Raymond Chan is the man behind Andersmann watches. A dive watch enthusiast who decided to take his passion for watches to the next level and started his own company. Andersmann has been creating some awesome watches for over 7 years.
From the Andersmann website:
Maker of superior dive watches. Andersmann focuses on QUALITY, CLASSIC and MINIMALISTIC DESIGN dive watches. All of our watches are assembled in Bienne, Switzerland where is claimed to be the heart of Swiss watch making industry. Our watches are made using best quality grade stainless steel, sapphire crystals, and Swiss automatic movements. These components are made and assembled in Switzerland by highly skilled watchmakers. The combination of all these with superb finishing made our watches comparable to world top watch brands.
Our watches are geared towards all Swiss watch lovers and collectors, who looking for quality watches selling at a reasonable price.
Quality Assurance
Andersmann is on the front line to ensure the quality of its creations. All Andersmann dive watches have passed water resistance and pressure tests conducted by Metallo-Tests SA, an independent laboratory in Switzerland. All Andersmann watches can withstand the pressure it stated.
Craftsmanship
Creating a quintessential timepiece requires two essential elements: Timeless design and meticulous craftsmanship. In Andersmann, we handpick only the highest quality materials and artisans to masterfully actualize the design with a state-of-the-art functionality. Every Andersmann dive watch is an exquisite work of art.
Andersmann makes limited number of watches per model, in fact, they make between 80 to 100 watches per model. The Oceanmaster was one of the first watches that Andersmann released years ago. Today we will explore this watch together, dissecting each detail of the dial and the case.
The blasted case of the classic Andersmann OCEANMASTER I definitely catches your attention as soon as you open up the small pelican style box the watch is delivered in. You certainly can’t mistake the design of an Andersmann case. The glass bead blasted finish just adds to that badass wrist presence that I love about Andersmann watches. The 47mm case wears nicely on the wrist, especially when you don’t let measurements on paper scare you off before giving a watch a try first hand. There are so many details to love on the Oceanmaster I, but two of my favorites are pretty cliché me. Can you guess?!?
If you guessed the crown, then you are half way there. Screw down style is my favorite and preferred choice. There’s something about a push/pull crown that just leaves me feeling disappointed. It’s like the watch company decided how can we cut some corners and save a bit of money?!? That may not be the case, but that’s how push/pull crowns make me feel. The angular shape of the Oceanmaster crown allows for easy grip and operation. And while we are speaking of operation, the Oceanmasters crown functions smooth like butter when screwing/unscrewing it and when setting the time. Even with automatic movements, there’s some cathartic quality when you wind a watch manually. The Oceanmaster winding action feels like a dream. It’s that preciseness that Andersmann is known for.
The same angular design of the crown is carried over to the bezel. Andersmann doing that lovely consistency of details carry-over. Andersmann also carried over their attention to precision over into how the bezel operates. I use the bezel on my watches numerous times throughout the day, both at work and during my outdoor adventures. A bezel needs to be accessible in terms of easy grip, smooth operation, without extra play….precise sums it up. A bezel must be precise and Andersmann knows how to execute precision in both aesthetics and more importantly functional precision. We live in a technological world where our phones have become our go-to so many functions….time, photos, internet, music. I still prefer using my watch because there’s an old school romanticism about it Vs using a soulless phone.
You know how I love a solid caseback, occasionally it’s cool too see a watch movement. Inside this case is the ETA2892-A2. a true workhorse movement created by ETA SA Manufacture Horlogère Suisse. The movement consists of a balance wheel, hairspring and an ETACHRON regulator. .I have seen so many watch movements in my watch nerd days, that it excites me more to see a solid case back though Andersmann did add some lovely details to this movement.
What helps me battle a rough day?!? Like Mondays for example, when it’s is on like god damn Donkey Kong! I like to arm myself with a great watch that gives me something good to focus on throughout my day. The Andersmann Oceanmaster I was my choice for many of my battles with the Monday blues. I love the signature blue second hand on the Oceanmaster. It’s just the right amount of color to give this sandwich dial a finishing touch to this dial. As I have said a million times already about Andersmann watches, they are full of details that are executed so damn precise. The sandwich dial here is no exception to what I’ve been preaching. The hands are are beautifully done in both length, width and execution. Back in the day, I was never a fan of polished hands, but over the years they have grown on me, especially the more I have gotten into photography. Polished hands are not my first choice by any means, but I do appreciate them and how they catch the light. Anyone who knows me, knows that I don’t like any shiny details on my watches. It’s not something that companies necessarily get wrong, it just comes down to my personal preferences. The only time I will say a company gets it wrong is when the do high polished details on the case of a tool watch or a dive watch.
The matte black sandwich dial is the perfect dial choice for the Oceanmaster. How did Andersmann take this dial further in detail? The answer is in the slight texturing on the dial surface. This can be seen in the pics I posted in the sunlight. Andersmann’s choice in the minimalistic approach with the dial text, allows all the other details to take the spotlight. The dial is legible in all the right ways, and even better, it’s legible in both light and dark settings. Thanks to the healthy application of lume to the three hands and the bottom layer of the sandwich dial. The lume application is also carried over to the triangle on the bezel. I love consistency of details throughout this watch. When you can quickly glance at the dial of your watch and can read the time in a split second, you know that you have a extremely legible dial. The Oceanmaster is one of those extremely legible dials.
The Andersmann Oceanmaster I, showing off it’s killer bead blasted matte case and it’s awesome textured sandwich dial in the picture below……and don’t adjust your screen, the watch is this amazing and yes that’s the sun you are witnessing in my pictures. It’s rare, but it does happen. I’m not a fan of the sun, but it’s cool to shoot something different every once in awhile…..same can be said about shooting an exhibition caseback on a watch.
This watch is so classic Andersmann. It was one of their first releases, so of course it’s classic. I mean classic Andersmann here in terms of the 47mm case, the long, strong lugs, the signature colored second hand and the precise execution of all the details on this watch. Like I mentioned before, it would be a perfect me watch if it had a solid caseback. In addition to that, to make it even more me, it would have drilled lugs with solid screw bars. Not deal breakers by any means.
I love another one of those classic Andersmann details, I am speaking of the 26mm lug space. 26mm straps are my favorite. I have a killer custom Corrigia strap that’s a perfect combination for this watch. It is also shows you how a strap can make a watch even better. There’s something magically beautiful about a custom 26mm leather strap on a badass watch. Andersmann doesn’t include garbage straps either with their watches. The Oceanmaster comes on a high quality rubber strap. It’s super comfortable and pliable. As you all know me, I love a custom leather strap. Canvas is also up there for me. Curious on what your favorite strap size is 20mm 24mm 26mm or a different size?
Andersmann makes a damn good watch and given this was this first release they have improved with every release since. This is the crazy part, this watch is damn near flawless. I know I mentioned some details I would change on it but those are more personal preferences and not so much anything Andersmann did wrong. Their quality control is far more impressive than the likes of the many luxury retail brands I have owned over the years. Raymond’s attention to precise detail is also superior of the massed produced luxury retail watches. I get the fact that those brands are mass producing huge amounts of watches, where brands like Andersmann are making 100 watches per model. It still doesn’t excuse why watches that cost 4-12 times more than this watch, are letting quality control get away with shit that should never be allowed. I learned a huge lesson about watches, that just because something is expensive doesn’t mean that it’s better quality.
The Oceanmaster I is watch with no flaws done by Andersmann. Is it perfect? To some it very well be perfect. How do you judge that. Well for me, there’s no quality control issues so that gets a perfect mark from me. Which is huge in my book. I owned 6 Rolex watches, and of those 6, 5 of them had QC issues. I understand that Rolex produces a shit ton of watches each year Vs Andersmann who produces 80-100 watches per model. So it’s easier for Andersmann to maintain a tight quality control, but just because Rolex produces a ton of watches do they deserve a more lax quality control?!? In my opinion no, and for the prices they charge to buy their name, they should have a flawless QC on every single watch.
In closing and getting back to my original question what makes a watch perfect…..well that’s up to each person’s individualized checklist. This watch for me would be perfect if it had drilled lugs and a solid caseback. See, it isn’t anything Andersmann did incorrectly but it comes down to my personal checklist. I see too many people angry and blaming brands for doing something wrong, when in actuality those people are mistakenly thinking the company should follow their checklist of what a watch should be. It’s quite silly to get mad over a watch with missing personal preferences. Wear what you love, and love what you wear!
Thank you for reading this review. I truly appreciate the support. Thank you to Raymond and the Andersmann team!
SPEC.
CASE : Diameter 47mm, screw-down winding crown
CASE LENGTH : 56mm
LUG WIDTH : 26mm
THICKNESS : 17.6mm
CRYSTAL : Double curved sapphire 4.5mm thick with anti-reflective coating
FUNCTION : Hours, minutes, seconds 42 hours power reserve
BACK : See-through 4mm sapphire crystal
DIAL : Black grained dial with luminous Arabic numerals
and hour markers
BEZEL : Bead Blasted 316L Stainless steel Anti-clockwise
unidirectional rotating bezel
WATER RESISTANCE : 1000m
STRAP : ANDERSMANN personalized natural rubber strap
https://www.andersmann.com/collections/frontpage/products/oceanmaster-i-1000m-ann0811
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