None of the indices are luminous nor is any part of the bezel. The only luminous parts are the hands and even then the lume coated areas are quite small. Admittedly, despite appearances, reading this watch is quite difficult in low light as the hands do not stand out against the background very well, and the chronograph sub dials make it even more of a challenge for this purpose. This therefore rules out the watch as a serious diving instrument.
Of course, if you understand what this watch is about then concerns of readability will not bother you. After all, it was the look and the carbon fibre bits that brought me to the party in the first place.
First of all, we have the case composed of 316L stainless steel coated in carbon. I have no idea what this means, but the case retains the weight of a traditional stainless steel watch with the look feel of carbon. It would have been nice of course to have the entire case made out of carbon, but I am guessing that this might make the watch more expensive. Furthermore the case has a decidedly masculine shape with a beveled edged along the side and nicely shaped crown guards
The dial is full carbon fibre, and under certain light, you can see the carbon fibre weave. Added to the mix is a black silicon strap with a nylon top insert with a “carbon look” as described by the Technomarine website, and a huge signed black metal buckle. On top of that, the strap is easily detachable via a pin, making straps changes easy. (Shades of the Hublot Ferrari again!)
Wear-ability and comfort is one of the highlights of this watch and I found the silicon strap and the design of the case made for a comfortable watch-wearing experience. In fact, if you find out more about Technomarine, one of the aspects of their watches that they put lots of thought into is the comfort of their strap. It certainly shows.
There is nothing much to write home concerning the chronograph movement. The sub-dial at 6 o’clock measures to 1/10 of a second for the first 30 seconds, then starts measuring up to 12 hours after that. Still, I like the orange accents surrounding the two chronograph sub-dials and the feel of the chronograph pushers. Smooth and effortless to operate, they also gave a nice satisfying click. To mechanical chronograph aficionados, I would like to add more more thing. One of the pleasures of using a quartz chronograph is in resetting the measured time to zero. While mechanical chronographs jump back faster than the eye can see. Quartz chronographs have a deliberate and showy spin in unison to zero. This is probably nothing new to most people, but was an unexpected pleasure for me coming back to a quartz chronograph from mechanical ones.
Technomarine is a luxury fashion brand and makes watches that range in price from 250GBP to 5000GBP. Most of their watches are quartz chronographs, and some occasional mechanical ones. Though the higher priced watches in their range tend to be that way because of diamonds thrown into the mix.
If you take a look at their website, you’ll find that Technomarine is all about colour, design, and mixing up elements from high-end watches to create something new. Another way to think of it is like a grown up Swatch with better materials which is reflected in the higher price.
As a luxury fashion watch brand, they produce watches to be on trend and to look good. And look good it does, as it only took a glance of the picture of the Steel Evo Carbon to convince me to want to review this watch.
The little touches are also delightful as well. Take the Technomarine logo, which looks a little naughty and devilish, and sometimes like vampires teeth. I even like the red tip of the main chronograph seconds hand and the tail as well, which though unnecessarily pointy, is a delight all the same.
This watch is part of the Steel Evo collection and comes in a few different versions. The main selling point of the collection is the case finish that resembles stone. I personally feel though that the Carbon is without doubt the coolest looking one of the collection.
On the wrist, the watch has a mean presence, and the cool look of carbon fibre. One of the things that struck me as well was weave pattern on the strap which would shimmer under certain types of light, which was an unexpected visual surprise. Even the words “Carbon Case” on the dial were fun to look at again and again.
All in all then, plenty of visual surprises to delight your eye, and really a cool watch to look at. And again, for people like me, the simple pleasure of not needing to set the time again if you’ve set down the watch for awhile, though please ignore this if you’re not a mechanical snob like me. Priced at $950 USD. technomarine.com
Necessary Data
>Brand: Technomarine
>Model: Steel Evo Carbon
>Price: $950 as reviewed
>Would reviewer personally wear it: Yes
>Friend we’d recommend it to first: Anyone wanting a chronograph with Carbon Fibre looks or wannabe Formula 1 drivers or fashion savvy dressers needing something for the weekend.
>Best characteristic of watch: Looks serious and technical but with fun design touches that tell you to relax and have fun.
>Worst characteristic of watch: As a quartz watch, this won’t appeal to horological snobs.
