Aeronautec Diver Review

[adzman808]

Hi,

this is my first post here on this forum, so i thought i'd start with a review i wrote on TZ (so some of you may have seen it)

I'm really happy with this watch, although reading some of the posts on aeronautec do suggest dubious provenance.....

i haven't had the back off to verify the movement, as i want to keep the WR intact, but unlike the PMWF review, i did get the instructions & they said "swiss made eta 2824-2" so i'm taking that at face value..... besides it's a watch, i like it, it keeps good time & winds smoothly with no issues engaging the crown on the winding clutch (or whatever its called!!)

Ok, so i've had this for nearly 2 months now & it hasn't left my wrist, except to sleep


I'm a complete watch noob, always had quartz.... found a old mech sekonda that was new but had been in my parents loft for 17yrs & i was blown away it still worked.... really got me thinking about auto/mech watches.... really wanted one..... had a limited budget [i've rambled on about this in other posts, so that'll do for a story intro here]


decided i wanted an auto.... decided a wanted a new one (be SH from now on in tho ;)) as i wanted to know how a new auto behaved


i did a lot of research, nearly went orient/seiko, but wanted hand winding & hacking




lots of looking around took me to Aeronautec, finding them on sale in Germany really helped seal the decision & i pulled the trigger :)


i found no really great info on the web, bar a review on pmwf, so i'm writing my own....




It's very important for me to get clear here, i realise this is a private brand, a boutique watch, this isn't a rolex/omega/oris contender, this brand has no weight, no presence & no one's ever heard of it....


kids will NOT approach you in the street to ask about your cool watch (edit since i first wrote this, people have asked about it actually :))


you won't blag your way into fancy restaurants / Ferrari test drives wearing it


it looks like what it is, a £500 smoke & mirrors brand watch, which i got in a decent sale :)


but what it is for me is an intro in the world of decent auto divers watches, it also cost less than the high street AD citizen quartz chrono i had last year (& sold at great loss on ebay)


for those of you with fine luxury brands, you might smile remembering your own first forays into WISdom or skip over this to verbose review to the rolex board, but perhaps some of you might even read this & think, Hmmmmm i could do with an auto beater


but i digress....


first auto / first review / first attempt at watch pix, so be gentle


Aeronautec are a german brand, but source their cases from Asia (one forum has the link to where they get them from), this case is used by other 'manufacturers'... it seems to be the case of choice for a lot of small diver watches


The watch: Aeronautec Swiss Made Diver ANT-1007-SS-BRC
My supplier: UhrenScout12
Cost (incl UK delivery, ie 'all in'): €303 approx £254 at time of purchase [This has pleasingly risen about 12% since then]
Width (excl Crown) as measured: 43mm (42mm case size, the bezel overhangs the case)
Thickness as measured: 13mm
Band as measured: 22 tapering to 20mm with SELs
Steel (manufacturer quoted): 316L
Crystal: Sapphire (no anti-reflective coating)
Movement (Claimed): ETA 2824-2
WR (Claimed): 30bar/300m/100ft [NOT ISO Certified ~ it didn't leak in the shower ;)]
Bracelet: Fold-over Clasp with Safety
Features: Date/Seconds/Cyclops/120Click Bezel
Weight (Claimed) 180grams (incl the all supplied links)


accuracy has been good & on par with what i'd read is to be expected from this type of movement, the watch runs at +3 secs a day being off my wrist for 8 hrs per 24, if i leave the watch hanging upside down, it drops about a second, so i regulate its timekeeping with a rotation of positions over a 4 day period

it stays bang on time whilst on my wrist


the watch feels very substantial & solid, but not lubriciously heavy





=============the pix===================







big, substantial and not too rolex, in fact it's a bit Omega IMHO.....







120 click unidirectional enamel bezel, with good alignment to face indices....







screw together links was a new one on me.... very handy seeing as i don't have a bracelet tool (you don't wanna know how i've been adjusting bracelets....)





as mentioned in the pmwf review, clasp is a bit cheap in folded steel & maybe those holes should be in a straight line?!! :evil:





i can see where their going with the anchor logo / diving theme but not very imaginative...







i'm not 100% sure what a solid end link is, but i think that might be one as it looks way more substantial than the blatantly folder bits of metal i've seen used as other end links





info about the watch is etched into the case back, which is nice, not aquaracer/longines nice but nice enough





solid strap tapers from 22mm to 20 at the clasp & feels solid and robust (compared to other watches i've owned)





ain't no rolex magnification, but saves me squinting too much #gettingold







screw down crown with rubber grommet reinforces diver pretensions, watch covered in dust shows how often it's got wet ;)







lume shot doesn't do it justice... (how do u take these & make them look good?) pearl & hands are very bright, with hour markers glowing a subtler green - 10mins under the bedside (energy saving bulb) lamp provides illumination all night







i think 43mm is about as big as my effeminate 6.7" wrist can cope with.... i once swore i'd never go over a 40mm





it carries it's 13mm thickness well, from the side it's fairly rolex like...

on a nato




if you're still reading thx for getting this far :) :) :)

Cheers
Adam

[CzechMate]

Nice review, thanks for sharing!

If you want a bit of advice (and judging by the question "how do u take these & make them look good?" you want some), when taking a lume shot, unscrew the crown and hack the movement, so the second hand doesnt move. Also, it is best to use a camera that allows manual focus, so you can pre-focus under a good light and then, once you switch that lamp off, all you do is you realease the shutter. Use the tripod (I assume you do). I would try to clean the watch as much as possible, to get rid of dust and finger smudges. And as a final touch, setting the hands to 10:10 makes the picture look profi...

Welcome to this fine forum!

[foxbat555]

Hi there
You have a great watch here make no mistake, dont worry about the ISO certificate it's just safety guideline, it is not a prerequisite for a watch to be a "Diving" watch....dont be fooled by that myth. Rolex and all other branded watches dont carry an ISO stamp. ISO does not "certify" any watch. All that can be accurately inferred from the presence of ISO nomenclature on a dive watch is that at some time during the design and development process certain design features (like lume and a seconds hand) and certain performance features (like water resistance) were tested and the results reported to ISO.

I have had my Aeronautic Diver serviced recently and pressure tested to the said depth on the watch of 1000 ft (300m) make no mistake these watches are by no means show watches they are designed and built to a very good standard for diving.
The company is German with Swiss movement...NOT Asian. The metal maybe sourced from Asia, but that is about it.
These watches are designed by Roland Kemmner from Germany (see link) Kemmner Octopus Pictures...Lots Of Them......I am In Love With This Watch....For Now At Least !!!

I hope this sheds some light on the watch for you ;) I'm very proud of my "Diver" and its many forms in its family.

P.S. end links are the part of the bracelet that go between the lugs on the watch, solid ones are just that....not bent metal.

[foxbat555]

See also:
Deep Ocean Black Edition Plongeur