Helson watches is one of the relatively new group of small dive watch brands which has cropped up in the wake of expanding production capabilities in China that offer competent manufacturing and quality control processes to those willing to design a watch primarily made of catalog components (case, bracelet, etc). The dive watch collector base is ravenous and fairly large so there are many companies which have sprouted up in the last five years to offer nicely made and fully capable sport watches for a less-than-Swiss price. Helson offers a fairly wide range of divers but the model that most interested us was Shark Diver 42 which offered a tool style dive watch in a more wrist friendly 42 mm case, a range of dial colors and even a choice of automatic movements.
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Presenting the new dive watch company Helson Watches and their first model, the Shark Diver. Powered by the trusty Miyota 8215 (as seen in the Halios Holotype and others), it's very attractive new entry.
Specifications:
- Water resistant to a over-engineered 2,000m (6,600ft or so). You'll not survive nearly long as your watch. (By the way, we like "over-engineered.")
- Unidirectional bezel.
- Luminova lume on hands, indices, and bezel.
- 316L stainless steel case.
- Unusually magnetism-resistant at 70,000 A/m.
- Very cool looking mesh bracelet.
- Available in six color combinations: PVD, blue, and brown. (The yellow-on-black is particularly striking, in our humble opinion.)
- Thick 4mm sapphire crystal, with inner antireflective coating.
List price is $499 — a very good deal — and is due to ship November 10th, 2009. We've contacted Helson and are hoping to get one for review.
One more picture after the break to whet your interest!
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Helson watches is one of the relatively new group of small dive watch brands which has cropped up in the wake of expanding production capabilities in China that offer competent manufacturing and quality control processes to those willing to design a watch primarily made of catalog components (case, bracelet, etc). The dive watch collector base is ravenous and fairly large so there are many companies which have sprouted up in the last five years to offer nicely made and fully capable sport watches for a less-than-Swiss price. Helson offers a fairly wide range of divers but the model that most interested us was Shark Diver 42 which offered a tool style dive watch in a more wrist friendly 42 mm case, a range of dial colors and even a choice of automatic movements.
