stefanmelstad
Basic
The Swiss Watch Company from the United States just introduced a Kickstarter campaign for their new diver watch. A few weeks ago, I approached one of the brand’s owner after I read a post advertising their future campaign for a new Swiss Made diver watch. That communication ended in them sending me one of their watches for review, which I received at the beginning of last week.
I usually dislike long reviews which touch on every possible point, even those who are extremely obvious. You don’t need me to tell you that the date window is at 3, therefore I’m going to discuss what most caught my attention.
Obviously by looking at the pictures you can see that it’s a diver watch, the other less obvious specifications are:
44mm 316L stainless steel case
22mm lug width and 13,2mm thickness
Available in 5 color combinations
Sellita SW200 Automatic Movement
120 step uni-directional bezel with a ceramic bezel ring
Sapphire crystal with 5x AR-coating
Closed case back and a date window
Super luminova indexes and hands
Stainless steel bracelet with diver extension and buckle
A solid base will support the potential for success of any project, and that’s what these specifications are, a solid base. Pledges start at $385 + shipping. Just looking at the price and specifications, I’d usually be happy to stop at that and just say that it sounds like great value. Nevertheless, this is a Kickstarter campaign and we all know how different their results can be, there are a lot of other variables that come into play. You will have to decide mostly on those by yourself but perhaps I can help out a little bit.
I can start on a positive note by saying that all my communication with the Swiss Watch Company has been absolutely delightful. They’ve answered every question I’ve had quick and detailed, in a way that felt personal and friendly. This is an indication of an attitude and mentality which does nothing but add extra value to the brand and their products. Further, one of the owners has a long-term history and experience from working in the Swiss watch industry, and that definitely adds extra value for me.
The next note is not as positive as the first one, it’s about the brand name, the Swiss Watch Company. I can only give my personal opinion and for me the name does absolutely nothing, it could even be leading to a negative effect. It feels like they’re trying to much and I’d prefer if they had used “SWC” on the dial instead of the “Swiss Watch Company”.
My greatest fear when trying a new watch is to find out that it’s too large for my wrist. My wrists are tiny so that happens quite often. For example, a long-term grail of mine, the Longines Heritage Legend Diver is of the table because of the long lug-to-lug length. Seeing that the Swiss Watch Company’s diver is 44mm in width I wouldn’t have been surprised if immediately it felt to large.
My first thoughts when lifting the watch from its case last week were “it’s too big….or is it?”. I can happily report now after wearing the watch for some time I honestly think that the watch is not too big for my wrist. The relatively short lugs and the overall dimensions of the watch are a definite source of that. Still, with a 44mm case the watch should also fit larger wrists quite well.
Build quality is a variable I’m still not settled on. The bracelet feels very solid and the center part of the 3-link bracelet has a very nice ridge which smoothly slopes down to the outer parts on either side. The sloped part seems to have a bit more polishing than the brushed bracelet which very nicely catches the light and is a joy to run your fingers over. On the other hand, the space between the bracelet and the case is a bit larger than I usually see on higher end timepieces, the dial clearly has a spec of dirt or smudge left of the center, and a dust speckle on the top the bezel insert above the nine index.
The rest of the watch has a nice quality feeling to it with the sides of the bezel catching the light and the crown guards smoothly joining the case without any trace or mark. The crown action feels smooth and it’s easy to handle, not too big or small, and the bezel action is smooth and has no play in it.
My final though is on the bezel design. Initially I was quite surprised to see that it has no lume beside the small dot marking the 12’clock position. Being an experienced scuba diver, I’d say that having no lume on the bezel makes it a shitty diver watch. To be honest in today’s world of dive computers, most dive watches are. However, in a way it makes it less “in your face” and more relaxed, something I’d be happy to wear to the gym (yes I’m one of those), at work, a day at the beach, and a night on the town. I’d call that a solid all-arounder!
Here is a link to the Kickstarter campaign.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1467767314/swiss-watch-company-automatic-swiss-divers-watch
I usually dislike long reviews which touch on every possible point, even those who are extremely obvious. You don’t need me to tell you that the date window is at 3, therefore I’m going to discuss what most caught my attention.
Obviously by looking at the pictures you can see that it’s a diver watch, the other less obvious specifications are:
44mm 316L stainless steel case
22mm lug width and 13,2mm thickness
Available in 5 color combinations
Sellita SW200 Automatic Movement
120 step uni-directional bezel with a ceramic bezel ring
Sapphire crystal with 5x AR-coating
Closed case back and a date window
Super luminova indexes and hands
Stainless steel bracelet with diver extension and buckle
A solid base will support the potential for success of any project, and that’s what these specifications are, a solid base. Pledges start at $385 + shipping. Just looking at the price and specifications, I’d usually be happy to stop at that and just say that it sounds like great value. Nevertheless, this is a Kickstarter campaign and we all know how different their results can be, there are a lot of other variables that come into play. You will have to decide mostly on those by yourself but perhaps I can help out a little bit.
I can start on a positive note by saying that all my communication with the Swiss Watch Company has been absolutely delightful. They’ve answered every question I’ve had quick and detailed, in a way that felt personal and friendly. This is an indication of an attitude and mentality which does nothing but add extra value to the brand and their products. Further, one of the owners has a long-term history and experience from working in the Swiss watch industry, and that definitely adds extra value for me.
The next note is not as positive as the first one, it’s about the brand name, the Swiss Watch Company. I can only give my personal opinion and for me the name does absolutely nothing, it could even be leading to a negative effect. It feels like they’re trying to much and I’d prefer if they had used “SWC” on the dial instead of the “Swiss Watch Company”.
My greatest fear when trying a new watch is to find out that it’s too large for my wrist. My wrists are tiny so that happens quite often. For example, a long-term grail of mine, the Longines Heritage Legend Diver is of the table because of the long lug-to-lug length. Seeing that the Swiss Watch Company’s diver is 44mm in width I wouldn’t have been surprised if immediately it felt to large.
My first thoughts when lifting the watch from its case last week were “it’s too big….or is it?”. I can happily report now after wearing the watch for some time I honestly think that the watch is not too big for my wrist. The relatively short lugs and the overall dimensions of the watch are a definite source of that. Still, with a 44mm case the watch should also fit larger wrists quite well.
Build quality is a variable I’m still not settled on. The bracelet feels very solid and the center part of the 3-link bracelet has a very nice ridge which smoothly slopes down to the outer parts on either side. The sloped part seems to have a bit more polishing than the brushed bracelet which very nicely catches the light and is a joy to run your fingers over. On the other hand, the space between the bracelet and the case is a bit larger than I usually see on higher end timepieces, the dial clearly has a spec of dirt or smudge left of the center, and a dust speckle on the top the bezel insert above the nine index.
The rest of the watch has a nice quality feeling to it with the sides of the bezel catching the light and the crown guards smoothly joining the case without any trace or mark. The crown action feels smooth and it’s easy to handle, not too big or small, and the bezel action is smooth and has no play in it.
My final though is on the bezel design. Initially I was quite surprised to see that it has no lume beside the small dot marking the 12’clock position. Being an experienced scuba diver, I’d say that having no lume on the bezel makes it a shitty diver watch. To be honest in today’s world of dive computers, most dive watches are. However, in a way it makes it less “in your face” and more relaxed, something I’d be happy to wear to the gym (yes I’m one of those), at work, a day at the beach, and a night on the town. I’d call that a solid all-arounder!
Here is a link to the Kickstarter campaign.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1467767314/swiss-watch-company-automatic-swiss-divers-watch
