Posted by 
It all started with Tutima, which I bought from a forum friend. I bought the Tutima not because I liked it, but because the price was bargain and I could try a watch with a case and a bracelet made of sandblasted grade 5 titanium without the risk of later loss and see how the watch with the orange dial will look live. Then it turned out that this color of the dial has something that makes you want to look at it … it is noticeable, but at the same time it is not overwhelming, like a watch all in gold.
Yes .. that’s when I decided that the watches that I always have in my box must be accompanied by a watch with an orange dial. As usual, the search began (this is probably the most enjoyable part of the watch hobby), the moment when you already know what you want and you just need to find a watch that meets all the criteria. Due to the fact that I like smaller watches again, I wanted the watch to fit in the size 40-42, with an emphasis on a small length, lug to lug. I found that the orange dial looks best when paired with a bezel insert, which is made of the same material as the case, and when the bracelet is made of many tiny links. Orange color goes well with black, so it’s good when there are some black elements on the dial and the bezel insert. In fact, Tutima was very close to ideal, but was a bit short of it, so I was looking for something similar to the Doxy Sub Professional, but on a much smaller budget. A search of the entire internet led me to a watch that I have known for a very long time and I was always trying to buy (I have already seen it live on the occasion of Aurochronos 2019), but never in this color of the dial – namely Aevig Huldra, which meets all of my requirements 100% and in appearance I like even more than Doxa, at the same time a good price that I am able to pay for a watch that, after all, due to the color of the dial, I will not wear it every day.
Aevig is a Dutch microbrand operating since 2013. The current version of Aevig Huldr is the second edition of this model. The previous one was as successful as the current one and enjoyed great popularity. As I mentioned earlier, we already had the opportunity to see other models from this manufacturer on the occasion of last year’s Aurochronos. A few photos to remind you.
Box
While most mass watch producers boxes look very similar, it is completely different with microbrands. And that’s the case here too, the packaging of the Aevig watch is unlike anything I’ve seen before. The box is small (really small), retractable, made of brown cardboard, inside which we find a rectangular metal can closed with 2 clasps. In the box, there is a small leather rollbag for 2 watches (under the can there is a place for a rubber strap, which is also included). Inside is a watch and a bracelet changing tool. The can is around 15cm long and 5cm wide and together with the rollbag it will be perfect as a travel box that will fit practically anywhere, while ensuring adequate protection. I’m on Yes.
Case
Let me start by saying that the watch is visually much smaller than the 42mm case width would suggest … all thanks to the shape of the case and the short lugs that make the watch only 46mm L2L. To illustrate this, I would like to add that the 46mm L2L also had a 40mm Zelos Mako, which was successfully worn by my wife, here we have an case of the same length and at the same time 2mm wider. Thanks to this procedure, the watch can be successfully worn by people with a wrist of 16-20 cm and, in my opinion, it will look ok.
And this is what it looks like on my 18cm wrist.
I was a bit surprised by the thickness, because at 12.5mm it looks a bit bigger, but this is probably due to the other dimensions and the general shape of the case, which is reminiscent of divers from the 70’s of the last century. When viewed from the top, the case has the shape of a barrel, and all its elements have a brushed finish on this plane. From this perspective, it can be seen that the case is much wider than the bezel and clearly sticks out on its sides; it is this procedure that is largely responsible for the visual reduction of the watch size, because it changes the proportions of the case in relation to the dial (the dial is simply smaller). The lugs do not stick out of the case, but are part of it, as if cutting holes in the barrel in which you can attach a strap or a bracelet.
Looking from the side, we can see that the construction of the case is not that simple. It is the entire case, not the lugs themselves, that is bended downwards like a chips. In addition to the straight side wall, there is an additional small surface that slopes towards the bottom of the case and the case back. The entire side surface was polished to a mirror. When looking at the profile, we also see that the lugs have been drilled to facilitate the change of the strap and bracelet. The small, signed, screwed crown doesn’t have a cover, but the case has a small indentation in the place where it is located, so the risk of damaging it is minimal. The crown has also been completely polished to match the style of the case.
Due to the size of the crown, its unscrewing and screwind is not the easiest (especially scrowing down, but with time you can get into practice), and a larger one would not fit the project anyway.
The bottom of the case is also brushed. All the polishing of the case has been made very well, without any flaws, the transitions are perfect. The type of brushing on the case belongs to the thicker ones, on which the path of the cuts is clearly visible, I personally prefer the finer, more satin ones, but it is more a matter of taste, not quality.
Movement
Huldra is powered by a Japanese movement produced by Citizen – Miyota 9015. This is a popular movement with very good parameters, often used by microbrands in mid-priced watches. The movement operates at a frequency of 28,800 beats per hour (8 per second), has a power reserve of 42 hours and can be winded with a crown. This is a one-way automatic winding movement, so when you carry it on your arm, you can sometimes hear a rustling sound as the rotor spins at high speed in a side that offers no resistance. My copy is accurate to about -2 seconds / day, which is better than good.
Bezel
A fairly high bezel with coin edge notches has a stainless steel insert. Minute indices in the form of dots and dashes every 5 minutes and full digits every quarter of an hour have been cut and filled with black paint on the insert. At 12 o’clock, there is a white triangle made of bgw9 luminescent mass (glowing blue) and it is the only element of the insert with a luma. Stylistically, the bezel fits this watch perfectly, due to the color it blends with the case, and at the same time thanks to its shape you can see that it is a separate, movable element. The bezel can only be turned to the left, it has 120 clicks and its work is very technical – a lot of resistance when turning, but there is no, even the smallest play. Until it jumps to the next tooth, moving the bezel, we move the entire case.
It is very good that the manufacturer decided to use black paint instead of luminescent mass in this version, because the white indices on the insert would spoil the whole project.
Dial
The highlight of this watch, the dial, as you already know, is orange. The important thing is that the color is matte without any additional effect… I don’t like the watches with the shiny orange dial or the sunburst effect that much anymore. The dial basically has a very simple layout – on the outermost part of the dial there are minute indices in the form of black lines, with the lines marking every 5 minutes in bold. The hourly indices have their place slightly closer to the center.
Indices are the hallmark of all versions of the Huldr model; instead of round or rectangular, the manufacturer used indices in the form of hexagons. The 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock indices (6 o’clock in the non-date version) have the shape of an acute triangle. In addition, the 12 o’clock index is larger and has the manufacturer’s logo in the middle. In my orange version, the index frames are black, inside filled with BGW9 luminescent mass. This has a cool effect that makes the watch easier to read and the dial does not appear pale.
In my version, in the place of the 6 o’clock index, there is a date window … I had a big problem with deciding whether to choose a watch with or without a date. The dial of this watch without date looks even better, the triangular indices complement the hexagonal ones nicely, but for me the date function is very important and because I intend to leave this watch for a long time, I chose the option with this function, despite the hole instead of the index at 6 o’clock. Didn’t want the lack of a date stamp to take away the pleasure of wearing a watch that meets all my requirements. The window itself is a diamond-shaped cutout in the dial, its shape resembles a tiny index placed underneath it – it is like its extension.
Under the 12 o’clock index there are black inscriptions with the name of the manufacturer and model, while above the date window, the water resistance level is described in black, and the information in blue paint that the watch has an automatic movement.
All hands, just like the indices, are black and have white BGW9 luminescent filling. The minute hand is quite thick and straight in shape with a slightly pointed tip. The hour hand, on the other hand, is shorter and much thicker. An additional black beam runs through the center of the luma field, which makes the hour hand look like 2 smaller minute hands stuck sideways to each other.
The second hand is a simple pointer with a rectangular location for a luma approximately 3/4 in length.
All the elements of the dial have been designed on the basis of geometric figures and you can see it every time we look at the watch, we could look in vain for any curves on it … Everything that is on it has angles. From the top, the dial is protected by a slightly doomed sapphire crystal with an internal anti-reflective coating. It was a pleasant surprise for me as I was convinced that the glass in this watch is flat and I definitely prefer the doomed glass in watches. Thanks to the doomed glass, it shimmers beautifully when we move the watch in different directions. I used to have an Orient Star with black indices and the indices in Huldra make an equally good impression on me.
Case back
The steel caseback is screwed down and has the manufacturer’s logo engraved on it, and basic information about the watch around it. The watch has a WR of 200m, which in my opinion is an ideal value for a diver watch – you can dive with it, and in the event of a service, the watchmaker should not have any major problems with sealing the watch.
Bracelet / strap
Generally my experience with hundreds of worn watches is that unless the watch is of some monstrous size, 90% of the convenience of wearing the watch depends on the strap / bracelet. In the case of the strap, the softer and narrow the more comfortable, in the case of bracelets it is a bit similar, but not entirely … the most comfortable bracelets are those that:
• have small links,
• it narrow significantly or are narrow at all,
• the clasp is not wider than the bracelet and is not too long,
• it is not sharply finished, i.e. the edges that come into contact with the skin are slightly rounded,
• have great adjustment possibilities,
• links are thin (but solid).
The Aevig bracelet meets 4 of the above conditions, making it comfortable …
The links, as befits a jubilee bracelet, are small, the whole bracelet narrows from 22mm to 18 – this is what I like the most with narrowed bracelets.
The clasp is only slightly wider than the bracelet (the clasp itself is 20mm, but between it and the wrist there is another element of the clasp, which is narrower and it is on it that the skin stops during most of the wrist movements), it is not too long despite the fact that it has the possibility of sliding it to fasten with a wetsuit (or to loosen it in the hot weather we have recently in Poland). The clasp lacks micro-regulation, but thanks to the small links, I was able to adjust its length very well to my wrist.
In addition, no part of the bracelet has a sharp finish and nothing stick into the skin.
However, the bracelet is the only part of the watch that I have any comments about. Its biggest problem is endlinks – they are poorly fitted, leaving holes between the case and the bracelet, and generally do not give the impression of good quality.
The clasp, on the other hand, may not be long, but it is thick – a large piece of the mechanism protrudes from the bottom, through which the entire clasp is almost 1 cm thick, thanks to the use of the stretching mechanism it was not possible to hide it all in the clasp … fortunately, it doesn’t affect any way for comfortable wearing.
The bracelet, just like the case, is brushed on the top and polished on the sides, except for the clasp, which is completely brushed.
This watch fits perfectly with the jubilee bracelet, it is a pity that the shortcomings are in this most visible element.
The set also includes a black rubber strap, which is quite soft and looks very nice with the watch.
Summary
The watch will definitely stay with me for a long time, because it doesn’t seem like I will find something that could worthily replace it in the near future. Of course, it has its disadvantages, which I mentioned earlier, but they are not so big that I would cancel a watch that meets all my requirements, which, if not, I had a lot. The Aevig Huldra can now be purchased on the manufacturer’s website for 650Euro. Sometimes there are promotions on this website, during which you can buy this model cheaper (you can also always look for a used one for an even lower amount), but even the price of 650Euro is fair considering that what we get in return. Knowing what will come in a package from the Netherlands, I would buy it again, because it has not disappointed my expectations, and wearing it gives me what is most important in my watch hobby – the desire to look at your wrist every now and then to see what the watch looks like with this together, including lighting, from this angle.
There are still other color versions of this model available, such as blue, green or black, but I encourage people who have never even thought about it before to try the orange version … watches with an orange dial have something captivating about them.
Konrad
