top subdial (at 12 o’clock) appears to measure tenths of a second and runs for the first minute of chrono activation. The bottom subdial (at 6 o’clock) measures the elapsed seconds and the third subdial (at 9 o’clock) measures the minutes for up to an hour. This chronometer is controlled by two buttons – one on each side of the crown. The top button starts and stops the chronometer and the bottom button stops and restarts the chronometer. A long press on the bottom button when the chrono is stopped resets the instrument. In truth, the chronometer functions are seldom used, but they do work and could be used to casually time things for curiosity. For real athletic competitions, a stop watch or digital chronometer would be easier to read and offer more precision.

Overall, the Fossil Decker is a beautiful watch with an elegant, classical style, in rich brown and bronze tones that work well in any man’s business casual warddrobe. This watch sells for a variety of prices up to around $140. However, by shopping carefully, and taking advantage of a deal at the Fossil outlet store, I was able to get mine for around $70 because I bought two watches. It makes the perfect gift for any man with classical, refined, tastes in timepieces.