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| Joined: | Sun Apr 15th, 2007 |
| Location: | Ontario Canada |
| Posts: | 275 |
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I'm still smiling from ear to ear about this watch. It has the wrist presence and quality feel of a Doxa or Ball, at a quartz budget.
I'll give a brief review after one day...
Case: Impressive. We all know this case is used by many, and rightly so. It is well made, has interesting angles and shape, and is finished (brushed) perfectly. The lug-lug length is not too long, which makes it conform to the wrist nicely without overlapping the wrist as many large watches do. The size, while large, is not too large. Looks impressive and chunky without crossing the line to ridiculous.
Bezel: Functionally perfect. Probably the best feeling bezel I own with the possible exception of my T-Graph. Easy grip, perfect alignment, perfect tension, zero slop, and 120 clicks that feel as refined as the tumblers of a safe. Mitch's design is very pleasing, not radical or unique, but tool-like and pleasing to the eye. I've owned far too many "dive" watches with bezels that were hard to grip, unpleasant or useless to use. Not this one.
Bracelet: I don't need say any more about it, other than WOW. You guys know the bracelet, screw links, heavy, 24mm, super quality clasp, and nice O7 badge. If you examine the butterfly clasp closely, you can see it is a much higher grade than those found on many bracelets in a much higher price category. Spectacular.
Dial: Carbon fiber is gorgeous, and subtle, not "in your face" like some photos suggest. Subdials are simple black which gives a nice contrast to the perfectly executed carbon fiber. The layout of the dial markers, the thickness of the minute indices, the hands chosen, all are just right IMHO. Mitch got this one right. I've seen virtually the same watch made by MTM SpecOps, and the dial design and bezel choice looks like a train wreck, giving a cheap toy-like appearance. The O7 looks balanced, clear, professional, and tool-like. The use of orange is just right, with the skeleton plongeur hands, tipped box second hand, and "7" in the logo. The only thing that would have made it better is a white on black date wheel.
Lume: Well, it is there, but not great. I was warned about this so it comes as no surprise. Given that everyone complained about the lume, I expected the worst, and am pleasantly surprised, it is better than expected. Not great like Seiko, Citizen etc), but more like a Tissot or Orient Beast.
Movement: Quartz Ronda. All of the hands hit the indices perfectly, resets perfectly, and operates as it should. Only caveat is that it only records to a one second accuracy, no split second subdial. Fine with me as I have never need accuracy greater than one second, but at this price point, I would have liked to see a movement that records to a finer measurement as my other quartz chronos do (cheapos).
Overall, I rate this as one of my highest "bang for the buck" watches out of over 60 purchased in the past 15 months. Citizen Ecozilla comes very close, but not as wearable or attractive IMHO. It seems as though the $100 off coupon has disappeared, but even at the regular price of $449, this watch is a bargain and well worth the spend.