Spinnaker Dumas Automatic SP-5081-DD

ABOUT SPINNAKER WATCHES:

The Spinnaker watch brand is focused on the design and manufacturing of sport watches with an emphasis in diving timepieces, the brand pays tribute to the technical understanding "for a life beneath, beyond and beside the sea".

These watches are designed and manufactured in Hong Kong using a combination of quality materials such as stainless steel, titanium and sapphire crystals, with a focus on design and expert craftsmanship. Their movements come from Japanese brands such as Seiko and Miyota. This combination allows Spinnaker to make affordable watches in a wide range of styles using top notch quartz or automatic movements which are carefully tested in Spinnaker’s own watchmaking labs to ensure your timepiece is built to last.

ABOUT THE DUMAS:

The collection is named in honor of the legendary French diving pioneer Frédéric Dumas and it is inspired by the iconic vintage watch designs of the 1970s, the Spinnaker Dumas SP-5081-DD represents a bold and muscular interpretation of dive watch aesthetics., paying homage to an era when watches were celebrated for both their practicality and captivating industrial forms.

CASE:

The robust octagonal case is constructed using 316 L marine-grade stainless steel and it is finished in a combination of brush and polished surfaces which helps to highlight the design.

The case measures 44mm in diameter, the distance from lug to lug is 48mm, thickness is 16mm, and the case fits a 22mm stainless steel bracelet. The complete watch weights 212 grams.

As expected in diver watches the case back is screwed down, however, it features a display window, which is an interesting design choice for this type of watches. Maybe a nicely decorated or engraved case back would have suited the watch better. Even with the display case back the Dumas claims an impressive water resistance of 300m.

In overall this case design is a reflection of the 70's fascination to sharp angles and intriguing watch designs.

CROWN:

The 7mm screw down crown sits within two hexagonal shape crown guards.

BEZEL:

A top the case we find a unidirectional rotating bezel of 120 clicks, as usual in diver watches the bezel makes an emphasis on the first 15 minutes and the non-numerical markers are spaced at 5 minutes each, all markers are luminous and the bezel is finished with a mineral crystal, which is an interesting choice.

Rotating the bezel takes some effort, which is a good thing on a serious diver watch.

GLASS:

Complementing the case we find a scratch-resistant flat sapphire crystal, complete with an anti-reflective coating.

DIAL:

The dial of this Dumas Blue Yonder is made of two surfaces bonded together providing an interesting depth to the dial, the top surface is an outer ring with the printed markers, the 5 minutes interval are applied on this outer circle and are also painted in Swiss Super-LumiNova for enhanced visibility in poor light conditions. 

The base surface of the dial has the 24 hours printed as well as the ware resistance rating, the brand name located at 12 o’clock is applied on top of the base surface, and it is made out of a silver, shining material that looks like metal. 

The date window located at 3 o’clock, uses a black ground with white numbers, and it is nicely highlighted with a silver coloured applied frame.

Considering the price point of this watch, the work put into this dial design is amazing.

HANDS:

The Dumas has three hands:

• an oversized minute hand painted in bright orange underlying the importance of clearly reading the minutes while diving so you do not run out of oxygen.
• A shorter hour hand and a second hand that glides smoothly around the dial.

All hands are painted with Swiss Super-LumiNova.

MOVEMENT:

The heart of the watch is NH35 TMI Seiko automatic self-winding movement, this movement is very dependable but it does not have any decorations, blue screws or engravings, in fact it is very plain looking. To spice it up a bit Spinnaker painted to rotor in black with the brand name displayed in white letters.

The movement beats at 21600 strokes per hours, it has about with 40 hours power reserve and the expected accuracy is about -20 to +40 seconds per day. It also has a hacking second hand.

BRACELET:

The previous version of this watch was mounted on a shark-mesh bracelet that was not affixed to the wrist via a traditional foldover buckle, instead, it had a sliding foldover clasp. The tail-end of the bracelet was tucked into a stainless steel keeper similar to a leather strap. This design was OK for user rather large wrist but not too appealing for people with smaller wrist.

This new solid metal bracelet with hexagonal links construction is perfectly marriaged to the strong geometry design of the Dumas case, it comes with a fold over buckle with safety lock and push bottoms for easy release. This hexagonal links bracelet design catches the light and details of its finish while delivery a secured, robust and comfortable wearing experience.

CONCLUSION:

In conclusion this watch is solid like a rock, is funky and fun, it is an interesting balance within vintage and modern design, an excellent example of utilitarian simplicity, making this timepiece a reliable tool for diving enthusiasts.

The Dumas offers a lot of bang for your buck. Its 70’s inspired design may not be for everyone but for those who are attracted to vintage watch designs, this timepiece for sure checks a lot of boxes.

To acquire this amazing timepiece, simply click below.