The new diver by Zelos watches is far from subtle. But that is exactly what is so much fun about it! Zelos named the watch « Hammerhead », and although I get the reference, the watch is far more attractive than the shark it’s named after. The diver looks large and bulky, and does not apologizes for that. If it was a dress watch that would be unforgivable, but with a diver like the Hammerhead it would have been like Sylvester Stallone apologizing for his muscles.
Quite frankly, the dimensions of the Hammerhead are not even that monstrous. The case is 44mm excluding the crown, and the height is 17mm. However, crafted in a 1970’s fashion, does the Hammerhead almost completely fill up these measurements. The cut angles on the case, make it very attractive to look at, much in the same way as you are impressed with a cool piece of machinery. Of the 17mm height, 2.5mm is a high double domes sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on the inside. Its a detail, but to me it always gives a diver something extra. Another detail are the hands. They show the luminova held inside a sort of frame. Functional at night, and great looking during the day.
The Hammerhead does not only talk the talk, it also walks the walk. It is water-resistant to 1.000 meters. Just like the Ocean Predator collection of Stranger watches that I reviewed earlier, does also feature the Hammerhead Seiko’s automatic caliber NH35. Again, a wise choice because its precise, dependable, hackable and you can manually wind it. Also servicing it is not going to cost you an arm and a leg, and that keeps cost of ownership nice and low.
The Hammerhead comes in two varieties that share the same design, but one is crafted from 316L stainless steel, while the other is made from CUSN8 Marine Bronze. The bronze watches come on a tropic style strap, while the stainless steel Hammerhead’s have a steel bracelet with divers extension. That bracelet was definitely not an after thought, since it matches the overall design of the watch very nicely.
All the bronze watches come with a bronze bezel insert, while the stainless steel ones have a ceramic one. That is, all but one! The stainless steel Hammerhead is also available with a Damascus steel bezel insert. Yes, it renders your diving bezel completely useless, but it looks great doing so! The second unique option is that both the steel and the bronze Hammerhead are available with a meteorite dial! Quite a unique option, especially for a diver, but the texture of the meteorite dial really boosts the Hammerhead to the next level. The bronze version, with meteorite dial, is actually my personal favorite, and I am very curious how the dial will look when the case is aged and shows a nice patina. For those of you less adventurous, both varieties are also available with blue, black and grey dials!
More information about the Hammerhead can be found on the website of Zelos Watches