Thursday, October 26, 2017

Ocean Crawler Champion Diver - PHOTO ESSAY


Found these guys on Instagram recently and started chatting with the owner. I was impressed with his designs and passion to create something different. Design imagination in this industry is sorely missing, so when you see it, it is worth celebrating! 

This is the Champion Diver, which is WR to a respectable 1000ft and has a fluted bezel, which is very well executed and slick (in a positive way). It came with 2 rubber (silicone) straps, the orange, which it came on and unbeknownst to me, inside the box was a ultra-cool blue camo version!

I will let the pictures do some more talking:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now this diver is not perfect, it has a few flaws. For one the crown is not as well finished as the bezel. It is very sharp and mat. Yes, it is extremely easy to use and damn grippy, but I would have liked it to match the knurling on the bezel. 

Also, the spring-bars between the lugs hug the case so close as to not be able to fit anything else but these two rubber straps. Now, you can acquire curved spring bars and fit curved end straps, but those are harder to find and excludes shark-mesh / other steel bracelets. 

I would have also liked a more "refined" movement than the Seiko 4R series. Perhaps a 6R or even the Miyota 9015, which I have found to be a solid, reliable and best of all, accurate. That said, this one has been performing admirably and I am satisfied with it. Not to mention, it is a solid workhorse and will run forever, with only the very minimum of maintenance.


That's enough with the nit-picking. What we have here is an excellent example of company not afraid to go to the edge and not look back. Good for you Ocean Crawler. Keep up the good work and I look forward to many new designs in the future!

Technical Specs: 

  • Case Diameter (excluding crown): 44.2mm 
  • Case Thickness: 15mm, 
  • Lug-To-Lug: 51.8mm, 
  • Lug Width: 22mm 
  • Case Material: 316L Stainless Steel 
  • Bezel: Unidirectional Rotating Bezel with 120 Clicks and Swiss SuperLuminova Marker 
  • Movement Accuracy: +/- 5 seconds/day in 3 positions 
  • Water Resistance: 300 meters, 1000-feet or 30 ATM

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