Yesterday, we brought you word of an upcoming dress watch that’s available for pre-order. Today, we’ll stay in the dress segment, but focus in on (with a hands-on review) of a model that’s available today.
We’ve reviewed quite a few different models from Ocean7 (brand review archive). While many of them work well in a variety of situations, we haven’t looked at one that was specifically designated as a dress watch – until today, that is.
The model in question is the Classic 12 (aka CL-12), and you can tell right off the bat that this is much dressier than their other offerings. This is evidenced by the polished and (relatively) slender case, along with stick hands and subdued numerals appearing just at the compass points. In other ways, though, this is similar to their other models, as we have:
- 40mm stainless steel case (11mm thick)
- Automatic Swiss movement (can be upgraded to COSC for $299 more)
- Sapphire crystals front and back (the front has AR coating on the underside)
- 100m water resistance
Regardless of the styling, I think we can agree that that spec list is a solid one, especially given the price (more on that in a bit). In daily wear, I found it to work well at the office, as well as when I wore it with a suit. The minor sticking point there falls with the strap. I think it was due to our sample having a black dial, but the somewhat matte finish on the strap just seemed a little too dull, especially for a dress piece. That very likely is a non-issue for the white-dialed variant of this watch, but it is something to bear in mind.
Other than that one minor hiccup, I thought this was a great watch, especially with the sunray pattern hiding in the dial. And, when you add in that its coming in at a price of $549, it’s a compelling option. Of course, it’s going up against some bigger names in that price segment (link to Hamilton review), but I think it can hold it’s own. If you like the styling, but wish it had more of a “twist” to it, you’ll definitely want to check out the 24-hour version (product here; our review of the same movement here).
Note: I think we’ve done a pretty good job of covering the Ocean7 catalog. That said, if there’s something they have that you’d like to see reviewed (and we haven’t already), let me know in the comments, and I’ll reach out to them to get some samples in.
