Given that Vaer was originally founded with the goal of creating the ideal everyday wristwatch, classic designs, and versatile colors are naturally going to be a core component of its catalog. However, since the brand is based in the vibrant beachside neighborhood of Venice, California, I’ve sometimes wished that Vaer were just a bit more experimental with its designs and further leaned into the coast-dwelling spirit of its homeland. That said, Vaer has continuously been expanding its offerings over the years, and as one of its most recent releases for 2024, the Los Angeles-based brand has created the Vaer D5 Pacific series, which reimagines its flagship D5 automatic dive watch with a trio of funky and colorful models that are each inspired by a different Pacific Coast location.

Among the three Vaer D5 Pacific watches, the green version featured here is known as the Anacapa, and it gets its name from one of the islands that make up the Channel Islands National Park, which is located just off the coast of Ventura, California. Its distinct green-dominant colorway is inspired by the kelp forests surrounding the island, which form one of the richest marine ecosystems in the entire continental United States. The other two models that make up the Vaer D5 Pacific series are the Rincon and the Malibu, with the Rincon version featuring a blue and orange colorway inspired by the ocean and sunset at Rincon Point, while the Malibu model is blue, green, and pink in somewhat of a pastel-themed color profile that is inspired by the world-famous picturesque beach and its various surf destinations.

Crafted from stainless steel, the Vaer D5 Pacific series features the same twisted lug profile that unites the rest of the brand’s dive watches, and it is finished with largely brushed surfaces, along with wide high-polished bevels that run down either side of its case. Just like the rest of the brand’s D5 divers, the trio of D5 Pacific models all have double domed sapphire crystals protecting their dials, flat sapphire display windows set into their screw-down casebacks, and signed screw-down winding crowns at the 3 o’clock location, which help support their 200 meters of water resistance. With that in mind, the 120-click unidirectional rotating timing bezels fitted to the D5 Pacific series have been updated to feature coin-edge style rims with sapphire inserts, and on the Vaer D5 Pacific Anacapa model, the insert appears in two different shades of green with white markings to mirror the colorway of the dial.

In regards to their dimensions, the Vaer D5 Pacific watches measure 39mm in diameter at their bezels, and while this is an accurate representation of their size, the curvature of their twisted lugs brings the outermost diameter of their middle case up to approximately 40mm. Similarly, while the thickness of the various case components accounts for 11.6mm, the domed sapphire crystal brings the total height of the watch up to 13.7mm when measured from the apex of the crystal’s dome. The lugs of the Vaer D5 Pacific models are set 20mm apart and extend to create an overall lug-to-lug profile of 46mm, although Vaer has this dimension listed as 48mm on its official website, and I can only imagine that this is because the additional bulk of the straps adds about a millimeter of presence to either side. The natural curvature of the case helps the D5 Pacific wear fairly flat against the wrist, and since 39mm is a bit of a sweet spot for many collectors, I imagine that most folks will be quite content with its sizing and proportions.

The real standout feature on the Vaer D5 Pacific watches is their colorful multi-layer dials, which feature raised luminous hour markers that are set above a recessed ring separating the center section of the dial from its checkerboard-style minute track. Additionally, unlike the standard D5 models, Vaer’s D5 Pacific watches have trapezoid-shaped date windows at 6 o’clock that display the date with roulette-stye calendar discs. On the Vaer D5 Pacific Anacapa model featured here, the dial largely consists of two different shades of green punctuated by white text with bright orange and yellow accents for its minute track. One rather unusual detail is that instead of alternating colors every single day like a standard roulette calendar disc, the orange and green date wheel on the Vaer D5 Pacific Anacapa will display three orange values in a row before switching to a single green value, and then repeating the pattern once again.

Similar to the brand’s standard D5 models, the Vaer D5 Pacific series also features a set of sword-shaped hands, although the seconds hand on the Anacapa version is finished in a pale shade of yellow to match the yellow that appears within its minute track. The Vaer D5 Pacific models are assembled within the United States, and unlike the brand’s C3 Korean Field watch that proudly displays this detail in the center of its dial, the D5 Pacific series has its “American Assembly” text placed in a small font below the 6 o’clock marker similarly to what can be observed on the brand’s G5 Meridian GMT watch. Super-LumiNova BGW9 is used on the dial, hands, and bezel insert of the Vaer D5 Pacific Anacapa to provide it with a bright blue-glowing display in the dark, and while the numerals on the bezel aren’t luminous at all, the dial rather unusually features small green-glowing dots placed at the 2, 4, 8, and 10 o’clock locations along the outer perimeter of its raised blue-glowing hour markers.

Unlike Vaer’s entry-level dive watches that run on either solar quartz or Seiko automatic movements, the brand’s flagship D5 lineup is powered by the more-premium Japanese Miyota Caliber 9015, which can be viewed through the sapphire window in the caseback of the D5 Pacific series. Running at a frequency of 28,800vph (4 Hz) with a power reserve of approximately 40 hours, the Cal. 9015 is very much a known quantity and a proven design, although Vaer further regulates the Miyota 9015 movements that it uses inside its American-assembled watches to run within the timekeeping tolerances of – 5/+15 seconds per day. While the Miyota 9015 itself can be found inside countless different timepieces, there is ultimately a very good reason why so many different brands choose this movement to power their watches, and the Cal. 9015 offers superior performance compared to entry-level automatic calibers from both Miyota and Seiko, while still remaining significantly less expensive than Swiss calibers that promise similar on-paper specifications.

Just like other Vaer watches, two straps/bracelets are included with the D5 Pacific models, and all of the various options feature integrated quick-release springbars at their lugs to help facilitate tool-free strap changes. Since all Vaer watches offer ample water resistance, the brand always includes some type of rubber strap with every single one of its models, and this is specifically done so that owners can have a practical strap option for when they want to wear their watches in the water. Regardless of colorway or configuration, all of the Vaer D5 Pacific models come with a black tropic-style rubber strap that tapers from 20mm at the case down to 18mm at its signed stainless steel buckle. As for the other strap/bracelet option, buyers of the Vaer D5 Pacific can opt for a Horween leather strap or one of three different stainless steel bracelets for a relatively reasonable premium, although the standard configuration gives buyers the choice of either a khaki NATO strap or a khaki two-piece nylon strap at no additional charge.

Once a brand proves that it is competent with the classics, it’s only natural for people to start wanting to see that company push the envelope a bit, and while I’ve always felt that Vaer makes good-looking watches that deliver strong value for the money, I have sometimes wished that its models were just slightly more unconventional from a design standpoint. To be fair, classically styled divers and field watches are the kinds of timepieces that people tend to gravitate towards the most, and now that Vaer has built itself a strong core collection of multiple different models with highly versatile appearances, the brand is clearly letting its hair down a bit and being more adventurous and playful with its designs. With an official retail price of $649 USD for the standard configuration that comes with both rubber and fabric straps, the Vaer D5 Pacific watches represent compelling options for those who are in the market for a colorful vintage-themed diver, and the trio of models offer a thoroughly fresh and lighthearted take on the D5 concept while still feeling entirely authentic to Vaer as a brand. Additionally, while the three D5 Pacific watches were originally released in limited numbers, Vaer has plans to restock the top-performing models, which means that collectors who miss out on their favorite colorways the first time around will have an additional opportunity to add them to their collections. For more information on the Vaer D5 Pacific series, please visit the brand’s website.