What can you do without vintage inspiration? The Dufrane Deep Eddy

Lately in the watch world, everything seems to be coming from somewhere, vintage cues like numerals or red lines can be found in almost every diver, it looks like no one is doing anything remotely new, yes it is truth that

the ISO certification on a dive piece kills the imagination of the designer but in 2021 are we going 300 meters? and if we are, are we counting our precious oxygen minutes with a mechanical time piece? That brings me back to the design element of the equation, does a bezel needs to be thick? Yes legible but lume will solve that

problem, that would leave a massive open dial so you can house large dots around, and why not house a second time scale? You can still use the dots to calculate the oxygen if you wish so. I haven't spoken to Dufrane before they sent me the Deep Eddy, but as soon as I open the box, it all made sense. I like Dufrane approach to design, I have reviewed recently the Waterloo and the approach felt very similar, unique and bold. The Depp Eddy comes in a no date and date version, blue or champagne dial, luckily I have both to play with.

The specifications:

The watch is 42 mm which I think is the prefect size for a dive watch, is legible and wears like a char as the lug to lug is under 48mm. I like both references but to me the no date version is incredible, the dial is brushed and uninterrupted and that orange seconds hand really works with the scheme. The no date version is well made too as the markets are untouched and in the deep dark ocean only lume will appear, no missing markers, thank you Dufrane. The thin bezel gives a good look to the watch, all lumed and thin makes the Deep Eddy looks lees tool like and more formal. The watch is powered by a reliable SW200 and giving it reliability and performance, a perfect everyday piece.

On the wrist:

With a legible stylish watch is hard to go wrong, but the thing that I like the most of the Deep Eddy is that I feels well build and ready to take a punch, it feels like a real tool watch but also a casual wearer. Drilled lugs give the versatility needed to use a Nato strap, a rubber strap or a mesh strap, all option are great but the bracelet is the one that I would go for, it's so well made that takes the watch to another level, not only on looks but also comfort. Tiffany color dials ( or at least that's how is been looked at in the watch world) are very popular at the moment, when the light hits the blue version of the Deep Eddy it really makes you smile, the champagne version is outstanding but you can fault a blue dial these days, it's fun but also sophisticated.

Conclusions:

It's hard to think which would be the best version of these 2 divers but the reality is that they are so different that is hard to choose the wrong one, you will stand out no matter what, I am sure no one is going to say : '' is that a submariner?'' and to me that is a good thing which is why I enjoyed these 2 watches over the last few weeks. The deep Eddy is a nice addition to the current Dufrane catalogue, it is great to see an offering that looks like no other, I wonder what Dufrane's take on a chronograph would be? I can wait to see more form this brand.

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