I left the family at home and waded into deep, German-watch waters recently. I almost drowned. I attended the WatchBuys.com road show in Atlanta and learned three uses of technology that are worth remembering the next time you buy a dive watch, all demonstrated by the Sinn UX EZM 2 B Hydro.
WatchBuys.com is a web-based retailer that bypasses the typical storefront and uses these road shows to satisfy the tactile tendencies of my fellow watch enthusiasts. (See Matt’s story here.) WatchBuys.com is also the exclusive North American dealer for Sinn (pronounced ZIN), which was founded by a WWII pilot and they mainly manufactured navigation clocks and chronographs. Sinn is now owned by Lothar Schmidt who was the production director for a few little companies called, IWC and A. Lange & Sohne. In the early 90s, they focused on technology as a way to distinguish themselves from other watch companies. I think three uses of technology stand out with the Sinn UX EZM 2 B Hydro.
I could read the time at the almost any angle. The technology requires a quartz movement which is a downer for me, but the battery is no ordinary quartz battery and only needs replaced every seven years. When I say replaced, I mean send it back to Germany to have them change the battery. Don’t take it your “watch batteries while you wait” store. Why are you sending it back? Simple – the case is oil-filled. While the oil inside the case enhances its dial’s visibility; it also enables the watch to dive deeper. This sucker is rated at 5,000 meters, or by my math, 100 laps-deep at my neighborhood pool. (Kids, Daddy’s going to need the floaty.)
Secondly, Sinn uses a few tricks with its cases to enable your dive watch to stand up to your reef or my pool recliner. Can you say: German submarine steel. Yep, sub steel from a shipbuilder in Emden Germany on the North Sea. The benefit here is its resistance to sea water, of course, but they don’t stop there. This steel has no magnetic properties (it cannot be magnetized), so it protects the watch against 4,800 A/m magnetic fields. Sounds like a lot, but this is about as strong as a refrigerator magnet, so keep it out of your neighborhood MRI machine which emits several million A/m.
Lastly, Sinn also use a technology called, Tegiment (“tegimentum” in Latin). This process hardens stainless steel cases to incredible levels. They want you to understand it’s not a coating but instead a process that hardens the surface. I’m not convinced that this means it’s impervious to the walls and rocks of my life, or what lies beneath your ship and sea during your next dive, but here’s what I learned.
The Vickers hardness test was invented in the 1920s to measure the hardness of material. It was used to determine a material’s ability to resist dents when the same or standard force is applied. This hardness scale is given a hardness number or a “Vickers pyramid number” (HV). Iron has a 30-80HV rating; stainless steel is rated at 140HV; while a diamond has a value between 4,000 and 10,000HV. This model watch has a bezel that’s rated at 1,200 Vickers. That’s a lot of Vickers.
Sinn watches focus on technology and want you to notice its over-engineering watches, but you have to look closely at the benefits of these to make sure they’re worth the price. Wading through Sinn’s collection, you will see variations of the technologies in watches and consider how those will affect the price and its performance for your next swim. This watch is priced at WatchBuys at $2,290. WatchBuys’ next road shows are in Texas in November.
Watch Overview
- Brand & Model: Sinn UX EZM 2 B Hydro on Bracelet
- Price: $2,290
- Who we think it might be for: This is made for the diver who is looking for the legibility and flexibility to appreciate the quartz in oil movement.
- Would I buy one for myself based on what I’ve seen?: This is overkill for my neighborhood pool, but I’d still consider this in Titanium.
- If I could make one design suggestion, it would be: I’d make the numerals on the bezel larger or bolder.
- What spoke to me the most about this watch: It can be read at any angle.
Specifications:
- Brand Model: Sinn UX EZM 2 B Hydro on Bracelet
- Movement (technology): ETA 955.652 (quartz) oil filled
- Size of case diameter (mm): 44mm
- Height of case: 13.5mm
- Weight:105g (head only)
- Case material: Submarine steel, Bezel is tegmented
- Case Back: Solid
- Crown: Screwable D3 System
- Crystal/Glass material: Sapphire crystal
- Water resistance (m/ft/atm): 5000 m
- Strap/Bracelet material: Steel
- Illumination: NA
