As we spoke about in our initial hands-on review of the Filson Journeyman GMT, I view the Filson line of watches as a way for Shinola to sort of play around with their designs a bit, and take things in slightly different directions. While I would not go so far as to say that the Filson Dutch Harbor is breaking new ground, it is definitely a rather comely implementation of a dive watch.
Now, when it comes to a dive watch, there are a few things to look for. For most of us who are not divers, we are looking at the, well, looks of the watch first and foremost. While no one would accuse Shinola (or Filson) as being haute horologie, they are definitely in the business of making things that look good, and the Filson Dutch Harbor is no exception to that model. The most striking implementation for me is the black dial with the blue bezel, but all of them highlight what the watch offers. Legibility is high on most of the models (except for the stealthed out model) due to high contrast between dial and indice/numeral colors; I’m particularly a fan of the large triangles at the compass points.
I am also a fan of the multi-layer dial they have built up, and the fact that they managed to make color-matched date wheels appear on all of the models in the lineup. Yeah, the Filson Dutch Harbor is not an inexpensive watch, but we have seen plenty of brands creating more expensive watches that manage to not do this cleanly. The one bit on the Filson Dutch Harbor that I am not as much a fan of is the bezel insert. While I like the colors used, it looks like just another flat insert (can’t tell if it’s steel or aluminum) which makes me suspect that it is not lumed. This is a guess on my part, as I’ve not seen any lumeshots of the Filson Dutch Harbor, nor have we seen this in person.
For this implementation, the Filson Dutch Harbor offers quite a few different color combinations, case finishes, and strap (or bracelet) options. For me, I rather liked the black dial and blue bezel, and would certainly look to get that paired to the three-link bracelet they have on offer. Pricing on the Filson Dutch Harbor starts at $750, and tops out at $950 for the version on the steel bracelet. Is the pricing a bit higher than we might like to see on a quartz-equipped diver? Yeah, it is, and that would personally give me pause. That said, the look of the Filson Dutch Harbor really appealed to me, and I felt sure we needed to bring it to the attention of our readers. filson.com
