View single post by Bloom
 Posted: Thu Feb 14th, 2008 03:32 pm
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Bloom



Joined: Fri Jan 11th, 2008
Location: Portland, Oregon USA
Posts: 274
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 My black dial Oceantimer was just delivered and I wanted to post my initial impressions.  I'm going to fully test the lume tonight, but so far it seems to be just "ok".  I have the Oceantimer in a drawer side by side with my SAR-D, and after an hour, the SAR-D is still glowing, whereas the Oceantimer is almost completely black with no lume what so ever.  When it's first charged, the hands on the Oceantimer appear to be brighter than the indices on the dial, and seem to hold on to the lume longer (the indices seem to fade really fast).  Given I'm at work, this could all change, as testing lume in an office vs. a dark room at home can be completely different.  Definitely more to come on this aspect. 

Visually is where the Oceantimer excels; it's a substantial looking dive watch that exudes a strong presence.  It's a little smaller than the Dievas Endurance in both case size and lug width, but I think it actually might weigh more.  It definitely isn't a watch you'll forget that you're wearing.  The caseback has a minimalist design that features the Dievas logo and 6 hexagonal screws that give the watch a real beefy tool look and feel that I like a lot. 

The biggest positive (or negative depending on where you're standing) is that the Oceantimer looks a bit like the UTS line of watches.  To some that's a good thing (me), others, not so much.  Considering I've always wanted a UTS watch but never had the funds, the Oceantimer is a perfect option, as it features a number of similar aesthetics to UTS to satisfy my craving, and yet still fit my budget.  Yes, the Oceantimer is quartz and the UTS is automatic, but at the end of the day you have to ask yourself if spending a lot of extra money is worth it for the automatic movement.  For my wallet, the answer was the Oceantimer.  

Overall, in the short time I've had the Oceantimer, I'm very pleased with my purchase.  Anders at Gnomon was fantastic to deal with, and I highly recommend him and his company (if you're reading this Anders, I'd love to see you make a blue tritium version of the Oceantimer!!) as they're top notch all the way around.  Something tells me that the Oceantimer just might be a "sleeper" hit with the dive watch crowd.  

Thanks for reading.  I'll report back with lume info in the next couple of days.