Islander, the house brand of watch retailer Island Watch, has a penchant for naming watches after points of interest along Long Island, New York’s picturesque shoreline. For its newest dive watch release, Islander has bestowed the name Kings Point — an appropriate choice, as the quaint north shore village of King Point is home to the United States Merchant Marine Academy. Though the Merchant Marines can trace their lineage back centuries, the Academy on Kings Point was established in 1943 to train midshipmen. A highly selective and prestigious institution, President Franklin D. Roosevelt said it best when he noted “the Academy serves the Merchant Marine as West Point serves the Army and Annapolis the Navy.” The new Islander Kings Point honors Long Island’s nautical history with a 42mm dive watch that comes in a spectrum of colors, with professional specs that belie its modest $345 USD price.
As has become a trademark for Islander, the Kings Point provides exceptional value. Unlike many brands, however, Islander does so while still offering a novel design and attention to detail. For the Kings Point, Islander combines an attractive mix of modern and vintage styling. The case measures in at 42.4mm in diameter, 14.2mm in height (including the single-domed sapphire crystal), and 50mm lug-to-lug distance. With these dimensions, the Kings Point is an ideal size for someone looking to buck the small watch trend and wear something a bit larger but not overbearing.
The case of the Kings Point is comprised of fully brushed angular planes that evoke the lines of an F-117 Stealth Fighter. Just as the F-117’s faceted shape was designed to evade detection, the flat surfaces of the Islander scatter light in different directions, avoiding bright reflections. Perfect for a watch that can fly under the radar (unless, of course, you opt for the eye-catching Lavender or Sky Blue dial).
The aggressive lines of the case carry through to the custom bracelet, which tapers from 20mm at the lugs down to 18mm at the six-position milled scissor clasp. The bracelet is as solid as you’d expect from Islander, with solid end-links and solid links secured with screws. The only exceptions to the finely brushed surface on the bracelet are two small areas on each link that are polished, adding contrast and a touch of class.
The Islander Kings Point is offered in five dial colors, three classics and two in head-turning hues. The Metallic White, Midnight Blue, and Raven Black dials are all set off with pops of orange on the seconds hand and text, with the Metallic White Dial extending the orange touches into the indices and date window. These dial colors may be classic, but there’s nothing dated about Islander’s execution.
For those looking for a watch that evokes tropical tones, the Lavender and Sky Blue dials are the way to go. With a grass-green seconds hand and fully luminous white bezel insert, there’s simply nothing like the Lavender Kings Point on the market. Meanwhile, the Sky Blue hues are a charming throwback to SCUBA’s golden era of the 1960s and 70s.
The dials are eye-catching, but the details are even more impressive — just look at the sloped, faceted applied markers and the deep relief concentric circles on the dial. The hands and indices are filled with C3 and BGW9 Swiss Super-LumiNova and lume also been added to the outer track of the dial for a spectacular nocturnal light show.
Despite the low price, Islander doesn’t skimp on the details. Whichever color you choose, each is complemented by a 120-click, unidirectional dive bezel with a lumed ceramic insert. Each watch also features a screw-down crown, solid screw-down caseback, and 200m of water resistance.
Powering the Kings Point is the ever-reliable Seiko NH35 automatic movement. The NH35 features hand-winding, hacking seconds, 41 hours of power reserve, and beats at 21.6kbph. In addition, the NH35 features a date complication, which is displayed at 6 o’clock to provide balance and symmetry to the dial.
The Kings Point is priced at $345 USD on its stainless-steel bracelet. However, if you prefer a rubber strap, Islander has designed its BRAC-115 strap to fit perfectly into the lugs for seamless integration with the case. By whatever metric you choose, the Islander Kings Point offers exceptional value. To learn more about Islander and the Kings Point, please visit the brand’s website.
