Singapore’s Vesuviate came out of the gates strong with their debut mechanical Chronograph back in January. It was a solid piece with great specs, but a high price tag and it failed to fund. Undeterred, the brand is coming back with the Doppio, a more affordable, yet still feature-packed, three-hand dive watch. I got a turn with the green version pictured here.
The Doppio is a sizable watch, perhaps more so than the published specs would let on. The flat-sided cushion case is 42mm wide, and 48mm long, which is reasonable for a modern sports watch, and at just 12.25mm thick, it would generally be a comfortable fit on my 6.75” wrist. As it turns out, there is more at play here. The 26mm wide bracelet has a 17mm end link that severely limits its travel, effectively turning it into an extension of the case and making the overall length closer to 58mm. If you have big wrists, you might not even notice, but for me, it was right at my physical limit.
That said, it is an attractive case. Polished sides offer a pleasant contrast to the brushed top and tie nicely to the polished center links. While the edges are crisp, the corners are rounded, softening the look when viewed head-on — a design element that works particularly well to integrate the crown guards. The crown itself has a polished and signed head, a coin edge, and screws down smoothly. Inside, you will find a trusty Miyota 9015, with its 24 jewels, 42-hour reserve, and silky 28.8k bph sweep. This unit is the gilt-decorated model, viewable through the exhibition window.
When you can’t swap out a bracelet, you had better love the one you’ve got. No worries here as the Doppio’s is quite lovely. I like the way the raised and polished center sections look almost like overlapping scales and the fact that it tapers to a flush butterfly deployant clasp. Vesuviate says they will add two 1/2 links for better adjustment, in addition to the eight full-size removable links on the prototype. With its thick, blunt lugs and neatly integrated bracelet, the Doppio creates the impression of being a single, solid unit.
The whole package should hold up admirably in the long haul, as Vesuviate has hardened the case and bracelet to an impressive 1100HV to stave off the otherwise inevitable swirls and scratches. Add that to a flat, 3.5mm sapphire crystal with five layers of anti-reflective coating and a ceramic bezel insert, and you have a watch that will weather its fair share of abuse and continue to look good doing it.
Up front, the Doppio presents a bold face that includes a waffle-textured dial, applied and polished markers, generously sized sword hands, and a white chapter ring. The watch will be available in blue, orange, and white, in addition to the bright green shown here. Note that the prototype does not have the Doppio name on the dial, but production pieces will. These strong white elements on the vivid green background immediately raised sports associations for those to whom I showed it. Soccer and golf both got votes, although in my mind, “tennis court” was the winner. Regardless, it is bright and eye-catching. Maybe a bit too much so as the dial and handset are nearly overwhelmed by the massive 12-hour markers on the bezel. They get big points for legibility but are definitely a polarizing feature. Personally, I would have preferred a more conventional 60-minute timer with a finer index rather than a poor man’s GMT. It would have made good sense given the Doppio’s tough exterior and 200m water resistance rating. That said, the bezel functions well, although a unidirectional, 120-click set up seems unnecessary for this application.
Where the Doppio really shines (pun intended) is in its lume. All those big design elements provide loads of room for BGW9 SuperLuminova, and the result is an explosive glow when the lights go down. I give bonus points for the half-circle to the right of the date window, lending a bright touch to what would normally be a dark void, but I must deduct a half point because, in that position, it really should have been a segment of a bar like at 6 and 9. So, 0.5 extra credit awarded. If I had a scoring system, that is.
The Vesuviate Doppio makes its Kickstarter debut on Tuesday, July 28 at 8:00AM Eastern Daylight Time and you can expect early birds to start under $399. Until then, you can check the Kickstarter preview page (will go live on launch day). ⬩
