Company: Panzera
Website: http://panzera-style.com/aquamarine-a45-02r/
About:
PANZERA was conceived by two Sydney based founding partners who were inspired to create contemporary versions of classic, “vintage style” watches.
The design objective: to capture the soul of classic watches and incorporate contemporary features; which can be observed from, size, dial design through to the latest mechanical movements, case materials and modern day functions. Lastly make them accessible to a large number of people at a sensible price point.
Our current range line-up was formed around the three conceptual elements of: AIR – LAND – SEA, which is represented in the PANZERA brand logo.
Model: Aquamarine 45
Specifications:
MOVEMENT
Miyota Japanese 820A
Self-Winding Mechanical
Day Function (English & Spanish)
Date Function
21 Jewels
21,600bpm
WATER RESISTANCE
200m
20ATM
CASE
45mm diameter
316L Surgical Grade Stainless Steel
Screw Down Case Back
Screw Down Double Crown
IP Black Matte Finish
The Panzera Aquamine 45 Pacific Decent(PD) is in today for review and I’m going to take a look at their latest edition to the growing collection. The PD is Panzera’s take on a dive style watch. The first thing of notice is the large vintage inspired case which comes in at 45mm. The case and bezel are IP black matte finished which gives the PD an under the radar type of feel. The matte black finish is well done and it looks stunning in natural lighting. The solid short lugs flow off the case nicely, and allows the PD to wear within the 45 mm case size. If the lugs were longer it would definitley change the way the PD wears on the wrist.
It seems to be a common theme lately with dive style watches to have a fixed bezel. I personally prefer to have a unidirectional bezel on my dive watches. It’s a very used feature especially when I’m in the water. The fixed bezel comes up to meet the flat sapphire crystal which has a double coating of AR. The crystal is very clear and allows viewing the dial from all angles without distorting the dial.
Crowns are one of my favorite parts on a watch case if they are done right. Thankfully Panzera doesn’t disappoint me here on the PD. The large crown is so easy to grip and unscrew thanks to the machined edges and what I really like is the smooth line that divides the the crown in half. There’s a really cool anchor logo on the crown that steps up the awesomeness. Best of all the logo lines up straight when the crown is fully screwed down.
The solid screw down case back looks good as well. The Panzera name and anchor dress up the case back giving it a great piece of detail. Everything on the case is matte black finished this continues right down to the buckle on the strap.
Speaking of the strap, this strap is something special. When I first looked at it I though it was a standard black leather strap with silver stitching. Once I handled the strap I quickly realized that I was handling leather, but in fact I was handling a silicone strap. It’s silky soft to touch and the stitching is a nice touch of detail. It gives the appearence of leather and dresses up the strap beautifully.
I love a interesting detailed but balanced dial, something that offers a bit of uniqueness without going over the top becoming a cluttered mess. The PD is balanced, with some great little details that make it different enough from other divers in its price range. The skeletonized hands were the first detail to jump out at me. The hands are quite beautiful and proportioned perfectly to the dial itself and wide enough where you can actually see through enough to see the dial underneath. I can’t say enough good things about the hands on this watch and the red tip on the second hand is just another testament of little details that can separate a watch from the other watches on the field.
The little touches of red detail can be found throughout this dial and it’s something that adds a great deal of detail by going small like the number 12 and the small arrow on the date window. The day/date wheel is awesome because Panzera kept it small and also used black wheels with white printing. It’s spectacular when the hour/minute hands come across the day/date window and you can still read it because of the skeletonized hands. It’s just awesome. The rectangle shaped applied indices add depth to this dial which I think was a smart choice by Panzera because this dial is large. Large dials can look off if there isn’t the right amount of detail or if there is too much cluttered detail. Panzera kept it simple, but with enough little details to make this dial beautiful.
A dive watch wouldn’t be complete without some sort of lume. The PD doesn’t disappoint either. Since the PD is null of a rotating bezel Panzera did include a lumed triangle above the 12 o’clock marker. On either side of the the triangle are 2 small circles as well. I really like this little added detail which gives you a good reference point in low lighting scenarios. The lume could be a bit stronger on the PD though, it’s good, but not great.
Ticking away inside the PD is the Miyota Japanese 820A. This movement has an accuracy rate of -20/+40 seconds per day rate. The power reserve is 40 hours and has 21 jewels. The movement is made by Citizen and is used often as an alternative to the ETA movements.
The PD wears really comfortable on the wrist which can be attributed with the short lugs and the super soft silicone strap. I like the case shape on this watch as well. Gives it a bit of a break from the norm of other dive style watches. There’s a lot of things that really work well on the PD, the hands, dial, crown and the strap. All these details make the PD a great offering for someone looking for a dive style watch that thinks a little outside of the box.
My only nit picky complaints on the PD is the lack of a rotating bezel or rotating inner bezel and the lume brightness. I think that both are important and useful details. They are not a deal breakers, but it comes down to personal preference and individual use of a watch. Coming in at $575 I personally believe that you get a good deal of watch for the price. An outside of the box(but not too much) dive watch with a good amount of water resistance of 200m and packed full a subtle details.
I want to personally thanks Panzera for this opportunity to review this watch and thank you all for reading!
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