Manufacturer: Dificiano Watches | Price: $319 USD (€290 EUR, £260 GBP approx)
I’ve been looking forward to getting my hands on a Dificiano Marlin for quite some time. I remember seeing this sports diver before their Kickstarter campaign started, but I never really paid much attention. However, after reading a couple of other reviews and seeing the watch pop up more often in news & sub feeds, I decided to reach out to Dificiano to see if I could borrow a press sample to have a closer look at it. To cut a long story short and to give a short verdict; I want one!!
Specifications
- Dimensions: Case Diameter – 39.9mm (41.4mm at Bezel), Thickness – 13.6mm, L2L – 49.2mm, Lug Width – 20mm
- Movement: Seiko NH35 Automatic, 21,600vph (3Hz), Hackable, Self Winding, 41hr Power Reserve
- Case Material: Fully Brushed 316L Marine Grade Stainless Steel
- BoR Bracelet: Brushed 316L Stainless Steel, Polished Sides, Solid End-Links, Screw-Pins, Milled Clasp
- Crystal: Double Domed Sapphire, Multiple Anti-Reflective Coatings (Innerside)
- Bezel: 120 Click Unidirectional, Ceramic Insert, Fully Lumed
- Water Resistance: 30ATM / 300m / 990ft
- Lume: Swiss Super Luminova® BGW9 & C3 (Multiple Layers)
- Crown: Signed, Triple Sealed, Screw Down Caseback: Screw Down with Marlin Logo
- Warranty: 1 Year Where to Buy: DificianoWatches.com
- Options: Dial Colour/Lumed Chapter Ring: Grey/Blue, Dark Blue, Black/Orange, Silver/Blue
Dificiano Watches - The Company
One of the reasons why watch lovers are very enthusiastic about vintage watches is because of their fascinating design. Dificiano Watches fuse this timeless design with modern materials bringing it bang up to date, creating a watch that is not only aesthetically beautiful, reliable, affordable and but is ultimately, the perfect choice for an everyday watch. Dificiano Watches first model, the Marlin, was initially available on Kickstarter, however it is now available to pre-order directly on Dificiano Watches website with delivery later this year, in November 2019.
The Case
The Marlin has a water resistance rating of 300m / 30 ATM, thanks to the screw-down caseback & crown. The proportions of the watch, in my opinion, are spot on for my 7″ wrist. The Marlin just wears so well on wrist and is extremely comfortable! Did I mention it has drilled lugs too making strap changes super easy!? The crown is fitted with triple seals and the fit & finish is superb with absolutely zero wobble when the crown is at its fully extended position.
Bracelet
The Marlin comes fitted as standard with a beads of rice bracelet. The links themselves are all brushed but have polished sides and the fully milled clasp has a twin push-button release on the sides as well as a divers extension that has the same release mechanism. There are also three micro-adjustment holes to ensure that perfect fit. Overall, it’s everything you would want in a bracelet, extremely well made with an outstanding fit & finish. Great stuff! Well done Dificiano!!
The brushed beads of rice bracelet tapers from 20mm at the lugs to 18mm and back up to 20mm at the milled clasp and as previously mentioned, it is of superb quality. Sized up for my 7″ wrist I had to remove a few links, which was easy enough with the screw pins for adjusting & re-sizing. Solid end links, milled clasp that is also signed with the Dificiano logo are also present on this great bracelet. Additionally, the clasp has chamfered edges which is also a very nice touch.
Movement
The chosen movement for the Marlin is the microbrand go-to movement of choice, the super-reliable Seiko NH35. A great workhorse that is a 21,600vph, 3Hz, 24 jewel movement with a 41hr power reserve, self winding and of course hacking. Checking the accuracy after running the Marlin for a few days, mainly on my wrist and occasionally in my Barrington Watch Winder, I thought the accuracy was very good and well within tolerances, with it showing an average of +6.0spd.
Dial, Bezel & Lume
The hour and minute hands are quite simply, perfectly in proportion to the dial and are one of my favourite style hands that I’ve come across. They actually suit the overall aesthetic extremely well and actually match the chose style of applied indices. The seconds hand is great too, being colour matched to the chapter ring with its lollipop lumed part half way down the hand whilst the tip of the hand reaches all the way out to the minute track. The lume used on the Marlin is Super Luminova® BGW9 as well as C3 and it’s been applied very well. It is bright and does last a hell of a long time.
Conclusion
The Dificiano Marlin is yet another surpise. I initially thought, ffs, here we go again, another start up made by a bunch of numpties who don’t have a clue about what enthusiasts want in a watch. But I was wrong. The Marlin is a fantastic watch and I could tell, as soon as I picked it up for the first time, I just knew that this watch had been designed by watch enthusiasts. It’s hard to put into words, but just the overall finish, the bezel action, the crown and the way the brushing is done, it’s just excellent. And oh yeah, this is a bloody prototype I have here, I don’t think it’ll be possible for Dificiano to make this any better for the production model. As I previously mentioned at the start of this review, I want one!!
