INTRODUCTION:
Nodus began in 2017 and in its short 6 years of existence they have made quite the splash, pun intended. Also, in this time they have established themselves among the “good guys” within the micro-brand space in our community and rightfully so. Their models range from field / sports watches to full on divers. Earlier this year they released the Sector Deep, which is their version of a hyper-focused tool dive watch. I was smitten the minute I saw it and it was only a matter of time before I got my grubby mitts on one to review. If you are a dive watch fan, as I am, there is a lot to unpack with this one, so suit up and let’s Backward Roll into it.
CASE:
The media-blasted stainless-steel case measures 38mm in diameter and a swelt 13.6mm thick, which is quite reasonable considering it is water-resistant to 500m. The most important and requested measurement these days is the lug to lug and this one is 47mm. The latter should make it easily wearable for most wrists, though the end-links do add a little girth, more on this later.
The case is finely sculpted, with chamfers along the edges on both the top and bottom. This modest detail helps slim it out considerably. Tudor uses this on their Black Bay GMT, with a chamfer on the bottom of the case. If you compare it to the standard non-GMT model, you can immediately see the difference. Nodus’ execution of these chamfers creates a greater illusion than Tudor, especially since the case back sits nestled into the wrist.
Speaking of case back, this one is quite the whopper, which is expected for a dive watch rated to this depth. At its center, there is a nicely engraved quadruple Venn diagram (4 intertwined circles), which represents the 4 styles of watch the collection launched with: Sport, Dive, Field, and Pilot. The entire collection uses the same mid-case and can be adapted to suit a variety of needs by changing dials, bezels, hands, and movements. Surrounding the logo are the watch’s attributes, including the serial number.
The left sided screw-down crown has some of the grippiest knurling I have ever felt. It is fully DLC coated and has a red circular arrow and the word lock on it, to show the user which directly to screw it in. Neat touch, however, when unscrewed the stem feels rather wobbly, but when screwed in it is extremely secure and reassuring. The left side crown is something I have always liked. Especially with one that has this much bite. I prefer it away from the back of my hand and it really works on this model.
The first watch I ever had with a left sided crown was a Citizen Promaster from the mid-90s. I remember purchasing it because it was so different and kept it because it was so comfortable. More watches should be made available this way. In fact, I wish my Titoni Seascoper was left sided, I still have the scar on the back of my hand, and it has been a year since I moved that watch. Left sided crowns are not just for left-handed people. (fight me)
BEZEL, CRYSTAL & DIAL:
The precise 120-click, DLC coated, fully lumed bezel on the Deep is something quite special. I have seen other watches with bezels that overlap the case, but none that do it like this one. It is a full 4mm wider than the case, which means there is a 2mm lip that provides a ton of purchase. Forget dive gloves, you could easily manipulate this one with full-on Arctic exploration mittens! It is also 5mm broad, beveled and features a 12hr scale, along with a traditional dive counter. While I do appreciate the 2 scales, it might get tricky if you are travelling to a different time zone to go diving. Mind you, that would be a cool problem to have.
The flat sapphire crystal measures 31mm in diameter (can you tell I got new calipers?) and sits just below the apex of the bezel. There is blue anti-reflective coating underneath, which provides an incredible view of the dial and at certain angles it disappears completely. There is even a bezel on the edge that creates a reflection of the indices, making them look longer than they really are. Very cool effect.
The deep black dial and hands are very distinct and seem to combine the best elements from a Tudor Pelagos and a Seiko Diver. Like the Pelagos, there is an angled rehaut with cut-outs for the applied square and rectangular markers. The hands are very similar to the ones used by brands like Seiko and Citizen, but not quite. Rarely do you see this style of hands outside of these Japanese companies. The result is quite original and the word “extreme” barely describes its legibility. You could likely read this one from across the room, especially in the dark due to the copious amount of Swiss Super-Luminova® BGW9 Grade A.
The black dial itself just screams dive with me, reminds me of a wet neoprene wetsuit, the effect just screams dive with me. The lack of an abundance of text is also welcome, with the brand name at 12 o’clock, the line name in smaller print beneath it and under the pinion is the model is printed in red, with 500 designating the depth rating beneath that. The color matched date is at 6 o’clock, thus creating perfect visual symmetry. Despite having an affinity for color matched date wheels, I feel that the reverse would have worked, as the large 12 o’clock marker would have offset the white at 6 o’clock. Not that I am complaining.
MOVEMENT:
The movement in the Deep is the Seiko NH35. This movement is
not known to be very accurate, with an out of the box rating of -20 to + 40
seconds per day. However, Nodus regulates every one of them and manages to trim
that down to +/- 10 seconds per day, which is quite an improvement. The loaner
I have on hand, which has travelled all over the place and been fondled by many
a reviewer, is keeping +2 sec per day when worn 24/7 and according to my Accuracy
Meter app, it is keeping -2 sec/day dial up. These figures are remarkable and
far better than I was anticipating.
What this movement lacks in accuracy anecdotes, it sure
makes up in ruggedness. I have known people with watches with this caliber
going decades without service and still running strong. I do not know why more
companies using this movement do not bother regulating them like Nodus does. It
is obviously capable of better performance and its cost is relatively low,
which helps keep the overall price of the watch very reasonable.
Specs are as follows:
- Manufacturer: Seiko (Seiko Instruments Inc. aka SII, Time Module Inc. aka TMI)
- Caliber Number: NH35A (aka NH35)
- Movement Type: Automatic, self-winding mechanical
- Diameter: 27.40mm
- Casing Diameter: 29.36mm
- Height: 5.32mm
- Jewels: 24
- Vibrations Per Hour: 21,600 bph
- Shock System: Diashock
- Power Reserve: 41 hours
- Rotor Direction: Bi-directional winding (Magic Lever)
- Hand-Windable: Yes
- Functions: Central hours; central minutes; central sweeping seconds; date calendar at 3:00 (sometimes other locations depending on the dial design)
- Hacking Seconds: Yes
BRACELET:
The stainless-steel bracelet is completely media-blasted, just like the case. It articulates very well and is sized by one sided screws, which is by far the easiest way to size a bracelet. It is 20mm at the lugs and tapers down to 18mm, jumping back up to 20mm at the clasp. The links are 3mm thick and sized for me, the watch on bracelet weighs 159g. Funny enough, the bracelet alone (again sized for me) weighs 79g, so you can see how well balanced it is.
I was able to easily weigh them separately because the bracelet has quick-release pins built in. Mind you, I could have easily removed the bracelet anyway, as the lugs are drilled through. You can tell the designer had enthusiasts in mind when putting this one together and this watch has strap monster written all over it. On thing I am a little confused about is the end-links. They are solid and female, but the male parts of the bracelet do not fully articulate, therefore making them just like solid male end-links. So, the effective length of the watch jumps from 47 to 50mm, which is not that big a deal, as it wraps very well over the wrist.
The twin-trigger clasp suits the watch very well and has a built-in extension, which ratchets out to 4 positions. Two of them covered by the clasp shell and 2 that extend beyond, which in my opinion does not look too good and seems to have some side-to-side play. Luckily, sized for me, I have the extension system completely pushed in and it fits perfectly on my 7” wrist. The only thing I would change is the curvature of the clasp, it is a little too flat for my liking. I also think there may be something wrong with one of the triggers. It seems to stick when pressed in and easily pops open if the second one is pushed. I believe this may be the result of this piece having passed through so many hands over the last year.
CONCLUSION
I have owned and reviewed many, many contemporary styled dive watches and for 599$ USD, I cannot think of another that packs in as much dive watch goodness. Sure, there are deeper rated ones, there are more dive specific ones, but there is no other that straddles the line between pure diving tool and everyday sports watch better than this Nodus. If you have ever dreamt of a Tudor Pelagos and/or wanted a Seiko Tuna but did not have the funds or the wrist to pull off the latter. This Nodus may just be the watch for you!
