As you can no doubt imagine, we get all manner of unsolicited emails here at WWR. Some of it is pure junk mail (nope, not going to cover your whack-a-doodle makeup project), some of it just more of the same ol (hooray, a minimal watch that cuts out the middle man!) and then there are gems that come through. Octon Watches came out of nowhere, and once I saw that day-glo fluorescent paint on the dials, I was sold. So, yup, I got to spend some time with the simply-named Octon Watch.
By looking at the Octon Watch, you will very quickly see the Rolex-inspired cues – Oyster case, an Oyster-ish bracelet, snowflake hands from the Tudor stable, and of course the iconic Submariner-style dial. But then you get color. Bright, glorious, 80’s neon color. Which of course put me in mind of what Bamford does to Rolexes (so, yet another tie-in). But hey, I like Rolex cues, particularly in watches that make things very affordable, and color is great to play with, so lets, lets, let’s go!
In the steel, the neon lime green here is quite stunning. I mean, it looks like it’s glowing without even needing to be exposed to UV light (that said, it does glow as well). It’s just a super fun way to take what might otherwise be considered a boring homage and giving it an awesome 80s treatment that stands out. Frankly, it’s an eye-catcher. I had more than a few people commenting on it in public while I was wearing the loaner, so there’s a testament to the looks.
Now, I will say while the dial of the Octon Watch looks pretty trick in the right lighting, if things get dimmer (but not so dark that the lume takes over) the glare off of the crystal – combined with the overall dark color scheme of the dial – can make reading the time a bit more difficult that you might like. So, the AR coating on the crystal could use some refinement. Or, actually, I have a suspicion that the light blue dial version (which I also find very striking) may not be as affected. Also on the dial side of things – for as “glowing” as it looks in regular light, the actual lume output is a little underwhelming. I do dig how the indices and hands are filled in and flow, and I get that the darker lume is dimmer. But the neon outlines, how awesome would it be if they just blazed in the dark? Because they don’t even glow now, so, hmm.
But that seems like I’m getting super down on the Octon Watch, and I’m really not. At the end of the day, this is a crazy fun sub-flake homage, and the amount of color you can fold in via their custom configurator just makes for a fun mess (in a good way). And frankly, when you consider that pricing starts (STARTS!) at $224 for a NH35a movement, goes to $287 if you want a Miyota 9015, and tops out (this is top end, mates!) at $361 for an ETA 2824, well, shoot – some of those other concerns can definitely let slide. Simply put this is a fun watch and comes in at a super great price. Now, do I configure the blue dial with the Lunar Blue dive bezel or the black-and-white 12-hour (aka poor-man’s GMT) bezel? Decisions, decisions… Oh, and whatever you decide, 10% of the profits go to SeaLegacy, so you’re helping out the waterways as well. Win-win! Just like that Lunar Blue is full of win in my book. Color is good, and this just looks like Octon is full-on having fun, and bringing us along for the ride. octonwatches.com
Review Summary
- Brand & Model: Octon Watch
- Price: $224 – $361
- Who’s it for? You want your sub homage flaky and colorful
- Would I wear it? Yes – but as much as I dig the neon green, that pale blue is calling me
- What I’d change: On the solid end links – they need to be shortened (rather than the central lug bit on the end link being male, it should be a female configuration) just to visually shorten that length up
- The best thing about it: Color. Color. and Color!
Tech Specs from Octon
- DIAL: Black with Aurora Green detail /(Black Swiss Super-LumiNova® Grade X1)/
- BEZEL: Black with Aurora Green details /(120 click unidirectional 60 minute dive)/
- CRYSTAL: Domed Sapphire Crystal /(the crystal used is highly scratch resistant sapphire, complete with anti-reflective coating to prevent glare)/
- CASE: Stainless Steel — 300m/(316L surgical grade, 40mm diameter, 22mm lug width, 12mm height, and screwdown crown)/
- STRAP: Stainless Steel Bracelet
- MOVEMENT: one of three automatics
