Revelot Hexmariner Review

One of the problems when it comes to designing or discussing dive watches in general is that there is a giant elephant in the room: the Rolex Submariner. For better or worse, this is THE dive watch according to the cultural zeitgeist. If you're wearing a black watch with a bezel, it's a Rolex Submariner in the eye of the general public - sorry, I don't make the rules, that's just how it is.

The submariner is an icon for a reason - before everything got turned on its head and it became a luxury chase item, back when dive watches were actually used for...well...diving, it could be argued it towas the apotheosis of what a dive watch was supposed to be - the intersection of swiss precision, functionality, and durability. When I first started getting into watches, I thought that a no date sub was IT, the peak of dive watch design and everything

else was either derivative or inferior. 

So what's a microbrand to do? In my mind, a dive watch has to adhere to certain design principles - a unidirectional bezel, large lumed indicies and hands with an emphasis on legibility, and a rugged case with water resistance and a screw down crown. With these limitations in mind - there are three options.

1. Switch it up and find another source of vintage inspired design (Blancpain, doxa , etc).

2. Develop your own design language, and if you've been around for long enough, pull inspiration from your back catalog (looking at you Seiko).

3. Recognize how much the Submariner got right, and ape the design while avoiding flying too close to the sun lest they be labeled a homage brand.

With the hexmariner, Revelot took option 3. But instead of avoiding the sun, they aimed right at it and blasted out the other side all the stronger for it. The Hexmariner is unapologetic about its source of influence - it's name alone announces it's intentions; the product page proudly touts giving an "angular facelift" to the Submariner design. It does exactly what it says on the tin and it's brilliant - it's a submariner, but with hexagons.

On to the watch specs. The watch is available in two sizes, 39mm and 42mm. Lug with is 22mm. Lug to lug is 48mm and the thickness is 13mm including the flat sapphire crystal that sits above the ceramic bezel. Of note, my Hexmariner is the 42mm V2 version. As far as I am aware, the major changes to the V3 are that the bracelet was changed from 3 to 5 links, tapers from 22mm to 20mm,  and has an improved clasp with glidelock adjustment. Aside from the 5 link bracelet I think all of these changes will significantly improve the watch. 

if you are unfamiliar with the brand, Revelot is a Malaysian microbrand that started in 2017. Like many smaller micros, they often do limited runs of unique dial materials and spec configuration. I was first made aware of the brand when j saw a Hexmariner with a deep blood red dial - it was beautufu. For extra context, the Seiko SamurK is My particular dial is called "old mint" but in my opinions it's more of a pistachio color. The hexagon motif is in full force on the dial - the indicies are all hexagons, the hands are sharply angled to the same proportions as the indices, and the dial itself has a pattern that looks almost like a hexagon patterned quilt.

The lume fiends are going to like this one - the hands and indices all have a healthy amount of swiss  luninova  but my favorite touch is that the quilted dial is faintly lumed. It doesn't last long but it is a nice extra layer of depth. 

The angled hexagon motif continus to the ceramic bezal, with lume applied heavily to the numerals and markers. The numerals and indices along the bezel are nice and thick - it fits well with the overall presence of the watch. The 120 clock bezel is perfectly functional and has the right amount of resistance. It's not the most satisfying bezel to operate - the haptics and snap as it turns just don't feel as good as some other divers, but we are getting into the realm of personal nitpicks here. 

The hard geometric lines are strongly featured on the case, where it serves the design well allowing the lugs to slant down in a way that hugs the wrist. The angles of the lugs match the male endlinks of the bracelet, continuing the angular motif through the bracelet. The case is fully brushed with chamfered edges. There are plenty of sharp angles but only visually - it's a very comfortable on the wrist. The crown is signed and has a lumed Revelot logo. The rehaut is engraved with "Revelot Hexmariner" - a detail I love. Since we are being so unapologetic about our influence here, the Rolex style rehaut perfectly fits with the intentions of the watch. It's subtle enough that you don't notice it most of the time - I wouldn't let this feature be a deal breaker because it is very subtle.

The bracelet is the weak point of the watch, but I believe all of my issues are corrected for the v3 hexmariner. Also calling it the weak point is a bit hyperbolic and speaks to the quality of the rest of the watch. I think the design of the bracelet is great and fits the lines of the watch well - if I could benchmark it against something it would be the Seiko Samurai and it's bracelet. I was surprised by the pin and collar bracelet adjustment, but it's still a perfectly acceptable method and only a one time issue to deal with. I believe the v3 has a screw link adjustment. The bracelet was a little bit squeaky and didn't feel "premium" out of the box but with a little more wrist time things have settled out and I'm happy with it now. The OTF adjustment works well, and I'm able to dial in a good fit with no issues.

So to summarize - The Revelot offers a lot of value here. For around $350 you get a diver that takes the best part of the Submariner design and puts it's own twist on things with its own strong design language. Revelot as a brand is doing a lot of cool stuff with a lot of interesting materials, and I think they are definitely worth keeping your eye on if they aren't already on your radar.