I know, we tend to give you plenty of heads-up on cool Kickstarter watch projects. But, well, life happens as it doesn, as we were unable to give this one the attention it deserved. Fortunately for those interested in slick independent dive watches, funding levels have hit, so you can still jump in on the last day and get your own Albany Watches AMA Diver.
You might be wondering (as I did) – what in the world does an “Ask Me Anything” thread have to do with watches? Well, that’s not what’s going on here. What Albany Watches has done is take a 60’s-style Skin Diver and build something that honors the Ama Divers of Japan, who have been diving for pearls for a couple of thousand years.
Fittingly, then, the Albany Watches AMA Diver features one of my very favorite dial materials – mother of pearl. Rather than the brighter hues we more commonly see, they’ve sourced a black MOP dial which looks quite stunning in the photos. At first glance, it’s just black, then you start to see a wavy pattern, and then you get the rainbow ripples as light plays over it. I don’t see why you wouldn’t opt for that dial, but there are also a “regular” blue or black dial available for you.
While dive watches these days tend to be chunky, overgrown affairs, the Albany Watches AMA Diver keeps the focus on the dial, not the case. Here, the case is kept to 40mm (and a reasonable 12.8mm thick which includes the domed sapphire crystal). In other words, I’d say it’s a dive watch for folks who like the look (and idea) of a dive watch, but just can’t (or don’t want to) wear a 500m puck.
In many ways, the Albany Watches AMA Diver blends together my watch tastes of almost a decade ago (give me all the dive watches) with those of today (give me compact and thinner cases, por favor). I could write more, but I think I need to let you get over to the Kickstarter page before things close out on November 3rd. Pricing for the Albany Watches AMA Diver starts at $299 for the watch on a woven strap, or $375 for a package that includes the beads-of-rice bracelet, a leather strap, and the woven strap. campaign page / albanywatches.com
Tech Specs from Albany Watches
