Alongside downright whimsical pieces such as its collaborations with SpongeBob SquarePants and seconde/seconde/, Spinnaker also produces significantly more conventional watches that can easily integrate into everyday life as a person’s casual and non-pretentious timekeeping companion. Among the latter variety of models is the Spinnaker Croft Pioneer Automatic, which first debuted earlier this year in 2024 as a practical and straightforward sports watch that pairs a diver-style case with a rotating 12-hour bezel. Following the success of the initial models, Spinnaker added a quartet of vibrant colorways that provide the collection with more of a vacation-oriented spirit, and while the Croft Pioneer Automatic is hardly the most aesthetically adventurous model in Spinnaker’s vast lineup, it represents a rather compelling value proposition, as it provides buyers with a stainless steel sports watch and a reliable Japanese automatic movement for the same price as a standard MoonSwatch.

Within the greater Spinnaker Croft lineup, the Croft Pioneer Automatic is the collection’s entry-level model, and it features a different case silhouette than the rest of the series with a fairly traditional sports watch profile. Unlike the standard Spinnaker Croft Automatic, which is a diver with a 60-minute timing bezel, the Croft Pioneer Automatic (ref. SP-5136) could best be described as a multi-purpose sports watch with travel-oriented functionality. However, rather than being a proper four-handed GMT watch, the Spinnaker Croft Pioneer Automatic instead relies on a conventional time-and-date movement, and it features a rotating 12-hour bezel that can either be used to track elapsed time or display a secondary timezone. Additionally, unlike its dive watch siblings that are specifically designed for prolonged use underwater, the Croft Pioneer Automatic features a slightly lower depth rating of 100 meters, although this should still be more than enough water resistance to easily contend with any aquatic conditions you might encounter.

Crafted from 316L stainless steel with linear brushed surfaces and high-polished bevels on its lugs and crown guards, the case of the Spinnaker Croft Pioneer Automatic measures 42mm in diameter by 12mm thick, with lugs that are set 20mm apart and extend to create an overall lug-to-lug-profile of 51.5mm. In terms of weight, the Croft Pioneer Automatic comes in at approximately 73 grams for just the watch itself, or 160 grams if you include its stainless steel bracelet with all of its removable links, and the case of the watch wears fairly true to its on-paper dimensions due to its traditional sports watch profile. Protecting the Croft Pioneer Automatic’s dial is a flat sapphire crystal (with anti-reflective treatment), while the reverse side of the watch receives a solid screw-down stainless steel caseback, and set between two generously-sized guards at the 3 o’clock location is a signed screw-down crown helps ensure the model’s 100 meters of water resistance.

Fitted to the top of the Spinnaker Croft Pioneer Automatic’s case is a rotating bezel fitted with a 12-hour insert made from black anodized aluminum. The hash marks between the bezel’s numerals divide each hour into four segments, and while this approach allows for an easy reference of quarter-hour increments, it is very much intended to display a reference of hours, rather than being designed to track elapsed minutes like the timing bezel on a dive watch. The Croft Pioneer Automatic’s bezel rotates unidirectionally with a 120-click action (just like you would expect to find on a traditional diver); however since the insert is tailored to either tracking elapsed hours or displaying a secondary timezone, I would have personally preferred for it to have a bidirectional design. A dive watch’s unidirectional timing bezel is specifically intended to be a safety feature, and unless you are using your watch to avoid decompression sickness while scuba diving, bidirectional motion is more convenient, especially when it comes to tracking an additional timezone.

At the time of writing, there are eight different colorways of the Spinnaker Croft Pioneer Automatic, although the version featured here is the “Sunset Yellow” model (ref. SP-5136-77), which features a bright yellow dial with small pale blue accents. Regardless of color, all of the Croft Pioneer Automatic dials feature the same fundamental design with applied luminous hour markers, an angled chapter ring in a contrasting shade of white, and a framed date window at the 3 o’clock location. On the Sunset Yellow version, the hands are finished a dark charcoal color to provide additional contrast against the grain-textured yellow surface of the dial, and small pale blue highlights appear throughout the minute track, depth rating, and the tip of the seconds hand. Additionally, Spinnaker uses two different colors of Japanese luminous material on the Croft Pioneer Automatic, and while the hour markers emit a blue-colored glow, the hands and zero marker on the bezel glow green for additional low-light contrast.

Inside the Spinnaker Croft Pioneer Automatic’s case resides the Seiko NH35 automatic movement, which easily ranks among the most commonly used mechanical time-and-date calibers within the greater watch industry. Running at a frequency of 21,600vph (3 Hz) with a power reserve of approximately 41 hours, the Seiko NH35 offers the conveniences of hacking seconds and manual winding, and while it is hardly a movement for those who seek intricate complications or elaborate finishing, the NH35 is a proven and highly reliable resign that can easily be repaired (or just flat-out replaced) for a minimal cost by virtually any watchmaker in the world. While it may not be horologically special, the Seiko NH35 is exactly the type of movement that you want inside a budget-friendly sports watch like the Croft Pioneer Automatic, and its prevalence within the industry serves as a testament to its reliable design.

Unlike other models from the Croft collection that can be found with either bracelets or straps, all of the Spinnaker Croft Pioneer Automatic models are paired with a matching stainless steel bracelet. Tapering from 20mm at the lugs down to 16mm on the underside of the wrist, the bracelet for the Croft Pioneer Automatic features a three-link design with entirely brushed surfaces, and while it is constructed from solid machined components, it is still an entry-level bracelet, and this can be observed in certain aspects of its design. The removable links are secured by friction-fit pins (rather than the more premium approach of single-sided screws), and while the clasp operates with a double push-button release, it lacks any form of integrated extension system. Although the bracelet does leave a little to be desired, it’s still a solid step above what is typically found on watches at this price point, and since the Croft Pioneer Automatic has standard lugs, the bracelet can easily be swapped out for any 20mm third-party strap.

In regard to nitpicks, expectations always need to be reasonable when it comes to watches that exist firmly on the affordable side of the spectrum, although there are still a few small details that I would change about the Spinnaker Croft Pioneer Automatic. While single-sided screws for the bracelet links would have been a welcome addition, I also wish that the bezel moved bidirectionally, as a unidirectional design is a dive-specific feature that only hinders the operation of a bezel that is used to display a secondary timezone. Additionally, while the dial hardly suffers from legibility issues, I would have personally preferred for the minute hand to be slightly longer so that its tip extended all the way to reach the corresponding markers of the minute track. That said, none of these minor gripes are even remotely close to being deal-breakers, and it’s rather easy to forgive the Croft Pioneer Automatic for its shortcomings when you consider its categorically affordable price.

While Spinnaker exclusively operates within a fairly attainable segment of the market, the Croft Pioneer Automatic is intended to be one of the brand’s entry-level offerings, and it currently holds the title of being the least expensive model from the greater Croft collection. With an official retail price of $270 USD, the Spinnaker Croft Pioneer Automatic (ref. SP-5136) ultimately offers quite a lot of value for the money, as this also happens to be the exact same price as what Swatch currently charges for the standard versions of the MoonSwatch. Along with being perfectly suited to serving a durable and carefree vacation watch, the Croft Pioneer Automatic is also an affordable way for seasoned collectors to indulge in a novel dial color, and should you ever happen to get tired of its design, the Spinnaker Croft Pioneer Automatic also makes an excellent watch to pass along to a friend or family member who may be showing the signs of a budding enthusiast. For more information on the Spinnaker Croft Pioneer Automatic, please visit the brand’s website.