Singapore’s Constellar Watches is preparing to launch the Starseeker, a new, space-themed diving watch. The watch will be available for pre-order on Kickstarter soon, and in the meantime, they sent me a red prototype Starseeker to check out for this review.
“What do the stars have to do with a diving watch,” you might ask. Constellar has a detailed explanation on their website, which describes the journey from the depths to the surface and the way the stars symbolize the anchors in our lives. In fact, you will find this story on the case back, captured in a single charming line drawing of a diver surfacing to see the night sky. It makes good sense as the sea and the sky have been inextricably linked since man first learned to use the stars for navigation. Of course, the more cynical among us might say, “look, it’s sparkly and that’s connection enough.”
And sparkly it is, thanks to a porcelain enamel dial embedded with “stardust.” The result is distinctive and appealing, combining deep color, pronounced texture, and eye-catching silver flecks. My sample was a luscious dark red. I think the night sky effect would be best shown on the black dial, but the blue and green dials are particularly fetching. Applied, diamond-shaped markers continue the theme (“Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds,” anyone?). The syringe hands are perfectly sized, grazing the tips of the diamonds and the minute track. A spear-tipped second hand caps it off. If I had to offer one criticism, it would be the black date disk, as this is one of those rare cases in which a white date would have balanced the white lume-filled markers rather well. Still, that is hard to get too fussed about. You could happily buy this watch on the strength of the dial alone.
Not that you would have to; there is plenty more to love here. Stars aside, the watch was built for the sea. As such, it is rated for 200m, has a screw-down crown, a double-domed sapphire crystal, a 120-click unidirectional bezel (positive action, no back play), and bright C3 or BGW9 lume as shown here. Inside, is a Swiss Sellita SW200-1 automatic movement, the familiar 26-jewel, 28.6k bph, ETA 2824 clone.
The Starseeker’s stainless steel case measures 40mm wide, 44.5mm long, and a svelte 11.6mm thick. As regular readers might have already guessed, these proportions sat quite well on my 6.75″ wrist.
Petite crown guards and bombè lugs with rounded ends are an interesting twist, especially as the light glints off the polished crown and top surfaces, offering an attractive contrast to the otherwise businesslike brushing on the sides and bezel. Add that to the lively dial and a glossy black ceramic bezel insert and you have a rather dandy choice for the office as well as the ocean.
Like a proper Sub-style diver, it comes on a brushed link bracelet with solid ends and a signed, push-button clasp. Unlike many divers these days, the clasp is not overly large and maintains the bracelet’s low profile. I found it to be well finished and perfectly comfortable.
Constellar will start Starseeker at just $389 US including global shipping, which is a mighty nice price for a smart-looking diver with Swiss automatic inside. To get alerts from Constellar, head over to constellartimepieces.com.
