In March 2015, the monthly giveaway watch on aBlogtoWatch was a Halios Tropik B. The Winner was Lachlan B., who has written a review of his new bronze diver for the aBlogtoWatch audience. Thanks to Lachlan and all the other watch winners who share experiences with the world. Here is Lachlan’s review:
I’ve had the Halios Tropik B for a couple of weeks now, and it has been an absolute pleasure to have on the wrist. It’s not called the Tropik B for nothing. The case is made of an Aluminum Nickel Bronze alloy, which is something I’ve never seen on a watch before. It is absolutely stunning in person, sometimes looking gold, sometimes with a hint of silver. As most probably know, the bronze will develop a natural patina over time, and I’m really looking forward to seeing this process.
The Halios Tropik B is a diving watch with a respectable 300M water resistance in a 41mm case, the perfect size for me. The sapphire crystal is domed and has an antireflective coating. In my short time collecting, I actually have never had a watch with AR coating, and it certainly makes a difference in legibility, particularly in direct sunlight. The Halios Tropik B also has a signed screw-down crown and an engraved solid case back.
The model I received has a deep black dial. The colour is smooth, almost glossy, and looks amazing at every angle. The hands are perfectly matched and coated with Blue Superluminova. The seconds hand is longer than usual, reaching right out to the small minute indices around the outside of the dial. While the bronze hour indices are applied, and also have Superluminova. The date wheel at 3 matches the dial (thank god) with red numerals, adding a little extra colour to the dial. There is a small applied white dot to replace the 3.
The Halios Tropik B has a fairly standard Miyota 9015 inside it. Nothing particularly special, but very reliable. I’ve noticed that the rotor makes a fair bit of noise as it winds, but personally, I actually sort of enjoy being able to hear the heart of the watch.
The Halios Tropik B arrived with 3 three straps: One brown leather, one green leather, and a green nylon strap with a black leather underside. The nylon strap was stiff but within minutes adjusted to my wrist. I changed to the brown leather strap recently which is very supple and has been very comfortable. I didn’t have any strap-changing tools, but Halios was kind enough to send me a mini toolkit!
Overall, the Halios Tropik B is a fantastic watch. I’ve only had it for a couple of weeks, but it has been an absolute joy to wear. It has barely left my wrist since it arrived, and I have had endless compliments on it. Possibly my favourite aspect of this watch is how it can be dressed up and down; it doesn’t look out of place with a t-shirt and shorts, but also looks great for a night out. If anyone is considering purchasing one of these beauties, I definitely recommend pulling the trigger. You won’t regret it!
Finally, I’d like to thank the team at aBlogtoWatch (Especially Bilal for being so responsive over email!) and Jason at Halios for organising this competition. As a fairly broke University student and WIS, receiving a prize like this has been a huge deal for me and I am forever grateful. halioswatches.com