Hi, it’s me, your resident MMI reviewer here at the Time Bum, back with another watch from the prolific Singaporean microbrand. In my prior MMI reviews, I looked at the dressier Nor Light, and the robust Turret GMT that belongs to the same model family as this review’s subject, the Turret Marine Chronograph. I appreciated both of those MMI models, and can say the same about the Marine Chrono, which continues MMI’s bread-and-butter core lineup of strong-value tool watches. In both of my prior MMI reviews, I shared some of my thoughts about MMI’s brand trajectory, which I’ll spare you from reading a third time. If, however, you find yourself in need of additional verbiage to fill your time or help nudge you across the finish line to deep slumber, give ‘em a read.
First, a caveat for this review, in the spirit of transparency: the review sample had a broken chronograph pusher, which you can see in a few of the photos. There is a strong chance that this took place, based on my chats with Victor from MMI, during the week or so that USPS seemed to be sitting on the watch’s package like a protective goose. The prior reviewers who had the same watch in hand did not report a similar issue, so I’m pretty confident to say that the problem is not inherent to the watch, but to the delivery process. As usual, Victor was very responsive and helpful with this, which has been my general experience with MMI to date.
As for the remainder of the watch, outside of the single non-functioning pusher, it all follows the familiar design theme of the Turret lineup. You have a case inspired by a Seiko Samurai but given some bevels and angles to make it more like a Samurai that went to MMI’s finishing school and emerged more refined. It is a relatively compact case at 40mm x 47mm x 12.3mm, with a 22mm lug width that maintains the broad-shouldered comportment of the Turret’s profile. The main shift here, in terms of the case architecture, is the addition of the two screw-down chronograph pushers, which are mounted in line with the crown and low on the mid-case. The design of these pushers evokes the screw-down style of a Rolex Daytona, and on the pusher that was not broken by the delivery service, it is executed to good effect. It takes some backthreading to ensure purchase when screwing the sleeve of the pusher back in, but nothing unreasonable considering the value-add of screw-down pushers. Also, unlike a Daytona (which, fun truth, also requires some backthreading from my limited experience), the Marine Chronograph is only $369 at early-bird pricing, and is available for purchase without nefarious negotiation.
Overall, as I felt with the Turret GMT, the case of the Marine Chronograph is surprisingly comfortable to wear, and looks excellent on wrist, from several angles. Also similar to the Turret GMT is the Marine Chronograph’s capability to maintain dial legibility despite the presence of a lot of information being present on the dial. In no particular order you have functions for: primary hour, minute, and seconds; chronograph seconds, a 60-minute and 12-hour chronograph totalizers, and the date, via MMI’s signature roulette style indication.
There are a few design tricks here that make for a busy, but legible dial. The first is that the roulette-wheel date function is pushed to the perimeter of the dial from the more central position it inhabits on the Turret GMT and Nor Light. This leaves the inner portion of the dial for timekeeping, making for well-executed visual and functional delineation. The color distinction between the black and white date ring and the inner portion of the dial – rendered boldly here in what the brand calls “Bismark Yellow” – makes the date ring visually disappear when not in use and draws your eye to the inner portion of the dial.
That inner portion is also raised above the date ring for further differentiation and has vintage TV-shaped recesses cut out for the subdials. This brings me to one of my favorite aspects of the Marine Chronograph, which is its use of Seiko’s VK67 MechaQuartz movement. Unlike several other Seiko MechaQuartz chrono movements, the VK67 is equipped with a running-seconds subdial, which is far more useful than the dummy 24-hour sundial many other microbrands prefer. A standing ovation to MMI for being brave enough not to fear a ticking seconds hand, and a strong encouragement to other microbrands to do the same, and shed your concerns about horological prudes shunning visual confirmation that their watch is, indeed, quartz.
The subdials’ hands mimic the obelisk shape of the central hour and minute hands, but trade metallic finishing for an orange shade reminiscent of vintage muscle-car gauges. This makes the hands highly legible against the black background of the subdials for the running seconds and the chronograph’s 60-minute totalizer, but less so against the 12-hour totalizer subdial, the background of which uses the same yellow shade as the rest of the inner dial circle. All the hands are lumed, and strongly so, as is the case across MMI’s lineup. The applied primary hour indices bear a metallic finish similar to that of the central hour and minute hands, and add another level of depth and shine to the dial.
The subdial backgrounds and hand colors are one area in which MMI could improve on this design. Here, MMI made a concession to design symmetry that comes with a slight concession to functionality. I appreciate the vertical symmetry of the black backgrounds on the subdials at 12 and 6, but legibility would be improved with a black hand for the 12-hour subdial. The rotating bezel’s grip is another area that could be further worked, as it lacks deep enough grooves and teeth to easily utilize the elapsed-time function. Lastly, and of less prominence than my prior two critiques, is the bracelet. Overall, the H-link style is comfortable, and constructed and finished well. That said, it lacks much taper from the 22mm lug width to the clasp. It worked fine for me, but for folks with smaller wrist sizes, a taper from 22 to 18 might help make the Marine Chronograph – and all of the Turret lineup – a more comfortable experience.
These minor critical observations didn’t get in the way of me enjoying my time with the Marine Chronograph, nor did the unfortunately broken chronograph pusher. The Marine Chronograph reinforced my view that MMI makes solidly constructed watches that wear better than their blocky and angular cases suggest and include design elements that help the brand stand apart in the entry-level enthusiast brand market. As I mentioned in my reviews of MMI’s Nor Light and Turret GMT, I think there’s more meat on the bone for the brand, as Victor has a good eye for design. That said, I’ve found their present offerings, the Marine Chronograph included, to be very enjoyable in their current forms. If, like me, you appreciate tool watches and thoughtful design, go check out the Marine Chronograph here.
