It is no secret that I’m a fan of NTH and L&H watches; I have collected few of them along the way; and I have already posted reviews of the NTH Sub, Phantom which is a pilot style inspired watch and the legenadry Orthos earlier. Back when Chris of Janis Trading announced the release of their Tropic Divers Line, which is styled after the Compressors’ watches released between 1950s and 1970s with dual crowns and inner functional bezel, I got super excited, first because the renderings were great and I know from my past experiences that the end product produced by Chris will be similar or even better to the initial renders. Also being a fan of vintage divers, and collecting unique pieces for years, I couldn’t pass on this opportunity and jumped on the pre-orders; there were 2 dial designs the Antilles and the Azores with various color options, I opted for the champagne Antilles one as I find it very unique, few months later I received the watch in April 2017 which was earlier that the planned project delivery date; although I meant to write this review long time ago, unfortunately I didn’t get to put it down but now as things have been very busy at my end.
The watch arrived in the standard NTH travel pouch, which I don’t dig as I find it a little big, and I rarely use in real life, but in general it is much better than normal boxes that others usually use; the watch was nicely wrapped, and there was an extra tropic rubber strap along with a small card holder that can be installed to the back of a smart phone.
First impressions were really positive, the case is extremely well finished with mixed of polished and brushed surfaces, where the entire middle case is brushed while the bezel surrounding the crystal is polished, the “Beads of Rice” bracelet is amazing with a functional expansion / glide lock clasp. Overall the watch is very well proportioned; sizing the bracelet was very simple, and on the wrist it went.
The case distentions is 40mm without crowns with an overall length of 48mm; so it really sits very well on my 6.75″ wrist without hanging out; it feels right at home on the wrist.
The case thickness is 12mm, so it is considered on the thin side; with 2 protruding proud crowns, the four o’clock one is signed with NTH logo, and the other at 2 o’clock is for rotating the inner bezel with the historic cross-hatching marks. Both crowns are screwed down, and the crown operation to adjust the time and wind the movement is very smooth, assuring and screams quality. On the other hand the lumed inner bezel is nicely executed and easily operated by the other crown, the rotation is firm and overall it feels really good, surprisingly I found it very easy to screw down the crown back without altering the bezel’s settings, which makes the watch a true diver and for real divers, although I guess this watch will be a desk divers for most of us.
The crystal is raised double domed sapphire, box shaped with anti reflective coating, I find it very clear and has no glare at all which make it very easy to read the time in any lighting condition.
The dial is gorgeous and I think it is the highlight of this watch, it has an amazing texture with a sunburst effect, it is simply beautiful!
This beauty is powered by the Automatic self winding Swiss movement, the STP 1-11; which is part of the Fossil group. It is similar to the ETA 2824, with 28,800 BPH and 44 hours of power reserve. WatchGuy has a detailed review of this particular movement, and can be found here.
The lume is generously applied on the hands, which makes them very bright and visible through out the night; the application is not as strong on the dial markers and bezel; I wish the markers had a different design that could have allowed better lume application.
Overall this is an amazing watch that I truly enjoy a lot; it is clearly a dressy diver while on the bracelet that can easily be slipped under a shirt’s cuff; put this watch on the rubber strap and you get an amazing and unique summer watch that will turn heads.
This watch is currently sold out, and I hope that Chris runs another production iteration. For now I highly recommend that you hunt for one in the second hand market, it is a collectible item!
