Even if you weren’t familiar with Bathys, you very likely heard about their latest, a foray in an atomic watch (ABTW’s coverage). Well, we hear at WWR have been fans of what Dr. Patterson has been putting together for some time now, and I’m happy that today I’m bringing you my first hands-on review of a Bathys model, the Lunar Midsize.
As you might guess from the name, this is indeed a smaller watch – 36mm (11mm thick) to be precise. Bathys labels this as a unisex piece, and I can confirm from testing in my own house that this is indeed the case – both my wife and I wore it equally well with plenty of comfort (though we did both note the straps were a bit short; more on that later).
For such a small watch (well, small by modern standards), there’s a lot of style packed into the piece. Most predominantly, you’ve got the functioning moon phase indicator up at the top of the dial, driven by the Ronda quartz movement ticking away inside. Next, you’ve got fairly large lumed numerals on the dial. Combine this with the very nicely sized handset (also lumed), and you’ve got a dial that you’re reading quick and easy, day or night. Oh, and those hands? To me, that hour hand looks an awful lot like a cartoon rocket – another nice (perhaps unintentional?) nod to the moon and outer space.
Topping that dial you’ve got a domed sapphire crystal (AR coated, of course), which combines with the case to make for a package rated to a water resistance of 100 meters. Sure, the crown isn’t screw-down, but this isn’t really a watch that you’re going to go diving with – it’s a dressier piece that will hold up to the occasional dip in the pool or ocean.
Should you head into the water, you’ll have your choice of straps as well. The Lunar Midsize comes mounted on a padded waterproof leather strap, but the mini-Pelican case the watch ships in also contains a stingray strap. Yes, real stingray. Both straps come equipped with quick change spring bars (ie, little studs on the underside of the strap to release the springbar), which is something that few brands do, but it’s a nice value add. Frankly, I wish more brands would have these, especially on the more affordable models – it’s a great way to introduce folks to the fun of changing out straps for different looks.
Whichever strap you go with, you’ll find them working well with the piece. The one issue we had here (my wife and I, that is) is that the straps are rather on the shorter side. With my 7.25″ wrist, I was at the second-from-last hole on each of the straps. So I got it to fit, but if your wrists are much bigger, you’ll probably need to spring for a bigger 20mm strap. I get that this is a smaller watch, and they’ve sized straps to go with the logical target audience, but an option to upgrade to something a bit long would be great to see.
That was really the only issue I had with the piece – and, admittedly, it’s a minor one. Sure, the watch was quite a bit smaller than what I normally wear (which is generally north of 40mm), but it makes for a wonderfully lightweight (only 70g !) and compact package that packs in a good bit of style. This might not be your weekend watch, but it certainly is a great one for the office or dressier occasions. It would also work well if you want to go the his-n-hers route, as they do have larger versions of this model. Oh, and I almost forgot – while our sample was in steel with a black dial, they do also have a Rose-Ti case (with black dial), or the steel case with a brown dial. At $395 apiece, it’s a nice price for a great little watch. bathyswatch.com
