Thursday, October 20, 2016

NEW - DELTAt Umi Diver

I had been thinking about adding another sterile bezel diver to my collection for quite some time, but just could not put my finger on which one. I loved my Ennebbi diver, but they are currently out of my price range. I thought of the Heroic 18, but do not like all polished cases and I am not a big fan of bronze watches. Then, I noticed DELTAt was coming out with a new sterile bezel diver of their own and since I rally liked their Pilot watch offering, I just had to give this one a shot. I am so pleased I did!


Now I know what you are thinking. Why another blue watch? Well, why not? I have always loved blue dialed watches and this one is so very difference from my Hamilton Frogman. I also had the choice between a cut-out sandwich dial or applied markers, and I chose the latter. I find the reflections from the markers go ever so well with the gorgeous faceted hands.  That is right, the hands are faceted, which is a very nice touch that allows them to reflect at different angles. Unlike flat hands that can disappear at certain angles against a dark dial.

The dial, features a white date window display, which actually really works on this watch. If you know me, you know that I despise inverted date colors that do not match the dial color, but on this watch it is placed opposite a white hour marker at 9 o'clock and lends to its symmetry. Very nicely done. The bezel is sterile, but has twelve "teeth" to give purchase to your fingers for easy turning. They are also cut out as such an angle to make turning the in proper direction effortlessly, while at the same time giving it that buzz saw look. I really like this, as I have never seen it done quite like this before.

  

The case itself is 44mm in diameter and 15mm thick. Not too chunky, but thick enough to assert its 300m water-resistance. The crown screws down deeply and sits ever so slightly into the case, which help reassure you of its sturdiness. The case back is see-through displaying the rather pedestrian Seiko AH35A movement. I personally would have preferred a solid case back, with a neat engraving, like on my DELTAt pilot watch, but I can see how many like to see the inner workings of their time keeping micro-machines. 

The front sapphire crystal is domed and has anti-reflective coating on the inside. Kudos for not putting any on the outside. There is nothing more frustrating than keeping a crystal that is supposed to look like it is not there clean. What is the point if every little spec of dust, dirt, lint or anything for that matter, is magnified and obstructing the view. 

   


I spoke of the Seiko NH35A powering this watch earlier and while it is utilitarian in nature, it does serve its purpose well. So far time keeping has been satisfactory and there is something that I really like about these movements. When setting the hands, it is very, very easy to settle them on the hash-marks, as there is no play at all. You cannot say this about the ETA offerings, not that this one a superior movement. All I am saying is that for the anal-retentive collectors like me, that love it when the hands hit their mark bang-on at 0, these are easy to set and that makes me happy. 

The watch is supplied with 3 different 22mm straps. A neat rubber strap, a paracord strap with a multi-tool buckle, featuring a whistle (always useful under water... joke), as well as a nylon velcro strap. All 3 are of decent quality, but unfortunately, a tad too small for me, so when I received my DELTAt diver, I swapped them out for the DELTAt brown pilot strap, which looked amazing! That said, this is a diver. What says "dive watch" more than a shark-mesh bracelet? Nothing! So boom, on it went and it is a spectacular match. Of course, this is my opinion, and your mileage may vary, but I for one will be leaving it this way. 

   


The wrist presence is remarkable and super comfortable due to the curvature of the lugs and balance with the steel mesh strap. I am equally impressed with the lume on this one, as it glows quite bright, though the hands are ever so slightly dimmer than the markers and the pip on the bezel. And when I mean slightly, I mean barely perceptible, especially when the glow dies down a bit. 

At sub 500$ pricing, I am so pleased with this watch. It is exactly what I wanted... only problem now is... I think I may want ANOTHER, but the sandwich dial version, perhaps in black PVD finish... hum...  While I ponder this, here are some great Canadian fall pictures from Mont-Rigaud, Quebec for you to enjoy:

 

  

 

That river of rocks is actually granite and was placed their naturally by glaciers during the last ice age. Here are some cool details about it from Wikipedia:

 A lot of rock pieces scatter the woods all over the mountain. It is a moraine shaped by a glacier that, by moving, broke up from the bedrock of the Canadian Shield, fragments that it disaggregated and rounded by rolling over them, moving them and leaving them in this basin, some thousand years ago, at the end of the Wisconsin glaciation.

The mountain is also home to an unusual, natural rock garden known as the "champs de patates", so named because of the local legend that it was once a potato field, turned to stone by God because the farmer worked on Sunday