The Obris Morgan Seastar, now accepting orders

You know me – I’ve had a lot of fun getting to know new brands as they start out, and then keeping tabs on their products as they expand and develop. I first wrote about the brand back in 2011 and here we are, 8 years later, with something that shows tremendous growth in what they’re producing. They’ve currently got up for order, not one, but two watches in the Obris Morgan Seastar lineup.

The two watches in the Obris Morgan Seastar are rather similar – you’ve got the same 40mm stainless steel case wrapped around a Miyota 9015 automatic movement, and both feature a manual (not automatic) Helium Escape Valve. Where they really differ are in the dial and bezel.

For the Obris Morgan Seastar 60s, you’ve got a solid (glossy and lumed) ceramic bezel insert, and a dial that, while full, doesn’t feel overly busy to me. And man, that Seastar logo just looks nice there, doesn’t it? On the dial, you’ve also got two treatments – the center is solid, while the outer portion has a sunburst pattern.

On the Obris Morgan Seastar 70s, you’re getting a bit more of a space-age influence to things. The dial is much more sterile, and the font used (on both the dial and the bezel) has a very old-school computer-generated feel to them. Indices and handsets between the two are the same, but I’m giving the edge to the 60s dial, in terms of looks.

Speaking of looks, the Obris Morgan Seastar should look rather nice on the wrist. While the case is 40mm, it comes in at just 11.2mm thick (with the flat sapphire crystal), which means this is a fairly compact watch for a 200m diver. As you might guess, that Miyota movement also means that pricing is quite attractive as well. The Obris Morgan Seastar 60s comes in at $319 shipped (this is the pre-order discount price), while the Obris Morgan Seastar 70s runs $339 (again, pre-order discount). These are solid-looking watches, and look to be favorable introductions to the brand if you’re not familiar with them. If you’re thinking of ordering, you’ve got a few weeks to decide, as the pre-order closes out on November 15th. obrismorgan.com

Watch Overview

• Brand & Model: Obris Morgan Seastar
• Price: $319 (60s) / $339 (70s) <- pre-order discount pricing
• Who we think it might be for: You missed the way of affordable, vintage-inspired Miyota-driven divers a few years back, and want to jump into the water
• Would I buy one for myself based on what I’ve seen? I have to admit – though I don’t need another diver – the 60s is a rather handsome watch
• If I could make one design suggestion, it would be: I’d play around with scrapping the HEV – for 99% of the buyers, it’s something that would never be used.

Tech Specs from Obris Morgan

• Watch Case
  • 316L Stainless Steel
  • 120 click Uni-directional Bezel
  • Bezel 40.00mm
  • Watch Case 40.40mm X 50.00mm
  • 20.00mm Lug Width
  • 11.20mm thickness (Flat Crystal)
  • 12.00mm thickness (Double Domed)
• Crystal: Sapphire (Interior Anti-Reflective Coating)
• Movement
  • Japan Made Miyota 9015
  • Automatic Mechanical
  • 28,800 BPH
  • 42 hours Duration
• Features
  • 200m Water Resistance
  • Manual Helium Valve
  • Antimagnetic
• Dial
  • 60s version
    • Sunburst Dial Outer (Enamel)
    • Solid Center (Enamel)
    • Sand Blasted Applied Indices
  • 70s version
    • Sunburst Dial (Enamel)
    • Chrome Applied Indices
    • Hand Filled Lumed
  • Swiss Super-luminova BGW9
• Hands: Swiss Super-Luminova BGW9
• Bezel Insert
  • 60s version
    • Ceramic(Glossy)
    • Fully Lumed Swiss Super-Luminova BGW9
  • 70s version
    • Sapphire Bezel(Glossy)
    • Swiss Super-Luminova BGW9
    • Chrome Numeric Marker