The Technomarine Steel Evo Carbon is the first quartz watch that I’ve picked up in a long time. Being the watch snob that I am, one of the first filters that I apply to a watch to decide if it will merit my interest is whether its a quartz or a mechanical. Therefore, for me to even consider a quartz watch to purchase or review, it has to have something really cool about it above and beyond its battery driven heart. I’m not made of stone after all.

Well, the fact that this review exists obviously tells you that this watch has made the grade and gotten past my filter. I’m willing to hazard a guess that because this has happened, this watch will be a strong seller for Technomarine.

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After-all, when Ariel sent me pictures of this watch, I was immediately drawn by how cool it looked. Don’t tell me that this watch isn’t at least pretty! Just look at all the carbon fibre elements spread throughout and the mean looking blackness of the entire watch. In fact, I only found this out later but Ariel told me how he found the watch to be very pretty as well. So, thumbs up on the looks then from two ABTW reviewers.

The first thing that it reminded me of were the Hublot Ferrari carbon fibre watches that I got to see and handle recently in Geneva. Aside from the carbonfibre-ness, (is that even a word?) these watches share an unmistakable sportiness and masculine feel and most of all, a fun factor which really cannot be quantified.

I was told recently that designs filter down from the high-end brands, designs that have become popular and so attain an aspirational feel, making them coveted as well by the masses. This might have happened with the Technomarine, admittedly a more mass-market brand, resulting in the adoption of stylistic traits that share a similar feel with the high end Hublot. I do not know for sure though. Carbon fibre, as a material, has been steadily increasing in popularity, making their appearance in the collections of many brands.

The feel of carbon fibre is different from traditional stainless steel or precious metals like gold and platinum, not having the cold touch of metal or the smoothness. It is a little difficult to describe, having some of the tactile sensation of plastic, but with extreme rigidity. Whatever the case may be this watch certainly looks on trend, and I wear it feeling all cool and technical at the same time.

At $950 USD, the Technomarime Steel Evo Carbon has a respectable list of features that make for a satisfying watch purchase. For starters, we have a Rhonda quartz caliber 5040D chronograph in a 45 mm case that wears well even for a thin wrist-ed person like me. Furthermore, the case is accented by a unidirectional bezel and offers 200m water resistance helped by a screw-down crown. Don’t get too excited if you’re a diver however, as this is not a dive watch despite these specs and the word “marine” in the brand name.