The unique, the unusual, the different has always been an attraction point for me. Growing up I was that, quiet, shy kid. The skateboarding, artsy kid. My mom loved and supported me, even during my most extreme “marching to the beat of my own drum”. I have to that my tastes haven’t changed. I always root for the underdog. I am still drawn to the different. I still don’t believe in trends that try to tell me what to buy and what not to buy. Bronze/brass watches are just a fad. Larger case watches are ugly. I may not have an app for those people, but I do have an emoji that works perfectly. 🖕🏽

If I listened, I would have missed out on the watch that we will be exploring together today. I have to be honest when I first started seeing pics of PONTVS Nessi, I was immediately interested in the design of the watch. The bezel and the oversized crown is what pulled my interest in. There is of course that level of uncertainty that comes along with a freshman release from a new company. Not that I expect a watch to be garbage, it’s just that I honestly don’t know what to expect. I could read others reviews, but I refuse to do so. I like to have fresh, original thoughts that aren’t influenced by others words. Again, my choice to march to the beat of my own drum. Just as PONTVS did with the Nessi.

The watch felt good from my initial pick up and touching. (Insert that what she said jokes) I like to rub my thumb over the bezel and crystal of a watch first, then the bezel and crown action are next whenever I get a watch in. I immediately noticed that there was some nice patina already forming on this watch which was an added bonus in my opinion. The Nessi was already off to a good start from my first initial overlooking evaluation. Both the crown and bezel both functioned with out flaw. Both are extremely easy to grip and operate. The bezel has nice tight rotating action, no extra play and the pip lines up perfectly with the 12 o’clock hour marker. The raised bezel markers add a real nice detail aesthetic to this watch. I kept thinking how good this look now, just think when patina really starts forming. As I spent more time with Nessi, I discovered a nice little correlation detail. The shape of the crown and bezel are very similar, complementing each other quite nicely.

I like that PONTVS went with stainless steel for Nessi’s crown. The hard edges just adds to the industrial, old school badass deepsea divers suit feel to this watch. To make the crown even better, it’s signed with an engraved cross which gives an old world explorer feel to the Nessi. Flip the case over and yet another pleasant surprise, an engraved picture of the greek god of the sea himself. He was the primordial god (protogenos) of the sea. He wasn’t just living in the sea itself, he was the sea, body and soul. He was born from earth at the very dawn of creation itself. The case back looks absolutely fantastic in terms of execution and finish, even better than pieces from well established watch brands.

The dial on the Nessi was another surprise, but it has more to do with me. The funny part of when I looked at this dial in person, I discovered that it was blue. I thought well would you look at that. The blue is a deep blue like the sea itself, which almost looks black depending on the lighting. The dial has been kept quite simple in terms of detail and it works well. I would have even like even more simplistic look by eliminating the date window at 3 o’clock position. They did keep everything else nice and simple on the dial in terms of text.

The applied markers complement the overall look of this watch. The choice of using the vintage coloring instead of pure white really works to the advantage of this watch. Sometimes that faux aged/vintage look ends up looking forced and cheap, but it goes so well with the look and feel of this watch. The hands follow in suit with their brushed finish, bronze color and matching lume treatment. I like how the hour hand is wider than the minute hand which not only looks good but also help differentiate the hands, especially at night.

The Nessi is quite the impressive first release from PONTVS. It has the NH35A ticking away inside which timed in at +13 seconds per day during my review process. It is a well designed and executed watch. There are a lot of details on the watch that I did not expect and really surprised me. I truly believe that this watch will not disappoint if you are looking for a different take on dive style watch. The mythological essence of this watch truly encompasses the design and soul and not in a cliche way either which is a feat in itself. This watch feels solid and more importantly functional solidly. The bezel and crown are personal highlights for me. I am definitely a crown and bezel guy and these both meet & exceed my expectations.

There is really only one area for improvement on the Nessi. First the lume does it’s job but doesn’t go beyond into the flashlight quality that I know many watch enthusiasts love and expect. Another area that can possibly be improved that I can recommend are the lugs, but that’s stretching into nit picking/personal preference. Drilled lugs with screw bars would have been great to see. Not expected though for a first release and at the $390 USD price. This is a nice watch overall and I personally and professionally enjoyed it.

I want to personally thank you all for reading and as always your questions and comments are welcome below.

PONTVS Nessi is a diver watch with original design, designed and engineered in U.S.A.

SPECS
Case diameter: 47mm excluding the crown – lug to lug 58mm
Movement: Seiko NH35 automatic
Case material: Blasted brass with stainless steel case back
Bezel: Blasted brass
Crown: Stainless steel screw down crown 10.5mm
Crystal: Sapphire
Dial: Dark Navy Sunray 32mm diameter Japan Super Luminova with golden rim.
Water-resistance: 200 meters / 660 feet / 20 ATM
Strap: 24mm blue leather 4.5 mm thick with tan stitching and 24mm blue camouflage rubber strap.
Buckle: Blasted brass Introduction
Price : 390.0 USD ( price incl. DHL International Shipping)