One of my favorite homebrew watchmakers, Serket, just launched the Reef Diver 2.0, a beefy automatic with a beautiful huge bezel. I loved the original Reef Diver and this new model looks extra good. It costs $999.

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CASE
• Stainless Steel 316L Brushed/Polished
• Bezel Diameter: 47mm Height: 5.7mm
• Width from 3 to 9: 48mm
• Lug to Lug: 57mm
• Lug Width: 24mm
• Total Height: 16.5mm
• 120 Click Unidirectional Elapsed Time Bezel
• Drilled Through Lugs

CRYSTAL FRONT
• 4mm Thick Sapphire
• Diameter: 35.5mm

CRYSTAL BACK
• 2mm Thick Orange Mineral
• Diameter: 26mm

MOVEMENT
• Sellita SW200 26 Jewel Automatic
• Black Date Wheel at 3:00

CASE BACK
• Exhibition Back
• Engraved with Watch Identification/Serial Number

CROWN
• Off Center Oversized Crown at 2:00
• Diameter: 10mm
• Height: 8mm

STRAP
• 24mm Black Leather Strap Orange Stitching/Brushed Stainless Steel Buckle with Serket Engraving
• 24mm Black Italian Rubber Dive Strap Brushed Stainless Steel Buckle with Serket Engraving

WATER RESISTANT
• Pressure Tested – 30ATM/300 Meters/1000 Feet

DIAL
• Swiss Tritec Super Luminova Diamond Markers & Hands

WEIGHT
• 168 Grams

Bell & Ross sends another one down the pipe with the Phantom edition. This standard issue BR 01 Instrument — the automatic one with three hands — has low visibility pips and digits that light up like the sun in the dark. I’m not sure about the overall readability, but the idea is cool. Again — B&R is essentially carving out its own path in the mid- to high-range watch market and I’m very impressed. Gotta get me one.

Bell & Ross

James read my BR 01-92 review and posted this amazing comment:

My son gave me a BR01-94 and it looks just like the clock I had in the SR-71 Aircraft that I flew between July 68 to Jun 74. All my friends will see the watch at the Blackbird Reunion in Reno this month and I know the watch will bring back great flying moments flying the SR-71. I am a very proud owner of one of the greatest watches I have ever owned.
James H. Shelton, Jr Col. USAF Ret

Thanks for sharing, James. It’s rare to hear these kinds of stories and remind us what a well-made watch really is: a link to the past and a way forward into the future.

“The Centigraphe Souverain from F.P. Journe. An in-house designed and manufactured fully-integrated chronograph, beating at 21,600 bph AND able to record elapsed time down to a mechanically nanoscopic 1/100 of a second! Combined with the tachometer scales, being able to measure intervals of 1/100th second makes it theoretically possible to time something moving at 360,000 km/hr.”

Wait, what?
Centigraphe Souverain by F. P. Journe [THE WATCHISMO TIMES]

121Time has launched another automatic model, the Challenger Black Metal. Cool enough. 121Time.com lets you pick out just about everything to do with your watch is actually quite affordable. For more DIY fun, check out Blancier.com.

121Time Challenger Black Metal [Fratellowatches.com]

Bathys is the little watch company that could. Founded by John Patterson, this tiny Hawaiian company sources their watches in Switzerland and offers the surfer – and landlubber – alike a little taste of that Ahola feeling.

Almost a year after the launch of their first watch, the 100 Fathoms Big Date, Patterson has topped himself. The automatic version of the Bathys 100 Fathoms is a testament to Patterson’s hard work and eye for detail.

We reviewed the quartz Bathys here on WWR and were impressed by the styling, size, and charm of this piece. The one we received this time is a PVD-coated steel case with Ruthenium Grey Dial. It runs an Swiss automatic movement – a Seltta SW200 – which was chosen because ETA is currently up in the air about selling unfinished movements to outside manufacturers. The watch has about 40 hours of power reserve and has a hacking movement, which means the seconds hand stops when you pull the crown all the way out.

First, the good stuff. The face and case are beautiful and quite legible. Patterson knows his lume and there is plenty of it on this watch. In the dark, the 100 Fathoms shines like a torch. The caseback is quite striking with a tiny map of Hawaii engraved on a sea of brushed steel. It is water resistant up to 200M. It has a sapphire crystal and is 41.1 mm in diameter.

The movement has a single date window and runs smoothly once it gets started. At first position the movement sets the date and at second position the second hand stops and turning the crown changes the time.

Now, for the bad stuff. The deployant leather clasp included with the watch – while handsome, was painful to wear. All of the edges are hard and sharp and after a while I swapped the beautiful black rubber band and was considerably happier. Thankfully, the Auto comes with both bands.

Second, the crown is too small by half. Even with my small meathooks couldn’t grab the crown without fumbling. Once I had it unscrewed, things were fine, but screwing it back into the case was a chore. I did it a few times and each time was difficult, so it really wasn’t a matter of getting used to the size. Minor issue, not a dealbreaker.

That said, the 100 Fathoms Auto was a joy to wear. It’s quite striking and actually very light, especially with the rubber band. The bold numerals and beautiful materials really stand out and it is eminently readable and noticeable.

It’s hard not to recommend a watch by John Patterson. The $775 is quite reasonable for a small-batch, US-designed watch by a very small manufacturer and it’s a great investment if you want a little of John’s Mahalo-tastic. My wife put it on and won’t take it off, so perhaps you have this year’s Valentine’s Day gift?

Quality: 3.5/5
Style: 4/5
Overall: 4/5

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A big to do about Steinhart over at WuS today. Steinhart sells “homages,” watches that look strikingly similar to well known brands but have enough subtle differences to stand as their own brand. I can support their efforts, but I’m kind of tired of the homages to Rolex and Panerai I see. I think there are plenty of odd, little houses out there that deserve our cash rather than some junk dealers who traffic in Chinese-made crap. Sorry. Ranting.

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2 new Steinharts arrived – Watchuseek Watch Forums

Never mind the 1.9 miilion you could spend on a Patek, here on eBay, you could buy piece of history. That’s right, a launch watch for the Nintendo Wii. According to the auctioner only 200 of these bad boys were ever made (read rebadged) and could be yours for a paltry 60 quid.
Notwithstanding the allure of this “sports-style stainless steel quartz, with second hand, rotating bezel and magnified date.” I would rather have a wiimote on my wrist than this.
Go get yourself a piece of Nintendo kitsch here

I’m a bad watch reviewer. Not only am I not updating this site often enough, I’ve been hiding my gems under a bushel, offering up junk like crapola GMTs and monkey-brained divers. Why? Because the watches I love I can’t really review and the watches I review I can’t really love. So I’m torn, WWR fans. Torn.

I present for your inspection the Omega Seamaster Professional 300M 2225.80.00 2599.80.00 Chrono Diver. Every collector chases a dream early on in his career – and often that dream doesn’t jibe with what he or she really wants. You could dig Seikos and then see an Ebel that knocks your socks off. You could love Rolex and then see an Omega that you must have. This watch is my early collector’s grail watch and I am happy to report that it is getting so much wrist time that I think I need to brush it down with rubbing alcohol because it is getting wrist stink.


But first things first. What’s it like? The 2599.80.00 runs an Omega 1164 self-winding date chrono caliber. I’ve opened the case once, like a fool, and it is quite striking. It’s is rhodium plated and sparkles in the light. I quickly closed her up, but it was the stuff dreams are made on. It has a 44 hour power reserve, which is about right in real terms, and offers a 30 minute register at 12, a 12 hour register at 6, and small sweep seconds at 9. There is a date window at 3 and a sweep seconds hand. There is also a chronograph bezel with a glowing pip at noon. Finally, there is a helium release valve at 10 and the well protected pushers are at 2 and 4 while the screw down crown is at 3.

The watch is quite heavy with a metal bracelet – about 5 ounces. Most of that is in the case, so even with a rubber strap it’s a heavy watch. It wears beautifully. The spinning counterweight winds up an down when you move your hand, reminding you you’re wearing an automatic, but otherwise it fits like a glove.

The color scheme is quite understated with red minor hands (seconds hand, face registers) and “ball triangle” major hands in the style of the James Bond models. Each hour is indicated by a glowing pip and there is a demarcated scale of seconds all around the inner bezel. There are seconds markers around the outer bezel and a “triangle” at the chronograph bezel’s set point. The bezel itself turns quite nicely but is a bit hard to grab hold of with wet hands.

Setting the watch is fairly standard – unscrew the crown, pull out once to set the date and pull out twice to set the time. Unfortunately, you have to take the watch off to do this with any accuracy as the crown guard keeps things pretty close and you really need all the room you can get.

The bracelet I have is made of interlocking pieces of steel and the buckle, with an expansion catch that opens to reveal another 3/4 inch for wrapping around a wet-suit, is quite understated. It is easily scratched, but that just adds character.

The bracelet has all sorts of nooks and crannies and, as a result, will often get filled up with sweat and gunk. Frequent light cleanings are necessary to make sure the watch doesn’t stink. A looser bracelet will do the same thing, but this watch begs to be snug to the wrist.

I have no complaints about this watch. From it’s wavy face to it’s seahorsey back, I’m enthralled. I wore this for two months straight and rarely put on any of my other pieces until they wrote a petition for my untoward attention. The Seamaster Chrono Diver is one of my favorites and, without a doubt, can be anyone’s favorite. It is timeless and beautiful and wears well with almost anything except true formal wear. It is an all-day watch and an real keeper.

Quality: 5/5
Style: 5/5
Overall: 4.5/5 – Not perfect, but almost there.

-John Biggs

I don’t even know what to think about this 1000M diving monster. As far as I can tell, this is the guy’s page. He seems to make straps and now these watches. Innaresting.

The Delaurian Diver just landed [BIG Watch Forum]