Manufacturer: Audric Watches | Price: $600 USD (£465 GBP, €535 EUR approx)
Today we have something new! It’s the Seaborne, the first release from a new microbrand, Audric watches. It’s a chunky chap with a definite presence on wrist but first impressions are fairly positive. There’s a few cool/fun colour options available, so when Audric offered to send us a prototype to review here at ZR, we jumped at the chance. It’s always nice to be able to see what new microbrands are doing and how they’re thinking. Often, their first model is their purest design as it’s not been inspired or affected by past successes or otherwise. So, without further ado, let’s see what we have here…
Specifications
- Dimensions: Diameter – 43mm, Thickness – 15.4mm, Lug to Lug – 51mm, Lug Width – 22mm
- Movement: Sellita SW200-1 Elabore, Automatic, 28,800vph (4Hz), Hackable, Self Winding, 38hr Power Reserve
- Case Material: Brushed 316L Stainless Steel with Polished Accents
- Bracelet: Brushed 316L Stainless Steel, 5-Link, Solid End Links, Screw Pins, Signed Milled Ratcheting Clasp
- Crystal: Flat Sapphire, 5 Layers of Underside Anti-Reflective Coating
- Bezel: 120 Click Unidirectional, Sapphire Insert, Fully Lumed
- Water Resistance: 500m / 50ATM / 1640ft
- Lume: Swiss SuperLuminova® BGW9
- Crown: Screw Down, Signed and Lumed
- Caseback: Screw Down, Etched Turtle Logo
- Warranty: 1 Year
- Where to Buy: Coming to KickStarter Soon!
- Options: Colour – Black, Grey, Green & Powder Blue
Audric Watches - The Company
Case & Crown
The case is a chunky lump of solid 316L Stainless Steel. For a 500m watch I expected a decent heft and accompanying wrist presence and the Seaborne delivers in that regard. At 15.4mm thick, it’s not the easiest watch to be tucking under a shirt cuff, but that wasn’t why this watch was built. It was built as a tool and that is what it does – no complaints. At 43mm wide and 51mm lug to lug, the size is manageable if a little on the larger side of things. Given the current trend for smaller watch sizes, the Seaborne ensures that the larger wristed folks amongst us are not being left by the wayside.
In terms of the finishing, overall it’s pretty good. There’s a mixture of predominantly brushed surfaces, with a few polished accents thrown in for good measure and some sandblasting on the sides of the case in the recessed parts. The level of the brushing is quite subtle too. I like the recesses in the side of the case as they add an extra level of depth and detail to the case, showing that some thought has gone into the design. I want to also add that the case’s lines are quite angular, yet at the same time, they’re also somewhat svelte and curved. This is a really clever and purposeful case design as it effortlessly blends the tool-watch chic with some dressier aspirations (despite the size). Nice work guys!
The water resistance of the Seaborne is rated to 500m or 50ATM (or 1640ft for you imperials). There’s also a helium escape valve at 9 o’clock too. 500m is a whole lotta’ depth and as a personal opinion, I think it’s a bit overkill. 99.9% of people are not going to be in a situation where they require a 500m WR rating over, say, a 300m rating. I personally think 200-300m is the sweet spot, especially seeing as the most extreme action that most watches will see is a hotel pool or paddling around in the surf whilst on holiday. I know it might look and sound better written on the dial, but it’s pretty much just a vanity thing in my opinion. Just because you can have these things, it doesn’t mean you should…
The helium escape valve is for use by saturation divers – and I mean no disrespect, but a professional saturation diver is unlikely to consider this watch as their tool of choice, or many other microbrand for that fact. If anything all it does is add a potential point of failure. Indeed, around the edge of the valve hole, there’s some rough machining and the valve looks like it’s been forced in rather roughly. Probably not quite enough to be a cause for concern (Edit: Akshay has acknowledged this issue and it will be fixed at production) but enough that’s worth mentioning. I personally think that forgoing the HEV and leaving that 9 o’clock edge bare would have been a better idea. Again, just my opinion!
It’s worth saying that the above points on 500m WR and the helium escape valve are not solely directed towards Audric. Many brands use (abuse?) both of these features regularly, but in my opinion they’re somewhat useless for most people. By removing them, the brands could reduce the size a little bit and also reduce the costs. I think that would appeal to a lot of enthusiasts just as much? Just a thought!
The proportions of the watch are surprisingly nice for my 7″ wrist, despite the 51mm lug to lug distance. The Seaborne wears well enough, but some people may need to get a little used to the weight. At a recent RedBar Manchester meeting, the Seaborne was described as a potential weapon by more than one onlooker! Not an issue for me, as I do like a bit of heft and I like to know my watch is still on my wrist! Heck, I used to like the big, chunky, original 3G Motorola phones for the same reason. You know the ones that were literally like a small brick? Yeah, well I was one of those people and I like to think I rocked that mobile brick like a boss…I digress!
The signed crown is good and chunky and matches the case. It looks great with its fully lumed logo too. There is barely any wobble when the crown is in use and you can also feel a solid ‘pop’ as you unscrew it. The edging of the crown is similar to that of the bezel, but it’s just different enough to be a slight missed opportunity. Matching the two styles properly would create more cohesiveness throughout the watch’s design. The bezel uses a boxy/angular scalloping, whereas the crown is more rounded. It’s not a dealbreaker by any means, but still would have been nice.
Bracelet
The Seaborne comes with a solid stainless steel bracelet as standard. Nice to see Audric include this right off the bat rather than hide it away behind a stretch goal. Plus points from me right there! The bracelet itself is 316L stainless steel and it’s very nice. It’s a substantial 4mm thick. One of my common complaints with bracelets is that they can be a bit ‘thin’ for my liking and they can throw off the weight balance of the watch.
The Seaborne has nailed it here and done a very good job. The bracelet style is a cross between a 5-link and engineer type. If there’s a specific name for it, I don’t know it!! Let me know in the comments! Oh…and the middle links are polished, FYI. This is quite a subjective point, but given the polished accents on the case, it complements the overall design rather well.
The clasp is a ratcheting one and it’s the standard type we’re seeing in many microbrand divers. It’s signed with a nice etched logo. Often this type of clasp can feel a little unwieldy as it’s quite long (40mm) but here it fits the aesthetic very well. On the above point about the welcome chunkiness of the bracelet, this clasp would not work as well on a thinner bracelet so well done guys! The clasp works exactly as expected, but it is a little sharp on some of the edges. Again, this is not on Audric per se, as I’d had the exact same issue with these clasps from other brands. Seems to be a common theme. Maybe another point that could be addressed at production perhaps?
Movement
The movement here is the Sellita SW200-1. This is fast becoming a very popular Swiss movement of choice for simple three hand automatics. As the ETA supply becomes throttled and more difficult to find, we’re seeing this movement used more and more often. It’s a solid choice though and keeps very good time.
The Audric website seems to suggest that they’ve created a custom rotor for it, but I don’t see the point of that added cost as it’s (quite rightly) hidden behind the etched caseback? The Sellita isn’t an ‘ugly’ movement at all, but it’s nothing that demands being shown off either. Anyway, great solid movement choice here.