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Dive Watches · Page 43

MKII Updates the Classic Fulcrum with a Smaller Case and Thoughtful Details Worn & Wound
Feb 4, 2025

MKII Updates the Classic Fulcrum with a Smaller Case and Thoughtful Details

Imagination is at the heart of any good spy story or thriller, and MKII seems to know that well; with their latest release, the Fulcrum 39, they’ve crafted a watch fit for a speculative undercover mission in the 1970s. A diver-style piece that favors practicality and class over more visually militarized counterparts, the Fulcrum 39 is designed to convey MKII’s “vision of the perfect tool watch”. The Fulcrum 39 is a revised and sized-down successor to MKII’s Fulcrum, originally released in 2013. Aptly named for its discreet 39.50mm case size, the Fulcrum 39 is a watch that could have been made for military and covert ops; MKII has crafted a sort of horological fiction with the watch’s design and heritage. While mainly inspired by timepieces issued to the United States Military in the Vietnam War era, the Fulcrum 39 also tags in elements of more civilian-oriented designs, hence the smaller case size and understated appearance. The idea of a watch with a grounded yet fictional background is unique and lends an air of hushed intrigue to the Fulcrum 39 that helps elevate it from just another dive watch to a very functional gear piece for a theoretical (or real) adventure.  With all these stylistic features in mind, the Fulcrum 39 is unmistakably a tool watch. It totes a 120-click unidirectional bezel, available in either 12-hour or 60-minute diver configurations, maximizing its utility as a dive watch-particularly when paired with its 200m water resistance. The b...

Hands-On: the New BOLDR Odyssey Worn & Wound
Feb 3, 2025

Hands-On: the New BOLDR Odyssey

It isn’t a hot take to say that tool watches tend to be formulaic. Afterall, there are only so many combinations of bezel formats, dial colors and hand styles out there. With new brands borrowing familiar cues and old brands iterating on their own designs, it’s easy to feel underwhelmed by the steady stream of near-identical releases. Oftentimes, I look at a new watch and wish the brand would do something, anything, to put their own spin on even a single component to stand out from the crowd. Well, BOLDR heard my pleas with the newest iteration of their popular Odyssey diver ($799).  And they didn’t just put their own spin on one component… they spun them all. After I unboxed the sky-blue “Horizon” variant, I spent a solid 10 minutes rolling it around in my hands, taking in all the unexpected details. I noticed the funky gear-shaped crown, the translucent dial that reveals the entire date wheel, the unique dual-stripe hands, a shaped date window, and the seemingly never ending cascading angles that make up the aggressive case shape. Just when I thought I’d taken it all in, I turned the watch over to be surprised by an embossed whale on a display caseback. We will get to all those details (including the whale) soon, but first, let’s cover the basics of this far-from-formulaic GMT. The Watch The bold watch with blue accents that kept surprising me is part of BOLDR’s expanded Odyssey collection. Differentiating itself from their more subdued offerings, the ...

Worn & Wound
Feb 2, 2025

A Week in Watches Ep. 98: Timex, Ming, Autodromo, and More!

Episode 98 of A Week in Watches is full of nostalgia but has a few watches, too. We get things started by looking at the new Giorgio Galli S2Ti, the grand finale for Galli’s S-series. We follow that up with a look at Ming’s follow-up to their award-winning dive watch from last year. The last two stories are where we take a trip down memory lane, first with Autodromo. 13 years after its release, the motorsport-inspired brand has brought back the Monoposto automatic, their first mechanical watch. Finally, we look at the new MKII Fulcrum, a remake of another watch from over a decade ago. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the first Windup Watch Fair, and we are excited to announce that we’ve added a fourth show to the roster taking place for the first time in Dallas, Texas. Happening March 15th and 16th, the fair will host around 40 brands and be held at the Hickory Street Annex in the Deep Ellum neighborhood. Texas-based fans, mark your calendars and head to windupwatchfair.com for more details as they emerge. The post A Week in Watches Ep. 98: Timex, Ming, Autodromo, and More! appeared first on Worn & Wound.

Sunday Morning Showdown: Rolex Submariner Ref. 5512 Vs. Explorer Ref. 1016 Fratello
Feb 2, 2025

Sunday Morning Showdown: Rolex Submariner Ref. 5512 Vs. Explorer Ref. 1016

It’s Sunday morning, and that means we have another Sunday Morning Showdown for you. We often get requests to put two classic watches against each other to find out what you think is better. This week, we opted for two great Rolex classics. One is the legendary Explorer ref. 1016. It will go up against […] Visit Sunday Morning Showdown: Rolex Submariner Ref. 5512 Vs. Explorer Ref. 1016 to read the full article.

Hands-On: The New Nivada Grenchen Antarctic Diver Green Fratello
Jan 30, 2025

Hands-On: The New Nivada Grenchen Antarctic Diver Green

It’s been a little over a year and a half since Nivada Grenchen introduced the Antarctic Diver to us in May 2023. Since then, the Swiss brand has released many timepieces, including chronographs and watches with integrated bracelets. This, however, is the first time that a new model has been added to the Antarctic Diver […] Visit Hands-On: The New Nivada Grenchen Antarctic Diver Green to read the full article.

A Eye Catching Stone Dial Dive Watch For Under $1,000 – Venezianico Nereide Review Worn & Wound
Jan 29, 2025

A Eye Catching Stone Dial Dive Watch For Under $1,000 – Venezianico Nereide Review

In this video, we take a closer look at the dressed up Italian diver from Venezianico, the Nereide 42 Stone Dial Avventurina. Is this piece all show and no substance or does it actually stack up again the competition at its sub-$1,000 price point? In this video, we take a closer look at the dressed up Italian diver from Venezianico, the Nereide 42 Stone Dial Avventurina. Is this piece all show and no substance or does it actually stack up again the competition at its sub-$1,000 price point? The post A Eye Catching Stone Dial Dive Watch For Under $1,000 – Venezianico Nereide Review appeared first on Worn & Wound.

Aquastar Introduces the Benthos Heritage II SJX Watches
Jan 28, 2025

Aquastar Introduces the Benthos Heritage II

A historical brand that was recently revived, Aquastar continues to mine its past catalogue with the Benthos Heritage II, a contemporary interpretation the original Benthos diver’s watch of 1970. Drawing on sketches from Aquastar’s archives, the new release has a typical 1970s style with a “turtle” case that’s a suitably compact 40 mm in diameter, but with a modern-day ceramic bezel insert and Sellita movement. Initial thoughts The Benthos Heritage II is essentially an affordable, wearable dive watch with contemporary specifications and materials. While the brand’s earlier Benthos was a substantial 42 mm by 15.4 mm, the new model is scaled down, reduced by 2 mm in diameter and 3.5 mm in thickness, giving it the smaller, vintage-like proportions that are popular today. However, Aquastar is just one of many brands producing vintage-inspired dive watches. In fact, its owner was also behind the relaunch of Doxa, also a brand specialising in vintage-remake dive watches. As a result, the new Benthos is not a unique concept, but it is well considering the price. Priced at US$1,490 on a stainless steel bracelet, the Benthos Heritage II is a decent value proposition. It’s priced similarly to other micro-brand offerings of comparable quality, but unlike startup brands, it comes with the historical background of the Aquastar brand. Part of its affordability is explained by the pre-order sales model, which means orders placed and paid for now will only be fulfilled in Ma...

Aquastar Benthos H2: Revisiting the Past, With an Eye on the Present Two Broke Watch Snobs
Jan 25, 2025

Aquastar Benthos H2: Revisiting the Past, With an Eye on the Present

Aquastar's Benthos 500 holds an important spot in dive watch history. First unveiled in 1970, it stood out from the crowd with its unique chronograph-like functionality and slow-moving 60-minute elapsed-time counter. It was bold, unconventional, and ahead of its time-until the Quartz Crisis swept the industry off course. But what if quartz hadn't disrupted the market so quickly? The new Aquastar Benthos H2 wonders just that, providing a design inspired by archival drawings from the late '60s while moving it towards modern tastes and technologies.

Christopher Ward Introduces the Dune Aeolian Collection Worn & Wound
Jan 24, 2025

Christopher Ward Introduces the Dune Aeolian Collection

Watching Christopher Ward’s progression over the last twenty years has been a joy. From a plucky micro-brand, it has grown into the most significant watch brand in the UK. When watch industry veteran Mike Pearson joined their team as North American Brand Director about a year ago, I knew our side of the pond was in for a treat. It wasn’t long before he took Christopher Ward on the road throughout the continent, and luckily for me, one of the stops was in my backyard. We had been friends for years online, and this was finally an opportunity to meet in person. Seeing many Christopher Ward watches in the metal was also a great opportunity. It was a real treat to experience the Bel Canto in person and handle the newly released C60 Lumière dive watches. I was also incredibly excited to see the Twelve X, a piece I had written about a few months earlier. One item that was notably missing from the lineup was their Oracle collaborative piece, the C65 Dune Shoreline. This omission was understandable since it was limited to just 100 pieces. However, if you liked that design, we have some great news. Christopher Ward is launching a new collection called C65 Dune Aeolian, featuring textured wave dials, available in two case materials, with a GMT option. The Dune Aeolian Automatic features the stainless steel C65 light catcher case, which has a diameter of 38mm, a thickness of 11.9mm, and a lug-to-lug length of 43.7mm. This makes it universally wearable on wrists of all sizes. Ther...

Ming Introduces the 37.09 Uni SJX Watches
Jan 24, 2025

Ming Introduces the 37.09 Uni

Ming has unveiled the 37.09 Uni, the latest addition to its line of dive watches. Sharing the same architecture as its predecessor-the 37.09 Bluefin, the “Uni” has a black-and-orange aesthetic along with 600 m of water resistance. According to Ming, the livery of the 37.09 Uni takes inspiration from the sea urchin, uni in Japanese. The watch features a DLC-coated stainless steel case and an orange scaled on the inner sapphire dial that measures elapsed time. Initial thoughts I appreciate the distinctive Ming aesthetic with its signature flared lugs and minimalist here. Here it’s combined with a sapphire dial and subtle orange accents, and the result is appealing. The 37.09 Uni, however, costs CHF5,250, which is steep price tag for what it is. Although the overall execution is elaborate, it’s still a micro-brand dive watch equipped with an inexpensive (albeit customised) Sellita movement. While there was a moment during the pandemic where micro-brand offerings somehow made sense at various points of the price spectrum, due in part to the unavailability of everything else, but that time has passed. For Ming fans, the new diver is an appealing watch, but for everyone else there are alternatives. Uni Designed in the familiar Ming style, the DLC-coated stainless steel case is compact at 38 mm in diameter, though it has the height of a dive watch at 12.8 mm in thickness. Entirely matte brushed, the case sports a stepped bezel and domed sapphire crystal. Two oversized c...