Nove Watches - Craftsman Watch review

Specs
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Movement  - Swiss Quartz  
Hands  - Super-LumiNova  
Crown  - Case Back Button  
Case  - Stainless Steel 
Size  - 50.5mm  
Warranty   - 2 years 
Crystal - Sapphire
Water Resistance - 200 Meters
Strap - Genuine Leather
Bezel - Ebony Wood
Thickness - 13.9mm
Battery Life - 6 Years

Model reviewed today - Nove Craftsman D002-01 - Blue PVD

Nove also produce this model in four other color ways including, Rose gold ,Steel, Black PVD, & Yellow Gold.
Nove also produce one of the worlds thinnest diver watches so be sure to check that out on their website.

Visit Nove - nove.com

Current Pricing  From - £437-£473 ( Free Worldwide Delivery )

Special Limited time Offer for my Readers - Get 30% Off Entire Purchase on Nove.com
Use Code - welwynwatches30

Limited time offer so be sure to head over to Nove.com !

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In today's review we are taking a look at a very different watch from a very different brand, the Craftsman watch from Nove to be exact. With such a plethora of brands to choose from it can be hard to see through all the noise and find someone that differentiates themselves from the rest of the pack, Nove watches had never hit my radar before but they are certainly on it now !

Whilst some brands may offer a one off special watch model with unique or cool features Nove watches tend to take this approach to all their watches, why offer one unique original when you can make them all special ? The design and ideas behind Nove watches take a much less " busy " approach and offer something slightly different but retaining the high quality feel of any good Swiss Made watch. 

Much like the watch in my previous review, the Craftsman does appear at first to be overly simple, no complicated features are found here not even so much as an offer of a date window. The simple two hand time only approach could be off putting to many a possible watch lover, but look past the lack of features and you will see the purpose of what watches were always intended to be.

So without further ado lets take a look at the Craftsman.......
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Packaging 

The watch Nove supplied came packaged in a simple black branded outer cardboard box with a nicely finished leather style travel casing on the inside, included also was the usual paperwork that accompanies most modern watches. The inclusion of a travel case rather than a hard box is a simple but welcome addition for those who may want to take more than one watch with them on their travels. The outer box is study enough to take a knock from any bumps it may receive and the inside of the travel case is well furnished with soft sponge and cloth to keep the watch scratch free.
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​Casing & Design

Those with keen eyes will immediately notice the Craftsman is built very differently to any other watch, the use of Ebony wood is not the "usual " construction method  when describing a watch, but it is also not the first time wood has been used in Swiss watch design. Those of us who were around in the 1980's will recall Tissot  when they produced those small watches made from either complete wood or stone, fortunately the craftsman's design is not entirely wood but something much more practical and tasteful.

The design it self is very modern, a large circular section of crafted Ebony wood is then caged within a  multi layered steel frame. The wood itself seems to be crafted from a single piece of wood rather than several pieces of bonded material with the grain of the wood carefully lined up to match the flow of the watch from top to bottom. The wood is further embellished with six blued screws which break up the bezel of the watch to make reading the time a little easier as well as making the bezel area all the more interesting to look at.
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The steel frame/casing is very unique and has a great weighted feel in the hand which feels very strong and reliable, there is absolutely no flex whatsoever making this watch nice and stiff.

The frame is also broken down into sections, each of these areas is further enhanced by different finishes, brushed sides, polished lug bends, and a very industrial blasted finish to the top plate. The industrial style finish of the top plate could have come off badly but in this instance it has been very well executed  and enhances the visual appeal of this watch.

The side sections have a fine brush finish with a Nove logo adorned on both the 3 & 9 positions which help to keep the symmetry. 

The case construction overall is extremely well made and im in no doubt it was not something easy to produce, with so many more parts and forms to take on board this casing is very much one of a kind and not something easy or cheap to produce well.

As some of you may no doubt of noticed this watch is missing a traditional crown, normally we would expect to see a crown at the 3 O Clock position but Nove have taken a novel and unique approach to this area of the watch as well. On the craftsman they decided to move the crown to the back of the watch, this is a bold but smart move as this allows the watch to keep a very symmetrical design, no broken or uneven lines allow the design to be clean and smooth.

The crown being on the back of the watch is not something entirely new as Jaeger LeCoultre had developed this idea many years ago on some of their ladies watches, but Nove's approach here is clever and something much more robust. They have opted for a clever screw down lever which when loosened can be pressed in to set the time and then locked down again like any other traditional screw down crown. The operation of this crown is incredibly simple and makes setting the time super easy and almost fun !
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Dial / Hands / Glass / Strap / Movement

The Craftsman is built using a " Swiss Quartz " movement which according to Nove has a massive 6 year battery life, although ive not removed the case back to find out exactly what they have chosen i would hazard to guess they have opted for a quality Ronda movement in this instance. Whilst Ronda may not be considered a top brand compared to say ETA , they do offer a great range of quality Swiss movements and if that's good enough for the likes of Tag Heuer then it will certainly work well here.

No quality Swiss watch would be complete without a Sapphire glass and that is exactly what Nove have gone with here, no fancy shapes just simple clean circular Sapphire, should you be unlucky to break the glass it should be simple enough to replace without a headache.

The dial and hands are kept clean and simple here with only a single brand logo at 12 and the Swiss Made print at 6 , the dial is a frosted grey finish with blued steel type markers to line up the hours passing. The hands on this model are of good size and likened to broad sword style without being overly large, they are finished in blue to match the casing and filled with quality Swiss Super-LumiNova. During use in both day & night settings this watch is very easy to read with the lume proving very effective even after several hours of darkness.

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The strap fitted is of the integrated type and is again a very fine Swiss made component that you would expect on a watch of this price point. With great quality leather and fine stitching this strap does scream quality, the custom blued steel branded buckle is very nice finishing touch also. If there was one issue i have with this watch the strap or at least the type of strap would be my main concern, integrated straps can be very well made but like any other leather it will wear out and finding a new one may prove troublesome. Using an integrated strap also leaves out the option to change to something else depending on the mood, this is not a deal breaker but more something to be aware of if you like to mix it up with your watches.

The use of an integrated strap is also partially to do with the overall design of the watch so perhaps anything else may simply not have worked, design is as important as being practical and maintaining the design idea can sometimes be more important, just my thoughts :)
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Conclusion

The Craftsman watch is a truly excellent showcase of what can be done when you don't follow the crowd, when you keep ideas simple but without compromising on the design or quality of what you are trying to achieve. Many watch brands like to push on customers their ideas of what they think should be worn or done, Nove have been very smart here in producing a watch based on the idea of living in time rather than how it is told.

The watch when held for the first time feels truly solid, there's a weight there that feels quality, if you ever tried or held a high end Rolex there is something in the " feel " of it that screams quality, the Craftsman achieves that without the Rolex price tag . The casing design and construction is truly amazing, when you take time to look at it and appreciate the effort it takes to make something like this then its clear to see the Craftsman is a quality piece.

Although weighty in the hand the Craftsman does not feel overly heavy or over bearing on the wrist, my initial thought was that the watch would become tiring to wear but this was quickly disproved after the first day where i forgot i was even wearing it. The integrated strap is super plush and comfortable out of the box with no need to bed the leather in before it becomes enjoyable to wear, although not my favorite style of strap it is nonetheless a great quality strap that fits the overall design well.

Not many brands can carry off the use of wood in a watch but in this instance i feel Nove have smashed it, this model in Blue PVD along with the rich Ebony wood are a perfect match, they could have gone overboard by using more wood but i believe the balance is just right. The clever finishing on the steel casing frame is subtle but makes a huge difference, blending polished,brushed, and a semi industrial finish in one case is not easy to pull off but they again smashed it here.

Overall this watch is a true gem, sure it's not flashy nor does it have lots of complicated features but that's not the point here, enjoy the time you have and live in the moment, while your at it enjoy a piece of modern art on your wrist.

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