Manufacturer: AEVIG | Price: €449 EUR ($510 USD, £405 GBP approx)
Introducing the AEVIG Huldra v2, a vintage inspired dive watch reminiscent of the 1960’s & 1970’s. The Huldra v2 features a compact cushion case paired with a modern jubilee bracelet for maximum comfort and style. The signature part of its appearance are the hexagonal applied indices based on the AEVIG logo.
Specifications
- Dimensions: Case Diameter – 42.1mm , Thickness – 12.9mm, Lug to Lug – 46.4mm, Lug Width – 22mm
- Movement: Miyota 9015 Automatic, 28,800vph (4Hz), Hackable, Self Winding, 42hr Power Reserve
- Case Material: Brushed 316L Stainless Steel with Polished Sides, Drilled Lugs
- Weight: 151g on Bracelet (Sized) Extras: Nil
- Bracelet: Brushed 316L Stainless Steel, Polished Sides, Solid End-Links, Screw-Pins, Milled & Signed Clasp
- Crystal: Double Domed Sapphire, AR Coating
- Bezel: 120 Click Unidirectional, Polished Enamel Insert, Fully Lumed
- Water Resistance: 20ATM / 200m / 660ft
- Lume: Swiss Super Luminova® C3
- Crown: Signed, Screw Down, Polished Caseback: Screw Down Stainless Steel, Deeply Etched AEVIG Logo
- Warranty: 2 Years, International Where to Buy: AEVIG
- Options: Date / No Date | Colours: Black, Black & Blue, Green, Orange, Teal
AEVIG - The Company
AEVIG was founded in 2013 by Chip Yuen, a long time watch collector focusing mainly on vintage watches from the 50’s to the 70’s. Collecting lead him to the worlds largest watch community, Watchuseek, where Chip eventually designed two project watches and started his journey into his own company.
AEVIG started with two models, the Corvid quartz and the Huldra diver. By popular demand, the Corvid field-watch was upgraded to a Swiss STP automatic movement. The retro Huldra diver has also been updated and is the watch I have here today.
Except for the movements, everything is designed and made from scratch. Every design is unique and serve a purpose in its category. From a dress watch to a diver, the encompassing theme is vintage inspired. Elements that define a specific watch category are picked and scrutinized, taking only the best form drawn for comfort, aesthetics and last but not least, function.
The Case
The case of the Huldra is 42.1mm. The lug to lug is 46.4mm and the overall thickness, including the double domed sapphire crystal I measured at 12.9mm. The entire case, bezel, caseback, crown and bracelet are all 316L stainless steel. The Huldra also has a water resistance rating of 200m / 20 ATM, thanks to the screw-down caseback & crown.
The finish of the case is brushed with polished sides. The proportions are, in my opinion, very good! Not too big, not too small and will fit the majority of wrist sizes. Although it’s 42mm, it wears much more like a 40mm watch. With regards to the crown, it is polished to match the sides of the case.
Bracelet
The bracelet of the AEVIG Huldra v2 is nicely made and has all the features that you could possibly want; solid end links, screw pins for resizing and a signed milled clasp with divers extension. The links are brushed with polished sides to match the case and the milled clasp has a fold-over locking mechanism as well as the twin push-button release on the sides. There are also three micro-adjustment holes to make sure you get a lovely fit.
You will receive a leather & NATO strap with the watch though, so if you have a wrist size of 7″ and below, at least you’ll have options to fit something more appropriate to your wrist. As soon as I received the watch, I quickly swapped it out for a Luff Straps Elastico G2 that you can see in the pictures.
Movement
The chosen movement for the AEVIG Huldra is the smooth sweep, high beat, ultra-reliable Miyota 9015. The 9015 is a slim Japanese made 28,800vph, 24 jewel movement regularly compared to the Swiss made ETA 2824-2. Checking the accuracy after running the AEVIG Huldra for around a week, mainly on my wrist and occasionally in my Barrington Watch Winder, I was more than happy with the results, with it showing an average of +6.3spd.
Dial & Bezel
The AEVIG Huldra has a 120 click unidirectional bezel with a fully lumed enamel insert. It is of excellent quality and everything lines up perfectly. The bezel action is great, quite notchy but with a nice solid feel with zero backplay. The bezel is printed in the corresponding colour option then filled with clear enamel then polished flush. After speaking to Chip Yuen, the owner of AEVIG, he assured me that this process assures better lume as it can be printed thicker and then the enamel is poured and molded over. I usually prefer a matt ceramic bezel insert but I have to say, the insert of the Huldra does look good, especially at night or in low light situations.
The dial has very neatly applied hexagonal indices with a silver border around each of them, all of which are pumped full of lume. The logo at the 12 o’clock position matches the indices perfectly and is also fully lumed. I like this a lot and I’m surprised no other brands have applied their logo in this way. The text on the dial is nicely printed and very legible. The hour and minute hands are great in my opinion and suit the dial very nicely. I also like the seconds hand with its fully lumed rectangular section and how the rest of the hand reaches right out all the way to the edge of the minute track.
I actually have two of the v2 Huldra divers that Chip from AEVIG sent over for review and I asked everyone in our Facebook group WatchChat, what they preferred, the dial with a date or with a no date. Surprisingly, around 75% opted for no date, with most of them saying it made the dial look cleaner. I personally always want a date complication on my dial, especially when it’s done correctly and placed at the 6 o’clock position. Just to nit-pick a little on the Huldra, I would have preferred a colour matched date wheel, but I suppose you can’t have everything.
Conclusion
This watch from AEVIG actually surprised me. When I first seen the watch renders on their website, I thought it looked ok, but I wasn’t really blown away or had that urge that I had to get one in for review. However, when the watches turned up at my address, my actual words were, “oooo, f*ck! that’s nice!!”
If I was buying the AEVIG Huldra for myself, which I’m extremely tempted to do, I’d choose the orange version with a date window and the steel bezel insert. I think it looks absolutely gorgeous!
AEVIG – Excellent job, I love it! Very well done.
9.5/10
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED – 9.5 / 10
A huge thank you to Chip Yuen from AEVIG for sending out the Huldra v2 for review so promptly.
Chip, expect an email from me very soon inquiring about the orange / steel bezel version.
To view the AEVIG website, or to join their mailing list to be informed of updates and new models, visit AEVIG.