“Having first been made for divers and support staff who were left without a watch when the value of their vintage Rolex diving watches exploded leaving them the option of a large windfall or too self conscious of wearing such a valuable item in a hostile workplace, Paul Scurfield watch enthusiast and saturation diver tried to fill the void with a few affordable watches built to a high standard using the best materials.” Hence the reason Paul Scurfield started making watches and started his brand, Scurfa Watches.

Paul’s full-time career adds an extra layer of trust in the build quality of his watch making career’s product. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Paul Scurfield he works in the depths of the North Sea. Working a full month at a time. “Paul and the team of divers working in the North Sea are made up in teams of three and on any working dive you have a diver 1, diver 2 and the bellman, diver 1 controls the dive and this is where the name for the watches come from, diver 2 is there to make his job easier, the bellman tends the divers from the diving bell and the divers work in the water for a maximum six hours, a normal saturation diving system will house four teams of three divers covering the full twenty four hours of the working day stopping only for bad weather or crew changes, the work period for the divers is 28 days including decompression.”

The Treasure Seeker’s orange dial is definitely a visible asset for the murky water of the North Sea. I was immediately drawn to the orange dial for a few reasons. One reason is because my youngest son and I share orange as our favorite color. Another reason why I was drawn to this dial is because I have always been attracted to orange dial Doxa watches. Unfortunately I never bonded with any Doxa watches that I briefly owned. Paul took the orange dial and infused it with some of that Scurfa magic. The magic that I speak of comes in the form of a textured honeycomb patterned dial.

I tried to highlight that textured honeycomb magic in the picture above. The pattern adds such a nice degree of depth to the dial. Paul designed this dial out with that thoughtfulness which makes his dive watches something special. The simple yet beautiful white applied markers are outlined with black sit against the orange dial so well. These colors work extremely well together, it actually enhances the legibility on the Treasure Seeker. The less is more motto applies brilliantly on this watch. I like how the hands match the markers with the same white and black color scheme and it’s even carried over to the date wheel. A no date dial is my personal preference but I do know plenty of people who prefer a date window. One suggestion I have to Paul is to add a bit more detail and continuity of design details would have been to border the window in black which would have tied in together the applied markers and the hands to the date window. This is not a deal breaker for me by any means, just a small detail suggestion.

The hands and applied markers are treated with a healthy dose of grade A super luminova BGW9 that has a beautiful glow. A great dial is not only legible during daylight/well lit environments but also at night/low-light environments. Paul knows this importance from his time in the murky waters of the North Sea. You don’t want to second guess when legibility is crucial, for some that can mean the difference between life and death. Paul took the legibility a step further by fitting the Treasure Seeker with a double domed sapphire crystal with blue anti reflective coating on the underside. The printed text on the dial is kept at a minimum allowing the honeycomb details to remain the center of attention. I appreciate how Paul designed the name plate on this dial to complement the applied hour markers. It’s a nice touch of cohesion in the design language of the Treasure Seeker. This is also apparent in the black print minutes and the complementing black printed text above the 6H position. You can tell when some watches were just thrown together with absolutely zero regard for cohesiveness amongst the details. The Treasure Seeker is the exact opposite of that.

It’s a pet peeve of mine when a watch has a fantastic dial design & execution but that same attention to design & execution isn’t carried over into the case. Thankfully this isn’t Paul’s first rodeo and his experience with both collecting watches and designing watches is obvious throughout the entire design of the Treasure Seeker. The stainless steel case has a nice balance of brushed and polished finish. It’s a nice balance in my opinion because there are more brushed finished surfaces than polished. The polished surfaces act as a nice border around the bezel and onto the curved lugs. I appreciate that Paul went with drilled lugs for the Treasure Seeker. I always like the look of drilled lugs from an aesthetic perspective but also appreciate that it makes strap changes so much easier. I personally would have liked screw in lug bars as opposed to the supplied spring bars. Why? Because I like the added security that screw in lug bars provide.

Speaking of screwing, the signed screwed down crown takes that aesthetic route and is nicely infused with some smooth functioning action which always makes for a damn good crown. The crown is protected by “crown guards” that are integrated from the case mold itself. The crown and “crown guards” are not oversized by any means, but sized appropriately enough to make operating the crown easy and allows enough protection to the crown itself. I want to clarify by “crown guards” because these are actually part of the bumper bar case.

Like any watch purchase, it comes down to it’s purchaser’s intended use. Are you using it as a desk diver? Are you using it in the water? Are you using it for outdoor adventures? The importance of the features on the watch vary from user to user. Each one of us have a list of what we look for on a dive watch and we definitely have a list of “dealbreakers”. Features are definitely important but the functionality of the features are more important. The quality control has to be there otherwise the lovely details are pointless. The 120 click bezel has a ceramic insert with lume treatment indices. This bezel not only looks good, but it also functions the way you want a bezel to. It is easy to grip, rotates smoothly without any annoying wobble or extra play.

I’m going to be honest here as say that case back on the Treasure Seeker is the true star of this case. It’s the whole reason I wanted this watch in the first place. I can say that this solid case back is a prime example of why solid is better than see through. Thankfully Paul knows and understands that no one is interested in seeing the reliable 24 jewel Miyota 9015 automatic movement. Hence him giving us the case back that features are work from Jock Patterson. I included some words from Paul explaining his feelings about the case back below.

Case Back Artwork by Ex Stolt Comex Diver Jock Patterson

“I have wanted my own case back design for a while now, I had a good idea of what I wanted and the perfect man for the job was my old workmate John Josimo Patterson, John was a Stolt Comex diver and is now an award winning artist and tattooist, John made me feel at home and showed me the ropes on the old Comex diving vessel The Osprey, his paintings were up in the galley and also displayed on many crew members as tattoos, unfortunately John’s diving career was ended with a couple of cases of decompression sickness and for a while he continued offshore on deck but this meant lots more time spent on artwork.

In 2013 John was awarded the Best Global Artist award in Vienna and his belief in himself and his artwork flourished.

I wanted a modern take of the old diving key rings and explained this to John, here is a picture drawn by me in 1991, it’s a copy of the Divex company logo but I added the bar of gold as every commercial diver really is a Treasure Seeker.” -Paul Scurfield

The Treasure Seeker comes armed with a five piece stainless steel bracelet with a folding clasp and solid end links. Paul also included a 20mm Scurfa Watches black rubber strap for those who aren’t a bracelet fan. The bracelet and the strap are both well made in terms of fit and quality. I am impressed by both considering the affordable price of this piece. The bracelet definitely “dresses” up the Treasure Seeker while the rubber strap gives it that utilitarian feel. A brushed, unsigned buckle with a very wide pin is secured to the rubber strap via a traditional spring bar. I would liked to have seen a buckle with a screw bar with drilled holes through the buckle. The bracelet features a folding clasp that has a micro-adjustment so that the wearer can get a better/more comfortable wrist hugging fit.

The Treasure Seeker is a real treat of a release from Scurfa Watches. What makes it such a treat? For me as a watch lover, it’s the dial and the case back. Both of these beautifully executed details were enough for me to want to purchase this watch. I already knew the quality Paul puts into each one of his watches from my past reviews/experience. Paul’s experience with watches and as a career diver, is enough for me to have confidence in the quality with his watches. The affordability of these watches make them equally attractive. They are perfect grab and go beater watches and that’s exactly how Paul designed his watches to be. The Treasure Seeker is extremely comfortable, so much in fact you forget it’s on the wrist. This is more apparent when it’s on the rubber strap. I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending his watches to any “newbie” or seasoned pro. Paul’s reputation spans far out into the sea of watch loving enthusiasts. More information can be found on Scurfa’s website: https:/www.scurfawatches.com

Thank you Paul and Scurfa Watches. As always, thanks to all of you for reading and your kind support. It’s truly appreciated.