Do I really need another dive watch? Strangely I have never asked myself this question. I do appreciate all style of watches, yet dive watches are my personal favorite. We can broaden my question to, do I really need another watch? I used to be a one watch guy. Unfortunately I used to be very narrow minded. When I think about it now, damn one watch? That is a truly absurd thought. There are so many different/variations of styles within each style of watches. You have dress dive watches, rugged/raw style dive watches, large cases, small cases, I can go on and on. I still can’t believe that I would limit myself in such a way. I am glad I saw the lume, I mean light.

Today we are exploring the vintage diver inspired Crepas Loggerhead dive watch. When I first saw/held this watch I instantly got that cool 1970’s dive watch vibe. Short lugs, rounded case profile, curved sides, refined yet rugged design. Then Crepas decided to infuse this piece with their modern DNA, robust 44mm case, oversized 7.5mm crown, 3.5mm sapphire crystal, and a massive stainless unidirectional rotating bezel. The stainless steel case has that refined buttery smoothness when you glide your finger across the case and yet the heft of the case gives the Loggerhead that ‘I can handle adventure outside the office’ ruggedness. The case plays off of lighting really well with the combination of finishing between the polished and brushed. This combination allows the Loggerhead to play nicely in transitions of environments from the office, to weekend play, to the water, to the woods. Of course this also means it can add and blend with your personal style. You can adapt the look of this watch easily as well by switching up the bracelet to a custom leather strap or nato/ballistic strap. The bracelet is a unique combination of ruggedness and dress this is achieved by combining the brushed outer edge of the links with mesh style inner links.

The artist in me absolutely loves the majestic and magical case back on the Loggerhead. It contains a beautiful engraved Loggerhead turtle, which encompasses the wisdom and awe that turtles exude. Even the screw down case back has that buttery smooth finish, including the turtle. We all have experienced case backs that have sharp to the touch unfinished feeling detail. The details on this case not only have that finished look/feel, they all function with quality and ease. The signed screw down crown is easy to grip, operate and has precise screw down/out action. When I was photographing this watch at the water I would periodically reset the time to the magical 10:10 time, with wet sandy hands the crown was never an issue to operate.  The same could be said for this bezel and even greater there is no extra play whatsoever in this bezel. It even lines up perfectly with the dial which the OCD tendencies within me silently rejoice. I also have to mention how the precision fit of the bezel against the case itself. I personally don’t like when there is a gap between the bezel and the case itself.

Before we explore this dial together I need to get something off of my chest. I am just gonna put this out there, I totally get the teaming up with watch groups, forums, etc… but can we please keep the logos off of the dial and strictly use them on the caseback? It adds unnecessary/unneeded detail and clutter to the dial and also adds an overall cheesiness feel. Thanks! Luckily the logo on the Loggerhead isn’t oversized and done in a classy manner. I do like the simplisticity of the text on this dial though. The Crepas nautical propeller logo is also simplistic yet is bold and badass. Crepas gets bonus points for the complementing propeller on the crown. Another sign of Crepas and their meticulous eye for design detail is how the date window flows beautifully into the crown, both located at the 4 o’clock position.

Ok, back to work here, the dial on the Loggerhead is simple, yet has nice depth of detail. Let’s start with the matte finished backdrop which is my preferred finish of choice because of the resistance to glare attributes that matte finish has. Crepas then laid the applied markers on the dial, which also have a matte finish and a Swiss Superluminova C3 treatment. The markers have great legibility in all lighting situations. When I first examined the hands on the Loggerhead I thought that Crepas made a rather odd choice. Odd because of the gloss finish and the shape. The gloss finish struct me as more odd though as the shape of the hands are more unique than odd. But as I had more hands on experience with this watch is a wide variety of environments, the gloss finish made more sense to me. The contrast of the gloss of the hands set against the matte dial actually creates an increase in legibility, especially underwater. A little detail that I really love on the dial, is on the second hand. Typically the circle on the lollipop is the lumed part on the hand, but on this piece it’s not lumed. Not only does this look fantastic in daylight, but at night when the all the lume on this watch is glowing bright, that little circle looks so cool. I love little details like this.

The quality design gives an appropriate housing for the quality movement that is the ETA 2824-2 movement, which is just as reliable as the case itself. The Loggerhead is a well executed watch in terms of overall design and execution. My only suggestion would be removing the DW logo from the dial and place it on the outer ring of the caseback. The size of the dial and the size of the case are just right in my opinion, which creates nice wrist presence, comfort and legibility. Three very important details when designing a watch, which is apparent that Crepas paid close attention to when they designed this watch. The Loggerhead was extremely comfortable on the wrist at work for multiple 12 hour shifts, was comfortable while hiking and was comfortable and more importantly it is legible in the water. The rounded profile on the Loggerhead really adds to the wrist conforming comfort. What is a dive watch without water? Rest assured of this water resistance of 1000 meters because Crepas uses quality protection in the form of the tefzel I-ring and the Viton O-ring doing the sealing job.

If I am going to be completely honest here, if I was given the choice between the Loggerhead and a Doxa, I would choose the Loggerhead every time. My decision is based on my experience with both brands, based on sum of parts and based on overall execution of design. I would recommend this watch to anyone who is looking for an affordable dive watch that has vintage charm infused with modern deaign technology. It is available in multiple dial colors, the orange stole my heart personally.

Thank you all for reading and sharing in the passion of watches.

Thank you Ana and the Crepas team.

http://www.crepaswatches.com/styled/styled-2/photos-11/index.html

Measures
– Diameter of the bezel: 43,30mm
– Diameter of the case: 44mm
– Thickness: 14,55mm
– Length: 52mm
– Thickness of the lens: 3,50mm
– Diameter of the crystal: 32mm
– Space between lugs: 22mm
– Diameter of the crown: 7,50mm
– Thickness of the bezel: from 2,75mm up 3,40mm-
– Thickness of the case back: 3,40mm

Material
– Case, bezel, case back cover and crown made of stainless steel 316L
– Sapphire lens
– 316L stainless steel bracelet
– Hands, dial and bezel with Swiss Superluminova C3
– I-ring made of tefzel and O-ring made of Viton

Features
– Swiss ETASA 2824-2 movement.
– Water resistant 100 atmos / 1000 meters
– Screwed crown and case back cover
– Unidirectional bezel with 120 clicks
– Anti-reflective matt dial.
– Sapphire lens with AR coated on inner side

Kit
– Watch with bracelet
– Folder case
– Screwdriver to adjust links and remove bracelet
– Chamois cloth, brochure, warranty card and extra spring bars
– Personal document with the serial number, name of customer recognizing the ownership of the unit.