steve6387
August 24th, 2007, 03:32
After enjoying my Bernhardt Instruments Binnacle for 2 years, I found myself being drawn to higher-end, larger, and more “toolish” divers. I’m a fairly big guy. 6 feet tall and 215 lbs or so. I’m active. I’m always doing something and I always wear a watch while doing it. I have 7.5 inch wrists. I love divers for their versatility and I was really itching for a new one.
Despite the fact that I had been longing for something along the lines of this Enzo or maybe a Stowa, financially it wasn’t in the cards right now. I have too many other priorities at this point in my life to justify a thousand dollar dive watch. Enter the WUS forums. Ernie Romers and Enzo partnered to give away an EM001 as a promotion for the [not-yet-released] Enzo Mechana EM001 and as a way to say thank you to the board participants. I am the lucky recipient, steve6387. You can read the thread here: http://forums.watchuseek.com/showthread.php?t=68499 Even though I have done so privately as well as in that thread, I want to again, extend my heart-felt thanks to both Ernie and Enzo for their generosity. Now, all thanks aside, I’ll do the best I can to be objective in my review of the EM001. To that end, I’ll also plan on another review in about 6 months or so, after the honeymoon period has passed. ;-)
For me, a dive watch needs to be able to swim, body surf, snorkel, golf, camp, get sweated on, do yard work, and etc. It will be worn in both salt and fresh water… as often as possible. It will also go to work with me every day and it will sometimes give power point presentations to my CEO. It will wear jackets and ties as well as jeans, t-shirts, and sandals. I fully expect this watch to get scratches and dings and to do some serious damage to all of the door-jams in my life. I am PADI certified, but I haven’t been scuba diving in 10 years. I might pick it back up again at some point in the future. However, I certainly don’t foresee a situation where I’ll test the 1000M depth rating of this watch or use the HEV. If I do, something probably went horribly wrong and I’ll have more on my mind than how cool my dive watch is. I do snorkel a couple of times a year. OK, now that you now a bit about me and my preferences, onto the watch.
Precision! Upon lifting this watch out of the gorgeous wooden box it came in, this was the first word to pop in my head. The case, bracelet, and bezel are all made of solid stainless steel. The precision machining and execution of production are evident to the most casual observer. Tolerances are tight. The 60 click bezel turns very smoothly and clicks into place definitively. There is no slop or looseness anywhere. Angles are sharp and the surfaces are perfection. Anyone interested in this watch should read The “About Us” section of Enzo’s site. It briefly describes the history of the watch and Enzo’s design philosophy and it’s plain to see he has achieved his goal. http://www.enzomechana.com/aboutus.htm The rugged, functional design is elegant in its execution. I read somewhere that “form follows function.” This watch is the embodiment of that statement.
Heavy! My second thought about the watch. I am a pragmatist. As much as I coveted this watch, I need a watch to be practical and usable. I have no room in my life for an expensive diver I find myself not wearing because it’s too big or I’m afraid I’ll ruin it. I was concerned that the size and weight of this watch might make it uncomfortable or otherwise impractical. So far so good. The watch is heavy, yes. It weighs in at 286 grams. The weight and profile are significant, however the case and lug design combined with the weight of the bracelet work together to keep it nicely centered on the wrist and largely un-noticeable. The fit is perfect. Even with no micro-adjustments. It’s snug yet never uncomfortable. Sizing was a snap with screwed links rather than push pins. I took out three links and it fits my 7.5 inch wrist better than my Binnacle (which has micro-adjustments on the clasp). The fact that Enzo threw in extra screws/bars, for backups was a nice touch.
The dial is gorgeous. It is a clean, simple design which is easy to read at a glance. Exactly what a functional diver should be. It is a very deeeeeeep black. There is a luminous dot on the second hand that appears to free float around the dial as if not attached to anything. The 5mm thick crystal enhances the milky, dark, and surreal nature of the dial. Other pictures left me with the idea that the crystal protrudes significantly from the bezel much more than it actually does. In reality, while it is domed, it’s still very close to being flush with the bezel, minimizing the crystal’s exposure more than I expected. The hour marker has [what looks like] a modified Mercedes or gun-sight type thing at the end which is ultra cool. Nothing extraordinary about the minute hand. The lume is very good in its application. I have not had a ton of watches to compare it to. While it glows like fire initially, it fades in the expected way that I guess lume does. It continues to maintain some level of legibility all night long. The fact that Enzo designed a luminous chapter ring around the perimeter of the dial is an example of his design brilliance. It reflects ever so slightly off the stainless steel wall, enhancing the inner glow somewhat.
The details are fantastic. Screwed bars to affix the links and bracelet. There are really nice engravings on the case back, both crowns, and clasp. The clasp took a little getting used to as I’ve been using an oyster style flip-lock type buckle as of late, but it holds tightly. The engraved logo on the clasp itself is a great touch. It’s rather sad that it will be all scratched up in no time since I am a daily desk-diver and my typing position puts that part of the bracelet in constant contact with my desk. But I expect that. It’s par for the course as far as I’m concerned.
The pictures attached are taken after about a week of wear. Yes, I am a bad photographer. The quality is not helped by the fact that I had to borrow a cheap digital camera as mine is MIA after my last camping trip. I did no prep work. I didn’t clean and polish it. No photo-shop touch-ups. Nothing. Between the time I received the watch and these pictures, it has done the following: Fishing, swimming, jet skiing, water skiing and sailing. It’s banged off the hull and the mast of a sailing boat. It smacked the handle bars of a jet ski which was trying to buck me off in choppy water.
Negatives:
So far, there are only two items to comment on. First, I wish there was a slight bit more tension on the bezel. Because of its design, it clicks and turns definitively and silky smooth. No wiggling, slop, or noise. A bit more tension would be nice and minimize the chances of accidentally moving it.
It’s running a little fast. I know, it’s way too early to judge, but as of this writing the EM001 is running +23 sec/day, on the wrist. I’m not an accuracy freak, but knowing that the ETA 2824-2 is capable of much better, I might have it adjusted depending on where it settles after a couple of months.
Conclusion:
This watch exceeds expectations. At this price point, the design and quality is top notch. Enzo is a design genius and a great guy to deal with. It’s a lot of fun to be wearing a watch of his. Enzo is so visibly genuine when it comes to his passion for watches and delivering based on what his customers want. He engages potential customers like friends. His enthusiasm is infectious! One gets the feeling Enzo would pay for the privilege of putting one of his watches on your wrist. In my case he did. The EM001 is a big, heavy, brute of a watch. Despite this, the case, bracelet, and lug design make it very wearable. Perhaps not everyone can pull it off, but I am giving it a big thumbs-up. It is now my daily wearer.
Oh… A brief word of warning. This watch comes with a bit of … attitude. Earlier today at work, it took an unprovoked swing at a co-worker’s Omega.
12/10/07 Update:
* Enzo graciously took my watch back into his NYC office. I really did not want to part with it. It arrived back 2 weeks later with much more tension on the [new] bezel and it's now +6/sec in 24 hours and I think it's still got a touch more to settle in (came back at +9). He refused to accept payment and would not even let me pay for the return shipping. Thanks Enzo! A more in depth review at a later date, but it's still my daily wear.
***3/20/08 Update***
Another few months have gone by and I wanted to update this review. They honeymoon has worn off. I actually think about my next watch here and there. My wife no longer makes fun of me for not listening to her because I’m looking at my watch with a vacuous stare.
After re-reading my initial review from last year…. I wouldn’t change a thing. While some of the passion surrounding those initial impressions might have been more intense upon receiving the watch, I still consider all those areas of relative strength.
Fact: I am a wearer and not a collector (probably a function of my wallet size). Given that, I will probably sell a couple of cheaper watches for my next purchase. The EM001 won’t find itself on the block. I enjoy it way too much. It surpassed my expectations and remains my daily wearer. I find the bracelet very comfortable and helps balance the watch nicely.
One final THANK YOU to Enzo and Ernie for the contest which netted me this beauty. Additional thanks to Enzo for tweaking the bezel and timing. I shipped it to his NYC office. It came back with a new bezel with much more tension. Also, I’ve been monitoring the rate over the past 3 months. It is +3 secs/24 hours on wrist and +5 when lying on its back.
Despite the fact that I had been longing for something along the lines of this Enzo or maybe a Stowa, financially it wasn’t in the cards right now. I have too many other priorities at this point in my life to justify a thousand dollar dive watch. Enter the WUS forums. Ernie Romers and Enzo partnered to give away an EM001 as a promotion for the [not-yet-released] Enzo Mechana EM001 and as a way to say thank you to the board participants. I am the lucky recipient, steve6387. You can read the thread here: http://forums.watchuseek.com/showthread.php?t=68499 Even though I have done so privately as well as in that thread, I want to again, extend my heart-felt thanks to both Ernie and Enzo for their generosity. Now, all thanks aside, I’ll do the best I can to be objective in my review of the EM001. To that end, I’ll also plan on another review in about 6 months or so, after the honeymoon period has passed. ;-)
For me, a dive watch needs to be able to swim, body surf, snorkel, golf, camp, get sweated on, do yard work, and etc. It will be worn in both salt and fresh water… as often as possible. It will also go to work with me every day and it will sometimes give power point presentations to my CEO. It will wear jackets and ties as well as jeans, t-shirts, and sandals. I fully expect this watch to get scratches and dings and to do some serious damage to all of the door-jams in my life. I am PADI certified, but I haven’t been scuba diving in 10 years. I might pick it back up again at some point in the future. However, I certainly don’t foresee a situation where I’ll test the 1000M depth rating of this watch or use the HEV. If I do, something probably went horribly wrong and I’ll have more on my mind than how cool my dive watch is. I do snorkel a couple of times a year. OK, now that you now a bit about me and my preferences, onto the watch.
Precision! Upon lifting this watch out of the gorgeous wooden box it came in, this was the first word to pop in my head. The case, bracelet, and bezel are all made of solid stainless steel. The precision machining and execution of production are evident to the most casual observer. Tolerances are tight. The 60 click bezel turns very smoothly and clicks into place definitively. There is no slop or looseness anywhere. Angles are sharp and the surfaces are perfection. Anyone interested in this watch should read The “About Us” section of Enzo’s site. It briefly describes the history of the watch and Enzo’s design philosophy and it’s plain to see he has achieved his goal. http://www.enzomechana.com/aboutus.htm The rugged, functional design is elegant in its execution. I read somewhere that “form follows function.” This watch is the embodiment of that statement.
Heavy! My second thought about the watch. I am a pragmatist. As much as I coveted this watch, I need a watch to be practical and usable. I have no room in my life for an expensive diver I find myself not wearing because it’s too big or I’m afraid I’ll ruin it. I was concerned that the size and weight of this watch might make it uncomfortable or otherwise impractical. So far so good. The watch is heavy, yes. It weighs in at 286 grams. The weight and profile are significant, however the case and lug design combined with the weight of the bracelet work together to keep it nicely centered on the wrist and largely un-noticeable. The fit is perfect. Even with no micro-adjustments. It’s snug yet never uncomfortable. Sizing was a snap with screwed links rather than push pins. I took out three links and it fits my 7.5 inch wrist better than my Binnacle (which has micro-adjustments on the clasp). The fact that Enzo threw in extra screws/bars, for backups was a nice touch.
The dial is gorgeous. It is a clean, simple design which is easy to read at a glance. Exactly what a functional diver should be. It is a very deeeeeeep black. There is a luminous dot on the second hand that appears to free float around the dial as if not attached to anything. The 5mm thick crystal enhances the milky, dark, and surreal nature of the dial. Other pictures left me with the idea that the crystal protrudes significantly from the bezel much more than it actually does. In reality, while it is domed, it’s still very close to being flush with the bezel, minimizing the crystal’s exposure more than I expected. The hour marker has [what looks like] a modified Mercedes or gun-sight type thing at the end which is ultra cool. Nothing extraordinary about the minute hand. The lume is very good in its application. I have not had a ton of watches to compare it to. While it glows like fire initially, it fades in the expected way that I guess lume does. It continues to maintain some level of legibility all night long. The fact that Enzo designed a luminous chapter ring around the perimeter of the dial is an example of his design brilliance. It reflects ever so slightly off the stainless steel wall, enhancing the inner glow somewhat.
The details are fantastic. Screwed bars to affix the links and bracelet. There are really nice engravings on the case back, both crowns, and clasp. The clasp took a little getting used to as I’ve been using an oyster style flip-lock type buckle as of late, but it holds tightly. The engraved logo on the clasp itself is a great touch. It’s rather sad that it will be all scratched up in no time since I am a daily desk-diver and my typing position puts that part of the bracelet in constant contact with my desk. But I expect that. It’s par for the course as far as I’m concerned.
The pictures attached are taken after about a week of wear. Yes, I am a bad photographer. The quality is not helped by the fact that I had to borrow a cheap digital camera as mine is MIA after my last camping trip. I did no prep work. I didn’t clean and polish it. No photo-shop touch-ups. Nothing. Between the time I received the watch and these pictures, it has done the following: Fishing, swimming, jet skiing, water skiing and sailing. It’s banged off the hull and the mast of a sailing boat. It smacked the handle bars of a jet ski which was trying to buck me off in choppy water.
Negatives:
So far, there are only two items to comment on. First, I wish there was a slight bit more tension on the bezel. Because of its design, it clicks and turns definitively and silky smooth. No wiggling, slop, or noise. A bit more tension would be nice and minimize the chances of accidentally moving it.
It’s running a little fast. I know, it’s way too early to judge, but as of this writing the EM001 is running +23 sec/day, on the wrist. I’m not an accuracy freak, but knowing that the ETA 2824-2 is capable of much better, I might have it adjusted depending on where it settles after a couple of months.
Conclusion:
This watch exceeds expectations. At this price point, the design and quality is top notch. Enzo is a design genius and a great guy to deal with. It’s a lot of fun to be wearing a watch of his. Enzo is so visibly genuine when it comes to his passion for watches and delivering based on what his customers want. He engages potential customers like friends. His enthusiasm is infectious! One gets the feeling Enzo would pay for the privilege of putting one of his watches on your wrist. In my case he did. The EM001 is a big, heavy, brute of a watch. Despite this, the case, bracelet, and lug design make it very wearable. Perhaps not everyone can pull it off, but I am giving it a big thumbs-up. It is now my daily wearer.
Oh… A brief word of warning. This watch comes with a bit of … attitude. Earlier today at work, it took an unprovoked swing at a co-worker’s Omega.
12/10/07 Update:
* Enzo graciously took my watch back into his NYC office. I really did not want to part with it. It arrived back 2 weeks later with much more tension on the [new] bezel and it's now +6/sec in 24 hours and I think it's still got a touch more to settle in (came back at +9). He refused to accept payment and would not even let me pay for the return shipping. Thanks Enzo! A more in depth review at a later date, but it's still my daily wear.
***3/20/08 Update***
Another few months have gone by and I wanted to update this review. They honeymoon has worn off. I actually think about my next watch here and there. My wife no longer makes fun of me for not listening to her because I’m looking at my watch with a vacuous stare.
After re-reading my initial review from last year…. I wouldn’t change a thing. While some of the passion surrounding those initial impressions might have been more intense upon receiving the watch, I still consider all those areas of relative strength.
Fact: I am a wearer and not a collector (probably a function of my wallet size). Given that, I will probably sell a couple of cheaper watches for my next purchase. The EM001 won’t find itself on the block. I enjoy it way too much. It surpassed my expectations and remains my daily wearer. I find the bracelet very comfortable and helps balance the watch nicely.
One final THANK YOU to Enzo and Ernie for the contest which netted me this beauty. Additional thanks to Enzo for tweaking the bezel and timing. I shipped it to his NYC office. It came back with a new bezel with much more tension. Also, I’ve been monitoring the rate over the past 3 months. It is +3 secs/24 hours on wrist and +5 when lying on its back.