BY JOVAN KRSTEVSKI
With every other new entrant in the market giving it a try, diving watches can easily be considered as one of the most popular categories of watches out there and why not? They are bold and masculine to look at, are solidly constructed to withstand the roughest and toughest of situations and offer some nice useful features making them a truly compelling package. But even though there are a plethora of diving watch options available in the entry-level segment the ones that present a great overall value are few and far between. So on that note let me introduce you to Outsiders, a new watch brand which promises to take the market by storm with their first watch the Revolution.
But before we proceed further with my hands on impression of the watch, let us talk a little about the brand. Outsiders is a brand started by a bunch of veterans from the Swiss watch industry with a belief that a nice Swiss made watch should not make a hole in one’s pocket and should rather be easy to afford for the majority of watch enthusiasts out there. Also, as the words Swiss made and affordable do not gel well together the brand decided to name themselves as Outsiders separating them for the rest of the Swiss watch industry. The Revolution is the brands maiden effort and is a Swiss made dive watch that offers 300 meters of water resistance, a Swiss high beat movement and comes in at an attractive and unimaginable price point. So, without wasting any further time let’s see whether this new watch is worthy of your hard earned cash.
Let me begin by talking about the face of the watch. Presented with a sunburst finish, the dial of the Revolution is attractive to look and is nicely laid out. The stunning blue dial suits the aquatic theme of the watch and is quite dynamic in nature as it exhibits different hues of blue and even black depending upon how the light hits the dial. The hour markers are a combination of applied polished circles, rectangles and double wedges at the 12 O’clock position. They provide a nice depth to the dial and have been deeply filled with luminous paint to help with legibility in low light situations. I really liked that brand went with white colored lume as it provides a nice contrast against the vibrant blue dial making the markers stand out. The hour and minute hand are sword-shaped and have also been polished and filled with luminous material akin to the applied markers.
Further to that, showcasing some nice attention to detail the hour hand has been segmented to help distinguish it from the minute hand. The second’s hand on this watch is a simple stick with a small circular lume pip towards the tip and is nicely proportioned reaching all the way to the seconds/minute track on the outer periphery of the dial. Just below 12 sits a nice red colored Outsider logo which adds a splash of color to the dial which is followed by the ‘Outsider Switzerland text underneath. There is some more text at 6 which includes the words Revolution, Automatic and the 30 bar depth rating followed by the small yet significant Swiss made text. Finally, to complete the dial there is a nice little date window at 3, which might not be my preferred positioning of date, but it manages to blend well with the rest of the dial in this instance. Overall the dial is well executed and is easy to read.
The case on the Outsiders Revolution is made out of stainless steel and has been nicely machined giving the watch a premium feel when held in hand. Coming in at a diameter of 43 I would definitely agree that this is a relatively large sized case but it does wear quite comfortably on the wrist because of the short and downward curving lugs along with the integrated bracelet design.
As for the finishing, there is a nice interplay between different finishes on display with the sides of the being polished and the top of the case being brushed. Present on top of the case is a uni-directional dive time bezel which is a joy to grip and has a satisfying rotating action with minimum play.
Also, present on the front is the curved sapphire crystal in place which has been treated with an anti-reflective treatment for enhanced legibility. On the back is mineral crystal exhibition glass which gives a nice view of the powerhouse behind this watch. This is a nice touch as normally dive watches come with closed backs to ensure optimum water resistance but the Outsiders Revolution manages to be water resistant to 300 meters even with a see-through case back. The crown at 3 is of screw down variety and is protected by crown guards on both sides to avoid any damage to the crown.
Driving the Outsiders revolution is the ever-reliable ETA-2824 automatic movement. It operates at a frequency of 4 Hz and provides a decent autonomy of around 38 hours. There is not much to write about as far as the decoration is concerned, but in my opinion, it is always a pleasure to look at a mechanical movement functioning in all its glory, which can be done using the mineral glass window on the back of this watch.
In all, the Outsiders Revolution is a great looking watch, which in my opinion offers a tremendous value proposition. Not only can it be used as a full-fledged dive watch for those underwater adventures, but based upon my personal experience I can easily say that this is quite a versatile piece which can easily dress up or down making it a great contender for a good everyday watch. There are two dial variations to choose from: Sunburst blue and Lacquer black and both would come equipped with an integrated bracelet. The watch retails at a price of $499 which definitely sounds like a steal for what this watch offers.
Visit Outsiders here.
