Deaumar Ensign Prototype
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March 21 2016
The Kickstarter campaign was not funded, so there is currently a pre-order through the Deaumar Website:
https://deaumar.co.uk/collections/deaumar-watches/products/deaumar-ensign
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Launching today on Kickstarter is the Deaumar Ensign, an ultra affordable dive watch, conceived by Tony Villa of Blackpool England. This is not Tony’s first foray into the microbrand watch world. He attempted about 10 years ago to launch one, Bravus Watches. Sadly, it was way before people even knew what a microbrand was, and it was just bad timing. Tony had put that idea on the back burner for several years. About a year and a half ago, Tony’s love for watches was reinvigorated and he started joining watch forums and getting involved in the discussions. It was this that gave him the idea of once again starting a watch brand.
Today, Tony is launching on Kickstarter with his first model, the Ensign. A combination of many different watch styles, with design cues from a Seiko 6309 and many vintage divers from the 60’s and 70’s, but not a direct homage of any.
As many of you might have noticed, I do not share many Kickstarter projects here on Watchreport. The reason is simple, the market has become overloaded with so many “me too” brands offering minimalist designs that all look the same, and basically watches from “brands” I have never heard of or trust. There are a few reasons I chose to do a review of the Ensign, one being I have interacted with Tony on the forums and he comes across as a stand up guy. He is not on the forums just to promote his watch, he has a love for all watches and it shows. The other would be the design and the price. The Ensign is about $190.00 USD, and once you read the specs below and watch my video preview, I think you will see why I find that to be such a big deal. Please make sure to check out my photos under the video below.
- Specifications:
- 42mm Stainless case with drilled lugs
- Length of Case: 46mm
- Case Thickness: 14mm
- Lug Width: 22mm
- Weight: 170 grams
- Crystal: Domed Sapphire with AR coating
- Movement: Seiko 4R36 Day/Date automatic movement
- Water Resistance 200 meters
- Bracelet: Solid Stainless Steel, H link style
- First 200 Preorders Price $190.00 US
arik
I’ve been thinking about saving up for a Seiko Sumo for a bit, would you consider this closer to the Sumo or the Turtle in terms of finish, build, features?
Don Evans
Its all subjective. And of course, this being a prototype, its hard to say exactly what the finished product will be like, but it should be well above its price point on kickstarter.
Sumo is a nice Seiko, but does not have a sapphire crystal as standard, and the new Turtle reissue is nice, but I have heard of some quality control issues, and it is a little more money than this Deaumar as well. I think if you like the style of the Deaumar, you cant go wrong for the price. Thanks for the comments and if I can help you with anything else let me know.