NETHUNS SCUBAPRO 500M Diver SPS522 Men's Watch

this entire watch is a beautifully done retro version of one of the greatest and prolific diver case styles of the 60s and 70s. most popularized by seiko's 62MAS, these NON-submariner style cases were not just a seiko creation, but on numerous brands of the 60s/70s, mostly Swiss, from Breitling to numerous others making diver watches.there are additionally many retro cues from the period visually, but almost all updated with some current improvements technically. the differences between this modern upgrade and the actual precursors from Mr. Peabody's Wayback machine are done so very expertly and deftly with a true nod to the past, that the entire piece looks as if it stepped out of the past. but then the improvements sneak up on you.most notably are the ceramic bezel with inlaid lume, and the raised sapphire crystal. if you go back and check the original timepieces in this style case from Wayback, they really look like a poor cousin. this ceramic bezel with bright lume inlaid through the entire circumference, from the pip through all the numbers, looks as if done with the quality of a rolex. ceramic of course is highly scratch resistant, while if you visit any of this watches precursors back then, their bezels look rinky dinky by comparison, and by now all beat up. this ceramic bezel should stay in this condition for the life of the watch.then there's the raised sapphire crystal, a very rare phenomenon in timepieces. especially at this price point. on this watch i, and most vintage watch aficionados, would have been very happy to have seen a hesalite (plastic) crystal as the 60s/70s versions had. for a dive watch the plastic crystals wouldn't shatter if impacted hard, as even a sapphire will, plus any scratches could always be buffed or polished out, often by the owner with a buffing cloth in hand and some inexpensive crystal polish. plus they were super domes or raised like here, and looked super cool.but this raised sapphire crystal looks totally from the past, but is indeed virtually unscratchable, which is a luxury, but will shatter if really slammed. for that very rare reason, professionally the best crystal for a diver might be a plastic, but most people buying this won't be actually diving in it, and will appreciate the lack of having to polish out scratches.which takes us to the question of diving. yes, victoria, this sucker can really really be used for diving, being rated to 500 meters. it even has the extraneous totally unnecessary pleasure of a helium release valve, mostly reserved for deep water saturation diving so rising from the depths will not blow out your crystal from helium expanding. a feature which, like having 400 hp in your car, is never really needed, but fun to know is there.i don't believe this has an actual ISO dive rating, which needs to be tested under certification procedures, but i do not doubt this thing could indeed go down to 500 meters and survive.which does bring us to the one feature of the case that pulls it away from strict adherence to the models it was based on. that is the dimensions. the watch looks so much like the semi-squared design of its predecessors except alas for the thickness. for those who are not vintage or retro buffs, the very cool thickness of this case is very both cool and modern. and in fact thickness in dive watches were accurate to many models of the day. but just not this particular case style, making it somewhat of a hybrid in this specific case (pun intended). also, none of this dive style back in the day had a helium release valve...that also is a bragging right of modern timepieces, especially on this style case.but no one but an historian will notice these variations, and this hybrid which is mostly accurate to its origins still looks super cool with these variances. which leads to another minor variation which i heartily approve of, the case size. most of those back in the day were 40mm wide or thereabouts, while in today's larger size watches, this comes in at 46mm including the super cool and period accurate chunko of a crown, looking very much like a Jackie Kennedy pillbox hat.i do like the increased sizes of today's watches, but i know some watch-o-philes prefer a bit truer size to the past in retro styles.another feature of this particular case which i adore, and is becoming very trendy in retro dive styles, is the lack of crown guards. it's an extremely popular direction which can probably be traced back to the reemerging popularity a dozen years ago or so of the original Connery Bond Rolex watch, which was a rolex 6538 which also had a lack of crow guards, yielding a very cool retro and military look. this nethuns' case design was indeed a contemporary of that Bond rolex, adorning Bond, James Bond's wrist in Dr. No and From Russia with Love.another thing giving this nethuns a look of the past is the moderate dial size proportionate to the case, versus some huge large dial that simply did not exist back i that day. and since we're onto the dial, nethuns does an amazing job with this one. looking at my picture of mine, i chose a non-date 'breitling' style dial versus the more rolex homage of the version for sale in this amazon ad. mine is very accurate to the breitling divers of the day, and even later, and the quality is on par with that manufacturer. the aged lume is wonderful looking, thick and bright. the script on the dial looks like something beautifully done for an expensive breitling, rolex or omega from the period, something so many watches of this price range simply do not do. the hands likewise look straight from the past and are excellent.which really is what this entire watch is about, not just a superb and learned nod to the past, but an execution that is on par with timepieces costing thousands of dollars. clearly nethuns is a microbrand concerned with both horological history and pride in execution.the strap is done to be almost a replica of the seiko 62mas, one of the most famous dive watches of the period. with any of these diver straps, i buy a leather punch with a buckle size punch in the selection, and put an extra hole where needed if these straps don't have a comfortable setting for the buckle already. for me they never do, always too big or too tight, so with a good $30 hole punch you can put another hole into the rubber which will not tear or expand if you do it slowly and thoroughly. the bund back leather piece is my own preference for the watch, and does not come with it.the movement is one used in seiko's own divers in the $500 or more range, called the NH35 or 36 when sold to microbrands like nethuns, or 4R35 or 35 when put in seiko's own watches. it is obviously a very decent grade movement that both winds and hacks and can be adjusted easily by a watchmaker (or do it yourselfer who knows what they're doing) very easily. alas, one of the few cons of this watch is that nethuns has not regulated the movement, and mine is consistently 15 or so seconds a day fast.while that is well within the specs of this movement, many microbrands will do a quick adjustment of the movement so that it is often 5 or less seconds per day accurate. as much as invicta is trashed by people, apparently that brand regulates these movements (same ones) that are put in most of their auto divers because i have about 5 invicta auto divers that are all about 4 to 5 sec fast maximum.so i will call nethuns on this. for the pure superiority of their product, getting the movement a bit more accurate would seem par for the course. oh well.as for other cons, except for not being totally accurate to the proportions of these original cases, i can't think of any other cons. and this last point is clearly subjective. in fact, none of the original case designs were 500 meter rated, so that higher depth rating certainly justifies a thicker case. while on dive rating, i'll note that the crown is screw down.for the price this is one heck of a timepiece. even without all the references to diver watch history, just on specs alone this would be worth the price. but it also serves as a strong, well-informed nod to the history of dive watches, and done with a near flawless execution. oh...in that last vein, the diver bezel is 120 buttery smooth clicks, very tight (almost no play) and perfectly aligned with the 12 marker. it's super fun to operate that bezel, even if like me, you're just a diver poser and use it mostly to brew your coffee, not pretend you're Mike Nelson in an episode of Sea Hunt.