I will admit that saying the full brand name and model of this timepiece will result in a bit of a tongue twister. Try saying Venezianico Nereide Avventurina a few times fast in a row. Even said slowly, the complicated assortment of syllables (the brand name has six syllables alone) is a challenge for most non-Italians to say. And then again, the general density of horological appreciation as a topic is part of what attracts people to the hobby in the first place. As complicated as it is to say the name of this watch, the appeal of the Venezianico Nereide Avventurina is rather straightforward and simple to understand. It is an entry-level priced mechanical diver’s-style watch with the added benefit of a handsome design and two decorative materials that give this otherwise conservative timepiece some celebratory pizazz.
The two materials I am speaking about are tungsten and aventurine. Both of these are natural materials that can also be industrialized or produced synthetically. Tungsten is a heavy, gray metal that is very hard and can thus be given a highly polished surface. Tungsten is actually not that common in watches even though it is attractive and masculine. In this version of Venezianico’s Nereide family watch, tungsten is used as the insert material for the unidirectional rotating diver’s style timing bezel. I believe other versions of the Nereide have different bezel insert materials, such as ceramic.
The more artistic use of materials is the aventurine (avventurina) dial. Aventurine is a family of colored, mostly quartz minerals. It comes in both natural and synthetic forms. In many instances, the synthetic form is more attractive because it is created with beauty in mind. The aventurine dial used on this Nereide timepiece is a good example. In deep blue, it sparkles like a quasi-celestial display thanks to an artistic blend of reflective inclusions introduced during the material formation process. This and related mineral manufacturing techniques have been an Italian specialty for many years, and I believe the aventurine used in these watch dials is of Italian origin.
I’ve been very open in the past about how I like otherwise standard tool watches but with decorative elements. I’ve really enjoyed dive watches with mother-of-pearl dials, and this watch with an aventurine dial is enjoyable in the same vein. It offers all the durability and legibility of a diver’s watch, but with visual decoration that allows it to be more celebratory in mood, and certainly less boring in personality. Really, that is all it took to make something fun and special out of what would otherwise be another of many, many around-$1,000 mechanical diver’s watches on today’s market.
The Venezianico brand is among the newer crop of watch companies looking to merge popular looks with elements of brand character and personality with value pricing. While not all of the products made by brands like this are enthusiast-grade, they often aim to appeal to enthusiasts (especially entry-level ones) and design-loving consumers seeking something fun but not necessarily from a major name brand.
Much of how the Nereide is designed is to fit into the mold of what a modern diver’s watch looks and feels like, with little bits and pieces of brand DNA. While the current Nereide is a very pleasant timepiece, it will be some time before Venezianico figures out ways of making it truly feel distinctive to the brand. Value is still a huge part of the purchase proposition, so the goal of the Nereide is, of course, to grow the Venezianico brand, but also to offer an attractive price point to buyers.
On the wrist, the polished and brushed steel case is 42mm-wide and about 12mm-thick. It doesn’t wear too tall given the rounding of the caseback. The case also has a 49mm-long lug-to-lug distance, which helps the case wear more sensibly thanks to the curved, shorter lugs. Case finishing and quality are pretty good, especially for the price point. The watch is diver’s-style with 200 meters of water resistance; 300 meters is a bit more “tool watch,” but 200 meters will withstand pretty much any water scenario these watches are likely to encounter. On the caseback of the watch is a laser-etched motif of a submarine underwater. The composition is pleasant enough, but it seems a bit generic and lacks a personality that really connects to the rest of the watch (outside of the basic underwater theme).
The dial of the Nereide is legible and handsome, but again, not particularly distinctive. Without the sparking aventurine dial, this would not be as interesting a face to look at. The dial has a date window at 3 o’clock and features applied hour markers. The hands, hour markers, and the lume pip at the 60-minute mark on the bezel are all painted with Super-LumiNova. Inside the watch is a Swiss Made Sellita caliber SW200-1 automatic movement. This 4Hz, roughly two-day power reserve movement frequently shows up in watches like this, as well as more expensive ones, and is a good solution for having an affordable, albeit higher-quality automatic movement from Switzerland.
By default, the Venezianico Nereide Avventurina watches come on a fitted blue rubber strap. It looks handsome, but it wears stiffly and the friction you get when it moves on itself makes putting the watch on and taking it off require a bit more time. I much prefer the Nereide on Venezianico’s available “Canova” matching steel bracelet, which is a mere $85 add-on. It takes inspiration from other bracelets but is a great look and has an attractive taper to it. Venezianico opted for a more svelte wearing experience on the wrist and gave it a butterfly-style deployant clasp. This is how I prefer to wear the Nereide Avventurina. That said, there are a number of other 22mm-wide straps that would no doubt complement this watch swimmingly.
Overall, the Venezianico Nereide Avventurina is a good value for an attractive watch that uses some materials you don’t often find at this price point, or in watches of this design. I agree that there is market interest in designs like this, and Venezianico is correct in suggesting that this is a compelling look. People accustomed to higher-end watches might enjoy this as a beater watch (or gift to others), but the Nereide is really more focused on newer or more budget-minded timepiece enthusiasts (of which there are many). More so, this is the type of watch that also has enough mainstream appeal that people beyond timepiece nerds will take an interest in this product. Price for the Venezianico Nereide Avventurina watch at the time of writing is $845 USD. Learn more at the Venezianico website here.
