Small brands often launch and carry on with singular elements. These brands have thought of a novel dial, or a neat bezel, or maybe even a wild case. Even with those who design every component — or claim to — it’s often easy to tell which part was the seed from which the rest sprouted. A balanced design that hides the germination process is rare, even in this day and age when these smaller brands are producing better and better watches. Out of the gate, it seems that’s what Horizon Watches has done, with Art Deco-inspired design that has been refined with the successive release of each of its three models. The Horizon Nemo is the brand’s latest release. It sees its foundational case design paired with a new bracelet and compelling dials for what I would call a classic example of the “gentleman’s diver.”
The gentleman’s diver is not a new concept, even if it’s not a common term (yet). The idea is that in designing a watch a brand, intentionally or not, creates a watch with all the visual cues of a diver, but one that may be more suited to the notions of watersport rather than the actual doing of watersport. The Omega Seamaster (especially the 2254.50 and its slippery-when-wet bezel) is an excellent example of a gentleman’s diver, as is the 18k gold-plated Zodiac Super Sea Wolf I recently reviewed. Certainly, these watches can be used in the water, but their aesthetics (and in some cases their functionality) suggest that might not be where they’re most at home. While most people with dive watches rarely use them as intended, the gentleman diver makes it clear through less robust, more refined design that it might be better worn with a three-piece suit than a wetsuit.
None of that is to say that the Horizon Nemo isn’t a capable watch. Rather, it’s a far cry from the utilitarian design of the Tudor Black Bay or the Rolex Submariner, and even further from something technically advanced like the Blancpain X Fathoms. The Nemo checks all your dive watch boxes: sapphire crystal, unidirectional bezel, screw-down crown, and 200 meters of water resistance. However, even a quick glance makes clear that the spec sheet was secondary to the design. The case here is an updated version of Horizon’s first model, also a dive watch originally called the Nautilus but now simply referred to as the “N” (for perhaps obvious reasons). Every dimension has been resized too, resulting in a 40mm case that’s 48mm lug-to-lug and 11.85mm thick. The crown guards on the Nemo also have a more organic flow as they emerge from the case. On the wrist, the watch wears easily and comfortably.
The case is notable for its stepped design, which sees the vertically brushed case band give way to polished lugs, the interiors of which feature raised elements that are brushed. It clearly evokes the tiered designs of Art Deco buildings, if a bit less so than the Bremoir Lexington. The crown itself is rather simple, perhaps because fitting the brand’s logo on there would be ridiculous. I’m unmoved in either direction, but will note that it operates well and that its design reasserts the stepped lugs’ aesthetic. The bezel is a weak point for me: while I like the fully lumed, flat sapphire insert, the tension is simply too tight. When wet, it’s almost impossible to turn, and even when dry, it’s somewhat stiff and the clicks aren’t as satisfying as I’d prefer.
The 22mm strap and bracelet compel me toward the idea that Horizon is delivering a fully designed watch, without a detectable trace of a singular starting point. I know the case is an evolution of the “N” case, but I don’t think that precludes this idea of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts. Every element in this this watch complements each other, and nothing is more pronounced than the others, but bracelets and straps are the easiest place for a brand to phone things in. The rubber strap has a custom design, with a substantial buckle that echoes the case’s design and two floating keepers, one of which slots into notches so it doesn’t wander too far. The bracelet, though, is entirely new for Horizon. We’ve seen these wide, flat links before, but two things push this up and over the bar for me.
The first is the micro-adjust system in the butterfly clasp. It’s not as robust as clasp-integrated systems, but it offers sizing on either side of the closure, totaling a little over 1.5 links worth. The other is the way the bracelet terminates against the case. Instead of making it follow the complete line of the lugs all the way to the curve of the mid-case, the endlink plateaus and hits the case perpendicularly. It allows the finishing between the lugs to shine and creates another facet of the stepped design. On top of that, it’s novel and it works, and that should always be applauded.
The dial is eye-catching in its own right. The blue wave-pattern one seen here is just one of seven different models across this motif, with a vertically brushed texture and a matte finish. The brushed silver dial is a beauty, but I’d argue this blue dial is the most evocative of the watch’s name, which tips its hat to Jules Verne’s classic Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas and its intrepid Captain Nemo. The embossing here is deep and well-defined, and the color is a stunning blue with excellent color matching on the bezel and rubber strap. The wave pattern brings a bit more than the simple undulations depicted on an Omega Seamaster, but a bit less than the more dynamic dial on the newest TAG Heuer Aquaracer. Around the engraved wave dial is a simple, segmented chapter ring with hour/5-minute segmentation and minute markings. The bold paddle-style handset and lollipop seconds offer excellent legibility, though I imagine it may suffer on some of the lighter dials where the contrast is reduced. Of course, there are some true highlights of this dial.
Let’s begin with the fabulous deco cardinal hour markers. All the markers are jumbo-sized for excellent legibility with polished surrounds. The cardinal numerals are highly stylized, and remind me immediately of the artwork and architecture in an old luxury cruise liner, or more specifically, in the odd and excellent computer game from 1998, Starship Titanic (written and designed by Douglas Adams; I have no recollection of the plot of the game, but I do remember the visuals). Like the hands, they are filled with bright Super-LumiNova BGW9, which is evenly applied throughout (note that some models have Old Radium lume).
That lume application includes the date wheel, part of one of the finest date window executions I’ve ever seen. Carried over from the original “N” model, the window is the exact size of the round hour markers and is placed right at 4 o’clock. The lume application is a nice touch, but do be aware that in day-to-day use, it’s quite a bit dimmer than the hands, markers, and bezel. The downside of squeezing the date into a very defined area is that the date numbers have to fit an even smaller area. Ultimately, the date function loses a bit of utility as you’ve got to squint to make out the double-digit days. As someone who keeps himself generally aware of the passage of time, including the date, I thought the sacrifice was well worth it.
Powering the Horizon Nemo is the Swiss automatic Sellita SW200. An upgrade from the “N”‘s Seiko NH35, the SW200 allows for a thinner, higher spec movement, though I’m sure it’s also partly responsible for the price difference. Unless you’re brand new to watches (as always, welcome!), you know the SW200. It’s got an average 41-hour power reserve at 28,800 vph, and while Horizon doesn’t specify the grade used, it has a standard accuracy of -12/+12 seconds per day. Also, it’s incredibly easy to service.
The gentleman diver has an important place in the horological landscape. We all know that it’s the scarce few that actually use dive watches as intended, and so there’s no reason such watches need to be the boring utilitarian slabs they often are. The Horizon Nemo, like the brand’s other two models, acknowledges and leans into this by creating a beautiful watch for someone who may occasionally need a bezel to time things, but really just wants a great-looking watch with a touch of sport and a touch of class. The Horizon Nemo is priced at $1,100 USD. For more information, please visit the Horizon Watches website.
