COMPANY: DELTATt
Website: http://www.deltatwatch.com/products.php?collection_id=3&product_id=19
Model: SoRa 1918 M2C
Specifications:
Movement:
Japan Time Module (Seiko) Automatic Movement Cal. NH37
Manual/Automatic winding
24 jewels
21,600 vibrations per hour
more than 41 hours power reserve
Hands:
Hour, Minute, Second, and 24 hours hand
Lumed Hour, Minute, Second hand
Hacking seconds
Case:
44mm diameter
10.8mm thick
PVD Antique Copper Plated 316L Stainless Steel
Brushed finishing
Dial:
Lumed Dial
Metal index with diagonal brush
Crown:
10mm diameter pumpkin shaped crown
Crystal:
Sapphire Crystal with anti-reflection coating
Aviation has always been a facination of mine since I was a small boy. I remember trying to wrap my head around the concept of how something so big could gracefully glide across the sky. It’s pretty amazing that the pioneers of aviation were able to pull off such an amazing accomplishment given the limited technology of that time period. There’s an interesting story that is attached to this style of watch like the SoRa 1918 and I will share it with you from their website:
“Alberto Santos-Dumont, an aviation pioneer, made complain to his friend, Louis Cartier, about the inconvenience of using pocket watch during his flight, Cartier, thereafter, developed the first pilot watch. It is also known as the first mass-produced wristwatch. Later during the First Boer War, development and production of watches have a substantial growth due to the great need of coordinating troop movements and synchronizing attacks. Since 1917, the British War Department began giving soldiers wristwatches. At that time, one soldier in every four wore a watch, and the other three have to get one soon as they could. Until the end of the war, almost every soldier was given a watch. After war, wearing a watch has become a fashion.”
That’s the tribute that DELTAt is going for with their SoRa 1918 watch. Upon first site of this watch you can immediately see the vintage inspiration. The case instantly reminded me of my great grandfathers pocket watch. DELTAt went an extra step with the M2C model by using PVD Antique Copper Plated 316L Stainless Steel with brushed finishing which adds to the vintage look of this watch. For those of you who don’t want to wait for natural patina to form, DELTAt took care of that for you.
Two things on this case that are very hard to ignore and that have that great vintage feel are the oversized pumpkin crown and the lugs. The crown is just awesome! In the days of old pilots wore gloves and if they had to adjust their watch for any reason they needed a large crown that was easy to grip while wearing gloves. This is the inspiration behind the crown on the M2C. I really like the fact that they made this a screw down style crown. This certainly adds to the WR capabilities of the M2C which is 200m/660 ft, that’s really nice for a pilot style watch.
The screw down stainless steel case back on the M2C is really nice, especially for a watch that comes in at under $600. The etched case back features a nice pic of a vintage 1918 era airplane, Red Baron style! This case back looks good and also features info about the M2C including the LE number out of 100.
The dial is stunning. First the matte black back drop sets this dial up for success from the get go. Not only from a personal preference point of view, but also from a photographing point of view matte black is so nice to photograph. What DELTAt did on this dial that I like a whole lot is the way they styled the indices. The numbers are brushed which adds such rugged look to this dial. I believe that polished numbers would have looked to “fashion” and not consistent with theme of this watch.
The hands on this watch are very consistent of pilot watches of the 1918 time era but with a modern touch. The three main hands are polished and are coated with lume. The hands are proportioned perfectly with the size of the dial. There is a sub dial located at the 10/11 o’clock position on the dial. The small blue hand offers a hint of color to the matte black dial. This sub dial is a 24 hr. The outer edge of the dial features a “railroad” track style minute track with small red numbers that count 1 through 23.
Ticking away in this watch is the Seiko Cal. NH37 which has a power reserve of 41 hours and an accuracy rate of -10 ~ 30 seconds per day rate. A reliable movement for sure.
I am all about watch straps as I am sure most of you guys are and the strap on M2C surely doesn’t disappoint. At first look it looks like your standard pilot strap with rivots, black leather and white stitching, which of course looks good. But when you further under further investigation you will find the awesomeness that is this straps hidden secret. It has a quick buckling system that works as smooth as butter. The buckle has a glide roller that stays between the two layers of leather. The buckle doesn’t actually come out from the leather layers as they are held together by a rivot. This allows for a quick release and re-buckle. But that’s not all, there are not edges from the buckle or stay that can catch on clothing especially if wearing the watch on the outside of a flight suit. It also creates a very clean look when the strap is on the wrist.
The M2C is an awesome vintage themed watch that is a lot of fun to wear and looks great on the wrist. The finishing on the case is well done and looks pretty natural. I would definitely recommend this watch to anyone looking for a vintage themed pilot watch who doesn’t want to break the bank doing so. It’s a watch that comes on a fantastic strap that also has great water resistance, an awesome screw down crown and a killer dial to boot. The M2C wears great on the wrist and is quite comfortable as well.
If the vintage style case finishing isn’t your thing, the 1918 SoRa comes in different variations. These variations can be checked out in further detail on DELTAt’s website.
I want to personally thank DELTAt for the honor and opportunity to do this review.
Thank you for reading!
Wrist is 7 1/2″ for reference:
Time to Blog Watches 