Sponsored Post
Stranger Watches is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In Fort Lauderdale, our lives revolve around the night life, sand, and water. Fishing, swimming, and diving are not an occasional vacation activity, but rather they are a way of life for many of the residents of the area. Most of us don’t live to work, but rather work to live in the tropical paradise of South Florida.
Route A1A through the city skirts the ocean front. The road is dotted with dive shops, restaurants, and T-shirt shops intermingled with new high-end apartments and condos. Dive boats visit the many wrecks right off shore on a daily basis, some with several dives, morning, afternoon, and the occasional night dive.
When we started Stranger Watch Company, our first line of timepieces were water-resistant and would hold up well for a short dip in a wave or a fall in the pool, but when diving off the Fort Lauderdale Beach or diving on many of the local wrecks dotting the South Florida Coastline, the watch ended up in the dive bag, stuffed inside the toe of a boat shoe. The Classic Stranger Watch was swapped out for a low-end dive watch with an inexpensive plastic band. After the dive, the watch would be rinsed with some fresh water and put back in the dive bag with the mask, flippers, and regulator.
As a diver for most of my adult life, a challenge was put to the design team. The objective was to design a new diver watch, which could be worn every day, have clean, classic lines, and still have the durability needed to stand up to the salt water, sand, and the occasional bang against the hull of the “Mercedes” sitting in just about 100 feet of clear South Florida water (a great dive).
The matte finish of the Stranger Predator Series watch works well against the hammered dial and will not attract the occasional barracuda swimming by looking for the reflective flash of many other diver watches available. There will be no worry about the water resistance as it is tested to 100 meters. The watch is tough and good-looking, with classic highlights.
The second challenge in the design of the Stranger Ocean Predator Series was to design a watch that could be worn out in the evening in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale night life. The Stranger Predator Series watch retains the truly unique and classic looks of a high-end timepiece at a reasonable price. It is at home diving on a wreck, at the ocean front bar, or out at one of the many clubs that make up the unique South Florida lifestyle. The automatic Stranger Ocean Predator watch is a timepiece that can live with the active water lifestyle we truly enjoy.
The Stranger Ocean Predator series includes 4 models:
The Bull Shark
Brushed 316L stainless steel case, black hammered dial, jagged edges, and the rotating bezel under the sapphire crystal underline the essence of an aggressive and solid timepiece.
The Barracuda
Brushed 44mm rose gold case with white hammered dial, rotating bezel under the sapphire, and thick indexes and hands filled with Super-LumiNova.
The Leopard Seal
Black hammered dial on this 44mm brushed rose gold case, with dual crown functions for easy bezel, time, and date settings.
The Orca
Black brushed case with black hammered dial combine for an exquisite look.
Design
Uncovering the essence of each design element in every model of the Ocean Predator Collection.
The case: Distinctly highlighted by the brushed coating, this makes it a practical design element during the actual dives. A brushed case is not only a thing of beauty, but also very practical since divers refrain from wearing shiny objects or anything that would attract unnecessary attention.
The hands: Thick hour, minute, and the sweeping second hands with heavy Super-LumiNova filling underline the beauty of these hands. The minute hand is particularly thicker as it serves the purpose of the starting point when setting the bezel prior to submerging.
The bezel: Strategically positioned under the sapphire crystal, our rotating bezel is an essential asset of the watch. For those who are new to diver watches, the bezel is used to track the time spent under water. Prior to submerging, the diver positions the bezel starting point (triangle at 12 o’clock) against the position of the minute hand in order to keep track of the elapsed time. Each scuba dive lasts between approximately 45 and 60 minutes, and we have highlighted the first 15 minutes of the bezel with extra markers to provide the ease of time tracking under water at 15-minute intervals. So why the positioning under the sapphire bezel? As avid divers ourselves, and based on feedback from other fellow divers, one of the most common frustrations with diver watches is the external bezel, which can be easily moved or inadvertently misaligned during the dive.
The dial: The first thing that you will notice immediately about the Stranger Predator Collection models – the hammered dial. The textured design with unique hammered patterns create an astounding combination with the flawless and smooth lines of the case. Heavy round indexes filled with Super-LumiNova create a practical feature to be used in dark environments.
The crown: In this instance, it is the crowns. Each crown features a ribbed and thick pattern which makes it easier to handle and operate. We’ve added an extra crown that would handle the positioning of the bezel. The second crown serves the regular purpose of time and date settings.
Specifications
Movement: NH35 Self-Winding Automatic Movement
Case: Brushed surgical steel 316L | 44mm
Dial: Hammered texture | applied indexes filled with Super-LumiNova | HR, MIN, SEC hands | Date window
Glass: Sapphire Crystal
Bezel: Rotating Bezel under the Sapphire Crystal
Crown: 2 screw-in crowns at 2H and 4H
Water Resistance: 20 ATM | 200 Meters | 660 Feet
Caseback: Screw-in caseback with embossed markings
Strap: Heavy stitch Kevlar strap | water resistant
The Ocean Predator Collection is now available for pre-order via KickStarter here with special pricing $329-$399 and rewards for a limited time only. Stranger Watch Company has a solid track record on KickStarter having successfully launched and fulfilled its flagship Thoroughbred Collection. More information can be found at strangertime.com.
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