Buyers interested in sub $500 diver watches have a lot of choices these days, and certain expectations need to be fulfilled in order to make the cut: solid movement, good lume, AR-coated sapphire crystal, easy to use crown and bezel, well-constructed bracelet, decent case finishing. The Horon Ocean Hunter hits on all of these marks and brings a few more style points to up the ante.
With a 42mm case and 49mm from lug to lug, the Horon Ocean Hunter is definitely not a midsize diver. Good thing the dial and bezel make the most of the real estate within the case dimensions. The most unique aspect of this watch is definitely the sector dial with not one, but two guilloche patterns. This is a dressy element that you don’t typically see on tool-style watches. The layers of the applied markers, raised sector, and base dial create a lot of contrast and make the dial very readable with just a glance.
Around the rehaut is a 0-12 scale in a two-tone color scheme that mirrors and reverses the bezel coloring. The matte finish on the bezel keeps the watch from being too shiny and the division between the two colors of the bezel is nice and crisp. The 120 click, uni-directional bezel itself is easy to grip and turn, with only a minimal amount of back play. The lumed, screw-down crown is equally well proportioned. Most microbrands stick with one color ceramic and Horon leveled up by doing a bi-color bezel this well. I think given the minute gradation from 0-15, I would have preferred a 75-25 division instead of 50-50, or the option for a 12-hour bezel so the watch can be used to track a second time zone. I think that’d be a good option for a stretch goal during the Kickstarter campaign.
Horon went with a bi-color scheme on the lume as well to make sure that this watch stands out at night as well as during the day. The BWG9 on the bezel and C3 on the dial and handset are quick to start charging with minimal exposure to sunlight and glow brightly even in merely dim settings.
The case finish itself is a competently executed combination of brushed surfaces with mirrored chamfers. I think that varying the width of the chamfers along the length of the case would have added both more visual interest and helped to slim down the profile of the watch as it tapers towards the lugs. On the back there is a sapphire exhibition window show casing a Sellita SW-200 with a custom printed rotor. For sub $500 divers, a Miyota 9xxx is the usual choice so seeing a Swiss movement in this price range is an excellent boost to Horon’s bid for your watch dollars. Horon also when the extra step to design the case to resist 300m instead of the usual 200m for dive watches.
For me, the quick release bracelet on the Ocean Hunter is the big highlight of this watch. The chamfered links exist in a unique place that’s a cross between an oyster, flat link, and hexad bracelet. The brushed surfaces and mirrored chamfers carry over seamlessly from the case to flow around your wrist from 22mm at the lugs to 19mm at the clasp. The bracelet came sized for my 6.5” wrist, but the expansion links are screwed instead of pinned, which should be standard on any bracelet thick enough to accommodate it.
The clasp is a milled push-button deployant decorated with the Horon logo and accented with a tool-less dive extension that doubles as a microadjustment. My one quibble is with the choice of extended vs recessed endlinks. The extended endlinks add about 4mm to the overall length of the watch, bringing it’s true lug to lug to about 53mm. Again, not a mid-sized diver. My strap collection does not run to 22m lug width, but given the neutral colors of this model, any number of strap options are sure to look fantastic.
Whether you like bold and colorful or stealthy and understated, Horon has a colorway of Ocean Hunter that will likely fit your taste. There is the black and gray option I reviewed (the Hydra), a blue and black option – Leviathan, a bold orange and blue Naga, or the Kracken with a meteorite dial and two-tone bezel in shades of gray.
For presentation to Kickstarter backers, Horon chose a piano black lacquered box with the requisite lining and padding to transport the watch and the accompanying warranty card. I’m generally not a fan of large presentation boxes, and much prefer something useful like a travel roll or something that has a low-waste footprint like cardboard. But, the lining in the Horon box can be removed so you can find a second purpose for the box once it’s in your hands if you so choose.
Horon will be launching a Kickstarter to fully fund the Ocean Hunter soon, so you can keep an eye on their website or sign up to be notified here. The price for Kickstarter backers will start at $499, so if this is a watch that sounds interesting to you, I’d hit the sign-up link so you can be first in line when the Kickstarter drops within the next few months.
