From time to time I encounter a watch that refuses to be taken off the wrist. The Typsim 200M-C is such a watch. Made by Typsim, operating out of Seattle, Washington, the 200M is the brainchild of designer Matt Zinski, and it’s clear that a lot of passion and thought went into this dive watch. Per Typsim’s website, the brand’s name is derived from “Typical” and “Similar” but from this deliberately generic name comes a singular watch.
In its standard guise, the 200M is a relatively understated diver, so much so that it might be easy to overlook in the crowded market. This is true even of the slightly flashier gilt dial 200M-C used for this review. Spending any length of time with it, however, leads to a very different impression. This is a watch that grew on me the more I wore it, with plenty of details that only revealed themselves over time.
The 200M is good for 200 meters of water resistance (hence its straightforward name). Made from 316L stainless steel, the case is 39mm in diameter, but the deeply coin-edged bezel is 41mm, so it overhangs the case and is very easy to operate, even with gloves. Like any good dive watch, its bezel is unidirectional and operates with a satisfying, precise click through its 120 positions. The screw-down crown is likewise oversized without seeming comical and is a cinch to use. Typsim eschews crown guards, giving the 200M a vintage skindiver vibe. The top of the case is brushed, while the sides are polished, and chamfering along the top edge of the case softens what might otherwise have been severe lines.
The 200M wears large on my 6.5” wrist, thanks to the overhanging bezel, but it looks great and feels lighter than its 125 grams would suggest. At 12.7mm in height including the ever so slightly domed acrylic crystal with cyclops, it’s fairly typical for an automatic dive watch, and it sits snugly on the wrist, though it’s a bit bulky to go under a shirt cuff.
Inside is a 26-jewel Sellita SW300-1 self-winding movement. Though enclosed in an unadorned caseback with sparse specifications printed on it, the movement is decorated and includes blued screws. The SW300-1 is a chronometer-grade movement with a 42-hour power reserve, hacking, and hand-winding. In the case of the Typsim 200M-C, the movement also carries the illustrious Tête de Vipére chronometer certification from the Besançon Observatory in France, which we’ll discuss further on.
The 20mm bracelet is an unusual 5-link design that is frankly one of the most comfortable I’ve ever worn, conforming nicely to my wrist. The bracelet may not feature quick-change springbars, but the case lugs are drilled, making bracelet changes straightforward. It’s also easy to resize, thanks to Typsim electing for screws over pins, which I always appreciate. The links feature alternating brushed and polished finishing to match the finishes used on the case, and it looks great in any light. That said, my only (admittedly minor) quibble lies with the bracelet: the outer links feature fake rivets, not unlike the modern Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight. On the wrist, it’s easy to forget about them as this bracelet feels so good. [Update: the rivets are real! Unsurprisingly, since Typsim’s attention to detail surpasses expectations.]
Like many modern dive watches, the 200M-C and the 200M carry more than a few strands of DNA from iconic dive watches of yesteryear. There are elements of Blancpain Fifty-Fathoms in the beautifully domed bezel and the hour markers, especially the two-tone Typsim logo that makes up the 12 o’clock hour marker and alludes to Blancpain’s distinctive moisture intrusion detector. There are faint echoes of Rolex and Tudor Submariners, Titus Calypsomatics, and others, but rather than feeling like a pastiche of storied watches, the 200M is a cohesive design with its own flair.
Take the dial, for instance. You could be forgiven for thinking it’s a monochromatic and simplistic layout with printed indices at first glance. Then you notice the pops of electric blue at 12 o’clock and on the depth rating printed at the bottom of the dial, and the way the light plays on the gilt minute track and hour marker surrounds. The rich black dial is beautifully counterbalanced by the subtle off-white of the hour markers and the gilt minute track and hands. A note about the hour markers: they are all circles, with the 6, 9, and 12 o’clock markers being significantly larger than the rest. I’ve seen cardinal hour markers rendered in diamonds, lozenges, rectangles, and triangles, but this might be a first for me. Perhaps there’s a debate to be had about underwater legibility being affected by not further distinguishing the markers, but I personally really like the look and visual unity of the 200M’s layout.
The classic plongeur-style hands are functional without seeming fussy, and I love the lumed diamond tip of the seconds hand. Dial text is minimal though slightly different depending on which version of the watch you purchase: Both feature the brand name at the top of the dial, with the depth rating and the word “automatic” at the bottom. The 200M-C gets the addition of the word “Chronometer” printed beneath the brand name.
I’ve never been a fan of date windows, especially not those equipped with a cyclops, and try as I might I don’t think I’ll ever come around. If only there were a no-date option for the 200M. Subjective gripe aside, this one is implemented well, with a frame that matches the minute track and hands and a lovely typeface for the numerals. Those who like date windows and cyclops crystals will love this one. The watch is wonderful enough that it’s easy for me to see past my own biases. Did I say I don’t like cyclops crystals over date windows? There is an exception to that: that is when the seconds hand passes underneath it and comes into magnification. It’s gorgeous and shows that the hands are just as nicely finished as the rest of the watch.
The lume on the 200M is quite bright on both dial and bezel. You may not know the name RC Tritec, but you’re likely familiar with their Swiss SuperLuminova line of lume. Rather than use an existing offering, Typsim collaborated with RC Tritec for an exclusive compound that is intended to acquire patina over time. I’ll be curious to see how that develops as I quite like the stark contrast of the black dial and cream hour markers out of the box.
Let’s break down the differences between the 200M and the 200M-C. While the 200M retails for $1199 USD, the 200M-C costs $1799. So, what does that higher price tag get you? Let’s start with the obvious: the 200M-C features a gilt dial and hands as well as the word “Chronometer” beneath the brand name. Typsim sent a batch of their watches for chronometer testing and certification at the illustrious Observatoire Besançon in France, which after a decades-long hiatus has begun offering chronometer testing services again. I took a more detailed look at chronometer certifications and Besançon in particular in an article on ghostandcrown.com, but for the sake of this review let’s keep it short. Watches that pass rigorous ISO 3159 testing at Besançon receive the prestigious Tête de Vipére (Viper’s Head) mark. Those 200M-C watches that received the Viper’s Head, ship with their hand-numbered and hand-signed certification documents and are engraved with the Viper’s Head mark on one of the bridge plates, though you won’t see it beneath the caseback.
Given the extra care in the 200M’s design and the attention to detail in finishing, I think the $1199 price is well justified. I certainly hope we’ve only seen the start of what Typsim has to offer. As for the 200M-C, is the Viper’s Head certification worth the additional premium? That’s going to come down to the buyer, but for watch collectors looking for a bit of additional storytelling to go with their watch, it just might be. The Viper’s Head is a lesser-known certification than the ubiquitous COSC certifications that are found on other chronometer-certified watches, but it certainly sounds cooler when you talk about it at watch meetups. I’m not being facetious here: I genuinely think the allure of the Viper’s Head certification is going to be the deciding factor for most buyers though the certification itself remains a statement of quality, precision, and reliability in the movement’s manufacture. For the vast majority of us who don’t actually need to rely on that level of accuracy, we’ll have to content ourselves with a beautiful gilt dial and the knowledge that there is a cool little engraving of a viper head inside the watch. In case it isn’t apparent, I’m a big fan of the Typsim 200M-C, and I encourage you to check them out at typsim.com.
