SELHOR Diver 05 wristwatch review
I'm a massive fan of divers watches and its not because I'm a keen diver or scuba pro, in fact I rarely venture into water at all, no for me it's all about the aesthetics of diver design that has me hooked. I'm not alone with this fascination though, there are so many diver models out there the market is absolutely saturated with them ( that's not a bad thing ), of course the most infamous being the Rolex Submariner or the Sea Dweller. The problem is that the Rolex watches of this world are often out of reach to us mere mortals, sure there are some slightly cheaper alternatives but what if your budget is really restricted ?
Enter the Selhor Diver 05 model, a watch that on first glance you might be confused to believe was older, however far from being old this Diver 05 model is very much a modern watch. Featuring a full stainless steel case & bracelet, mineral glass with sapphire coating, Swiss movement, fully lumed and rotating bezel, and topped off with a great looking dial & hand set, what more can you ask for ?
At a price point of $215/£160 ( Approx ) this watch is one that is going to be hard to beat, specifications alone would put this watch in a slightly higher price bracket but amazingly its not, and that all good for us consumers :) So lets take a look at the features.....
Manufacturers Specs
DESCRIPTION
Case: Shiny stainless steel case
Bezel: Black aluminum with white lume filled markings
Glass: Flat mineral glass with sapphire coating
Case back: Screwed case back with embossed pattern and sandblast finish
Crown: Screw down crown with case
Dial: Sandblast black dial with a printed logo and thickly printed white indexes filled with salmon lume
Hands: Shiny silver second hand and shiny silver arrow minute and hour hands filled with salmon lume
Band: 5 links stainless bracelet
SPECIFICATIONS
Case Size (with bezel): 42mm
Case Thickness: 10.80mm
Case Lug Width: 20mm
Lug to lug Length: 49mm
Band Length: 185mm
Band Width: 18mm to 20mm
Movement Type Quartz
Movement Swiss Movement Quartz Ronda 763
Water Resistance: 20ATM (200M)
Case: Shiny stainless steel case
Bezel: Black aluminum with white lume filled markings
Glass: Flat mineral glass with sapphire coating
Case back: Screwed case back with embossed pattern and sandblast finish
Crown: Screw down crown with case
Dial: Sandblast black dial with a printed logo and thickly printed white indexes filled with salmon lume
Hands: Shiny silver second hand and shiny silver arrow minute and hour hands filled with salmon lume
Band: 5 links stainless bracelet
SPECIFICATIONS
Case Size (with bezel): 42mm
Case Thickness: 10.80mm
Case Lug Width: 20mm
Lug to lug Length: 49mm
Band Length: 185mm
Band Width: 18mm to 20mm
Movement Type Quartz
Movement Swiss Movement Quartz Ronda 763
Water Resistance: 20ATM (200M)
Casing / Bracelet / Movement
The casing on this watch is one of classical style, polished sides and brushed lug tops and met and matched by the brush & polish finish of the bracelet. The cases slender profile is very comfortable and sits so low on the wrist you'd be fooled in thinking your wearing a diver at all, at times it felt like i was wearing a dress watch rather than a tool watch. The watch also comes with a screw down crown which i think is a must for any watch claiming to be a diver but at this price point is a welcome touch.
The slender case matched with low profile bezel and smooth polished case back make this watch a very comfortable wear, this is matched well with the very comfortable included bracelet. Although some cost cutting has been taken with the clasp the bracelet does come with solid end links and is a very comfortable fit once adjusted.
The Ronda Quartz movement here is a good choice, Swiss quality and reliability but not costing the earth. Ronda is a brand often looked down on for being cheap but in all honesty Ronda have been producing movements and watch parts for a very long time so you can trust that despite the lower cost it comes from somewhere of proven reliability. The lack of date feature can be a deal breaker for some but i think the overall design of the dial would suffer if this was implemented and it was a better move by Selhor not to include it here.
Bracelet
Having a beautiful watch is no good unless your comfortable wearing it and the included bracelet with this Diver 05 is actually pretty good. Following a traditional 5 link design the bracelet is easy adjusted via pin removal to make for a very comfortable fit, the total length of the bracelet at 185mm leaves more than enough room for even the biggest wrists. The fold over clasp is pressed steel and despite this being a common money saving point i feel given the price point of the watch this is acceptable, you do after all get solid end links which is a nice touch.
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Bezel / Dial / Hands
The watch features a low profile 120 click bezel which has a fully lumed aluminium insert, whilst the lume itself does work it is not as bright as some of its competition but then at this price i would not expect it to be. The bezel action it self is quite light and not overly hard to turn but this can also lead to accidental knocking when not being used. Despite the easy knocking the bezel is one of the easiest to grip i've ever encountered making practical use a very very smooth experience. The bezel design often reminds me of the bezel used on the vintage Rotary Aquaplunge expect in this case it works and works much better too !
The dial featured in this review is the Khaki version but there is a black version as well which is much more hard hitting in terms of contrast. The design is very retro and often reminds me of the Seiko Rallye with the blue & white checker pattern, the large main indices interlaced with smaller and medium sized markers is a pleasure to look at. The more i look at the dial the more in grows on me, the sand blast pattern is super cool and really suits the watch well, i think a flat paint finish would not have worked so well.
The hands are a highly polished finish and matched with the same salmon coloured lume from the dial, both the dial lume and the hand lume are very effective at night but don't go expecting Seiko level lume here, functional but not mind blowing. The hands themselves are a great design, simple but functional and easy to distinguish even at night, if the lume has faded you just turn the watch slightly to catch some light and you can easily tell the time.
The bezel, dial & hands all compliment each other very well on this watch, the whole look of the watch comes across well balanced and that's not easy to do but the more you look the more it seems just right.
Case Back
The case back on this watch is a screw down type and not the cheaper snap on type, too often a nice watch can be ruined by such a cheap case back but this is not the case here. The highly polished case back has also had a divers helmet pattern sand blasted into the case back design, this is an extra process you would expect from a much more expensive watch so to see this here is amazing and it really adds to the quality/value of the timepiece. The case back design is very pleasing and certainly adds a quality to the watch but its also very comfortable on the wrist and does not make it bulky due to the slightly recessed design. Normally to find this feature on a watch you would expect to pay £300 to £500 but to find it on a watch weighing in at as little as £160 is truly stunning.
Conclusion
Being in the watch industry you have to work really hard to succeed, with so many watches and models available you have to produce something that stands out, bringing back a well known watch brand that has long since perished is an even harder task. SELHOR may not have been as big an influence as some other brands and may not be as famous here in the UK as it would have been in Europe, but what they have managed to produce here is nothing short of amazing.
The SELHOR Diver 05 watch is a superb timepiece and one that deserves far more attention that it currently has, the design of the watch is stunning and one that is very modern yet still shows its vintage roots. To capture the old whilst keeping things new is no easy feat but the Diver 05 is one watch which has succeeded, the quality materials and attention to detail satisfy the modern needs and the vintage design satisfies the nostalgia in us.
The Diver 05 hits many boxes for me and far more than i initially thought it would, what SELHOR have produced here is high quality timepiece that is not only well made but very much affordable. All too often i see a watch that i like but then see the price and feel disheartened, with the Diver 05 you won't feel any such pain, the quality is clear to see and the more you wear it the more you enjoy it and that's a rare thing these days.
Without doubt i can whole heartedly recommend this watch, is it without fault, no , but will it make you feel good, yes, and that's worth every penny :)
Pros
Quality Materials
Excellent Design
Attention to Detail
Swiss Parts
Value for Money
Cons
Cheap Fold Over Clasp
No Historical Info on The Brand Included
Could Have Better Lume
For more information i recommend visiting the Selhor Website, you can click here to go to the site ( opens in new window )
https://selhorwatches.com/
The SELHOR Diver 05 watch is a superb timepiece and one that deserves far more attention that it currently has, the design of the watch is stunning and one that is very modern yet still shows its vintage roots. To capture the old whilst keeping things new is no easy feat but the Diver 05 is one watch which has succeeded, the quality materials and attention to detail satisfy the modern needs and the vintage design satisfies the nostalgia in us.
The Diver 05 hits many boxes for me and far more than i initially thought it would, what SELHOR have produced here is high quality timepiece that is not only well made but very much affordable. All too often i see a watch that i like but then see the price and feel disheartened, with the Diver 05 you won't feel any such pain, the quality is clear to see and the more you wear it the more you enjoy it and that's a rare thing these days.
Without doubt i can whole heartedly recommend this watch, is it without fault, no , but will it make you feel good, yes, and that's worth every penny :)
Pros
Quality Materials
Excellent Design
Attention to Detail
Swiss Parts
Value for Money
Cons
Cheap Fold Over Clasp
No Historical Info on The Brand Included
Could Have Better Lume
For more information i recommend visiting the Selhor Website, you can click here to go to the site ( opens in new window )
https://selhorwatches.com/
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