A Dive Watch From A Brazilian Independent With A Focus On Vintage Watches: Dan Henry 1970
The story here is quite simple I wanted to try out a super compressor dive watch. I am a big fan of dive watches, with 7 currently in my 22 watch collection with number 8 hopefully incoming in less than a month, but I had not tried dual crown diver yet.
After deciding that I wasn’t going to spend a ridiculous amount of money on a style of watch I had no opinion on I narrowed my choice down to either a Spinnaker Bradner (review incoming) or this 1970 and I prefered the dial on this one.
Specifications
Diameter 40mm
Thickness 14.8mm
Lug to Lug 45.7mm
Lug Width 22mm
Case Material Stainless Steel
Water Resistance 200m
2 Screw Down Crowns one for inner rotating bezel
Screw down caseback with Dan Henry illustration.
Brand
Dan Henry (yes he named the brand after himself, nothing wrong with that, ever heard if Christopher Ward or Gerald Charles Genta) is an established and well known collector of vintage timepieces, I would direct anyone interested in this to visit his Instagram page or website Timeline.Watch that showcases his impressive collection.
His watches received a lot of attention and this led to the creation of the Dan Henry brand, with the stated aim of introducing attainable versions of his watches into the watch market. The bulk of his collection are quartz or Meca-quartz chronographs, but there are a few mechanical pieces in his line, such as this 1970.
Positive Points
Okay so first things first this is a nicely affordable compressor dive watch. This has not been built with the budget of a high end Swiss timepiece, and so should not be compared to one; it won’t feel like, or look like under close inspection, a Longinnes Legend Diver, and should definitely not be compared to such, as that is simply unfair as this costs the merest fraction of the price of that admittedly very nice diver.
Having said that this is a very nice looking watch. As I’ve already made mention of the dial on this is stunning, even ignoring the price the blue dial is stunning, and I do mean the whole dial. The three different blue colours help break up the dial without being too jarring; the text is small and discrete, leaving as much of that beautiful blue as free as possible; the date complication, while not colour matched matches in with the painted indices; it is one of the most legible dials I’ve had with the white hands and indices and the minute track just outside of the indices with the 5 minute points clearly marked, enough so that I considered using this as a way to teach my oldest how to tell the time. On top of all that the lume is also quite good.
The rest of the watch also looks great. The crowns, while not necessarily signed have some nice cross hatching much better than having nothing (Seiko could learn from that) and the caseback illustration is fun, which considering the basic Seiko movement is undeniably a better decision than a display caseback.
Negative Issues
As I’ve already mentioned this watch is a budget piece and should not be compared to an expensive equivalent. However, even with that in mind this watch feels like a piece for display rather than for wearing. I won’t compare this to a luxury watch but after having tried this watch, I bought a Spinnaker Bradner and definitely preferred how that wore. In comparison to that Spinnaker this DH felt overly fragile for a diver. The watch felt really light and slim even more than you’d expect from a watch in this price bracket. You could feel the movement’s rotor whirling away whenever the watch moves and clearly hear it as well.
The dual crowns look great when screwed down but unscrewing the crowns they feel really loose and as if they may come out if dragged too hard, and the inner rotating bezel moves just a little too easily. Not to the same extent as the Malm Air Wolf Viggen I reviewed earlier but enough to feel as though it might not be built solidly.
Movement
This watch uses the Seiko 21,600beats per hour 24 jewel automatic movement. This movement boasts a 41hr power reserve and a date wheel. It’s a popular movement among affordable microbrands as it’s a well made inexpensive movement from one of the largest manufacturers of such movements Seiko. This should mean that in the event of a service being needed it should be relatively easy to do and parts can be sourced easily. Like I said the movement was clearly audible most likely because of the build quality of the case but there may have been an issue with the movement, I didn’t keep the watch long enough to warrant investigation.
Conclusion
So if you’ve got this far you’ll be aware that I didn’t keep it. I like to wear my pieces, and this one felt too fragile to me to be worn as I wear my other sport watches. Having said that I’m quite clumsy and if you’re not, or if you’re looking for a diver from the 1970’s but would rather have a modern easy to service movement at an affordable price, this might be the watch for you. If you like wearing your watch though I’d recommend looking elsewhere.