REVIEW: Magrette Regattare 2011 (part 2)
(For part 1, see yesterday’s post). Now, we can finally take a look at the watch itself. As I mentioned yesterday, the case is made from stainless steel, and measures in at 44mm. What makes it interesting for me is the use of both brushed and polished finishes in an alternating manner. When you look down on the watch, the bezel is brushed, but you see the polished finish of the case. Alternately, when you look at it from the side, you can again see the varied finishes.
Another interesting twist to this watch is the internal bezel. It’s uni-directional, and is controlled by the upper screw-down crown, which is signed. The lower crown (also signed) can be used to manually wind the watch (even an automatic can be jump-started), set the time, and/or set the date, after unscrewing it and adjusting it to the correct position.
The automatic Miyota 8215 movement is a known quantity, so I’m not going to be too worried about it’s reliability. The one note I will make on the movement is how silent it is in the watch. While you can hear the rotor spinning around if you shake the watch, I’ve been hard-pressed to hear the ticks of the mechanical movement, even with my ear 
pressed right up against the watch. I will admit that my experience with mechanical movements is limited, so I can’t comment if this silence is normal, or something unique Magrette has engineered into the watch.
On the dial and the bezel, the markers and numerals are easy to read, and the markers themselves are well-lumed – as are the hour and minute hands (with C3 Super Luminova). The second hand, for some reason, just really grabs my attention. Which is odd, since it’s such a tiny sliver of metal, it would be easy to overlook. In much the same vein, the date window is on the smaller side, making it unobtrusive yet readable.
In the end, I really cannot find anything I change about this particular watch. All of the components work together well, and there are some very unique design choices that have been made that help it to stand out from other divers on the market. With 500m water resistance and a double-domed sapphire crystal protecting the automatic movement, this watch should easily stand up to daily wear – and the occasional dive in the ocean (or kitchen sink). For under $600 shipped, this limited-edition watch is a solid addition to anyone’s collection. 
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