May 2nd, 2024

Let’s dust ourselves off because it’s been a minute since we had such a Boldr time…..too bad some asshole didn’t dust off the pollen from the watch more before he took pics. Welcome to the first #boldrthursdays . Has a better ring to it than Tuesday in my opinion. Anyway, allow me to introduce the Boldr Black Dragonfish! It’s the third watch to feature their Superkuro Musou Black dial. The dial absorbs 99.4% of light, so in low light environments, the dial almost disappears! Talk about stealth mode. The case is so recognizable and so traditional Boldr, but this time it’s a 40mm case so those size conscious folks can have some to rejoice about.

The dial, teamed with the brushed titanium, DLC coated case makes this watch like a ninja! It’s definitely the Snake Eyes of the Boldr line up. Yeah, I’m a nerd like that. I definitely get vibes like that from watches and the nicknames come easy. The dark shot with the forest lume highlights how crazy this lume is. It’s morning in the forest and this watch is already glowing strong.

SPECIFICATIONS

Case: 40mm titanium brushed finishing with DLC coating
Movement: Japan-made Miyota Cal. 9075 automatic, 28800bph, 42 hours of power reserve
Water Resistance: 300m (990ft) / 30ATM
Crown: Embossed BOLDR logo
Dial & hands: Superkuro Musuo Black with custom hands with Swiss Super-LumiNova®
Bezel: 120-click unidirectional titanium bezel featuring a Swiss Super-LumiNova®-filled marker at 12 o’clock.
Crystal: Double-dome Sapphire crystal with Super AR-coating on top & bottom
Bracelet: Integrated titanium bracelet with quick-adjust buckle and screw-in links.
Case thickness: 12.5mm without glass, 13mm with glass.
Lug size: 20mm
Lug to lug: 48mm
Weight: 130g / 4.58Oz
Case back: Single-piece exhibition screw-down caseback with custom artwork print
Individually numbered

May 9th, 2024,

Boldr Thursday! Welcome to my second #boldrthursdays featuring the Black Dragonfish! This watch features Boldr’s Odyssey case. Had to mention this just in case this design wasn’t obvious to those unfamiliar with Boldr. The lug design, crown and crown guards are definitely a giveaway for those who know Boldr’s watches well. The rugged and tough design of the lugs are what I appreciate so much about the Odyssey case. For me, the angular design is an excellent example of horological architecture meets geometric engineering. That merging is what makes the Odyssey case design so appealing to me. If Boldr could find a way to make drilled lugs on their Odyssey lineup, then these lugs would reach perfection of the highest degree!

The classic Boldr crown is a detail that I appreciate from both an aesthetic perspective and from a functional perspective. The crown looks absolutely fantastic, from the edges, all the way to the signature Boldr b logo. The black PVD finish makes this piece more menacing in appearance than if it were just titanium. I definitely appreciate how well this crown functions. The crown has such an ease of function when screwing and unscrewing it and that ease carries over into the setting of the time function and manually winding the movement via the crown. The crown guards definitely offer the crown some good protection from those accidental impacts that we all put our watches through. Thankfully watches wear that ASA so well; Adventure Sustained Abuse!!!!

I’m not a huge fan of open casebacks but Boldr did a nice job of appeasing both sides of that argument. The black Dragonfish looks pretty awesome on the caseback. It has that same menacing look the black case has to it! The Dragonfish slithering its way through the currents. If you haven’t seen a real Dragonfish before, do yourself a favor and google image search that shit! So freaking cool.

May 16th, 2024

The Black Dragonfish Odyssey is one stealthy SOB! The Dragonfish caseback art is right up my alley from an artistic perspective. I really like how Boldr designed this caseback. It looks quite lovely with the movement peeking through. I’m not a fan of seeing automatic movements, they are often boring. The Dragonfish artwork allows just enough of the movement to peek through to be interesting and the artwork is beautiful to look at. Boldr really nailed this case back because you all know that I think automatic movements are incredibly boring to look at. What Boldr did here was that they took the opportunity to allow just enough of the movement to show through for those who appreciate seeing an automatic movement but included the lovely Dragonfish art for those of us who appreciate artwork.

This Odyssey has that same menacing wrist presence that other Odyssey watches have possessed but this Odyssey has a little difference to it due to its case size. The 4mm difference isn’t huge in my opinion and it certainly doesn’t change the wearing experience. 40mm vs 44mm isn’t a game changer. I know I am different than some watch nerds because I really don’t care about measurements. I’ll rock the shit out of a watch whether it’s 38mm or 60mm. I don’t set stupid restrictions on myself and it allows me to be truly free when picking out a watch!

This watch comes on a bracelet as you have seen in my previous posts and. It is a nice bracelet for what it is, but as you can see in these pics, I’ve already swapped out the bracelet for custom leather…..and god damn does it ever look good on this custom black leather strap from @blueradishstraps This is an excellent example of what I always say about finding an exit strap for a watch! It’s a perfect match in my opinion. What do you think?!?

May 23rd, 2024

The black dragonfish is perched and ready. The Superkuro Musuo black dial is as dark as night. It’s quite amazing how it absorbs the light, 99.4% in fact. I didn’t quite believe it until I witnessed this watch in the metal. The black is cool but also ominous like the depths of the sea. I like that Boldr kept the dial sterile and when I say sterile, I mean sterile! It’s just the hands, nothing else. No hour markers, no text, no logo, nothing but darkness. It is so incredibly cool. I love that Boldr took the GMT concept, stripped it of its usual clutter and produced this minimalistic approach. This minimalist version of the GMT is so damn refreshing.

The custom hands on the Dragonfish are just as cool as the Superkuro Musuo black. Each hand has its own treatment of Swiss Super-LumiNova®. What Boldr did was they made each hand unique in terms of shape, design and size. The star of the hands is definitely the second hand. I really like the Boldr B logo that is on the second hand. It’s a small but beautiful detail. The hands almost have a graphite texture and color. There hasn’t been an Odyssey dial that I have experienced before that hasn’t impressed in one way or another. The simplicity of this dial is so impressive. It’s definitely a great example of less is more!

The hands are sized perfectly/proportionally to the dial itself. The length of each hand is ideal for both functional legibility and for aesthetics. I have to say that these hands are my favorite hands I’ve encountered on a Boldr watch. I love that Boldr went with custom hands and not some off the shelf hands that we have seen a million times before on other watches. The dial on the Dragonfish is just as badass as the case itself. I love that Boldr opted to use the chapter ring for the GMT numerals. Setting the Miyota 9075 “flyer” GMT is easy because once you set the GMT hand, you can use the jumping hour hand function via the crown in the third position. The crown and hands are precise and responsive, with excellent movement.

May 30th, 2024

This watch is a great example of where case measurements don’t matter whatsoever and where details & quality matter most! For me, this watch wears just as menacing and wears just as well as its larger predecessors. You see, some people place so much value on case dimensions that the eyes fall blind to all the wonderful details that truly matter. How you prefer a watch to fit, is that preference your own?!? Or did it stem from someone else’s opinion on how a watch should fit? Stop for a minute and truly think about that question.

What Boldr has done here is something quite extraordinary. The odyssey case design and shape, the horological industrial architecture of the odyssey line up is beautiful with all the geometric angles, that it works no matter what size it comes in. What makes this Dragonfish more appealing is that Boldr went with this sterile dial and almost sterile bezel, teamed together with this complex case. By complex, I mean is the strong geometric angles create a series of intersecting lines that following them leads you across this case endlessly.

The custom hands on the Dragonfish are consistent with the design logic of intersecting lines with a geometric vision that is the Boldr Odyssey. From case to dial, the vision is consistent, constant, and it’s truly beautiful to behold. The sea on that endless lines, but this is more circular than geometric angles. I am referring to the sea that is on the caseback and what a glorious vision it is.

June 6th, 2024

The unique Odyssey Dragonfish GMT is a great addition to the Boldr family. I love how easy it is to set the time, GMT included. The Miyota 9075 “flyer” GMT heart beats at 28,800 times per hour. I like the added security that the Parashock provides. For those unfamiliar, it’s an in-built shock absorption system that allows the movement to remain consistently functioning on all your ASA….adventure sustained abuse!

It’s a great watch to wear on my daily adventures no matter what I am doing, work, hiking, climbing, getting hit with waves, etc….its a typical Odyssey and that’s definitely a compliment. The Odyssey lineup of watches are definitely designed for adventures and that is one of the reasons why I like the Odyssey watches.

The Dragonfish on this @blueradishstraps leather strap is one of my favorite watch/strap combo. I have had this strap for a long time but I couldn’t find a watch that it worked this well on. The bracelet that the Dragonfish came on is a nice bracelet. The buckle with the engraved artwork on it is a great detail. I’m just not a huge bracelet fan as most of you know. I very rarely ever keep a watch on the OEM strap or bracelet. It’s not something that Boldr or the other companies are doing wrong, I am just a huge custom strap junkie.

The Dragonfish is an addition to the Odyssey lineup. It is a winner in my opinion. It’s unique, it has the classic Odyssey case design and it’s very well made. A kickass little diver with a very cool sterile dial and a good value at $799.

June 10th, 2024

I absolutely love the minimalistic approach Boldr took to their unique interpretation of a Flyer GMT. I love a busy dial but this is a very nice and welcome change of pace. Everything these days is so damn complicated so it’s a welcome change of pace here with this watch. Boldr is one of those companies who deserve way more recognition than they are currently getting.

The Dragonfish is a wonderful addition to the Odyssey line up and to the overall Boldr catalog. It is made with that Boldr quality that I have come to love and appreciate because of the consistency that comes from one model to the next. There are no quality control issues that I have experienced in any Boldr watch, which is something I know from experience that the big name brands can’t say. Some of the consistent details that I love on the Dragonfish that I found on other Boldr watches I have reviewed: easy to grip and operate crown and bezel, proportional hands, reliable and accurate movement, generous lume application.

I truly appreciate how Boldr hasn’t cut corners just to save a buck. One of the last Panerai models I owned was a great example of corner cutting. It had a snap on caseback, like a watch that you would buy from a kiosk at the local mall. Boldr hasn’t cut any corners with this Dragonfish. I can honestly say that this is one of Boldr’s most impressive releases yet. The crystal needs a shout out of its own because of how important this dial is. We know that this dial absorbs light on an incredible level, so that just places that much more pressure on the job of the crystal. Boldr absolutely nailed the crystal to allow the dial to do its job well in terms of allowing the darkness to absorb the light like a black hole.

A job well done Boldr. Thank you to Boldr and to all of you for reading this review. Thanks for the inspiration to keep the little blog of mine going for 10+ years 🤜🏼⚙️🖤⚙️🤛🏼