These are good days for those of us who like mid-sized divers. While there is no shortage of behemoth dive watches in sizes 44mm and up, quite a few brands have released more manageable pieces. I’d say 40mm is the new 42mm and I am perfectly good with that. One of the newest is the Sea Hunt from new Malaysian microbrand, Aerotec, now live on Kickstarter at an early bird price tag of $399 AUD ($279 USD). They let me have a go with their meteorite dial prototype.
The Sea Hunt’s brushed stainless steel case measures 40mm wide, 48mm long, and 14mm thick. The domed sapphire crystal increases overall thickness to 15.7mm. Short, vertical brushing on flat sides enhances its stout proportions. I found it to be a fine fit on my 6.75” wrist but mid-sized though it may be, the Sea Hunt is not hurting for presence. It feels like a burly tool and the specs back this up. It is rated for a healthy 500m water resistance, has a screw-down crown and case back, and a flush helium release valve at 9 o’clock. Do we need saturation diving equipment in our wristwatches? Probably not, but it is cool to have.
Meteorite a hot commodity or watch dials right now, and the Aerotec’s does not disappoint, the play of light displays shots of silvery-gray through the deep graphite surface. The handset is a “non-Mercedes” style, which is to say the same general poire squelette style Rolex uses, but without the three-pointed star. Curiously, they are finished in brushed gold, as are the applied markers. It is not a bad look, but I would have preferred a more homogeneous brushed steel to match the case. The meteorite dial will be a $150 AUD ($105 USD) option. Standard dials are brushed blue or red.
Dial decoration is minimal, just the attractive applied Aerotec logo on top and “50ATM” below. A 6 o’clock date window keeps things neatly balanced although I do wish they had gone for a black date wheel. C3 SuperLuminova lights up the hands, markers, and bezel pip. It was a bit off between the three areas. A close look at the signed crown reveals what appears to be a lume pip on the embossed logo too, although even with a UV flashlight, I could not detect a glow. Aerotec informs me that lume will be improved in all areas before production.
The bezel sports an attractive, glossy black ceramic insert with an engraved index. Sadly, the index is painted bright white, which creates a mismatch with the greenish-white C3 elsewhere in the watch. Bezel action was easy. Too easy, actually. It never slipped or wobbled but it felt oddly soft as it went through its 120 clicks.
Flipping the watch over you will discover a stamped image of an old deep-sea diver’s helmet where the viewport is a sapphire exhibition window – a very cool touch! Behind it is a smooth and reliable Miyota 9015 (24 jewel, 28.8k bph, hacking, and hand winding).
The standard strap is 20mm medium brown leather with a pleasantly weathered pull-up effect and dark red minimal stitching. It is equipped with quick-release pins and a brushed and signed buckle. I like it, and it is most likely the way I would wear the watch, but a diver needs a proper waterproof strap. For that, they provided a well-made seatbelt NATO in a dark olive and mustard stripe color scheme that does well to tie in the gold accents on the dial. This will be a stretch goal in the campaign. The final option is a $45 AUD bracelet ($31 USD). It has solid end links and a push-button flip-lock clasp. It is signed on the clasp and on the bottom end link as well.
Overall, I liked the Sea Hunt. Assuming the lume and bezel issues are resolved before production, the standard brushed dial version is a good buy at the early bird Kickstarter price. For more, visit the Aerotech Kickstarter page. ⬩
