Sometimes, The Time Bum gets review watches just in the nick of time. Such is the case with the MMI Turret 300M. That model is now in the waning days of its successful Kickstarter campaign (ends Sunday, December 27 at 8:58AM EST), which gives me just enough time to tell you about my hands-on experience with the prototype, and you just enough time to get in on the Super Early Bird pricing before all those slots are taken.
There are four variants of Turret available in several different color schemes: the Special Date in black, blue, silver, red, green, and black with a black case; Contemporary (no date) in black, blue, gray, and black with a black case; Heritage (same as Contemporary but with vintage lume), and Full Lume (date/no date). For this review, I sampled a black Special Date, ref. TR1-DV.
As you may have gathered from the name, the watch is water resistant to 300m. It has a screw-down crown and case back, a 3mm thick anti-reflective coated sapphire crystal, a 120-click bezel (which exhibited some back play but no slippage), and bright C1 X1 SuperLuminova. Really, everything you would expect in a proper tool watch.
The Turret measures 40mm wide, 47mm long, and 13.8mm thick, which gives it a sturdy watch wrist presence without being overblown. MMI says the shape was inspired by that of U.S.S Monitor, and you can see echoes of that the ironclad warship in the flat sides, steeply angular lugs, a recessed bezel. Brightly polished chamfers on the edges and shiny black bezel insert add some flash to the otherwise businesslike vertical brushing on the sides and top. Short guards protect a sensibly sized crown. It is a handsome piece.
The bezel in particular stands out as it is engraved and ion-plated steel instead of the usual aluminium. The result is not only sturdier, but the glossy finish looks fantastic; quite like polished ceramic. Better still, every marker is filled with lume, a win for both appearance and utility.
Regardless of which version you choose, you will get an attractive brushed dial (ok, maybe not on the full-lume) with a sunken seconds index, applied bar markers, and perfectly sized hands. BGW9 lights the hands while the markers get C1 to match the bezel, giving you a potent two-tone glow.
Now, if you want something even more distinctive, the Special Date version has 31 labeled holes punched just inside the hour markers, behind which a red disk indicates the day. I love the concept and it’s a great element on the dial, but I found it difficult to read. My aging eyeballs had to really squint to see that red dot. More contrast would have gone a long way. I suspect it might show a bit better on the silver or white dials.
A 22mm, brushed stainless steel link bracelet is standard. It has fitted, solid end links, and tapers to a signed, 20mm push-button, flip-lock clasp with five micro-adjustments. I love the two-prong, quick release pins! Swapping out a bracelet has never been so easy or scratch-free. The bracelet suits the Turret well, much better than the supplied rubber strap. To my eye, the 22mm lug spacing is too wide for a 40mm case, and while you don’t notice it when it attached to another piece of steel, that broad gap jumps out when it is filled with black rubber. Indeed, I’d be inclined to pass on the tropic style rubber altogether as it was stiff and seemed to fight the signed square buckle. I’ll admit, I dislike all but the softest rubber straps, so this my just be my hang-up, but for me, the bracelet was the only way to go.
As I mentioned up top, the Turret campaign is winding dow, but as of this writing you can still snag one for the 30% discount price of $279 for one equipped with a Seiko NH35 automatic, or $419 for a Sellita SW200. You can’t go wrong with either. For a tool watch, I’ll take the cheaper, rugged Seiko every time, but I know some will succumb to the smooth sweep of the Swiss unit. Both come in a handy watch roll with the bracelet, tropic rubber, and warranty card.
I like the Turret. This is a solid diver, not too large, and with a clever touch or two that sets it apart from the sea of Submariner clones. If it grabs you too, head over to the MMI Turret 300M Kickstarter page before Sunday. ⬩
