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Aquatico Poseidon
The holiday time means that we often look for a watch that will serve us as a daily companion in our trips. Often our leisure is related to recreation in the water, which is why models with high water resistance become a frequent choice of the so-called holiday watch. Currently, there are three watches in my collection with a water resistance value of 100M. Theoretically, this value is sufficient, because I don’t scuba diving, but some concerns remain, and the price of these watches discourages us from going straight into the sea with them. That’s why I decided to buy something especially for the summer time. It turns out that the offer of diving watches up to PLN 2,000 is quite rich, but it is dominated by secondary designs, neatly called homages. I decided to search the website of Aquatico, a manufacturer whose watches have already passed through my wrist several times, and I have described some of them on our blog. Out of the entire offer, I like the hero of today’s review – Aquatico Poseidon the most.
The Poseidon model feels like a watch you’ve seen before. And this is not just an illusion, because at first glance we can see inspiration from models from other manufacturers, such as Zelos and Seiko, and on closer inspection we will notice a certain similarity to the iconic Longines Legend Diver …
Box
I got the Aquatico Poseidon watch packed in a white cardboard box, inside which there is a smaller one, probably made of balsa. My assumptions about the material from which the box is made result from its extraordinary lightness. The structure of the wood is rough to the touch. Inside there is a sponge with velvet material glued on it. This sponge has cutouts for a watch, an additional strap and a warranty card with the instruction manual attached to it. The box has miniature magnets, which allows for safe transport without fear of automatic opening. An additional security feature is also a metal latch, which is practical on the one hand and decorative on the other.
The logo and the name of the company are painted on the upper lid.
Case
In the introduction, I mentioned the inspiration of the designers from Aquatico. A trained watch enthusiast’s eye will immediately notice the resemblance to the Seiko Marinemaster case. The shape, unusual combination of cuts and the position of the crown clearly indicate a strong inspiration for the above-mentioned model. The width of the case without the crown is 43 millimeters. This value may seem large, but the bezel diameter is smaller by 2 millimeters, optically reduces the whole size.
The metal, 120-click, unidirectional bezel has a delicately brushed ceramic insert. The insert has engraved and luma filled in vintage color indices. The work of the bezel itself is quite solid, comparable to what the Tag Heuer Aquaracer watches presented. Importantly, the indices in the bezel coincide perfectly with the indices on the dial. I mention it because cases of shifts occur even in the new Omega SMP …
There is a screwed crown at 4 o’clock. It is so large that you can easily operate it without being as agile as a young Copperfield. The crown is finished with a laser engraving of a dolphin, which is the Aquatico logotype.
From the bottom, the case is closed with a screwed case back, which practically does not protrude beyond the outline of the case. This is the first time I have encountered such a solution. Perhaps the unusual design of the cap affects the wearing comfort. The watch is 15mm thick, and you wear it as if it is a maximum of 13mm.
It is worth mentioning the cuts. In the case of Aquatico Poseidon it is really good. It has almost completely polished sides, and the high gloss breaks the narrow chamfer with a vertical cut, going from one lug to the other. The upper part of the lugs is brushed. I must admit that it all looks pretty cool, although it was not without a small slip-up. In the lower part of the case, between the lugs, there is a small surface that has not been subjected to any treatment, which is why you can see unevenness and delicate scratches on it. It is a pity for this little slip-up, because the finish of the rest of the case is at a really very good level.
The length of the lug to lug is 50 mm, which may seem quite a value, but the profile of the case makes Poseidon look and wear like a watch with a much shorter length.
The spacing of the lugs is universal 22 millimeters, so we can take advantage of the wide range of straps from various manufacturers. Drilled lugs make it easier to change the strap.
Dial
Aquatico Poseidon has a sandwich dial, which can be described as “I’ve seen it somewhere”. Take a good look again. You are right! It is very similar to the one found in the Zelos Swordfish watch.
The sandwich dial has a delicate sunburst, which causes its color to change when the type and angle of the light fall on it, although the change of shade is not as spectacular as in my Rolex Datejust but still makes a great impression.
The indices are cut-outs in the dial, and their surface is entirely made of SuperLuminova Old Radium luminescent mass. Its illumination is not as spectacular as in the case of SuperLuminova C3, although it must be admitted that the Old Radium shines for a long time and it will be easy to read the time indication a few hours after exposure.
The same type of mass is found in brushed pencil-type hands. They are quite wide and fit well with the whole concept of the dial. With such broad indices, other clues would look disproportionate. The second hand has a red end that contrasts with the blue of the dial and thus brings it to life in some way.
The bezel around the dial has a printed minute scale that allows you to accurately read the time. On the Poseidon dial you will find a large inscription with the manufacturer’s name and information on the type of mechanism used and water resistance.
All the elements on the dial are made very carefully and it is difficult to attach to anything.
We look at the dial through a doomed sapphire glass, which has been covered with an anti-reflective layer on the inside. I am not a fan of doomed glasses, because their design is not good at dealing with reflections. In the case of the Aquatico Poseidon watch, unfortunately, there is no exception to this rule, and despite the use of anti-reflective, doomed glass allows us to see it almost like in a mirror.
Movement
The heart of the watch is one of the most popular movements in the world, i.e. the Seiko NH-35. It is a well-known structure that I have already described many times in our blog. This movement has been decorated with a proprietary rotor with the company’s name and information about the bearing by 24 stones.
In the introduction, I wrote that the watch has something of the Longines Legend Diver … And this is the moment that some have been waiting for. What these two watches have in common is the so-called phantom date. It turns out that both models do not have a date window (the Legend Diver also has a date display version), but the date wheel is still there. Of course, it does not matter much to me and I took it more as a curiosity.
Strap
We get two straps in the set. The one I liked the most is made of rubber. Numerous perforations and openings ensure that the wrist is well ventilated even on hot days. The strap itself is soft and fits perfectly on the wrist. The navy blue shade harmonizes very well with the blue of the dial and bezel.
The second strap is made of light brown leather. It is quite stiff and certainly not as comfortable as the rubber one. Both straps have a signed clasp.
Summary
Overall, for the $ 350 price, we get a really decent watch, which has an unquestionable advantage of being 300M waterproof. You can pick on too obvious references to watches from other manufacturers, although in this compilation the manufacturer chose what is best in the models he was inspired by.
Pros:
– ceramic bezel insert,
– very good quality of cuts on the representative side of the case,
– a very well profiled case,
– wearing comfort,
– SuperLuminova Old Radium,
– 300M water resistance,
– reliable Japanese movement
– sapphire glass,
– excellent quality rubber strap,
– bezel work,
Minuses:
– rough elements on the bottom of the case,
– a stiff leather strap,
– too much inspiration from other brands,
Tomek
