Today, I would like to review the AC 14 Marine Green 39MM diver’s-style watch from the newer watch brand Trematic. The company is based in Italy but with Swiss Made products and a focus on creating trendy colors and looks that merge with the appeal of vintage-style designs. The Trematic AC 14 39MM is the brand’s only current watch model with a variety of dial colors and two bezel options available. Given the popularity of green/blue dial colors right now, I felt it would be best to review the “Marine Green” dial version of the Trematic AC 14 39MM.
The Marine Green dial is currently the wildest color with the “Crimson Red” being a close second. Other available dial colors include navy blue, white, silver, and, of course, black. The dial of the AC 14 is clearly where Trematic put the most design attention for this watch collection. The dial design is Omega-esque, recalling the Seamaster with the shape of its hands and some of the Arabic numeral hour markers. That said, Trematic isn’t necessarily trying to emulate any particular Omega watch, but rather to fashionably curate existing design elements into a new composition. This type of design exercise is extremely common among newer, enthusiast-focused watch brands. It succeeds because it presents something familiar enough that fans understand it and how to wear it, but with just enough novelty to be considered a new flavor of timepiece.
The AC 14 dials begin with a three-dimensional woodgrain/moving water-style pattern, which reminds me of some of the textures we have seen from Seiko and Grand Seiko. The lume-painted hour markers are applied, and the deep-set dial has a steel flange ring with the “Trematic” name repeated around it, similar to how Rolex does it. This is a clear emulation of Rolex style and doesn’t really add anything fresh to the mix. Trematic was correct to use a brushed finish for the hands, which helps them feel more “tool-style,” as well as legible. The hour and minute hands would, however, benefit from a crease down the middle, allowing them to not feel as flat. Trematic’s designers clearly care about shapes very much. You can see an interesting play on the dial, as there are a lot of interesting circle and square shapes that make up the hands and markers.
More art direction took place in the design of the unidirectional rotating bezel, which, depending on the AC 14 version, has either a polished steel insert or, like in this Marine Green model, a polished black tungsten insert. Trematic decided to go with a neat vintage-style bezel design (with a fashion twist) with markers for the first 15 minutes and then just curved single lines to fill in the rest of the space. It is a good mixture of style and functionality.
The watch case itself is 39mm wide in polished steel but feels larger given the relative thickness of the 12.5mm case. It has a modest 46.5mm lug-to-lug distance, and the case is water-resistant to 200 meters with a screw-down crown. Over the dial is a slightly raised flat AR-coated sapphire crystal. The slightly raised effect adds to the vintage-style tool watch look of the AC 14. Inside the watch is a Swiss Made Sellita SW200-1 automatic movement. The mechanical movement operates at 4Hz with about two days of power reserve. This is a very common and appropriate movement for enthusiast dive watches of this type.
While the detailing on the AC 14 dial is impressive, the case and bracelet are a bit more basic in their execution. Of course, this is a launch product from the brand, and this will only get better. The caseback is clearly on the simpler side, and the case, while entirely durable enough, could have slightly more precise machined and polished lines. Many of these are small issues, but given that the AC 14 breaks the 1,000 Euros price point, it is important to understand how challenging the competition is out there. When it comes to enthusiast dive watches, the game is always to create the most appealing mixture of design, components, price, and story. There is no formula for how to do this or what will resonate most with consumers, but since people buy plenty of enthusiast dive watches each day, we see brands like Trematic doing their best to get their share of consumer attention.
The 39mm wide size is very popular right now for a lot of watch enthusiasts. For me, the size is still on the smaller side, but that is merely my personal preference. Others find 39mm wide sports watches to be ideal. Plus, with the AC 14 not being a particularly thin watch, the Trematic doesn’t really wear small to begin with. Really, there is no perfect size for a dive watch (or any other watch, for that matter). All the differences in wristwatch shape and dimensions simply reflect the larger variety of tastes and anatomies out there.
Trematic tries to get into some sustainable storytelling when it comes to the strap options. You need to choose which of a few available strap and bracelet options you like, as the watch doesn’t come with more than one. I think this is also a way for Trematic to make more money as it hopes people will get a favored watch case “head,” and then accessorize it with various straps. Really, any 20mm wide straps can work on the AC 14, but the available options from Trematic include a gray “recycled” rubber strap, two “Apple Skin” faux leather straps, and the pictured available matching steel bracelet. In my opinion, the Trematic AC 14 39MM looks best on the available metal bracelet. Another good option would be to pair it with a NATO-style strap, but that is something you’ll have to source on your own. My guess is that one of the first areas for Trematic to keep expanding is in its strap options in terms of choices and quality.
Italian-based watch brands tend to focus on style and presentation, neither of which are lacking in the Trematic AC 14 Marine Green 39MM watch. Sure, the watch has some quirks and feels a bit pricey for what you get, but this is a brand that’s off to a great start, and you can feel the passion it has for its product in the website design, wooden packaging material, and high level of overall brand production values. So, don’t tremble but tread over to Trematic to see what’s there. Price for the reference 141613 (on the steel bracelet) Trematic AC 14 Marine Green 39MM watch is 1,250 Euros (a bit less on the straps). Learn more at the Trematic watches website.
Necessary Data
>Brand: Trematic
>Model: AC 14 Marine Green 39MM (as tested)
>Price: 1,250 Euros
>Size: 39mm wide, 12.5mm thick, 46.5mm lug-to-lug distance.
>When reviewer would personally wear it: As a competent vintage-style modern dive watch, this particular dial color would match what I am wearing.
>Friend we’d recommend it to first: Fan of newer, smaller watch brands who falls for this particular type of look and is seeking a watch of this size.
>Best characteristic of watch: Good-looking presentation and handsome watch. Fashionable design and a good assortment of debut styles.
>Worst characteristic of watch: Somewhat expensive; case and bracelet could be a bit better for the price point, and included strap options could be a bit nicer.
