Anyone familiar with dive watches will have likely stumbled across watches named for and inspired by the majestic creatures of the deep. The Hammerhead shark, the Kraken, the Barracuda, on and on. Heck, more than a few are named after various starfish. However, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen one inspired by jellyfish before, and certainly not one that so effectively evokes the creature that inspired its design.
That’s just what the Aequorea U002 Wave from Hong Kong’s OVD Watches set out to do. Recently launched via Kickstarter, the Aequorea marks the latest in the brand’s long line of successfully backed designs and might be my favorite. OVD stands for Origin, Vision, and Design, and they certainly have a vision all their own.
Offered in a number of colorways, the Aequorea is a striking watch that is (nearly) all about that dial. The basics first: a 42 mm case with a 49 mm lug to lug length, this watch neatly fills my 6.5” wrist. It’s heavy, too, weighing in at 187 grams with the bracelet. Inside that 316L stainless steel vault beats a Seiko NH35A, the workhorse of the microbrand world, with hacking seconds and a 40-hour power reserve. I won’t belabor it except to say that it’s great and reliable and keeps the retail price nice and tight.
As for that dial I mentioned, this is the main event. Beneath the flat, AR-coated sapphire lies a whole other world. Striking in its colors and captivating in its dimensionality, the Aequorea employs a dark blue sandwich dial with long cutouts for the hour markers that are well-lumed with Swiss SuperLuminova. What sets this apart from many other sandwich dials is the rippled texture between the hour markers that does a fine job of calling to mind the frilled skirt of a jellyfish (of the genus Aequorea, you see). In addition to the rippled dial, the hour marker cutouts are partially covered by orange triangles that hover above them, giving the whole affair a third layer, something I haven’t really seen before. It’s a unique and welcome touch, and the orange plays nicely against the bright, angular minute hand. The whole handset is quite unusual, as well, most of all a lollipop seconds hand that is the giant old-timey novelty lolly of the seconds hand world.
Dial text is minimal, just UW at the top in a bold typeface (UW being the Underwater product line from OVD) and Aequorea and the depth rating at the bottom. Unusually, both the UW logo and Aequorea are also lumed. You could read a book by all the lume on this piece.
Surrounding that deep dial like a cliff around a lagoon is the bezel, with an aluminum insert with abundant lume on its highly legible markers. The edge of the bezel has shallow, rounded indents rather than a coin edge, but it’s still easy to grip, at least with dry hands. It has a light but satisfying click through its 120 positions, though there is a bit of back play on mine.
Let’s move around to the 2 o’clock crown, where there is even more lume! I’ve seen crowns with lumed tips, but never lumed grooves on the sides. It’s like a whole second bioluminescent jellyfish is latched onto the main watch. It’s unusual, eye-catching, and a bit larger than it needs to be, but it’s easy to grip and operate. It also screws down to help preserve the watch’s 200 meter water resistance rating. On my no date version, there’s no dead crown position, which is a nice touch.
The back of the case has – you guessed it – a jellyfish! The engraving is nicely executed and has just the right amount of detail. A sandblasted finish on the caseback is an interesting choice, imparting depth but at the cost of a gritty texture that almost feels unfinished. The engraving itself is pretty enough that I hardly notice unless I actually run a fingertip across it. Aside from “Aequorea Diver” there is no text. No country of manufacture, no movement origin, not even an indication that it’s an automatic. Honestly, it’s kind of refreshing. Instead, they’ve mirrored the dial ripple with different-length striations engraved in the case that yet again conjures images of a jellyfish peacefully flitting through the deep.
You might think that the striking dial would be the watch’s most polarizing feature, but I think that honor belongs to the bracelet. The links are solid, with a finish that matches the case, but they are heavy. The articulation is fine, but not as flexible as a 3-link or beads of rice might have been. And those big links really add to the heft of the overall package. The end links fit into lugs that are only 13 mm apart, making this a poor choice for strap or bracelet swappers unless you are willing to get creative.
That said, the clasp is great, with a solid-feeling push-button action and a smoothly operating ratcheted extension for use with wetsuits, which is a fantastic detail at this price point (more on that in a moment). The clasp is adorned with yet another jellyfish and the UW logo. There are so many jellyfish on this watch it’s almost comical, but I like the logo so it’s not a bad thing. The biggest issue, and in fact the only real issue I have with this watch, is bracelet adjustment. I’ve changed out links on many a bracelet, and I nearly wrecked my tools on this one. The pins were incredibly tight, and also included no directional indication, so buyers unfamiliar with the orientation should seek help in having it fitted.
My Aequorea came in the U002 Wave colorway, my personal favorite, but a number of other options are available, some of which have a white date window and some of which have a red date window. I think the most attractive might be the Golden, with its bright yellow dial, or the Cold, which is an understated navy blue but includes a dark blue PVD case and bracelet. The U001 Jelly has a white, fully lumed dial in case all the lume on this one isn’t enough for you. The watch ships in a slightly stiff cowhide watch roll, good for three watches. All of them retail for $359 USD, which in my opinion is a staggeringly good deal for this watch.
This watch isn’t for everyone, but if you are looking for something funky and distinctive at a very reasonable price that will initiate some conversations, I would encourage you to give it a look. It’s always nice to see a microbrand swing for the fence and execute something truly imaginative and unique.
To see the Aequorea and OVD’s other watches, visit https://www.ovd.com.hk/.
