I’ll just start with this: the Nove Trident is a 6.8mm thick, 200m dive watch. That alone piqued my interest, but the exposed ratcheting system on the bezel clinched it. Clearly, Nove set out to create something truly novel. I needed to find out if it delivered. The brand let me try this steel, black, and gold version for a couple of weeks to find out.
When I opened the generously padded, zippered box, I was struck by its unfamiliar shape. The watch is roughly hexagonal and 46mm wide with integrated lugs that keep the length to 48.8mm. It fits well within the confines of my 6.75” wrist, but the proportions exaggerate its pancake profile. Needless to say, it slips right under your shirt cuff and does not hurt for wrist presence in the process.
You need to look carefully in order to appreciate it, but there are some great details in the case design like the rounded ends on the integrated drilled lugs, and the polished chamfer on the upper edges and crown guards of the otherwise brushed case.
These elements are nearly lost under the oversized 47.5mm bezel, which is an impressive piece in its own right. In order to maintain the Trident’s low profile, they pared it down to the barest elements. You have a matte blasted ring with polished and embossed markers instead of an insert, and an exposed ratcheting mechanism designed just for this application. Three springs brake the bezel’s angled teeth, providing smooth action, no back play, a truly attention-grabbing appearance. The teeth will prompt a double take as they look like the grips you might normally see on the outside of a bezel. On the Trident, a series of bumps at every other mark serves this function quite well. While you can order your Trident in several different color combinations, I prefer the ones that highlight the springs with a contrasting color. When you have a design feature like this, you might as well call attention to it it.
Cool as it may be, I did have a gripe or two. First, while the raised markers do look good, there is no lume on this bezel. Just a spot at 12 (or “00” in this case) would have improved its utility. Second, I find it hard to believe that the exposed channel between the teeth and springs will stay clean. Even in my limited time with the watch, I managed to collect a coat of dust. I’m quite sure that dirt, debris, and sand if you use it as a dive watch, will inevitably take residence and require a good cleaning out.
The Trident’s crown is another eye-catcher. It is a good size, artfully facetted, and signed. On this model, it is finished in a fetching rose gold to match the springs, dial markers, and bracelet screws. As you would expect on a 200m dive watch, it screws down. The fact that it is larger than the case is thick (not including the bezel) makes it exceptionally easy to use.
On the flip side, you will find a case back secured with four screws. It is polished and engraved with a matte center, but not particularly decorated. Behind it lurks one of the Trident’s secrets to its svelte figure: a Swiss made Ronda 1062 Slimtech. Come on now, you didn’t think they could squeeze an automatic in here, did you? Besides, as I have said before when you consider the accuracy and durability one wants in a tool watch, quartz really does make a lot more sense than mechanical.
You may not notice the movement right away as Nove opted to forgo a second hand. Two pilot-style swords point to the applied, dome-shaped hour markers on the black dial. The hands carry the only lume on the watch. A notched ring just beyond the flat, AR-coated sapphire crystal finishes it off. The sparse dial is certainly attractive, and the applied markers, text, and logo lend a welcome touch of dimension, but the absence of a second hand or minute track makes it seem like even less of a tool watch.
The Trident’s bracelet with its thin, sculpted links and embossed butterfly deployant clasp is a fine match for the head, and a good thing too, as it meets the lugs in an 11mm gap, making it all but impossible to swap it for anything else. The links fasten with split pins.
All around, I enjoyed the Nove Trident. It’s flat profile and open ratchet system sets it apart from the often cookie-cutter crowd of dive watches, yet I hesitate to classify it as such. There are too many design choices that steer the watch away from the practical utility a proper diving tool should offer: no second hand, no bezel pip, no minute track, tiny markers, limited lume, and even its signature bezel mechanism make it more of a dive-style watch in spite of its 200m rating.
Perhaps that is the point. The Nove Trident won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but it is nothing like your average dive watch, indeed, the very things that make it unique, like its vanishingly thin case, are best appreciated on dry land. The fact that it can survive harrowing depths merely icing on the cake.
If you are looking for the ultimate “un-dive watch” head over to Nove where the steel and gold model shown here is $320 USD, and the attractive blue PVD model is on sale for just $310. ⬩
