Initially available in a choice of two dial colours, vivid yellow or purple, this DLC coated cushion-cased dive watch will be priced at (€279 / $299 / £235) when it launches at the end of August/early September. Excluvia was founded by Giuseppe Bua, who for the past 12 years has been working in the watchmaking industry as a supplier of parts for watchmakers with his company, Penta Watch S.r.l, based in Catania. It’s unsurprising then, that Giuseppe would want to create his own brand and combine his experience in the watchmaking world with his passion for watches. But is the brand’s debut watch any good? Let’s dive in and find out…

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/echoesvintage/excluvia-vintage-echoes-a-modern-twist-on-timeless-watches

The case and wearing experience

The Vintage Echoes has a case diameter of 40mm, a lug-to-lug measurement of 45mm, an overall thickness of 12.3mm and 20mm lug width. I consider these to be crowd-pleasing dimensions, especially when combined with the simple cushioned-shaped case, which has a continuous downturned sweep to the side profile. Consequently, it does indeed wear very comfortably and it will suit a wide range of wrists sizes. My wife actually tried the watch on and even she felt like she could wear it, which considering 32-34mm is her sweet spot, is quite something. Having said that, the watch is entirely Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) coated so does come across as being quite masculine in that regard. DLC watches are also a bit divisive among watch enthusiasts. Some love the bad-ass look of black DLC coated watches, whilst others think the slightly shiny coating can look a bit cheap. Whichever side of the fence you sit, it’s certainly a cool technology that enhances durability and scratch-resistance, compared to uncoated 316L stainless steel, which at this price point is a welcome point of difference. The DLC coating also makes the Excluvia’s case feel extremely smooth and tactile, so much so that you’ll probably keep running your fingers over the case (or maybe that’s just me!). Finally, DLC is also hypo-allergenic, so if you have sensitive skin this could be a good option for you.

The case is well finished, with fine longitudinal brushing to the top side of the case and sides. The rear has circular brushing, except for the caseback which is stainless steel and features a simple engraved swimmer/freediver motif in set in relief against a sandblasted background. The 60-click bi-directional, divers-style bezel is brushed and slopes gently from the flat sapphire crystal to the grippy coin edge. The bezel diameter is smaller than that of the case, which helps make the watch appear visually compact, but does slightly impede on the ease of rotating the bezel compared to bezels that overhang the case. Unusually the marker layout on the bezel comprises Arabic numerals only for the 10, 20, 40 and 50 minute markers, with circular pips everywhere else, except for the 12 o’clock inverted triangle marker. Lume-lovers will rejoice as LumiNova C1 is liberally applied to the bezel markers and it glows brightly. I’d describe the bezel action as a bit unrefined and snappy. Although to be fair to Excluvia, this is probably exaggerated somewhat by the fact it’s a 60-click instead of the more common 120 click. Excluvia choose a bi-directional 60-click bezel because it gives more of a vintage feel akin to the early dive watches. However, they have said to me that a final decision on the bezel type has yet to be made, so this may change on the production watches.

The sapphire crystal has an anti-reflective (AR) coating applied to the inside to help minimise reflections. However, this watch would benefit enormously from having improved AR or preferably both internal and external AR coatings, as the reflections distract your attention away from the otherwise strong look that Excluvia are going for with this watch. Water resistance is 200m thanks in part to the screw-down crown and caseback both of which features an engraved skin-diver/swimmer motif. The crown is partially recessed into the case and measures approx. 6mm, which I feel is a little on the small size for this type of watch. The crown was also a bit notchy on my review watch, not always engaging easily or confidently. Another point to note is that the date wheel didn’t have a positive turnover, with no discernible ‘notch’, so it was difficult to tell when the date wheel had rotated into its correct position, something I’ve never experienced before with the 9015 movement.

At the time of ordering, customers will be able to choose between a FKM rubber strap with a carbon-fibre style pattern or a sailcloth strap with colour-matched stitching. Both options are fitted with two floating keepers, feature quick-release springbars for easy strap changes and have black hardware to match the watch. I found the FKM rubber strap to be more to my liking as it’s slightly more pliable and I prefer the look. It’s worth remembering that the Excluvia Vintage Echoes has a versatile 20mm lug width, so you’ll also have a huge selection of aftermarket straps to choose from!

The Dial and Legibility

A coarse ‘sandy’ grain texture covers the entire dial, complemented by a colour-matched steeply slopped chapter ring that has a metallic finish to it. Both the yellow and the purple dial variants are bold choices that suit the watch well and contrast nicely against the entirely black DLC coated case. Although for reasons I’ll explain later, to my tastes, the yellow dial works more successfully, and I suspect will also be the better seller.

The fantastic bold applied indices are a mix of over-sized and stylised Arabic numerals for the 12, 3, 6 and 9 markers and triangles for all other hour markers. There is a liberal application of LumiNova C1, and again the lume is excellent, with the watch glowing like a beacon. A black-on-white date window is placed roughly at 4.30, which will probably be a love it or hate it thing for some people.  Lovers of symmetry will struggle to like it, but the plus side is that the dial gets no missing hour markers!

The handset comprises an arrowhead hour hand and a dagger-shaped minute hand. Both have a blackened finish with sections of lume. It’s a mixed bag here. The hand shapes work well, but I did sometimes find it difficult to read the time because, besides the relatively small lumed sections, the dark hands can disappear against the dark of the purple. The hands, or more specifically the lume sections, could do with being a bit bigger for enhanced visibility in lower light. As touched on earlier, this is one reason that I think the yellow dial could be a better option for some buyers. Sadly, and I hate having to do this, but I have to raise a quality control concern here too. I found considerable ‘debris’ on the counter balance of both the hour hand and seconds hand, which is a real shame as the applied indices seem to be very well executed.

Dial text is kept simple with Excluvia at 12 o’clock and ‘Automatic’ and ‘20atm/200m’ above the six o’clock marker.  However, I understand from brand owner Guiseppe that production models will also have the model name (Vintage Echoes) printed on the dial.

In summary, legibility for the most part is excellent thanks to the textured dial and big, bold indices with liberal application of lume. However, the handset legibility and quality control loses the watch some points.  

Movement Choice

The Vintage Echoes runs a Miyota 9015 high-beat movement, which should be familiar to most of our readers. I’m a big fan of this Japanese movement and it’s my favourite choice in affordable watches. It’s robust, reasonably accurate, and thanks to it’s 28,800vph / 4Hz beat rate, gives a nice smooth sweep to the seconds hand. Accuracy is rated to -10/+30s per day and the power reserve is 42 hours.  

Final Thoughts on the Excluvia Vintage Echoes

Where do I start with this one?! The Excluvia Vintage Echoes is a tale of two halves.I love a 70s-esque cushion-cased watch, so we’re off to a great start. However, despite the advantages of DLC-coated watches, I’m not really a fan of the look. I concede that my aversion to DLC is entirely subjective, but I suspect a fair proportion of the watch enthusiast community will feel the same. For this reason, I think Excluvia would be wise to offer a stainless steel version of the watch at some point down the line.

I love the bold indices, lavish application of strong lume, grainy colourful dials and the use of the Miyota 9015 movement. However, whilst generally the case quality is good, I did find noticeable defects in the finishing of the hands, and improvements could be made to the crown and date operation. Hopefully some or all of these will have been addressed before production models are delivered to customers. Excluvia has confirmed that production models will be assembled in Italy, where they will also undergo water resistance testing and timegrapher checks to ensure the movements are within specs. We also have to bear in mind that this is a very affordable automatic watch (€279 / $299 / £235), so expectations have to be in line with that. However, competition in the affordable microbrand segment has become incredibly fierce in recent years, so whilst the Excluvia is a striking, well-specced watch, there are more compelling options on the market for only slightly more money, that have better quality overall. Therefore, whether the Vintage Echoes is for you will come down to how much you connect with its style and how much you want a DLC coated watch. It could certainly make a good, fun, affordable and tough watch for some, but for others it might struggle to make the cut.

The post Stealthy DLC Case Combines with Brightly Coloured Dials in Excluvia Debut! appeared first on 12&60.

But first, let me ask you this. What do you know about the brand Ollech & Wajs? (No googling!). My guess is that at least half of you will know as little or even less than I did. I knew of the name Ollech & Wajs, so there was at least some brand recognition, but that’s about as far as it went. And, despite being stocked by a small network of retailers, Ollech & Wajs is still a relatively niche brand, so I’d never experienced its watches in the metal! That all changed this month however, when I got to delve deeper into the Zurich-based brand and spent some hands-on time with its latest release, the Rallychron. And I have to say that, based solely on this one watch, I’m now somewhat ashamed by my ignorance!

Why should you know about this brand? Well, for starters, in collaboration with Jenny (pronounced as Yenny), they produced the first watch capable of diving beneath the waves to a lung-crushing depth of 1000m! Released in 1964, just eight years after the brand was founded, this watch was called the Caribbean 1000 Precision. Unlike Jenny however, Ollech & Wajs (OW) has continued to trade continuously through the quartz crisis and admirably has only ever made mechanical watches. OW also made thousands of watches for the US military during the Vietnam war era. These two facts alone surely qualify OW as authentic tool watches, so we’re off to a good start. The fact that to this day, they still have a special projects division (department triple zero) that designs and makes bespoke watches, many of which are still used in combat zones, reinforces their commitment to their heritage. However, they also have the ‘cool factor’ covered! OW watches have adorned the wrists of real-life icons such as musician Jack Bruce (of Cream fame) as well as fictional CI5 crime-fighting duo, Bodie and Doyle. I could go on, as these facts are just the tip of the iceberg, but as this is primarily a review, please head over to the OW website where you’ll find a detailed history and plenty of impressive stories. Suffice to say though, you’d be a fool to overlook this brand.

Current-day Ollech & Wajs

Despite a loyal following, in recent decades OW watches were produced in very small quantities and the brand lived in the shadows of its former heyday self. However, the brand was reborn in 2016 after it was bought by watch and car enthusiast, Charles Le Menestrel. Charles also used to be the official OW distributor for the French market, so it’s understandable that Albert Wajs thought he was a fitting person to pass the baton on to.  With such an impressive heritage to build upon and with the renewed vigour that fresh blood brings, the brand has slowly been gaining wider recognition, finding new customers, whilst staying true to the OW DNA.

Rallychron Overview

The Rallychron is the most expensive watch in the current OW line-up. Priced at £2060 (2356 CHF / €2443) on the leather strap or £2170 (2482 CHF / €2,574) on bracelet, it combines chronographs functions with impressive water resistance. As is the case with all its watches, the Rallychron is designed and assembled in OWs’ original Zurich workshop and has a three-year warranty. Every watch undergoes a rigorous quality control process comprising more than a dozen operations and is inspected at regular stages of assembly to ensure that it is perfectly finished. The movement is also adjusted by hand in Haute-Sorne in the Swiss Jura.

The Case and Wearing Experience

The modest 39.5mm all-brushed stainless steel case uses OWs’ heritage-type chronograph case shape. It’s not all that unique but it’s very well executed and well-suited to this style of watch and its racing pedigree. However, relative to the diameter, the case is chunky, coming in at 15.3mm thick. There are two main reasons for this. The first will be obvious to watch enthusiasts. It’s a chronograph with an automatic movement, so your starting point is usually around 13mm, as anything less usually involves an in-house movement or at least a heavily customised one. The second reason may be less obvious. The Rallychron has a frankly incredible 300 meters of water resistance. Yes, I did say 300m! Most dive watches can’t even match that. This achievement is doubly remarkable because the chronograph pushers aren’t even screw-down. The extra engineering involved in achieving this inevitably bulks the watch out a bit more. Whether that’s something you want or need at the sacrifice of some comfort is down to personal preference. I’d personally prefer a slimmer case as 300m is excessive for a chrono aimed primarily at land-based activities. For reference, an Omega Seamaster Diver 300 Chronograph is 17.2mm thick and Breitling’s Avenger 300m is a similar thickness to the OW at 15.2mm. Both the Seamaster and Avenger are both well over £6k, although admittedly, unlike the Seamaster, you can’t use the Rallychron’s pushers under water.

The mid-case is very thin and has continuously flowing lines from the case to the angular lugs, which curve down slightly to follow the wrist. This helps visually thin the watch. However, in terms of wearing experience, it’s the caseback which takes on a lot of the overall thickness, so the watch does sit on top of the wrist rather than bedding down and there is quite a lot of ‘air’ between the case and your wrist. Radial brushing is used for the dial side of the case and a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal with internal anti-reflective coating protects the dial. The watch strap isn’t quick-release, but with the lugs being drilled, changing straps is still relatively quick. In some ways I prefer this approach, but there will be those that don’t. The 20mm lug width means it’ll be easy to add your own quick-release strap should you wish, and with a straight case between the lugs and monochrome dial, this thing will absolutely be a strap-monster!

Lug-to-lug isn’t quoted on the OW website, but I measure it to be approx. 48mm. This relatively short lug-to-lug is the watch’s saving grace in terms of wearability for those with more modest wrist sizes, although I wouldn’t recommend it for those with small wrists.

Each chronograph pusher is fitted with two gaskets. There is a screw-down crown bearing a nicely engraved OW logo and the 10-sided screw-down caseback is engraved with logo and specs. On the left-hand side of the case at the 10 o’clock position is an inset pusher, which is a quick set for the date, a lovely and thoughtful feature. The action on chronographs pushers and quick-set date is confident and solid.

The unidirectional rotating bezel comprises two sections. The sloped inner section features a useful tachymeter scale printed white on black and overlaid with mineral glass. The brushed outer section is given a black PVD coating and has the names of eleven motor racing circuits engraved and filled with white, with theoretical ‘perfect lap’ times printed alongside in orange. These lap times were hypothesised from analysis of race seasons spanning 1965-69 (the glory years of OW’s most cherished racing chronographs) with the help of Hervé Charbonneaux — a well-known classic car collector, rally driver, historical rally promoter and author. Circuits include Monza, Silverstone and Daytona. This playful nod to the racing track is unique feature and one that’s sure to encourage lively debate amongst hard-core motor racing fans until long after the sun is over the yardarm. The bezel has fantastic grip and has a nice feel to it; quite light, but solid and with little to no backplay.

The rally-style perforated Italian leather strap has a natural tan underside, 20mm lug width, and is of truly excellent quality. There is one fixed and one floating keeper and a beautifully machined brushed stainless steel buckle engraved with ‘OWZ 1956’. If leather isn’t for you, you can choose to opt for a medium gauge, stainless steel, hand-brushed, mesh bracelet. If it were me, I’d buy both at time of ordering.

Dial, Hands and Legibility

Working from the outside in, we have a white printed scale denoting seconds and fractions of seconds, printed and lumed rectangular hour markers, and an applied brushed steel inverted triangle for the all-important 12 o’clock marker. The dial itself is a mid-grey with a flat matt finish. The black sub-dials have a sunburst finish and are arranged in a tri-compax design, with the running seconds at 9, the elapsed minutes at 3, and the 12-hour totaliser at 6. The distinctive broad and flat, squared off, baton-shaped hour and minute hands have alternating black and white squares, emulating the chequered flag used in motor racing. The unmistakeable OW logo is printed in white at 12 o’clock. Other dial text comprises ‘Zurich 1956 Precision below the logo, ‘OW Rallychron’ on the hour totaliser, and ‘Swiss Made’ above the six o’clock marker.

The largely monochrome dial is very attractive and well-balanced with just enough pops of orange to prevent it from being boring. A black-on-white date wheel is nicely incorporated within the 12-hour subdial at six o’clock. Overall legibility is very good, helped by the chequeredhands, large sub-dials and orange triangles on the chronograph seconds and 30-minute register. However, in some lighting conditions the running small seconds and hour totaliser hands can get a bit lost. I wish these were longer and a more prominent shape rather than simple sticks (or that they terminated with an arrowhead tip or similar). Finishing on the subdial hands, especially around the pinions could be improved, and pinion caps would also help elevate the finishing.

For night-time viewing, white Super-LumiNova is applied to the hands and the hour markers. The main chronograph hand and 30-minute timer hand are tipped with Orange Super-LumiNova. The lume on the main hands and indices is adequate initially, but does fade quite quickly, so there’s room for improvement here. The less said about the lume on the 30-minute timer the better…it’s shockingly bad!

The Movement

The Rallychron uses an automatic Valjoux 7753 automatic chronograph movement, a solid 27-jewel movement with a great reliability record. OW also goes to the trouble of regulating the movement to five positions, so accuracy is improved from the factory default. The beat rate is 28,800 bph and the power reserve is 54 hours. The rotor is engraved with the OW logo and Zurich 1956, boasting heritage. Although, unless you’re present when it comes to servicing, you’ll never see it as the caseback is solid.

Final Thoughts

The Rallychron is a serious watch with a playful alter-ego and just enough colour and unique design details to make it instantly recognisable.

Ollech & Wajs pitch the Rallychon as a motorsports chronograph and it certainly has enough unique motorsports inspired details that it’s successful as that. But it’s equally successful if you just look at it as a good all-round tool watch. It’s got a distinct look that is purposeful, tool-like and full of character. It also screams heritage. These factors make it a really cool looking watch, but also quite masculine. As such, it’s easy to imagine the Rallychron being worn by the likes of 60s Hollywood icon Steve McQueen. This could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on what you’re looking for in a watch.

The Rallychron is OW’s most expensive watch, but it’s not an expensive watch in a world where most Longines chronographs retail for £3000 plus and all automatic TAG Heuer watches retail for upwards of the same, both considerably more than the Rallychron’s £2060 asking price. And there are many pluses for choosing the Ollech and Wajs. Firstly, it’s made in much smaller quantities so it’s more exclusive. Secondly, strap the Rallychron to your wrist and you’ll get a warm glow that comes with supporting an independent watchmaker. Thirdly, the Rallychron is more unique thanks to design elements inspired by motor racing, such as the circuit bezel markings. Finally, if you’ve been searching for a Swiss-made mechanical chronograph with a regulated movement and a whopping 300m of water resistance (WR), you’ll have quickly realised that pickings are very slim. With this in mind, the Rallychron begins to look like incredible value for money and makes an awful lot of sense, especially when you consider that the pricing includes all duties and taxes regardless of which country you live in. Its closest competitors at a similar price are probably Hanhart for slightly less and Brellum for slightly more, neither of which offer anything like the same level of WR or satisfy motorsports enthusiasts in the way that the OW does. Is the Rallychron the best chronograph choice for you? It depends. If WR, motor racing and a tool watch aesthetic are important to you, then I doubt there is any direct competition at this price. However, if you prioritise comfort or prefer a more versatile or refined aesthetic, then obviously competition opens up. As always, best to get hands-on with one if you can!

I’ve had my eyes opened to this brand and after delving in to OW’s history, back catalogue of designs and current line-up, I have a feeling the brand’s profile is on an upwards trajectory and will be talked about more and more within the watch community.

The post Ollech & Wajs Rallychron – Pole Position or Stuck in the Pits? appeared first on 12&60.

Before I get into the nitty gritty, let’s take a look at the hard, cold facts. The Rocket will launch on Kickstarter in August 2024, with an early bird price of £296. Ember’s first run will be for just 300 pieces in total, split across four colourways. My review model is the orange and blue, but you can also choose between pink dial with black chapter ring and yellow accents, black dial with blue chapter ring and yellow and pink accents, or white dial with a mint chapter ring. Once the early bird pricing ends, the price will increase to £395. Ember Watches is based in Honiton, England and brand owner John is a furniture designer by trade, but he has always had a deep passion for watches. I guess therefore it was inevitable that John would want to turn his own watch ideas into a fully-fledged design, and then turn that design into reality. His aim was to create unique and distinctive watches that do not follow traditional conventions. Now, after four years of blood, sweat and tears and numerous prototypes, he is ready to launch. 

When I first saw the Ember Rocket come up on my IG feed, I was immediately drawn to its angular design, so much so that I immediately got in contact with brand owner John Glinister, despite being on holiday at the time. Thankfully he was kind enough to satisfy my curiosity by sending me a loan watch well ahead of launch. But great design doesn’t always result in a well-executed watch in the flesh. So how has the Ember Rocket fared after spending a week with it on the wrist? Has my initial enthusiasm fizzled out, or is the fire still burning?

Ember Rocket Case Design and Wearing Experience 

Let’s not be backwards in coming forwards here, it’s all about the bass…I mean the case! Whilst the rest of the watch is great, it’s the case design that is the crowning glory of this watch and what a masterclass of design it is. You can clearly tell that this is a design-led watch penned by an experienced designer, albeit from a different field. John has clearly gone through the same processes and put the same level of thought into the Rocket as he undoubtedly does for his furniture. It didn’t end up looking this good by accident, and it hasn’t just been assembled from a bunch of factory-ready parts, which is why it doesn’t look quite like anything else on the market.

The case dimensions will be in the sweet spot for many, me included. The 40mm bead-blasted matt stainless steel case has a 47mm lug to lug, and a height of 12mm. The caseback is also slim, which means that the watch sits very well on the wrist, nestling down, rather than sitting on top, resulting in a well-balanced and comfortable watch.

I’m a huge fan of sharp, angular geometry. It’s why I love my Grand Seiko so much and it’s also why it was love at first sight for me with the Rocket. The top side of the case is octagonal, but the Rocket has more than 30 facets in total, each one precisely cut (I stopped counting at 30!). Other microbrands have used angular cases, but the Rocket takes it up a notch and crazy as it sounds, this alone is worth the entrance fee. The proportions and angles of each facet just work to perfection and the bead-blasted finish is befitting of the modernist approach. Sometimes when a bead-blasted finish is used it can ever so slightly soften the crisp edges, but not here. Each perfectly flat surface meets the next with an ultra-crisp and precise transition. The polished bezel provides just a hint of contrast against the cool, steely grey of the case and an unsigned, unguarded screw-down crown helps the watch to achieve a water-resistance rating of 100 metres. The crown is small but grippy. A flat sapphire crystalprotects the dial and the internal anti-reflective coating does a good job of minimising reflections. The screw-down caseback is solid and has a nice geometric pattern engraved into the central section. Around the perimeter you have the brand name, ‘designed in England’, WR rating and movement used (this text is an update to my prototype).

The case is cut straight across between the lugs, something which I find contributes to making a watch a strap monster, and that’s certainly true here. Mind you, you probably won’t want to swap out the quick-release rubber strap that comes with the watch. It’s the perfect thickness and tapers from 20mm down to 18mm. It’s pliable, comfortable and has a nice bead-blasted signed pin buckle. The strap is embossed with a crosshatch pattern to the top side and has two floating keepers. Flip the rubber strap over and you’ll notice another little design feature; a geometric pattern which ties in nicely with the same pattern found on the solid caseback. My only complaint is that the additional supplied leather strap is just ok. It has a nice matt texture to the top face, but I’d describe the overall quality as average. And it’s black, which is a bit of a dull choice that doesn’t pair particularly well with my colourway. I feel mean complaining about a second ‘free’ strap, but when every other detail has been so well thought out, it just seems like a bit of an oversight. I’d like to see a choice of colours offered at time of ordering. At risk of stating the obvious, a matching blue or orange leather would be lovely. Finally, whilst it’d certainly be a challenge to design a metal bracelet for the Rocket, I’d love to see John have a crack, as I’m sure others would!

The Movement

The movement is a standard Seiko NH38A automatic, a common choice for affordable automatic watches, but when you take what the Rocket offers as a whole package this is more than fine with me. This 4Hz movement ticks at 21,600 VPH giving a reasonably smooth sweep to the seconds hand. The power reserve is 41-hours and you can hack the movement to stop the seconds hand and set a precise time. 

The Dial

Although it’s the case design where this watch really shines, the well-judged dial colour combos are close behind. You can choose from four dial variants, each with a matt, finely grained finish. My review watch is the orange and blue, but the pink looks particularly striking too. 

Working from the outside in, the deep and slanted orange rehaut / chapter ring also has a fine-grain finish and is printed with double Arabic numerals for every five minutes. Inside of the chapter ring is a minute/seconds track printed in white. Where the dial gets interesting is when you realise that it’s of sandwich construction, with the negative space between where the hour indices would usually sit being cut out of the upper dial in curved rectangular strips, so you can see through to the white base layer which is coated in Swiss Super-LumiNova BGW9. The lume looks really cool at night and the combination of sandwich construction with the orange and blue is lovely in the day. 

The hour and minute hands are polished and have a simple baton shape design with very generous strips of Super-LumiNova BGW9 lume running the entire length. The contrasting orange seconds hand is a simple tapering stick and not lumed.

The dial design in uncomplicated and well-balanced with perfect symmetry and no date window to interrupt the flow. There is just enough flair to keep your interest whilst staying true to the overall modernist look. Dial text is minimal and the somewhat ‘80s futuristic’ angular font used for the brand name perfectly suits the case shape.

Final Thoughts on the Ember Rocket

In recent years the microbrand sphere has been bursting at the seams with new brands creating well put together watches that offer great value for money. However, sometimes original design takes a bit of a back seat at the expense of competing purely on price and specs. As a result, enthusiasts are overwhelmed with choice, so much so that it becomes difficult for us to know where to put our money. A nice problem to have, but a problem nonetheless. This is where watches like the Ember Rocket provide a welcome respite. It adds the missing element, fresh design! It’s a striking watch that is instantly recognisable and the bead-blasted finish complements the bright, matt colourways, lifted by just a hint of polish for contrast. It’s contemporary but not minimalist.

I’ve really struggled to come up with negatives for the Rocket. The only real one from my subjective point of view is that the leather strap isn’t up to the quality of everything else and that different coloured leather straps aren’t offered. The fact that this is my only complaint is remarkable.

‘Spec sheet buyers’ may be a little disappointed that the movement is a Seiko NH38A, rather than the higher beat Miyota 9015. However, if you’re like me and buy watches based on the overall package (with a slight bias towards design), that would seem unjust given the price. The only other thing to consider is how well the bead-blasted finish will hold up over time. If you have the funds, I can’t think of a reason not to splash your hard-earned spondulicks on one!

My only other negative relates to the ordering process, not the watch itself. Delivery of production watches is expected to be Summer 2025. Bearing in mind the Kickstarter campaign launches August 2024, this is a long time for customers to wait for their watches. However, provided you’ve got patience, and that the Kickstarter process is handled well and customer service is good, the Rocket is a textbook example of how to bring out your first watch.

At the regular retail price of £395, the Ember Rocket is worth every penny. At the Kickstarter launch price of £296 the value on offer is insane. So, get a comfy seat on that early-bird train, sit back and wait for the package to drop on your doorstep. I defy you to be disappointed! I loved this watch so much that I’ve put my name down for one already. I just can’t decide between the blue and orange or pink! Which is your favourite?

The post Ember Watch Company firing on all cylinders with its first release, the Rocket! appeared first on 12&60.

The Case and Wearing Experience

The case and bracelet are made from 316L stainless steel and surface hardened to 800 Vickers, which should help stave off scratches for longer. The case diameter is 39.5mm, the lug-to-lug measurement is 47.5mm and the overall thickness is 11.2mm. I’d describe the mid-case as somewhere half-way between a regular round case and a rounded square, or ‘squirlcle’. It’s mostly brushed but features polished chamfers to the top and bottom edges and a cut-out for the partially recessed 6.5mm push-pull crown at 3 o’clock. The crown features an engraving of the Pedral logo, is well-proportioned, grippy and operates with confidence. 

The bezel is shaped like an offset squircle, with the ‘corners’ being at 12, 3, 6 and 9. The sides of the bezel are polished and the top face is vertically brushed. The sapphire crystal is flat with an anti-reflective coating and sits ever so slightly proud of the bezel.

Moving to the rear, we find a screw-down exhibition caseback which features circular brushing with engraved specifications and polished chamfered sides. Water resistance is as much as most people will ever need, at 100m. 

The case flows seamlessly into the stubby, downturned lugs and attractive integrated three-link bracelet. The bracelet is predominantly brushed and tapers from 22.5mm at the watch head, down to 18mm at the clasp.  The centre links feature polished chamfers to the top and bottom sides on the facing edge, and the outer links are chamfered to three edges. Removable links are attached by push-pins, and completing the bracelet is a twin trigger, butterfly-style clasp for a seamless look. The finishing is refined and comfort is generally good, but there are a couple of things to note. Firstly, there is no micro adjustment (although a clasp upgrade is one of the Kickstarter stretch goals). Secondly, there are no half links, so although the links are reasonably short, it’ll be a game of chance as to whether you can achieve the perfect fit. Also, I had issues with the articulation on the links on my review watch, which frequently got ‘stuck’ into position on numerous occasions. However, Kevin from Pedral has already confirmed to me that he’s working on resolving this issue for the production models. 

The watch sits well on the wrist and the dimensions are pretty versatile. It’s nice and slim and there is minimal protrusion from the caseback. Due to the Artefact’s quirky shape, it’s difficult to give an exact comparison in terms of the wearing experience, but I’d say it wears about the same as a similarly sized round watch. 

The Dial and Hands

Mimicking the bezel, the dial is a squircle shape tilted to 45 degrees, so it’s orientated more like a diamond. Maybe this makes it a Dircle? (answers on a postcard please!).

The dial is of a dual-layer construction. The centre section is stamped with a radial guilloché pattern which emanates from the pinion and increases in size towards the outer perimeter of the bottom layer of the dial. The upper/outer layer is radially brushed with railroad-style minute track. This is also where you’ll find the applied indices, which comprise short batons and Arabic numerals for the 12, 3, 6 and 9. 

At first glance you’d think the polished hour and minute hands are simple fence-post hands with a crease to the centre, but look closer and a unique detail is revealed. The tips feature skeletonised versions of the Pedral logo. It’s always nice to be rewarded with little ‘easter eggs’ as you get to know a watch, and I don’t think I’ve seen this kind of bespoke detail on a Microbrand watch before. The seconds hand is a simple baton style with a spear-shaped lumed tip. The indices and hands all feature blue Swiss BGW9 Super Lumi-Nova for enhanced legibility in low light. 

Whilst I love the combination of sunburst and guilloché textures on the dial, I still feel like the silver dial variant could do with a touch more contrast. It would have been nice to see more facets on the indices for enhanced light play or maybe a blued seconds hand or touch of colour on the perimeter markings; just something to lift it from being a sea of silver. To be fair to Pedral though, this a common complaint of mine for silver dialled watches from many brands. 

The Movement

As we’ve come to expect from microbrands at this price point, the typical options come from either Seiko or Citizen. Here we have the Miyota 9039 from Citizen. This is a premium Japanese movement which is ultra-reliable, has hacking seconds and a smooth sweep to the seconds hand thanks to the 28,600VPH beat rate.Accuracy is -10/+30 seconds per day and the power reserve is approx. 40 hours. The movement is visible through the exhibition caseback and the rotor has been customised with the Pedral branding. 

Final Thoughts

The Pedral Artefact is a mixed bag for me. I certainly see a lot of potential, but the microbrand watch market is hot right now and at the full retail price of €639 the Artefact is up against some stiff competition, and in all honesty, there are better options out there in terms of quality and execution. However, it’s safe to say that you’d be hard pushed to find something as unique as the Pedral, and once you factor in the Kickstarter prices I’m sure the Artefact will find its audience. I personally think that the somewhat surreal design lends itself more to bright dual-colour dials such as the Purple and Green or Navy Blue and Orange Dial. It’s a shame therefore that these colours will only be available as stretch goals, as I think they would have been the quickest to sell out. 

Whether this watch is right for you will ultimately boil down to how much you connect with the polarising design language and what Kevin is trying to accomplish here. This is a watch for mavericks or collectors looking to inject some fun into their collection. If that sounds like you, the Artefact is surely worth considering, especially at the Kickstarter price of €299! 

As regular readers will know, I always admire a brand trying to do things differently, so hats-off to Kevin for going his own way. I love the direction that Pedral watches is going in and I’ll closely follow the brands journey as the design language is charming, baffling and intriguing all at the same time. If you’re wearing a Pedral watch, you can be sure it will be a talking point, even in a room full of non-watch nerds and that can only be a good thing. 

Kevin is well-aware that the Artefact is never going to be a mass market watch, but it doesn’t need to be. People who love Marmite really love Marmite. Lovers of the iconic, sticky brown yeasty goo will rave about it till the cows come home. Others will taste it once and never let it darken their lips again. I think it’s the same here with the Artefact! So, I guess it boils down to you. Do you like Marmite?! Let us know in the comments below!

The post Hands on with the Unconventional Pedral Artefact!   appeared first on 12&60.

After working in the industry for several years, brand founder Ben has branched out on his own, driven by a desire to create a watch born out of his obsession with watch sizing, an aspect that he says can make or break a timepiece. So, we’re off to a good start, as he certainly has a kindred spirit in me on that front. The second thing that’s influenced Ben’s design decisions for his first watch was his grandfathers’ love for rectangular watches, which he has inherited. 

The Scarifour is named after Ben’s childhood home and combines timeless looks with a slight nod to the 70s. There’s plenty of choice on offer too. The Scarifour comes in six different dial colours (Orange Sunrise, Smoked Black, Ice Blue, Blue Hour, Classic Silver, Royal Purple), and you can choose between two movements. The more affordable Swiss Ronda 762 quartz movement will launch at £266, whereas the premium manual-wind Sellita SW210-B mechanical movement will be priced at £460. Prices will rise to £380 and £660 respectively once the Kickstarter campaign ends.

The Case, Bracelet and Wearing Experience

If comfort is high on your list of priorities when looking for your next watch, the Scarifour is sure to please you. The case width is 31mm, and the lug-to-lug is just 40mm, increasing to 47mm if you include the non-articulating end links. However, the end links are significantly downturned, so the true perception of the lug-to-lug measurement is more akin something around 44mm. Perhaps even more important is overall thickness (or lack of it) and the Scarifour excels here too, measuring just 8.3mm. The Scarifour is classically proportioned, but never looks dainty, thanks in part to the integrated bracelet design and broad bracelet width of 22mm at the watch head. This could easily be a watch for sharing due to its versatile size.

The case and bracelet offer a nice mix of brushed and high-polish elements, with the polish being in all the right places. What I mean by this is that, bezel aside, high-wear areas such as the tops of the lugs and sides of the mid-case are brushed, but polished bevels flank the mid-case top and bottom, which provide contrast and add a touch of sophistication. The bezel itself is slim and features two debossed circles on each side, somewhat mimicking the functional bezel screws that you’d find on Cartier watches. I would have liked to see these either made bigger to look more purposeful or left out altogether. A custom-shaped, scratch-resistant sapphire crystal helps protect the dial and has an anti-reflective coating.

At a glance the bracelet looks like a three-link design, but it actually comprises single links alternating between H-links and polished ‘connecting’ oval links. It’s a beautiful design and the short links ensure fluidity and class-leading comfort. Each individual H-link is brushed to the top, bottom and outer edges, but bevelled to every side. Not only that, but the inner edges adjacent to the connecting polished oval links are polished, providing additional light play with wrist movement.

The bracelet tapers to 18mm at the clasp and each bracelet link is secured by a pin and collar system. The ‘signed’ milled clasp features a raised, brushed centre section with branding and polished outers. The choice of clasp will probably be controversial as it’s more akin to a diver’s-style with a compact, single-foldover, twin-trigger release system and three holes of micro-adjustment. Some will love it for its ease of adjustment. Others will have hoped for a traditional butterfly-style clasp more befitting of a dress watch. Maybe a choice of clasp could be offered as a stretch goal for Kickstarter?!

The slim stainless steel caseback is brushed horizontally, secured by hex screws at each corner, and engraved with branding and key specifications. The push-pull 7-sided crown doesn’t look like it should be easy to grip, but it’s actually surprisingly easy to use for winding or adjusting the time. The brand’s insignia is embossed onto the side of the crown. Water resistance is 50 metres.

The Swiss Movements

Buyers can choose between two Swiss-made movements; the ultra-reliable Sellita SW210-b or the Ronda 762 quartz. The Standard Grade Sellita is a hand-wound mechanical movement which is visible though an exhibition caseback. This attractive but largely undecorated movement has 19 jewels, beats at 28,600 vph / 4Hz, and has a power reserve of approx. 42 hours. Accuracy is rated at +/- 30 seconds per day. The more affordable quartz version has a 10-year battery life and comes fitted with a solid caseback. The accuracy is rated to -10/+20 seconds per month.

The Heraldry Dial

The Ice Blue dial features a chevron pattern that is inspired by the heraldry of Ben’s hometown of Cheltenham (it’s found on the Cheltenham Coat of Arms). The dial surface is also horizontally brushed. It’s a different take on a dial pattern and works successfully with the rectangular dial shape. However, the dial finish is a bit too metallic and shiny for my liking, or at least it is on my light blue variant.

A simple printed minute track, with circles of lume for hours, surrounds the dial on a slightly raised perimeter. Baton-shaped applied indices are placed at every hour marker except the 12 o’clock, which features Roman numerals. Each index has polished, angled sides and brushed tops. This contrasting finishes looks great and helps with legibility. However, whilst legibility is decent for a dress watch, I think it could probably be improved a little more by increasing the size of the batons by a smidgen or applying a stronger application of anti-reflective coating on the sapphire crystal.

The petite ‘Alpha’ hands were chosen to complement the angular nature of the case and their beauty can only truly be appreciated by getting them under a loupe. They are visually split into three sections. The centre section is longitudinally brushed and features small strips of Swiss BGW9 Super Lumi-Nova luminescent compound to help aid low-light legibility. This is flanked by polished, angled outers. The hands culminate in razor sharp points. It’s also really nice to see a capped pinion; a lovely finishing touch that, quite frankly, all watch brands should adopt.

Dial text is kept nice and simple. Just ‘Benjamin James’ and ‘Scarifour’ are printed in black and sit either side of the pinion at 12 and 6 respectively. The font size is tiny though and barely readable (and yes, I did have my glasses on!). Whilst I realise that it’s a difficult balancing act, especially with a long brand name and fairly narrow dial, there must be some way of tackling this. If the size of the printing can’t be increased due to breaching the 11 and 1 confines, maybe the brand name could be split over two lines, redesigned or just picked out in relief/applied for more three-dimensional visibility. Doing so would also help with brand awareness. However, we must remember that this is a dress watch, so ultimate legibility isn’t usually high on the list of priorities when buying a watch such as the Scarifour.

Final Thoughts

The Scarifour is a brave debut release. Why? Simply because dress watches sell far less than dive watches or sports watches. Most brands launch with a sports watch for a reason; they know that there is a persistent appetite among the general public and watch enthusiasts for that kind of watch. Conversely, dress watches are more niche and so it takes a single-minded person like Ben, with a passion for putting a modern spin on vintage style and elegance, to stick their neck out and take on the associated risk. It’s not that dress watches aren’t catered for at all by microbrands, but it’s certainly uncommon to launch with a dress watch. I’m sure the somewhat forgotten minority will welcome the Benjamin James brand into the fold, and there’s a good chance that people who wouldn’t normally think of buying a dress watch may be persuaded over to the dark side too! approach

For me, where the Scarifour really shines is in its case and bracelet. The design is unified and there is a great mix of finishes on show. The watch’s proportions also make it one of the most comfortable watches I’ve ever tried; you honestly barely even notice you’re wearing it. It does most things a dress watch should do very well; it’s refined, looks good, slips under a cuff easily, and whispers rather than shouts.

There are only a few things to take into consideration when deciding whether to buy the Scarifour. If legibility is high on your list of priorities, or your eyesight isn’t what it once was, I’d probably opt for a colour other than light blue or silver, so that there is more contrast on the dial. The logo also needs pimping up somehow to make it more legible as it looks a bit lost on the dial. Finally on legibility, I’d like to see a stronger application of anti-reflective coating applied to the sapphire crystal. In terms of design, it’d be nice to see the outer edges of the applied baton indices cut at an angle parallel to the dial edges. I’d also either do away with the ‘fake’ screw design or make them bigger and/or functional. Finally, you need to decide which side of the fence you sit on regarding the clasp. Do you like the wearability that the adjustable clasp brings, or do you hanker for a butterfly-style clasp on a dress watch?

Most people will be able to find a watch in the Scarifour collection to suit their style and budget thanks to the vast array of different dial colours available and option to choose the movement. The manual-wind option will keep the mechanical purists happy whilst not adding any thickness to the case. The quartz option will appeal to those looking to keep costs down and want the grab-and-go sensibility that it brings. However, even quartz-phobic watch nerds shouldn’t dismiss the quartz version as I think there is a case to be made for it here. Being a dress watch, the need for precise timing will rarely be a thing. Plus, one of the main reasons cited for buying mechanical is that people love to watch the sweep seconds hand glide around the dial. With the Scarifour there is no seconds hand, so it makes no difference which version you buy on that front!

If you get in quick at the Kickstarter launch prices of £266 for quartz and £460 for the Sellita manual-wind), there isn’t much competition to be honest. In fact, I’d be hard-pressed to come up with alternative rectangular watches that are this slim and have Swiss movements. However, once the Kickstarter is over and full retail prices kick in, the stiffest competition for the Scarifour Hand-wound will come from the likes of the MAEN Manhattan 37 or 39 (€680 and £1000 respectively). Whereas competition for the quartz version competition will come from brands like Second Hour (£330) and Vario (£344). However, even then, the Scarifour is a worthy contender. Plus, it will be significantly cheaper for UK buyers who are often put off by frankly extortionate customs and excise costs when buying watches from outside the UK.

With the Scarifour, Benjamin James set out to make a unique but timeless modern rectangular watch that balances restrained proportions with comfort and wrist presence. I think he’s achieved his goal!

The post Hands-on with the Scarifour – a refreshing debut watch from Benjamin James appeared first on 12&60.

With a name originating from the affectionate term divers’ give to clear seas, the Gin Clear MK2 is the brand’s flagship diver and is priced at $1200AUD (approx. £620 / €725). You can choose from four colours; Ocean Sunset, Sunburst Black, Pastel Blue or Arctic White as seen here. The MK2 comes with a two-year warranty and is said to offer numerous improvements over the Gin Clear MK1. So how does it stack up against claims made by the brand?

The Case and Wearing Experience

The 316L stainless steel case has a diameter of 40mm, is 12.25mm thick and has a comfortable lug-to-lug of 47mm. The case and bracelet have been given a surface hardening treatment to 1200 Vickers which makes it very durable, and the case profile with its curved lugs help the watch conform well to the wrist. The whole package is solid feeling but refined with high quality finishing comprising a sophisticated mix of polished and brushed elements. The watch strikes a perfect balance between tool watch and dressy diver, in much the same way as an Omega Seamaster does. This will feel right at home from beach to boardroom and everything in between.

The case sides are finely brushed and flanked top and bottom by wide, polished chamfers which extend the entire length of the case, including around the crown guards, and narrow as they reach the tapered lugs. The elegant, brushed lugs feature internally polished sections somewhat akin to slimmed down versions of the lyre/twisted lugs you’d find on an Omega Seamaster.

The uni-directional 120-click diver’s bezel has a brushed finish and overhangs the case by a millimetre bringing the effective diameter of the watch up to 41mm. The edge of the bezel has knurling in the shape of conical squares and the top side of the bezel gently tapers up to meet the scratch-resistant flat sapphire crystal, which has six layers of internal anti-reflective coating. The glossy ceramic insert features a countdown bezel with alternating Arabic numerals at every ten minutes, hash marks at every five and a graduated scale from zero to 15 minutes. All bezel markings are filled with Swiss BGW9 Super-LumiNova for excellent low-light legibility. A lume pip at 12 o’clock is framed and accented by a red inverted triangle. The bezel action is superb, and it hits the markers perfectly with very little back-play. Grip is also good, especially considering the bezel is fairly shallow to help keep the overall thickness down.

On the reverse is a solid screw-down caseback which is brushed around the perimeter with an outer band giving the key specifications. In the centre section, are the words ‘Gin Clear’ along with an oil pressed embossed depiction of a Hawksbill Turtle and wave pattern picked out in polished relief, set against a bead-blasted background. Again, it’s all perfectly executed and the pictorial elements are very three dimensional.

The screw-down crown is protected by beefy crown guards and helps provide the watch with an impressive 300m water resistance. The crown is grippy, feels confident and like most things on the watch is of bespoke design, being knurled in two sections separated by a red coloured inlay. On the crown face is a polished Second Hour logomark set in relief against sandblasting.

The bracelet is a five-link design with alternating brushed and polished sections. All removeable links are secured by single sided screws and the brushed outer links have polished chamfers to match the watch case. Lug width is 20mm, but the bracelet tapers down to 18mm to meet the twin-trigger single fold-over clasp. There is plenty of on-the-fly adjustment, and the bracelet is also quick-release so it’s easy to swap the bracelet out for a strap of your choice. The second hour logo is engraved onto the top section of the clasp.

The Dial

I’d describe the dial of the Gin Clear as ‘deceptively simple’. The dial surface is completely smooth and finished with a clear enamel lacquer that gives the dial depth and lustre so that it looks crisp and clean (on the black version the dial is sunburst). Second Hour describe the dials as the ‘highest grade dials available’ and whilst this is a statement that’s difficult to quantify, all I can say is that they certainly appear to be flawless.

The dial is adorned with a mix of circular and custom-shaped applied indices which are mirror-polished. The bespoke indices at 4, 8 and 12 o’clock are isosceles trapezoid in shape, have bevelled edges on every side and feature two strips filled of Super-LumiNova C3 X1. The way these custom indices are executed is simply lovely and clearly a point of pride for the folks at Second Hour. The only way I can describe it is that solid blocks of lume sit atop cut-outs within the steel section. These blocks of lume are then bevelled to perfectly match the bevels of the steel sections. It’s probably the cleanest application of lume I’ve seen on a microbrand to date. A shortened index sits beneath the colour-matched date window at six o’clock, and also benefits from a single block of lume. The circular applied hour markers are filled with Swiss BGW9 Super-LumiNova.

At the outer edge of the dial is a simple minute track printed in black, with Arabic numerals at every five-minute mark and ‘60’ printed at 12 o’clock in red.

The hour hand and minute hand are diamond cut and split into two sections, each filled with Swiss BGW9 Super-LumiNova. What’s not immediately apparent is that these hands are creased along the centre, including the central strips. The stick seconds hand is painted red toward the tip and has a circular lume pip framed in red. The counterbalance of the seconds hand is a skeletonised version of the brands logomark. This logomark also features on the dial at 12 o’clock. The only other dial text is ‘Gin Clear’ printed in black and ‘30ATM’ printed in red at the six o’clock above the colour-matched date wheel with bevelled frame.

The Swiss Movement

Remarkably, especially for this price, Second Hour uses the refined Swiss ETA 2824 automatic movement for the Gin Clear. This premium movement is not easy for microbrands to get hold of, so it does help make the watch feel a bit special, and it’s widely regarded as more reliable than the Sellita equivalent. The movement is hackable (stop the seconds hand to set precise time) and can be hand wound. It beats at 28,600vph and has a power reserve of 42 hours. Out-of-the-box accuracy on the ETA 2824 is rated at +10/-20s per day, but Second Hour improve on this by regulating the movements and testing them in two positions which brings the accuracy into single figures, (+/-9 seconds per day).

Final Thoughts

Microbrands continue to amaze me, none more so that Second Hour. What the Gin Clear offers for the asking price is unreal. The Gin Clear wouldn’t look out of place in a head-to-head with watches from mainstream brands that are two or three times its cost. Perhaps the biggest compliment I can pay Second Hour is that, whilst obviously different in terms of design, the Gin Clear captures much of the overall intangible ’look and feel’ of the Omega Seamaster. And when you consider that the Gin Clear is roughly a tenth of the price of the Seamaster, it’s an attractive and compelling proposition.

The Second Hour Gin Clear MK2 is a great option for those looking for a dive watch on the dressier side, but with the specification of a real tool watch. It’s very difficult to criticise any aspect relating to the quality and finishing. In fact, I only have two negatives. Firstly, daytime legibility on the white dial variant is not always great. This could have been improved by using black coloured surrounds to the indices and hands. However, I suspect it’d be more difficult to achieve such impeccable execution if a painted finish had been used. Secondly, I’d like to see Second Hour offer a rubber strap, at least as an optional extra at time of purchase. 

My only other critical comments relate to design and are entirely subjective. To my eyes, there is slightly too much ‘dead space’ on the dial. With no texture or different finishes to the dial surface, it can appear a bit austere and sparse. I wonder if simply using the brands wordmark, i.e. ‘Second Hour’ instead of the logomark at 12 o’clock would address this (the brand’s logomark doesn’t really do it for me either). Secondly, the design and placement of the custom-shaped indices at 12, 4 and 8, might be a love it or hate it thing for some. I’ve become accustomed to them and am now very much in the ‘love’ camp. At the end of the day at least they are different and it’s impossible not to be impressed by the execution. Finally, some readers might be disappointed not to see an exhibition caseback considering the premium movement ticking away inside. But it’s worth remembering that this would have probably increased the case thickness slightly.

If none of these things bother you, then the Gin Clear is the complete package for sure. Usually at this price point either quality or features must play second fiddle to the other. This is not the case here. The refinement and quality on show here is exemplary, from the contoured and comfortable case to the solid and beautiful bracelet and impeccable dial. It’s a feature-rich watch too. Swiss movement, check. Ceramic bezel, check. 300m water resistance, check. On-the-fly bracelet adjustment, check. Quick-release bracelet, check. Powerful lume, check. Need I go on…?!

Provided the design and size works for you, the Gin Clear MK2 should certainly make it onto your ‘next dive watch’ shortlist’! Pre-orders are currently scheduled for August 2024, with shipping to commence around October. My advice is to join the Second Hour HQ Facebook group to be first in-line when orders open. They may also release different strap options closer to the launch.

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The Arcturus LC-2 Vanda Tourbillon Range

The LC-2 Vanda Tourbillon (Lion City-2 Vanda Tourbillon to give it it’s full name) is only the brand’s third release, but it’s their most ambitious to date with the most resolved design language. And as the name would suggest, it’s powered by a tourbillon movement, seen through the exhibition window at six o’clock.

The Kickstarter campaign opens on 29 February and there are three options to choose from, all based on the same design, just with different dial materials and colours used. The silver guilloche dial with black chapter ring variant is the most subdued and the cheapest of the three, starting at just USD968/SGD1288. The Aventurine dial version is a bolder choice giving that shimmering ‘night sky’ look and is the most expensive option, starting at USD1420/SGD1888. And finally, the most vibrant option, and the watch on review here, features a green Malachite dial and is priced at USD1194/SGD1588 for ‘early bird’ buyers.

To understand the symbolic naming convention here, Lion City is the nickname given to Singapore, and Vanda is named after the Vanda Miss Joaquim, Singapore’s national flower, chosen because of its resilience and year-round blooming qualities. A cross between Vanda hookeriana and Vanda teres, the orchid is named in memory of Miss Agnes Joaquim, who bred the flower in her garden at Tanjong Pagar in 1893. It was recorded as Singapore’s first orchid hybrid and the world’s first Vanda hybrid, and soon became popular all over the world as a cut flower due to its beauty and hardiness. Arcturus’ founder, Alexander Ian Loh, felt that this was representative of the Singaporean culture and what he wanted Arcturus to stand for – resilient, year-round blooming, beautiful and hardy.

The Case and Wearing Experience

I’m going to get straight to the point here. The Arcturus LC-2 certainly won’t be for everybody as its rather masculine dimensions will rule it out for those with smaller wrists. Admittedly, to a certain extent the Vanda needs to be fairly large to accommodate the tourbillon design. However, its 44mm diameter feels excessive considering the recent market shift to more modest proportions. On the plus side, the proportionally reasonable lug-to-lug measurement of 50mm combined with a shallow caseback and downturned lugs help the watch conform to the wrist. And the thickness is just 11.8mm, which is remarkable for an affordable tourbillon. Sadly, despite these factors, the Vanda wears like a large 44mm due to its cushion-case design. What does this mean for the wearing experience? Well, let’s just say that this is most definitely not a watch for shy and retiring people. It has wrist presence! And with the Vanda’s 316L stainless steel case being almost entirely polished, save for the radially brushed top face of the top bezel, it doesn’t hide its presence.

In terms of case geometry, each surface area gently transitions to the next, with nothing resembling a sharp edge in sight. This includes the lugs. Topping off the case is a double-stepped bezel which surrounds the scratch resistant sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating applied to the inside. It’s worth noting that the sapphire is a custom-cut shape, something quite uncommon on ‘affordable’ watches, so Kudos to Arcturus here.

The caseback, secured by eight screws, comprises a solid section with deeply engraved Vanda orchid design on a sandblasted background, and a custom-cut exhibition window made from sapphire crystal. The caseback is very well executed and it’s nice to get a glimpse of the impressive movement from the reverse side. The large onion style crown is a joy to use, winds very smoothly and provides plenty of grip. Water resistance is 50m, which is as you’d except for a dressy tourbillon watch.

Overall, case finishing is fine, but there is room for improvement. For example, on my review watch some machining marks were evident on the polished sides of the upper bezeI. I would have also liked to have seen contrasting finishes used on the case along with sharper transitions between sections for more definition. This would visually break up the considerable mass and make scratches less obvious. However, being the type of watch it is, I’m pretty sure you’re not likely to be wearing this watch for any ‘rufty-tufty’ duties, so it’s not the end of the world. 

The Vanda is supplied on a 22mm full-grain leather, embossed croc-print strap which tapers to 18mm and has a polished tang buckle. The strap is glossy and quite rigid, but well made. Whilst I’d personally have preferred a softer leather strap with a matt finish, the 22mm lug width means that it should be relatively easy to find alternative straps if croc-print isn’t your style. However, I think Arcturus would be wise to at least offer an alternative for straps at time of purchase.

The Dial

Since the first prototype pictures were shown on social media, Arcturus has made changes to the dial, and to my eyes the additional refinements have all been positive. It also illustrates that this is a brand that aims to get things right from the outset. The hour track now has a lovely domed shape, and there is a bevelled and polished ‘coin’ featuring the Vanda Miss Joaquim orchid at the 12 o’clock position instead of the full brand name. The brand plate has instead been tastefully incorporated at the six o’clock position as part of the minute track, just below the tourbillon cut-out.

The dial of the LC-2 Vanda is complex and comprises three layers. Working from the outside in, we have a railroad minute track which is radially brushed. This sits on the uppermost dial layer and juts out at three cardinal points to lead the eye to the 3, 9 and 12 o’clock on the main chapter ring, with the shaped section at 12 o’clock replacing the roman numeral entirely.

Next up, rather than individual applied hour markers, the LC-2 has a unique domed chapter ring which is a key design element introduced after Arcturus’ first protype. This chapter ring has circular brushing and large Roman numerals arranged in a radial fashion from 8 o’clock to 4 o’clock. Deep engraved lines separate each hour zone. A watchmaker’s four is used to balance the eight, and the 5, 6 and 7 are omitted to make room for the star of the show, the tourbillon viewing window. Rather than being printed, engraved or applied, the Roman numerals are completely cut out, right through to the green malachite dial beneath. The dial is utterly gorgeous with contrasting shades of striations. Thankfully, other dial furniture is kept to a bare minimum, with just the aforementioned Vanda ‘coin’ at 12 and brand name plate underneath the tourbillon window at six o’clock.

Two visible screws secure the vertically brushed tourbillon plate, which has a wide polished chamfer to the inner. It would be nice if these screws were mirrored to maintain symmetry, rather than being positioned at the same angle, but I do understand that this isn’t always possible.

Skeletonised and polished hands complete the package. The Breguet-style hour hand is creased down the centre with an oversized circular aperture towards the tip. This aperture is carefully placed so that it perfectly frames the Vanda ‘coin’ as it passes over, a lovely detail. The Dauphine-style minute hand tapers considerably from the pinion down to the tip. The Vanda doesn’t have a seconds hand, so this isn’t a watch to wear when you need precise timing. However, because the tourbillon regulator oscillates whilst turning 360 degrees over the course of one minute, you can get an approximation of seconds by tracking a set point on the tourbillon, such as one of the blued screws.

The Tourbillon Movement

The star of the show is undoubtedly the tourbillon movement. For those unfamiliar with the tourbillon, it is a type of movement that was invented by Abraham Louis Breguet way back in 1795 and patented in 1801, as a way of bringing greater accuracy by compensating for positional variance. This was achieved by installing the entire escapement inside a mobile carriage that performs a complete rotation each minute. Since Breguet invented the single-axis tourbillon, other horologists have taken his design even further and it’s widely believed that the flying tourbillon, so called because it appears to float in mid-air, was invented in Glashütte, in 1920, by Albert Helwig. The ‘flying’ is achieved by securing the carriage from underneath, so that visible top bridges can be done away with altogether. It’s the flying tourbillon design that we see here in the Arcturus LC-2 Vanda.

Whilst watchmakers have since found alternative (and cheaper) ways of achieving consistent and high levels of accuracy, premium watch brands such as JLC, Patek Phillipe and IWC continue to make tourbillon watches to showcase what they are capable of. These watches typically sell in the high tens of thousands of pounds. In recent years however, brands with less clout have been challenging the big boys by innovating, and it’s become easier for those with less deep pockets to join the rich and famous. That said, even the most affordable Swiss-made tourbillons typically start at around £8000, which is still out of reach for many.

Enter Arcturus LC-2 Vanda!

Prices for the Arcturus on the other hand start at under £1000 at the time of launch, which is a lot more attainable for watch enthusiasts who have long yearned to add a tourbillon to their collection. This offers insane value for money, but how is this possible? Most of the cost reduction is achieved by using a Chinese-made Peacock SL-5200 Flying Tourbillon hand-wound movement. Secondly, being a microbrand aimed at enthusiasts, unlike big-name brands, Arcturus doesn’t have to put excessively hefty markups on its watches to justify heritage or prop up huge marketing budgets.

The Peacock SL-5200 Flying Tourbillon has a power reserve of 48-hours and a beat rate of 21,600bph. The standard accuracy rating for this movement is +/- 10s to +/- 20s, but Arcturus has regulated the movement further to provide an improved accuracy of +/-10s per day, tested to four positions. This is to be applauded.

Of course, the standard of movement finishing doesn’t match that of a high-end Swiss tourbillon, but you can’t expect it to. What is on show is generally finished to a decent standard though, and it’s only when you look under magnification that small flaws are visible (e.g. tooling marks and a discoloured blued screw on my review watch). Importantly though, the movement looks like a work of art and you still get to be mesmerised by the magical dance of the tourbillon; a real visual feast for the eyes!

Final Thoughts

Th Arcturus LC-2 Vanda is a real mixed bag. On the one hand, I think some watch enthusiasts will find the watch too big and a bit brash, with its elaborate and largely traditional design. If the watch was shrunk down to 42mm, it would undoubtedly have a wider reach and would also come across as a bit more sophisticated. That said, no watch is going to appeal to everyone, and it doesn’t have to. The Vanda’s trump card is simple…value for money! The mere fact that it’s a flying tourbillon and uses exotic dial materials and complex design is worth the price of admission alone. To even get a watch that houses a tourbillon movement for this kind of money would have been unheard of before the Chinese began making them.

As a tourbillon isn’t exactly a common purchase even for seasoned watch collectors, I did some research for this article to help position the Vanda in the world of tourbillon watches. To put it into context, a generic Ali Express ‘factory watch’ devoid of any level of design and from a faceless organisation could set you back approx. £600. At the other end of the scale, even an ‘affordable’ Swiss-made tourbillon will cost you upwards of £8000 (Horage, Frederique Constant, Delma etc).The Vanda cleverly straddles the line between the two, so it’s remarkable that Arcturus can offer this watch for less than £1000. It combines complex dials that use exotic materials, custom-made components such as uniquely shaped sapphire crystals and domed chapter ring, and a regulated movement that’s feels and sounds surprisingly refined. It’s also a watch with a unique design language and lots of character. It looks unlike anything else, and this is refreshing. Arcturus offer a two-year warranty and even generously offer to pay 50% of future servicing costs to help quell concerns over costs of tourbillon ownership. As long as you take into consideration the case size and the fact that finishing in places could be improved, in many ways the Vanda offers an unmissable opportunity for those who, like me, are fascinated by the mechanics and romance of a tourbillon but have previously thought them to be out of reach.

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Overview of the UBIQ DUAL Series 01

Every aspect of the DUAL (bar the movement) is designed in-house at UBIQ headquarters in Singapore. At the time of launch five colour options are available, all injected with colour and personality. Each colour is limited to just 100 pieces and has been assigned a suitably fun name. My review watch is the Applesour, with a dual-tone green bezel over a warm grey dial. You can also choose from Beetred (purple and silver bezel with red accents over a Purple dial), Bumble (black and yellow bezel over a Black dial), Navysilver – (silver and navy bezel over an off-white dial with yellow highlights, Seaset (teal and orange bezel over a teal dial). Aside from colour, the design is the same across all five. UBIQ’s Kickstarter campaign is already underway and the DUAL series 1 is price at $519 USD. This figure will increase to $649 after the Kickstarter campaign ends on 8 March 2024. The warranty is two years, and each watch comes with a stainless steel bracelet and additional FKM strap inside a custom-crafted coloured pouch. 

The Case and Wearing Experience

The 316L stainless steel case is a crowd-pleasing 39mm diameter, with a lug-to-lug measurement of 47mm and an overall thickness of 11.8mm on my prototype watch. UBIQ has since managed to slim down the case even more and all production models will be just 11.5mm thick, including sapphire!

A mix of finishes is used for the case and bracelet. When viewed from top down, the case is visually nearly all lugs. The slim lugs and caseback feature circular brushing, whilst the case sides are sandblasted and recessed, flanked top and bottom by two lovely, wide, polished chamfers. These give the watch a lovely side profile and provide some distinction. What’s not immediately apparent is that the lugs have a lovely additional design flourish; small sculptured, sandblasted cut-outs where they meet the case, kind of like a reduced take on the Omega twisted lugs. Now that’s attention to detail with your finishing! Finally, the case is vertically brushed between the lugs, which you only see when the strap is removed. The end links are an extremely good fit to the watch and when you run your fingers over the join, it’s almost imperceivable.

The flat link bracelet is longitudinally brushed with polished sides and wide chamfers on the upper clasp. Although it has the appearance of a three-link design, each link is one solid piece. However, the bracelet is good quality and tapers down from 20mm to 16mm, so it’s comfy too. Thankfully, it’s also quick-release so even those new to watches can easily swap the bracelet out for the excellent, and very pliable, supplied colour-matched FKM rubber strap to give the watch a completely different look. No tools required! Another plus in my book, is that the bracelet links are secured by single-sided screws. Finally, the clasp is signed and has five micro-adjustment holes to help achieve the perfect fit.

The dual time bi-directional bezel with matt aluminium insert is where the colour pop begins. The bezel inset is split into two. The outer segment is a dark green and printed with a 12-hour scale for help tracking a second time zone, whilst the inner segment is a lighter green and printed with Arabic numerals at every 10, in the manner of a traditional dive watch countdown bezel. Alternate hour markers on the bezel have lines leading to the main dial indices for easy reference. An oversized 12 o’clock triangle in golden yellow completes the picture and aids orientation at night. All bezel markings have a green C1 luminescent compound applied. The bezel itself has a polished u-shaped coin edge (a nod to the U of UBIQ) for easy grip, and I’d describe the rotating bezel as solid. Being a 60-click bezel there is nowhere to hide with alignment, but I’m glad to say that the bezel on my review watch lined up perfectly.

The flat sapphire which has a rounded edge and sits slightly proud of the case, and has an effective anti-reflective coating applied to the inside. The polished 6mm crown bears the UBIQ ‘U’ logo within a contrasting bead-blasted relief. It’s well-proportioned, engages positively and is easy to turn thanks to the u-shaped knurling which mimics the bezel. Being screw-down it also helps the DUAL achieve its 200m water resistance rating.

The stainless steel screwdown caseback simply features engraved typography which lists the essential info (brand, model name, automatic, designed in Singapore, and xxx/100). This info sits within a squared circle border, which carries over the design language used throughout the DUAL.

I’d say the watch wears ever so slightly bigger than the 39mm diameter and 47mm lug-to-ug would suggest. Why? Although the case sits close to the wrist due to its very slim caseback, the profile of the case and lugs is almost completely flat, with just the tinniest hint of curvature (almost imperceivable), so I can’t say it hugs the wrist.

UBIQ has said it will smoothen the case profile chamfers for production models. I can only assume this means that the very bottom edge of the case sides will be smoothed off slightly so the case feels smoother against the skin, as I couldn’t see any other need for improving the chamfers. Other improvements that will be made to production watches include polished finishing to the crown edge, improved QC on the bezel printing and shortening the female end link to decrease gap. Again, I couldn’t see any major issues with any of these things, so the fact that UBIQ are making these improvements is testament to their high standards.

Dial and Hands That Pop!

The Applesour sits somewhere between the vibrancy of the Seaset and the comparatively subdued Navysilver colourway.

The dial is deliciously simple on the face of it, but like everything on this watch, it’s clearly been thought about. The dial itself is a lovely warm grey colour, which reminds me a lot of the ‘taupe’ dial found on the Tudor Black Bay 58 925. On the outer edge of the dial is a minute track printed white on black, with no fractions of seconds, keeping with the ethos of clean design. The hash marks at the five minute/hour markers are extended and lead the eye to meet the oversized polished ‘inflated square’ applied hour markers, with blue BGW9 lume.

Rounded rectangles are used for the 3, 9, and 12, and at six sits one of the best executions of a date window I’ve ever seen. At first glance it just looks like another index as it features the same frame design as the other indices, and it doesn’t break the radial alignment. What’s more, because the main indices are pure white in colour, the black on white doesn’t break the colour continuity either. Very clever. Even the date-haters will struggle to complain about this one!

The custom hour hand has a surround that’s colour-matched to inner bezel and filled with C1 lume. The arrow-tipped minute hand has a polished silver-coloured surround, and the lollipop-style seconds hand has a green tip and framed lume pip which glides directly over the hour markers.

I love the dial execution. The applied indices are tall and help bring considerable depth to the face of the watch and the AR sapphire copes well with reflections. Add in crisp, clear bright-white lume and it all comes together to bring great legibility and freshness to the face of the watch.

The lume design is also appealing, but whilst initially the brightness is good, it does fade quite quickly. However, UBIQ will be upgrading all lume to Grade A set for production models. UBIQ will also be improving the quality of the date printing on production models.

Finally dial text is kept simple, with just the brand name, model name and water resistance rating being printed in white.

The Movement

The UBIQ DUAL Series 1 is fitted with the Miyota 9015 movement, which is probably my favourite of all the affordable movements typically fitted to microbrand watches. It’s nothing exceptional but is extremely reliable and reasonably accurate (within -10/+30 sec per day). This movement beats at 28,800bph so the sweep is smooth and the power reserve is 42 hours. UBIQ have fitted a customised date wheel, and the seconds also hack, so you can stop the movement and precisely set the time to a reference time.

Final Thoughts

The UBIQ DUAL Series 01 is a breath of fresh air, with a very appealing design and a perfect suite of colour palettes. The whole package is so well conceptualised and executed even down to the packaging and it puts a lot of big names brands to shame.

I’ve been so impressed with the DUAL that I’m going to break with tradition here and get the negatives out the way first. Try as I might, the truth it’s proved difficult to come up with much of any significance especially when you consider the £400 asking price and the list of improvements that UBIQ has already promised for the production models. So it boils down to just two things for me. No case curvature, and no on-the-fly toolless bracelet adjustment. That’s it! By the time you read this an on-the-fly micro adjustment might even be included, as it’s a stretch goal. I’m sure some people may have preferred a ceramic bezel for extra durability, but you need to remember the DUAL isn’t really marketed as a full on ‘ready for battle’ watch, or even a dive watch, despite it’s 200m water resistance and rotating bezel. Plus, it would be a huge technical challenge to achieve a dual-coloured ceramic bezel.

I really appreciate great design and thoughtful details, and this watch hits all criteria on that front. You can absolutely tell that founder Drayson is a Creative Director! This versatile watch has great specifications, is a crowd-pleasing size and puts fun front-and-centre with its fresh, unique design. All-in-all it’s one of the most ‘complete’ debut watches I’ve reviewed to date, and it most certainly will not leave a sour taste in your mouth!

If you like what you see, I wouldn’t hang around as I think these will prove to be very popular. And remember there is just 100 of each colour available!

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Overview – Helicon Master 62 Dive Watch

The Master 62 range is inspired by a 1962 prototype Diver’s Watch found in the archives of a long-lost Swiss Watchmaker (Helicon don’t say which brand, and nothing obvious springs to mind for me here, sorry readers). Pitched by Helicon as a dive watch built for modern adventures the range comprises five unique variants, all priced at £560. Visually the main selling point of the Master 62 range is the unique dials, both in terms of colour and finish. Up for review here is the Blue Hour dial, but you can choose from Lichen Green, Iridium (a kind of burnt orange), Claret, or for those less attracted to colour, Granite. Whichever option you choose, each is special in its own right. What’s more, each variant is truly limited to just 50 pieces, never to be repeated. You can even let Helicon know which serial number you’d like and if it’s still available, it’s yours!

The Case and Wearing Experience

The 316L stainless steel case of the Master 62 has a compact diameter of 38.5mm, and a lug-to-lug measurement of 48mm. The overall thickness is proportionally a little chunky at 13.9mm, but it’s nothing out of the ordinary for a 200m dive watch. The website photos show the watches with male end-links, but I’m pleased that Helicon has now switched to female end-links, so whilst the watch has more wrist presence than your average 38.5mm watch, it still wears very comfortably and should work well on a wide variety of wrist sizes.

The thick mid-case is slab-sided and there is only the slightest of downturns at the lugs. However, thanks to the shallow caseback the watch still sits very close to the wrist which is a good thing. So, whilst it’s not a wrist hugger, it’s certainly a wrist-nestler!

A brushed finish is used for much of the case and three-link oyster-style bracelet, but the case-sides and edges of the bracelet links are high polished. Whilst the case and bracelet are simple in terms of geometry with no additional chamfers, crown guards or unusual finishes, they are very well executed and reminiscent of the original Tudor Black Bay, both in terms of look, feel and heft. Incidentally, the 38.5mm Master 62 sized for my 7 ¼ inch wrist weighs in at 161g, as opposed to 164g for the 41mm Tudor Black Bay (ETA version).

The 20mm bracelet tapers down to 18mm and is adjusted using push pins. The diver’s style clasp features a single action fold-over with three holes of micro-adjustment, and a twin-trigger push-button release with additional security fold-over. Unfortunately, there’s room for improvement with the bracelet clasp and it’s a bit of a let-down compared to the rest of the watch. The milled inner section is fine, but the outer sections are poor. The diver’s extension (and connection point between the bracelet and the clasp) is made of thin ‘unfinished’ metal, the outer security fold-over had a slight ‘lift’ and tolerances on the main pressed-metal fold-over could be tightened up to reduce the gap between it and the bracelet. For me it’s always a disappointment when clasps are overlooked, as it’s probably the part of the watch that you physically interact most with on a daily basis. I also think it’d be nice if Helicon offered other strap options, even if it came with an added cost.

The 120-click unidirectional barrel-shaped rotating diver’s bezel overhangs the case slightly and is polished to its top and bottom chamfers. The bezel lines up perfectly and has a very positive, solid action. The uniform coin edge of the bezel also makes it easy to grip. The bezel insert is made of blue scratch-resistant ceramic which took Helicon a year to perfect. The bezel has a clean, purposeful design with no numerals, only C3 super-LumiNova filled hash-marks and a 12’oclock triangle denoting increments of elapsed time. This no-nonsense look suits the tool watch aesthetic well. Protecting the dial is a scratch-resistant domed sapphire with anti-reflective coating on the inside. A polished stainless steel divider sits between the ceramic bezel insert and the sapphire crystal, which, together with the wide outer polished bevel of the bezel, brings a subtle touch of refinement.

The polished screw-down crown is signed with the Helicon ‘H’, and the stainless steel screw-down caseback features a polished Helicon logo and nicely executed 3d depiction of a pearl diver set against a sand-blasted background. The case has a countersunk recess for the stem of the crown and a cut-out that allows for an easier finger pull. Water resistance is an impressive 200m. Each caseback is also individually numbered in the format ‘xx/50’. On my review watch, the crown didn’t engage very positively, and I found that I had to attempt screw-down more than once. I might just have been unlucky with my watch and of course, being a review watch, it may well have passed through several hands before it reached me, but I wouldn’t be doing my job properly if I didn’t point it out.

The Dial and Hands

The dial on the Helicon Master 62 Blue Hour is pretty special and each dial is created by hand, the fade or ‘ombre’ effect is unique to each watch, making every single watch truly individual.

Any experienced photographer or artist will be familiar with the term ‘blue hour’, a very special time of the morning just before sunrise, or evening just after sunset. Occurring in fine weather, the blue hour is a spectacular feast for the eyes, which casts a beautiful light as the deep blue sky fades to the warm orange glow of the waxing or waning sun. Helicon has rather magically captured this moment in the dial of the Master 62 Blue Hour by masterfully hand-finishing every dial to create a wonderful polychromatic fade from the blue upper half of the dial to the orange bottom half of the dial. This gives the dial a beautiful three-dimensional shimmer and brings life to the watch face. In the flesh, the dial is certainly a bit of a Chameleon. In strong light the contrast between the two colours is vivid, but in low light the transition looks softer and more subdued. It makes for a great summer watch!

I’m a watch collector with an extensive collection, so I’m at the point where I’m always on the lookout for something a bit unique. The Blue Hour therefore certainly gets my seal of approval, and if anything, it grew on me the more time I spent with it. However, there’s no denying that it’ll probably be a bit of a marmite choice. You may be loving the creativity at play here, or you may be thinking ‘couldn’t they decide what colour to do the dial?!’. Luckily, the other dial colours are still unique but not so outlandish, so you should be able to find the right option to express yourself.

Working from the outside of the dial inwards, a printed minute track in white sits inside of the straight-sided, brushed stainless steel rehaut. Most of the hour markers are square and printed in white, to which Swiss C3 Super-LumiNova is applied. However, unique, polished Art Deco-style applied indices are used for the 6, 9 and 12 o’clock markers and filled with C3.

Simple baton-shaped polished hour and minute hands also have central strips of lume, and a stick seconds hand features a rectangular lume pip.  Whilst the hands are simple and flat, they appear to be perfectly executed, with no rough edges, even under a 5x magnification loupe. Impressive!

A custom-made roulette wheel date window sits at 3 o’clock and alternates between black on white and red on white.This is a nice touch that will undoubtedly please some watch enthusiasts, but I would have loved to have seen an alternating white-on-blue and white-on-orange roulette so that it’s more bespoke to the watch. However, I’m guessing this might not have been possible due to the cost implications of applying the same principle across five dial colours, all made in low numbers. Finally, the top bevel of the date window frame is orange which contrasts against the blue half of the dial, and the bottom bevel is blue to contrast against the orange half – it’s a quirky little ‘easter egg’ that only really revealed itself as I spent more time with the watch.

The Movement

The Master 62 series uses a standard Seiko NH35 automatic movement, which features hacking and hand-winding. With a 41-hour power reserve a beat rate of 21,600bhp (4Hz) and an accuracy rating of -20-/+40s per day, this isn’t a particularly high specification movement by modern standards. However, it’s reliable and robust, so whilst it would have been nice to see something a little more premium, in many ways it’s perfectly suited to a tool watch such as this. Helicon also designed its own milled IPS plated brass movement holder for increased anti-magnetic qualities and shock protection.

Final Thoughts

Priced at £560, the Master 62 has a lot to commend it. The overall build quality and level of finishing seems to be very good, with the case, bracelet and dial all living up to close scrutiny. The bezel action also deserves a special mention, as do unusual touches such as the roulette wheel date window and the unique applied indices.  

In terms of negatives, I’d like to see the threading on the crown improved significantly, as it doesn’t inspire confidence when using it (Note – Since publishing my review, I’ve been assured by Helicon that the crown issues I had were purely down to my watch being a review model that had been treated roughly on its travels. All production watches will undergo additional quality assurance checks before being sent to customers). Secondly, the fit and finish on the bracelet clasp doesn’t match the level of refinement offered elsewhere on the watch. I also think Helicon missed a trick by not making the bracelet quick-release, which seems to almost be expected now from microbrands at this price. The only other negative is a personal one, in that I’d love to see the overall height reduced by a millimetre or two, as proportionally I find it’s a little tall in relation to the diameter. That said, it’s not unreasonable for a 200m dive watch.

On balance this is a well-specified, solid and tough watch which has everything you could need in a dive watch that stylistically occupies the middle ground somewhere between full-on tool diver and refined daily wear diver. The combo of ceramic bezel, sapphire crystal, good legibility, strong lume and 200m water resistance is more than enough for all but the most extreme divers. But let’s not forget the star of the show, the unique dials, something seldom seen at this price! I applaud Helicon for trying something different here, particularly with the Blue Hour version. It’s not only fun, but takes some of the visual romanticism associated with a moon-phase (symbolic passing of time told through nature), and applies it in a unique way that, to my knowledge, hasn’t been done before at this price. Looking at the dial will evoke memories of looking out of a plane window or sitting on the beach watching the horizon until long after the madding crowds have left. And with each variant limited to just 50, these truly are limited, so you’ll certainly feel special sporting this wrist candy at your next Redbar meetup!

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Golby Watches is owned by Craig Golby, a midlands-based UK watch enthusiast and ETSY watch strap retailer who has taken the brave step of launching the Aquareef, a 41mm dive watch aimed firmly at the budget end of the microbrand spectrum. Craig is very open and transparent about the influences. He is a Christopher Ward fanatic and a regular of the Christopher Ward Enthusiasts Facebook Group, so it’s understandable that the Aquareef’s wave pattern dial is influenced by the earlier Christopher Ward dive watches that he loves. But whilst Christopher Ward has continued to move upmarket, the Aquareef rolls back the clock to where CW began and aims to offer the same affordability and value for money of these early watches.

Six Colourways to Place Your Hands On!

There are six colour variants of the Aquareef Dual Timer to choose from, said to be inspired by the UK coastline. Three feature white outer rotating dive bezels with colour-matched inner 12-hour bezels/chapter rings and hands (orange, teal or navy), and three feature black outer rotating bezels with colour-matched inner bezels and hands (orange, teal or yellow).  My review watch is the black dial with orange chapter ring.  Incidentally, the origins of the name Aquareef isn’t as obvious as you first think (well, only one half is!). It comes from Craig’s love of all things water (the aqua part), but get this, the ‘reef’ part comes from his love of the 90s English rock band, Reef, most famous for their hit ‘Place Your Hands’. ! Bet you didn’t see that one coming!

The Case and Wearing Experience

The Aquareef’s 316L stainless steel case is entirely brushed and measures 41mm in diameter (42mm including the bezel) and has a lug-to-lug of 50.5mm. Overall thickness is 13.1mm, not slim but perfectly reasonable for a dive style watch. The true lug-to-lug measurement on my prototype review watch is slightly longer at 54mm, due to the non-articulating male end links. The male end links also cause the outer sections of the second row of bracelet links to protrude from the lines. However, don’t let this put you off as Golby watches have already taken this feedback onboard and production watches will all come with female end links. This will not only look better but will add to the comfort factor and ensure that more wrist sizes can be accommodated. In all honesty though, I’d still say this watch is still most likely to appeal to those with medium to large wrists.

The case shape is simple, with no bevelling or polished elements, but the mid-case is vertically brushed, which is a nice touch. The case is curved between the lugs and the lugs are brushed longitudinally and have a slight downturn. Unlike most watches there are two crowns. The main screw-down crown used for adjusting and setting the time sits at 3 o’clock and is signed with the Golby ‘G’, whilst the 2 o’clock crown adjusts the colourful internal bezel.

The uni-directional outer diving bezel overhangs the case slightly allowing for easy grip when setting the countdown. On my prototype watch the bezel has 90 clicks, which is a bit puzzling. However, production watches will have a more conventional and useful 120 clicks, for precise operation and alignment. The bezel features a uniform coin edge and a tough ceramic insert with gloss finish, another great addition at this price point and something that will help the watch look good for longer. A conventional mix of numbers and hash marks are engraved into the ceramic insert. Bezel action is good but should be improved further with the addition of the new, more refined, 120-click bezel. 

Being a compressor-style dive watch, the Aquareef is a sort of hybrid between a dive watch and a GMT. One of the most noticeable differences of the Aquareef when compared to a true compressor dive watch is that the typical countdown scale found on the coloured rotating chapter ring is replaced with a 12-hour scale. The second crown, positioned at the 2 o’clock position is used for turning this ‘clickless’ inner bezel, which is used to help track a second time zone. This second crown doesn’t screw down, but the watch does still provide a reasonable 100m of water resistance, so it’ll be fine for swimming and skin diving, which let’s face it is all that most dive watch owners will ever do.

The three-link oyster style bracelet has fitted end links to perfectly match the contour of the case between the lugs. Links are secured by push pins and the strap can be quickly removed and changed thanks to the quick-release spring bars. A nice surprise, and something that’s not expected at this price is the inclusion of a rapid-adjust clasp. The clasp has several micro-adjustments slots, allowing ample range for making on-the-fly adjustments to ensure the perfect fit for your wrist. No tools required! Whilst on-the-fly adjustment is not uncommon now, at this price this is a wonderful addition. The clasp is also impressive in its design, being low profile, especially at the safety-lock clasp end. The adjustment mechanism works very well indeed. And run your finger over the safety clasp and you’ll quickly realise that it sits completely flush with the main body of the clasp, so much so that it’s virtually imperceivable, lovely! The only slight negative here is that the edges on the top part of the clasp would benefit from being smoothed off a bit more. However, again, Craig at Golby Watches has confirmed that this is being improved for the production models.

Case and bracelet finishing is generally excellent though, with consistent fine brushing and good tolerances. Dive watch purists might make an argument to forgo the exhibition caseback for a solid stainless steel one (which may also help reduce the case’s overall thickness), but then others will appreciate seeing the movement, so this is purely down to personal preference.

The Dial

The dial is an interesting mix of styles, some successful and some less so. As mentioned in my introduction, the main dial features an oil pressed wave pattern. This is paired with a wide and deep, slanted chapter ring which rotates and is printed in black with a 12-hour scale, comprising Arabic numerals for the hours and simple hash marks for the increments between. This inner rotating bezel is used to help track a second time zone. It has a metallic sheen and is operated by the crown at the 2 o’clock position. I think legibility here could be improved by using a larger font (Golby Watches has since confirmed that the Arabic numbers will be made ever so slightly larger on production models). However, in addition to this I’d also consider printing in white for more contrast and doing away with the incremental hash markers altogether.

The only applied dial furniture is the main hour indices, which are simple gun metal grey batons with strips of RT9 luminescent compound to help aid legibility in low light. Minute markers and micro-markers on the main dial are printed white on black or black on white, depending on which colourway you choose. Dial text comprises the Golby logo at 12, ‘limited edition’ either side of the 12 o’clock marker. Aquareef is printed in same colour as the chapter ring, and ‘Automatic’, ‘10ATM Water Resistant’ is printed above the 6. The framed date window, positioned at 3 o’clock, is colour-matched to the dial, another lovely touch and something that is often overlooked when designing budget-friendly watches.

I don’t think the Golby logo will be to everyone’s taste, me included. I’m not sure why, but for some reason I don’t think ‘boxed-in’ logos work particularly well on watches. However, with this being Golby’s inaugural watch, I don’t think it’d be too late to change this ahead of any further releases. Purists might not like the decision to go with a 12-hour inner GMT bezel or may prefer a 24-hour internal bezel, but for others it will be a useful addition that provides more functionality, after all you’ve still got the dive bezel as well!

I’m a big fan of a large handset on a dive watch, so the Aquareef’s oversized sword-style hands, which are also the perfect length, are welcome here. They feature colourful painted frames, colour matched to the chapter ring and have wide strips of RT9 luminescent compound. I’d not heard of this compound before and had to ask Craig about it. It turns out that it’s a Japanese compound which glows blue at night. I’d describe the lume as ‘reasonable’ at night, especially where you need it most, i.e. the hands.  However, to my eyes, in daylight it has a slightly murky greyish appearance rather than a bright, clean, high contrast white. For this reason, I’d probably like to see a different compound used.

The dial is protected by a flat sapphire crystal. My protoype watch didn’t have any anti-reflective coating applied and suffered from quite a lot of glare, but again Craig from Golby is already on the case and all production models will thankfully have five layers of internal anti-reflective coating. Obviously, I can’t pass comment on how effective this will be, but it should certainly help. I can’t help thinking that if improved lume was used and the hour indices were made bigger, it would lift the dial considerably and improve legibility even more.

The Movement

The Aquareef is fitted with a Seiko NH35a automatic movement, a popular choice at this price point due to its reliability and robustness. It has 24 jewels, beats at 21,600 and has a power reserve of 41 hours. Accuracy isn’t this movement’s strong point at -20s/+40s per day, but it’s perfectly adequate and the NH35a is a good solid movement for this watch at this price point and the right choice here, I think.

Final Thoughts

At the Kickstarter price of just £299, or £280 if you’re one of the first 100 backers, the Aquareef is a very solid alternative to mass market watches such as Seiko 5 sports watches or lower-end Orient, whilst offering better specifications and the feel-good factor that comes with supporting a small business. Everything is of a decent quality, and whilst it may not have a fully resolved design language…yet, this is understandable with a first watch and I’m hoping that any future Golby Watches will improve on this.

Of course, no watch at such a competitive price is going to perfect, but by the time customers receive their watches, the most significant negatives will have already been addressed (lack of AR coating to sapphire, bracelet end-links, and number of bezel clicks). Other improvements I’d like to see would be bigger applied hour markers and improved lume. Aside from these, my gripes mostly relate to styling, and of course this is subjective. I’d like to see the main crown moved to the four o’clock position, to bring more symmetry to the case and I’d revise the logo, or at least lose the square ‘containing box’, as I think it cheapens the look of the watch. Other than that, there’s very little to complain about given the very competitive launch price.

Golby Watches owner, Craig is a very straight-forward, honest guy and this is perfectly reflected in his first watch release. There is no pretence here. What the Aquareef lacks in originality and design flair, it gains in being an honest, capable, tough and well-specced watch that should prove to be reliable and all for an incredible price (around the same price as many quartz fashion watches!). And when you put it like that, it’s a no brainer! Who knows, Craig at Golby watches might even consider making further refinements ahead of the delivery of production watches, based on my feedback. If this does happen, the Aquareef 1.1 should be a very interesting proposition indeed, putting it high on the list of top affordable dive-style watches!

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Case and Wearing Experience

The CLAVIUS comes in a choice of two finishes, Black (Black dial with titanium case), or the Black Edition tested here, which features a black PVD case for a stealthy monochromatic look. The large 44mm diameter case of the CLAVIUS is a bold choice for such a simple watch with not much going on. However, don’t for one minute think that this is a bulky watch, far from it! With an overall thickness of just 9.1mm and no lugs to speak of, although it looks large, this can be worn on a surprising range of wrist sizes. It’s comfortable too, weighing in at a featherweight 42g without the strap, thanks to its Tri-Titanium case. As the name suggests, three different compounds of aluminium are used, with each alloy specifically chosen for its unique qualities best suited to the section of the case it’s used for – the bezel, the mid-case and the caseback. This makes the watch extremely light, strong, resistant to corrosion, anti-magnetic and hypoallergenic. Most of the case has a brushed finish, but sandblasting has been used to the undercut sections of the rear.

Whilst the case comprises three sections, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was a two-section case as the integration of the thin bezel and mid-case is virtually seamless. The caseback doesn’t protrude from the mid-case either as the entire depth of the movement, sapphire crystal and slim caseback outer ring are entirely sunken into the internals of the casing. This is discrete and a nice touch.

Another point of distinction is the geometry of the case, which is best appreciated when viewed in profile so that the attractive architectural arc of the rear is visible. A small, signed crown sits at three o’clock, which is surprisingly grippy thanks to the deep knurling and easy to grab hold of thanks to the undercut case design. However, this does also leave it somewhat more vulnerable to accidents!

The sapphire crystal is very slightly domed and has anti-reflective (AR) coating on both sides. The AR does a reasonable job, but for a minimalist watch that’s nearly all black, I feel that there is still too much reflection. Water resistance is just 50m, but this is fine as it’s not really the sort of watch you’re likely to take into the water anyway.

The lug width on the CLAVIUS is a broad 22mm and BOTTA offers a choice of six different straps, including stainless steel options. My watch came on a black unpadded organic leather strap with matching stitching, two keepers, and a simple black pin buckle. It tapers from 22mm to 20mm, and the leather is incredibly soft and supple with zero wear-in period needed. Whichever strap option you choose, they all continue the minimalist, ‘nothing unnecessary’, design language. Plus, with a 22mm lug width, it’ll be relatively easy to pick up an aftermarket strap if you prefer.

The Dial and Legibility

Working from the outside in, the main lower dial is a matt dark grey with simple, but slightly raised, printed batons for each hour marker, which are slightly thicker and longer for each of the cardinal points. The bright green hour and minute hands are only visible in this sector of the dial. The visible part of the hour hand is a stubby isosceles trapezoid shape which extends halfway across the outer dial, and the minute hand is a thin tapering triangle which extends nearly to the edge of the dial.

A large matt black disc obscures most of the lower dial and is raised to the underside of the sapphire crystal adding much needed sense of depth. This disc also conceals the stems of all three hands and the pinion. Arabic numerals in grey can be found at 6, 9 and 12 o’clock positions. Rectangular apertures are precisely cut out from the centre disk, through which you catch glimpses of the white seconds hand as it jumps from window to window in one second increments, in a manner somewhat reminiscent of a dead-beat seconds complication. This is very much the party trick of the CLAVIUS and what makes it unique. It’s ingenious in its simplicity and mesmerising to watch! Even though you know that underneath the floating dial, the seconds hand must be moving regularly at 8 beats per second like a normal automatic watch, no matter how hard you try, you can’t perceive it and you’d swear it’s only ‘ticking’ once per second. The BOTTA logo and ‘automatic’ text are cut-out at the 3 o’clock position, and this text fades in and out when the white seconds hand passes once a minute. 

Although the dial is uncluttered, I wouldn’t say legibility is a strength of the CLAVIUS. Even though the hands are bright, only small sections are visible. And whilst, of course, this is part of the design, I think the overall aesthetic could be retained whilst decreasing the size of the centre floating disk slightly to allow for larger visible sections of the hour and minute hands. Similarly, in low light, it can be difficult to see the time at a glance as the Super-LumiNova is fairly poor and doesn’t glow very brightly. For a watch such as this, I feel that the lume should be exceptional, but it’s sadly not.

Finally, whilst the CLAVIUS does have an anti-reflective coating applied to both sides of the sapphire crystal, I’d like to see reflections reduced further still. With a big expanse of all-black/dark grey dial and a domed shape crystal reflections are bound to be more prominent than on most watches.

Movement

BOTTA has opted for a Elaboré grade Sellita SW200-1 to power the watch, which can be seen through the exhibition sapphire caseback. This simple, but robust and accurate Swiss automatic movement has also been ‘individually adjusted by hand’, although BOTTA doesn’t elaborate any further on this. A custom rotor has also been fitted and bears the ‘CLAVIUS’ name acid etched in a gold colour. A nice design detail has also been etched into the rotor which mimics the cut-out dial apertures for the ‘digital’ seconds track on the front of the watch.

Final thoughts…!

I imagine the CLAVIUS will be a bit of a ‘marmite’ watch that will appeal to a narrow cross-section of buyers. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as it means that it’s daring to be different and stands out from the crowd. I can see it appealing to lovers of modernism, younger generations who have been raised on smart watches but have an interest in mechanical watches, and seasoned watch enthusiasts and collectors looking to add some novelty to their collection. However, given the CLAVIUS’ $1953 / €1830 price tag (at time of writing), it’s a big ask to expect the CLAVIUS to tempt people away from more conventional historied Swiss brands such as Oris, Longines and Hamilton at similar price points.

With a reliable Swiss movement, sapphire sandwich and titanium case, the CLAVIUS offers solid specifications, but nothing out of the ordinary. So, I guess its appeal will lie in its design-led, Bauhaus-inspired modernist aesthetic. BOTTA certainly puts out some distinctive watches, and CLAVIUS with its ‘digital’ seconds is perhaps one of the most unique of the brand’s two-handers. But the watch’s simplicity might be a stretch too far for some, and it could be argued that with such a large expanse of negative space on offer, a 40mm case might have sufficed.

With a watch this stripped down, I feel that what remains needs to be amplified. More extravagance could be lavished by way of top-tier engineering such as an oil-filled dial for the ultimate legibility, flawless execution of solid luminescent blocks for the hands, or applied indices cut with precision.

I admire BOTTA for doing things a little differently and the brand certainly has a niche. The CLAVIUS is a very clever design, without being complicated or expensive to manufacture. It’s a strikingly modern watch and a unique conversation piece, with a party trick certainly intrigues!

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Héron first appeared on the scene in 2021 with its Gladiateur, but the Montreal-based company’s second watch, the Marinor, is quite the leap forward and offers an appealing mix of vintage charm and modern-day capabilities.

Taking inspiration from dive watches of the past, most notably the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, Héron dubs the Marinor ‘a tribute to seafaring and 1950s diving watches’. It’s a well-timed release that will have some buyers scratching their heads as to why they’ve just spent nearly as much money on a plastic Swatch with fabric strap (Swatch/Blancpain collaboration for those who have been living under a bush for the past few months!).

Three colourways are available from the core collection, priced at $620 USD – Seastorm Black, Atlantic Blue (a dark, dusky blue) and my favourite, the vibrant Caribbean Blue with matching sapphire bezel (Close to teal in colour). My review model was the Maelstrom from the Anchor Collection which was an exclusive colour as part of Heron’s Kickstarter campaign. Sadly, this colour is no longer available, so apologies to those who like the look of it from my photos. Unfortunately, my review watch was delayed at customs, so I couldn’t publish my review before the campaign ended. 

The Case and Wearing Experience

The Marinor’s case dimensions are sure to be crowd-pleasing. With a diameter of 39mm, lug-to-lug measurement of 47mm and overall height of 12.9mm, it’s an easy watch for most people to wear.

The case is made from 316L stainless steel, standard issue for watches now, right? Yes, but Héron has given the entire case and bracelet a hardening treatment, which is a huge selling point. This provides a hardness rating of 1200hv (Vickers), six times that of stainless steel. What this means is that your Marinor will stay looking pristine for longer, and that this is one of the most ‘Instagramable’ watches out there, so go ahead and grab those ‘on the rocks/at the beach’ pics all you like, without fear of scratches.

I was initially sceptical about just how scratch resistant the watch would be, but I was encouraged by Héron to use the length of ‘standard’ stainless steel bracelet included in my review package as a benchmark against which to test the Marinor’s scratch resistance. They insisted that I give it my best shot and attack the watch case and bracelet with everything I had. Now that’s confidence in your product! Being the reserved English gentleman that I am, I was reluctant and decided to photograph the watch first, just in case. But once I’d got my quota of pics, I did indeed put it to the test, using paperclips at first, progressing to the end of a skewer and finally a knife. I was disappointed at first as I could see marks to the metal. However, after a quick rub of the surface the watch appeared to heal itself, surviving unscathed, so much kudos to Héron here!

In terms of design, the mid-case is very slim and has a lovely profile with lugs that curve gently down, something that undoubtedly adds to the comfort factor. The 6mm screw-down crown features a ship’s wheel and sits at the 3 o’clock position, flanked by full-sized crown guards. Crown operation is good, with a confident screw-down action and no ghost date position.

The case features a blend of different finishes which adds to the refinement and level of detail. The mid-case is horizontally brushed to the sides, with circular brushing to the tops of the lugs. Polished bevels grace the edges of the lugs and widen towards the bracelet end.

The 120-click rotating bezel is polished, has a rounded coin edge for grip and a gorgeous, domed sapphire insert. Bezel markings are kept simple, with Arabic numerals for the 15, 30, 45-minute markers and hash marks for every five minutes between. It’s a good move to keep markings simple here as legibility on a domed sapphire is never going to be quite as strong as on a flat bezel insert.

Rising above the bezel is a scratch resistant, box sapphire crystal with clear anti-reflective coating to the underside, a detail that adds to the vintage vibe and is an indication of the attention to detail and quality materials used. Bezel action is excellent; smooth, accurate, and refined. I’d go so far as to say that the bezel action is probably the best I’ve experienced on a microbrand watch.

The screw-down stainless steel caseback depicts an archetypal ship captain. It’s a complex engraved and embossed design that combines brushed, bead-blasted and polished elements. The caseback is also nice and slim and barely protrudes from the mid-case, so the watch sits flush to the wrist. 

Case finishing on my review watch is flawless, save for ‘dink’ to one of the lugs. I’m assured isn’t a manufacturing fault, so I can only assume the watch must have had an unfortunate accident either with a previous reviewer or at some point on its arduous journey around the world to get to me). Comfort on the wrist is exceptional for a dive watch with 300m of water resistance. It perhaps not surprising that it feels considerably slimmer than 12.9mm, as the case without the sapphire is just 11.3mm, and even less if you take off the domed sapphire bezel.

The Bracelet

The three-link bracelet of the Marinor tapers from 20mm to 16mm and is of a flat link design. When viewed from the side, each individual link is u-shaped, with a flat top. When viewed from the top this gives a highly engineered look with tight tolerances and hardly any daylight visible between the lugs. This design means that the bracelet is completely fluid in one direction thanks to the u-shaped underside, but you can’t ‘stack’ the links back on themselves like on some bracelets.

Short female end links and articulated second links means that the lug-to-lug measurement is a true indication of span across the wrist, and each of the screwed links is relatively small too. These combined factors mean that the watch hugs the wrist well.

The bracelet is quick-release for easy strap changes and has a milled twin-trigger deployant clasp which features polished bevelling and an engraved stylised Heron.  The push buttons are ellipse-shaped and more substantial compared to many. You’ll have no problem getting the perfect fit either, thanks to the micro-adjustment system which slides at the push of a button, no tools required!

Movement

The Model Three is powered by the Miyota 9039 Japanese automatic movement, from global brand, Citizen. This extremely reliable movement beats at 28,800 vph / 4Hz, which gives a smooth 8 ticks per second, and it’s a close competitor to the Sellita SW200 in all respects bar accuracy, which is within -10s / + 30 seconds per day.

The Dial and Hands

All variants of the Marinor feature fumé dials that have a subtle gradient going from lighter in the centre of the dial, to darker at the outer edge. Indices comprise circular polished silver hour markers and rectangular batons for the 3, 6, and 9. Taking pride of place at 12 o’clock is a uniquely shaped index said to represent the North Star, a significant symbol for seafarers. All indices are filled with a blue BGW9 Super Lumi-Nova luminescent compound for excellent legibility in low light. You’ll find a simple minute track on the dial’s outer edge, which comprises printed hash marks and printed dagger-shapes at every five minutes. Other than that, the dial is clutter free, with no date window to interrupt the symmetry or micro-second printing to distract visually.

The hour, minute and seconds hand are all polished but feature longitudinal centre creases to reflect light and aid legibility. The hour hand is a broad arrow, filled with BGW9 lume which mirrors the arrow-shaped surround. The minute hand is a tapering sword shape with a lume strip that covers about a third of its entire length. Again, it’s shaped to mirror the frame of the hand. The second hand features a lollipop lume.

Legibility is generally excellent for this style of dive watch. The AR coating on the sapphire does a good job at minimising reflections and the dial lume was strong. The only slight negatives are that the bezel lume is weaker, and the printed seconds track isn’t all that visible due to the distortion from the box sapphire. The dial generally looks to be very well executed, but I was unfortunate with my review watch, as there was one small hair (or possibly a scratch to the AR coating under the sapphire). However, the good folks at Héron have assured me that quality control for production watches will be carried out in Montréal and that something like this wouldn’t be allowed to slip through the net.

Final Thoughts

The Marinor offers the best of both worlds; a comfortable wearing experience akin to a skin diver, but with the specifications of a true ‘tool’ dive watch. With its beautiful fume dial and nods to vintage inspiration, it’s on the dressier side of the dive watch spectrum and relatively petite, but this belies its impressive capabilities. There is extensive use of premium materials such as sapphire, and genuinely thoughtful, practical additions including case hardening technology and on-the-fly bracelet adjustment. Add to that 300m water resistance, nautical design touches, and a reliable Japanese movement and it’s clear that the Marinor is a good catch given the very reasonable $620 USD (approx. £515) asking price. In fact, aside from the unfortunate prototype niggles mentioned above, the only negatives I can come up with for the Marinor are purely subjective. I’d like to see the hour hand increased in size slightly, and I wish that Heron would have retained a few more of the colourways offered in the original Kickstarter campaign. But that’s it! Impressive stuff considering this is only the brand’s second watch release.

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As the name suggests, this is Alkin’s third watch design, although in some ways it could actually be their third and fourth, as the Model Three comprises two styles, a Dual Time and a Diver, based on the same case shape and internals. The key differences are the dial designs, bezel type and colourways.

The GMT comes in three colours, yellow, powder blue and the brushed copper featured here. The diver also comes in three colours, blue, green and my review colour, black. The GMT features a steel 12-hour bezel for tracking a second-time zone, whereas the Diver features a countdown bezel which either matches the dial colour, or in the case of the green, contrasting black bezel.

The Model Three is available for pre-order now, priced at £375, after which the price will increase to £445. Estimated shipping is January 2024.

The Case

The 316L stainless steel case has a diameter of 40.5mm and a lug-to-lug measurement of 48.5mm. Overall thickness is 12.5mm. These are certainly crowd-pleasing dimensions, which provide a good balance between wrist presence and wearability, so the Model Three should look right at home on a wide range of wrist sizes.

The modern, angular three-section case is entirely brushed for a tool watch vibe and features elegant lugs, sharply cut. The bulk of the watch is in the mid-case, which is straight-sided and vertically brushed (from dial-side to caseback). This suits the design of the watch perfectly and helps give the profile a distinctive look. The tops of the lugs feature longitudinal brushing from 12 o’clock to 6 o’clock and the low-profile caseback helps the watch to sit flush on the wrist.

The case is weighty, and it feels and looks precisely engineered. The brushing is carried out to perfection and the transition lines are crisp and precise. The standard here is very high and the perception of quality is far beyond its price point.

The screw-down stainless steel caseback and grippy, well proportioned, screw-down crown help provide an ample 200m water resistance. The caseback has a circular brushed finish and is engraved with the key specifications and model name, including a nod to the brand’s Bristol heritage. The 6.5mm crown sits at the 4 o’clock position, something which I personally love as it means that there’s no chance of it digging into your wrist. The crown is engraved with the brand’s logo, and it engages confidently, winds smoothly and pops out freely.

The 120-click rotating bezel is unidirectional on both the Dual Time and the Diver models. The three Dual Time watches feature a brushed stainless bezel insert with BGW9-filled lume pip at 12 o’clock and laser-etched Arabic numbers denoting hours, which are filled with black paint. Whilst you couldn’t call these watches GMTs, the 12-hour dual-time feature does at least speed up telling the time in a second time zone, although I’m not sure as to the reason why a 24-hour bezel wasn’t used.

The Diver variants have traditional elapsed-time dive bezels with lumed Arabic numerals at 15, 30, 45 minutes, and lumed hash markers for every five minutes between. A black bezel is used for the black and green dials, whereas the blue dial features a matching blue bezel. The brushing on bezel insert of my black Diver prototype was off axis, but Charlie is already on the case and I’ve every confidence that he wouldn’t let a production model be sent out to a customer with such an issue. Bezel alignment on both of my review models was accurate with no backplay, although the bezel action on the GMT felt slightly smoother, more refined and ‘lower-pitched’.

The bracelet

All versions of the Model Three will be supplied with a brushed stainless steel bracelet that tapers nicely from 20mm down to 18mm. It has solid end links and a milled clasp. Adjustment links are secured by single-sided screw pins and there are six-stops of micro adjustment so it’s easy to achieve the perfect fit.

Much like the case, the bracelets on my review watches were engineered beautifully and brushed to perfection. However, on my prototype Diver I did have some issues. The security fold-over catch wouldn’t stay shut under tension from flexing the wrist, and the main outer clasp didn’t want to lock into place either. Whilst these two things combined are significant negatives, I’m sure these are prototype niggles rather than inherent design faults. Charlie at Alkin has been very receptive to my feedback and offered assurance that production watches will be thoroughly inspected as part of quality control process and not released to customers like this.

The only negative for me in terms of bracelet design is that the end links of the bracelet have a slightly soft, rounded finish which is at odds slightly with the sharp geometry of the lugs and case.

The dial

The dial is where the main differences lie between the Dual Time and the Diver, and where each sibling finds its own personality. I feel that the Dual Time is a modern design, whereas the diver has a more vintage-inspired dial. Both versions featured dual-layered dials, but the execution is completely different. On the Dual Time the centre of the dial is cut out purely to add depth and interest to the dial, with the base layer being the same colour and featuring the same vertically brushed finish as the upper layer (the blue and yellow version aren’t brushed). The diver features a sandwich dial construction with the hour markers cut out to reveal the white of the layer beneath.

The hands and applied markers on the Model Three Dual-Time share a ‘stadium shape’ design language, giving the watch a more clean, modern look. The black frames of the hands and applied indices contrast nicely against the dial, and they are filled with Super Lumi-Nova BGW9 which glows strongly at night. The indices also have considerable height which brings a sense of depth to the dial. These factors combine to ensure excellent legibility in any lighting conditions. Dial text is kept nice and simple, with just the brand name above the pinion and ‘Automatic’ below. Attention to detail is evident in a few nice design touches on the dial. Firstly, the outer rounded end of the minute hand perfectly aligns with each index as it passes over. Secondly, the length of the hour hand perfectly reaches the edge of the centre dial cut-out. And lastly, the simple stick minute hand has a lumed lollipop disk, the centre of which perfectly aligns with where the inner and outer dials meet. It’s all very pleasing to the eye, symmetrical and satisfying!

Indices on the Diver are a mix of circular hour markers and larger triangular markers at the 3, 6, 9 and 12 positions. The indices at 3, 6 and 9 are also printed with black Arabic numerals. The Diver has an all-white handset, with an arrow-shaped hour hand, a pointed sword for the minute hand, and a stick seconds hand with circular lume pip. The green dial variant of the Diver features Super Lumi-Nova X1 C3 for hands, indices and bezel markings,whereas the blue and black dials have Super Lumi-Nova BGW9. Again, lume application is consistent and glows brightly, lasting well into the night. Dial text on the diver comprises brand name above the pinion and ‘Automatic, 200m/656ft’ below.

The flat sapphire crystal on both models has an anti-reflective (AR) coating to the underside which does a reasonable, but not exceptional job.

Dial execution is impressive on both variants, with precise printing, well applied/cut-out indices, consistent brushing on the copper dial variant of the Dual Time, and nicely textured upper dial layer on the Divers.

Movement

The Model Three is powered by the Miyota 9039 Japanese automatic movement, from global brand, Citizen. This extremely reliable movement beats at 28,800 vph / 4Hz, which gives a smooth 8 ticks per second, and it’s a close competitor to the Sellita SW200 in all respects bar accuracy, which is within -10s / + 30 seconds per day.

Final Thoughts

The Alkin Model Three offers plenty of choice for buyers, with two core styles and six variants. To my tastes, the design of the diver is more successful when combined with the colourful and playful blue and green dials, which also have contrasting colour accents courtesy of the seconds hand. I feel the black and white is just a little austere for the retro design. However, there will aways be buyers for more conservative dial colours, so I’m not at all surprised that black is offered as an option. The GMT works well in all colourways and I love them all, but if I had to choose, I’d probably pick the brushed copper dial variant.

Provided Alkin can resolve the niggles that were evident with my prototype models, it’s difficult to find much to complain about considering the price point. About the only negative I can find is the end-link design, which I feel could be sharpened up a bit to better match the sharp lines of the case. A nice-to-have would be on-the-fly bracelet adjustment, but it’s certainly not expected at this price point. And I guess some people might like to see quick-release bracelet, but again, as the lugs are drilled this is not really a big negative as strap changes are relatively easy.

The Model Three offers great value for money at the full retail price. At the pre-order price of £375, it’s virtually theft! It’s solidly built, very well-designed, fit and finish is impressive, and it’s comfortable to wear. Add in strong lume and 200m water resistance and you could argue that there’s no need for another watch. However, on the flip-side, although every Model Three shares the same core attributes, the Dual Time and the Diver are sufficiently different that you could have one of each and feel like you’re not wearing the same watch!

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