On February 19, AdvisorWatches will launch its latest model, the SUPA Diver. This 300m bronze tool watch has a Swiss Sellita automatic movement and an aggressive design. I was able to try a blue dial prototype for this review.
When I first strapped the SUPA to my wrist, I thought, “What a good fit. I’m glad they kept it to a reasonable size.” Then I double-checked the specs and discovered that this is not a 42mm case as I thought, but a 44mm beast. Ok, maybe “beast” is inappropriate. It is 51mm long, and while it’s 14.5mm thickness is not exactly svelte, it seems so when spread across the ample area of the case. The screw-down crown has an appealingly blunt gear shape, and its 4 o’clock placement helps to keep
things looking compact.
Together, these proportions mellow the SUPA’s surprisingly prodigious width. I liked the way it sat on my 6.75” wrist without dwarfing it. But that is not all, as Advisor employer some design tricks in the bezel and dial that enhance the illusion of a smaller watch.
It’s kind of serendipitous that I just reviewed a mid-sized watch the wears large (the 41mm Vesuviate) and followed it up with a large watch that wears small. It is proof again that reading measurements online gives you only a rough idea of how a watch will wear, and those people who only ever consider watches in a narrow range of sizes are really just kidding themselves.
The brushed CuSn8 bronze case is a pleasant golden brown and already developing a mottled brown patina. It has a domed and AR-coated sapphire crystal. Sharply angled lugs and a large, wide-toothed crown at 4 o’clock lend it a tough, no-nonsense, tool watch stance but its the bezel that really grabs you by the lapels.
Broad with deep channels ending in Torx heads (presumably decorative), the bezel is easily gripped, even in the absence of any edge texture. The matte black ceramic insert sports fat white numbers that you can practically read from across the room. It is not subtle. Sadly, while the prototype delivered in form, it failed in function. It was too loose through the 120-click rotation and responded with an unpleasant rattle when tapped. The folks at Advisor tell me they are taking this up with the factory and will tighten things up before it is finalized.
Beefy bezels leave less area for dials and that is certainly the case here, creating a ratio that makes the face appear smaller than it really is, but that’s not all. The date window at 6 o’clock mimics the markers’ shape and shows a white-on-black disk. It doesn’t have any effect on your perception of the dial’s size, but I would be remiss if I did not mention how much I appreciate a date that does not in any way disrupt its symmetry.
The SUPA’s navy blue main dial is positioned on top of the white minute index. Between the white color framing the center and the slight shadow of the dramatic layering, the dial looks smaller still. Add to this some large, applied brushed rectangular markers, equally blocky syringe hands, and a reticle and your eye is drawn even closer to the center. I love it. It is an uncommon arrangement and a very cool effect.
Speaking of cool effects, the lume on this watch is just insane. As you would expect, the hands and markers have a nice bright dose of SuperLuminova. It’s BGW9 on this blue dial; C3 on the green dial version. Those fat numbers on the bezel? Also lumed. The white ring? More lume. The Advisor “A” engraved in the crown? Yes, you guessed it, lumed. The prototype stuffed from a lume mismatch (C3 crown on BGW9 face) but rest assured that production models will have the same lume all around.
The case back features a diver approaching a Chinese sea dragon. The lines are sharp and the image stands in high relief from its matte background. If you were to unfasten the six screws holding it fast, you would discover a Swiss Sellita SW200-1 automatic movement, a 26 jewel ETA 2824-2 clone.
A real dive watch demands a waterproof attachment. Advisor has fit the bill by providing a 22mm rubber strap featuring a distinctive honeycomb and ribs pattern. It fastens with a signed bronze buckle. The whole package is a cut above many similar rubber straps I’ve encountered lately as the vanilla-scented rubber is supple and the buckle properly finished. I’m not a huge fan of rubber straps, but I enjoyed wearing this one.
All in all, the Advisor SUPA Diver is a great package – particularly at the $429 Super Early Bird price – a significant saving over the full retail price of $699. For that, you are getting a very wearable, well-equipped dive watch, an arresting design, crazy lume, and a quality strap. Once the few pre-production quibbles are ironed out, the SUPA will be a blast to wear.
The Kickstarter campaign starts February 19. In the meantime, head over to AdvisorWatches.com for more
information and to sign up for the launch alert. ⬩
