AMERICAN BRANDS
By Gary Girdvainis
Deep Blue ’ s New Hues
When the press releases come in from Deep Blue showing its newest watches , you know you ’ re in for a happy horological moment . It still boggles the mind how the U . S . -based Deep Blue can put such a great kit of components and finished watch into such a small retail price . Lately our lead man at Deep Blue has broken away from traditional colors and added fashion-forward findings to the brand to create the Juggernaut V , the Rally Diver 1000 Swiss Automatic and the Ocean .
DIVER 500 . While these somewhat playful takes on timepieces may look like lightweight fun , the reality is that each and every one of these lively liberators of conventional coloration is built on a solid base that will take the abuse – and beg for use .
THREE SERIES Commonalties abound within each of the three series featured here , which is also a big part of why they can be made so well at such a low price .
In watchmaking , volume matters . If you can buy cases , movements and other components in larger quantities , you can ( if you choose ) pass the savings along the end customer .
As any micro-brand maker can attest , buying and building 500 watches can be an expensive endeavor on a per-unit basis . Double , treble or larger multiples will quickly bring pricing down . What Deep
Blue has done is to take the canvas of a solid 44mm case / crystal / bezel combination and painted radically differing pictures in timekeeping upon them .
Each watch in these collections shares the recently released Ronda Cal R150 automatic winding mechanical movement inside the 44mm by 15mm cases . For those not familiar with the R150 , Ronda first introduced it to the press in 2016 , but it has been slow to come to market inside branded watches . It beats at 28,800 with a typical power reserve at 40 hours , has 25 jewels and is similar in size and spec to the ETA 2824 series .
All three of these Deep Blue collections also feature AR-coated sapphire on the front as well as an exhibition back . One small difference in the case is that the Ocean Diver incorporates a helium-release valve to bump up the water resistance to 500 meters from 300 meters on the Pro-Diver design .
COLORS What ’ s clearly different are the dials , hands , straps , bracelets and colors . The effect of changing from any of the straps to a fully integrated bracelet creates a very different vibe . Matching or contrasting the panoply of colors with the right strap makes the most of Deep Blues new hues . Retail prices are in the $ 600- $ 800 range but Deep Blue often runs specials that seem almost too good to be true , so it ’ s always worth checking the site : www . deepbluewatches . com .
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