In the 1960s, late John Cameron Swayze coined the famous catch-phrase "It takes a licking and keeps on ticking." Swayze had been a radio and network television news anchor, but is today best remembered for the commercials that he did for Timex that ended with that well-known catch-phrase.

And this multifunctional Timex watch lives up to that phrase, for it's has proven to be more resilient for this owner than many other watches costing quite a bit more.

It seems that Timex watches have always had a place in my life, beginning with a black-faced analog model that I received as a present from my parents while in grade school. Can still remember the luminous hands and numbers that seemed so fascinating at night. There were other models over the years, mixed in with various higher priced Swiss and Japanese timepieces.

Does anyone remember the Timex Data Link 150 from the 1990s, the only watch to have a Microsoft logo? Phone numbers and data were transmitted from the monitor of a PC (running Windows 95 or 98) through a series of pulsating horizontal bars that were focused by a tiny lens on the watch... and it worked. Kept that one in service for a number of years, and it's stored away in a box now.

A few years ago I was trying to get the battery replaces on a fairly costly Swiss watch, only to be told that the battery was supposedly "back-ordered" by two different local jewelers, each of whom wanted to sell me another upscale Swiss watch. I resisted, then went to a local Target and within five minutes was wearing a&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Timex-Men-s-Outdoor-Performance-Digital-Compass-Expedition-Watch-T77862/dp/B000B545EG/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Timex Men's Outdoor Performance Digital Compass Expedition Watch #T77862</a>&nbsp;as you see on this page, or on&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/this-one/dp/B00006I5YS/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">this one</a>.

What I like about this is that it keeps time, and does it well. In place of the luminous hands and numbers that I revered as a kid, it's digital and has a highly-visible Indiglo night-light display with a night mode feature that illuminates the display for about four seconds with the press of a button. It has a daily alarm, and can be set for an hourly chime if you like. The LCD display also shows the day/month/date.

There are a number of other features, some of which I don't use, but have found that the compass does work fairly well, once one makes it through the rather cryptic instructions. It has a dark brown resin case with a matte finish, and a handy with silver-toned bezel ring ring with compass points. This case also has a stainless steel back, and I find the combination excellent as my acid skin has corroded more than one expensive watch.

Can only say that this watch is hard to beat. Have replaced the battery once (in minutes, and without back-orders), and replaced the fabric/brown water-resistant leather strap with a new one, identical to the original. And though this watch gets knocked around a bit as it's generally worn while doing yard work, cycling, etc., the crystal is relatively scratch free.

Yes, "It takes a licking and keeps on ticking..." and that's worth five stars to me.