Manufacturer: Nezumi Studios | Price: £310 GBP ($375 USD, €335 EUR approx)
Nezumi Studios is one of those microbrands that you’ve probably never even heard of, until now! I only accidently stumbled upon Nezumi Studios whilst browsing YouTube for watch reviews and after watching the review I decided to reach out to David, the owner of Nezumi. A few days after my conversation with David the Nezumi Corbeau arrived.
Specifications
- Dimensions: Case Diameter – 40.2mm, Thickness – 12.6mm, Lug to Lug – 46.4mm, Lug Width – 20mm
- Movement: Seiko VK63 Hybrid Mecaquartz, Hackable
- Case Material: Brushed 316L Stainless Steel
- Strap: Premium Nylon NATO, Brushed Stainless Steel Signed Hardware
- Crystal: Double Domed Sapphire, Multiple AR Inner Coatings
- Bezel: 120 Click Unidirectional, Aluminium Insert
- Water Resistance: 5ATM / 50m / 165ft
- Lume: Swiss Super Luminova®
- Crown: Signed, Double Pushers Caseback: Screw Down, Deeply Stamped Nezumi Logo
- Warranty: 2 Years Where to Buy: Nezumi Studios Reference: Corbeau CQ1.102
- Options: Dial Colour: Black, Black/White, Green/Black, Grey/Black
Nezumi Studios - The Company
Nezumi Studios is a creative house for everything they are passionate about. From premium watchmaking, designer apparel to an in-house classic Porsche 911 club, Roughneck Brigade. What ties it all together is their attention to detail and genuine passion for heritage. As with all Nezumi Studios products their goal is “nothing less than perfection”.
David has been in the fashion industry for close to 20 years, involved in creative direction, product design, brand building, sourcing, as well as manufacturing for many of the worlds leading brands & retailers. After years of working with clients and their visions, David felt he needed a place where he could get creative freedom, that is how Nezumi Studios came about. I’d thoroughly recommend watching the following video showing how Nezumi Studios evolved into what it is today.
The Case
The Corbeau has a water resistance rating of 50m / 5 ATM. I do believe however, this could easily be increased with a screw down crown / pushers. Not that it matters to me, as the deepest water resistance rating I need is about 10″ when I’m doing the dishes! The finish of the case is phenomenal, with it’s entirety being brushed stainless steel. I have seen many brushed cases before but this one is an ideal example of how it should be done. The attention to detail is just on point! The proportions of the watch are, in my opinion, fantastic for my 7″ wrist. It just wears extremely well on wrist.
NATO Strap
The Corbeau comes as standard with a choice of very premium looking NATO straps. Black, burnt gold or grey. They are very nicely made with excellent stitching and brushed, signed, stainless steel hardware. I’ve never been a fan of NATO straps so as soon as the watch arrived I whipped off the NATO and replaced it with a LuffStrap Elastico G2 in grey which I think matches this grey & black version of the Corbeau perfectly.
Movement
The Seiko SII VK63 as used in the Nezumi Studios Corbeau is part of the hybrid mechanical quartz (mecaquartz) movement line. It is a chronograph movement that uses quartz technology for the main functions of the watch, and a mechanical module for operating the chronograph. Seiko states that the expected accuracy of this movement is less than +/- 20 seconds per month! The battery life is around 3 years with normal operation.
Dial & Bezel
The dial has very neatly printed arabics all round less the 3, 6 & 9 which have been replaced with the chronograph dials. Talking of the dials, we have a 12/24hr dial at the 3 o’clock position, a running 60 seconds dial at the 6 o’clock and a 60 minute timer at 9 o’clock. The logo is printed and the model text above the 6 o’clock dial is neatly done and very legible. As you can see, this watch isn’t a diver but it does have one of the best bezel actions available. The best word to describe it is, lush! Silky smooth with zero backplay and everything lines up 100% perfectly. Other companies should take note!
The hour and minute hands are of the syringe style and they are perfectly in proportion to the dial and actually suit this chronograph field watch extremely well. The lume used on the Corbeau is Swiss Super Luminova® but I have no idea which type as I can’t find any details anywhere. This dial colour of grey with the black dials is the one I’d choose. In fact, after writing this review I’m going to email David @ Nezumi to see if I can buy it. I NEED to add it to my own collection.
Conclusion
Nezumi Studios – I have nothing more to say other than, Brilliant! Great job.