The Advisor AstroHelm is a budget-priced, vintage-inspired watch in the classic Panerai style. They offer several variants with different finishes, movements, and materials. For this review, I borrowed a V1 Antique, which is arguably the fanciest of the bunch, featuring an IP rose gold plated case and a brushed brown dial.
The AstroHelm’s 44mm stainless steel case looks like a Luminor without crown guards, which is, incidentally, my favorite variation. It has the same cushion shape, fixed bezel, and thick, straight lugs drilled through for screw bars. The fat crown is coin edged and unsigned. A massive, double domed sapphire crystal rises high over the case. It has no anti-reflective coating. While I believe good AR is essential for a tool watch, I am less concerned with it on dressier models like this one. I love the look of that bubble, but the reflections on the case and crystal drove me half crazy when I took my photographs!
The “antique” aspect of this watch is in its California dial. A pronounced brushed grain runs from the bottom left to top right, creating color variations from deep gold to dark brown as the light shifts. It is an excellent complement to the gold hands and minute track. Old Radium lume is the icing on the cake. It is a winning combination, accented by the nostalgic typeface used for the Advisor brand and the by the red “Automatic” designation. Sadly, the bright black-on-white date window looks entirely out of place here, detracting from the otherwise warm tones.
On the flip side, you will find an exhibition case back decorated with Advisor’s sword-and-book logo. It screws down, as does the crown, giving the V1 100m water resistance. The display window affords a view of the 24 jewel Seiko NH35 automatic. It is a reliable unit, equipped with Seiko’s Diashock protection. It has a 21.6k bph vibration rate, 41 hour power reserve, and hacking and hand winding capabilities. It is neatly finished, but not decorated, so the view through the glass is not terribly exciting.
A 24mm crazy horse strap comes standard. Its matte brown finish and signed Pre-V buckle look right at home here. I found the V1 to be comfortable on my 6.5” wrist. It is undeniably large, but then again, that is the point of a watch like this. It would make a fine weekend companion or even a dress watch for a much larger guy.
The AstroHelm lists for $349, but is currently on sale for $249, which is an entirely reasonable price. It is also available in polished silver and black. Also, there are quartz models available at lower cost, with different dials (black, no date) and specs (sapphire or mineral). You can check out the full line at AdvisorWatches.com. ⬩
