Watch Review: Strumento Macchinista Ocean Bomber II

A brand new year is upon us and it’s a start of a new journey for me both in my personal life and in my watch reviewing life. I had a lot of time to self reflect and to grow. I want my personal growth to carryover into my watch review/work. It’s very important to me to continue and move forward without staying stagnant. This year I am focusing on quality over quantity as I enter my 6th year of my blog. I am focused on watches that inspire me on a multitude of levels, and today’s watch is exactly what I am talking about. Today’s watch encompasses a passion directly from the watchmaker’s hand infused into all aspects of this watch, the Ocean Bomber II.

Strumento Macchinista is a company that is very inspiring to me because I can relate quite a bit with the man behind the brand. A one man operation that is very enthusiastic and passionate about watches and what is put out there. Nirut’s passion is apparent in every aspect of the Ocean Bomber II. The large stainless steel case is nothing short of awesome in terms of sheer size and overall execution. The wide bezel makes that initial statement straight out of the box.

If I were to try to make the Ocean Bomber even more awesome, I would have filled the arrow on the bezel with luminous material. This would have added more functionality and aesthetics to this bezel. As for the actual mechanics of this bezel rotation, it rotates extremely well with extremely smooth action and with precision. There is absolutely no extra play and the smooth ratcheting is “music to the ears”.

I am pleased that the bezel is easy to grip which can be associated with the large size of the bezel and the edges that the fingers grasp nicely. I am definitely a bezel-bater, I can’t help but to play with my watch bezel. So satisfying. I really like the thinner style of the numerals on the bezel which sit well on the brushed stainless steel wide bezel.

The OB II has a large stainless steel case with full brushed finish. Not a bit of polish on this case which is how I prefer a finish on a watch like this. This case is a serious piece of metal. I really like Nirut’s choice to have the lugs angle sharply down and having it solid stainless steel across keeping the lugs on the short side. Keeping the lugs short definitely cuts back on wrist overhang, especially for those with smaller wrists.

The hidden lug style on the OB-2 gives a more unique profile to the watch itself. How can these lugs get any better? Well if they were drilled of course and it just so happens that these lugs are drilled. The large screw down crown certainly keeps consistent with the rest of this watch. Consistent because the crown is easy to grip, easy to operate, all with extreme smoothness. Normally I’d nit pick about an unsigned crown, but the OB II simplicity adds to the sterile beauty of this piece. This sterile beauty is also carried out onto the screw down case back, “OB-2 No. 100.” Simplistic and yet fuckin beautiful.

The dial definitely doesn’t disappoint on the OB II. That simplistic beauty shines on with this dial as well. The hands are so killer. In my opinion the shape, size and color were nailed by Nirut. The long, yellow second hand definitely gets noticed and with deserved attention. The unique elongated triangular shape is what makes this hand so perfect. It would have been perfection personified if it had some lume treatment added, but the lack of lume there is definitely made up for on the minute and hour hand. These hands glow bright. The shape and color of each hand set against the matte black dial adds to the great legibility of the OB II. The wide, squared shape of the hour hand looks fantastic, as does the arrow tip of the minute hand. Consistency is a theme that carries the OB II from average diver to something special in my opinion. The application of the markers are done with precision and being set inside of the gray minute track brings this dial into a beautiful finished execution. The dial text is kept to a nice minimum as well as you can see by the pics.

The OB II is a prime example of what is nice about a watch that is produced by a nano-brand The number of watches produced is small and typically the watch maker does the quality control allowing for a damn near perfect watch experience. This is no fluke either. This is my second review of one of Nirut’s watches and they are getting better each time. I love his passion and his unique eye for detail. This is the kind of watch that inspires me on a multitude of levels. It definitely stands out in the vast sea of uninspired, unimaginative designs that is flooding the market right now. I definitely respect those who stick to their vision without compromising/conforming to current trends.

I have no reservations about recommending the OB II to anyone looking for a unique dive watch that has great attention to detail and has beautiful overall execution. A few of my simple nit picky suggestions would bring about a more perfect version of the OB II, which are adding lume to the bezel and to the second hand( the second hand is extremely visible because of the color) Of course there are so many things that I love about the OB II, the dial, the hands, the case design/size, the domed crystal, ect…. A great watch to kick off the new year with, my new chapter in life’s ever growing journey.

Thank you all for making 2018 amazing and I look forward to sharing 2019 with you all.

A very special thanks to Nirut for creating these passionate designs.

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