As about 95% of our readers know, we’re watch fanatics. Typically we post gimmicky or luxurious watches that are mainly about craftsmanship and looks, but today we’re going for solid functionality. G-Shocks are synonymous with durability and function, so we wanted to shed a little light on the solar powered GWM5600-1 (no pun intended… Seriously). With G-Shocks even the model name screams functionality. This beefy time computer can handle depths of up to 200M, hold 8 months of battery life without being exposed to light, sets itself atomically, operates in all time zones, and has the usual set of features seen on typical G-Shocks. The more we look at this piece of utility the sexier it gets. Must. Put. Wallet. Away.

Lum-Tec is back with this year’s 2010 line fresh out of design and ready for pre orders. Among the 50 something models available, our choice is the Combat B4. The B4 is a refreshed Combat B series with the signature nato strap and knurled edging, but this year Lum-Tec is introducing a 24 hour Swiss quartz movement. If you take a closer look at the face you can see that the numbering goes from 0 to 23 instead of a typical watch face that has 12 numbers. This means that the hour hand only rotates once a day instead of twice. See those little odd numbers? Those were actually our idea and suggested via the Lum-Tec forums. You can actually submit ideas to the designer and help create these limited edition watches. The B4 is actually only in a run of 100 pieces. The full retail value is $595, but if you jump on the pre-order train then you can score one for $500 (15% discount).

When it’s time to get off work and grab a beer you can’t be bothered with the details of how you’re going to open your beer or even who’s going to drive your car home for that matter. Getting your car home is your problem, but the Happy Hour Timepiece can at least help you open your brew and make sure you’re not late for dinner. It’s built with two watches that include a Japanese quartz analog movement and a Chinese LCD display. These movements are encased in alloy and it’s connected to your wrist with a thick perforated leather band. Let’s not forget the patented buckle complete with a heavy duty bottle opener. It’s available now for $50.

When people think about fine watches Switzerland immediately pops into their heads.  It’s true, the Swiss are known for some of the best watches ever created. Today however, we wanted to shed a little light on U-BOAT watches that are assembled in Italy. U-BOAT has been around since 2000 and they’ve put out some seriously manly looking pieces. The idea came from the creator’s, Italo Fontana, grandfather who designed watches for the Italian Navy in WWII. The original design was simple: To allow pilots to read the time instantly in almost any weather or light condition. The Flight Deck CAB is one example of many that can be found on U-BOAT’s site. The Flight Deck CAB does feature a Swiss ETA 7750 automatic movement, but the rest of the watch is pure Italian. The case is made up of AISI 316L steel that’s been treated with IPB and comes in two sizes (43 mm and 50 mm). The strap is made up of white alligator and is arranged in a square scale. The heavy duty crown, that U-BOAT is famous for, is screw down and connected with a hinge. Finding one to purchase can be a bit of a challenge, so we suggest hitting up U-BOAT’s site and looking for a distributor in your area.

[Thanks David]

LÜM-TEC, our favorite underdog watch co, still has the 2009 B2 Combat($800) available. This watch hits all of the points that collectors look for, and it’s well under $1K. It’s 43mm which is beefy but not ridiculous, sports an automatic movement, protected by a sapphire crystal, has a threaded case back, illuminated hands (LÜM-TEC’s signature), and a limited run of only 150 pieces (each piece is numbered). The really cool thing about LÜM-TEC is the fact that they publicly display their designs and allow for suggestions and input from customers. Right now you can jump on their forum and help design the 2010 models.

Need to check if you’ve got boogers or something in your teeth? Here’s something quite innovative, a Mirror Watch. Let’s face it. You can check the time from anything these days, your cell phone, computer and music player. A watch is just really something that looks good on your wrist. Now, with this watch you can make sure you actually look good too. The Mirror watch uses the dial as a mirror by default and when you want to check the time, you just press on the reflective surface to activate the LED module, which displays the glowing numbers clearly on a black background. Designed by Hong Kong based student Cheuk Kee Lai, the watch will be manufactured under SDWorks banner. There is no pricing yet but the online store is supposed to go up soon. It will be available in a variety of cases, namely black, brushed stainless steel or gold plated.