Watch Evaluation: Henry Archer Nordsø NEON III Dive Watch

Though it’s our job proper right here at aBlogtoWatch to put in writing down about watches, usually a written description merely doesn’t do justice to the watch at hand. The Henry Archer Nordsø NEON III is a perfect dwelling proof: a dive watch with a purple (very, very purple) dial, gilt fingers and indices, and hour markers in teal, orange, and a pair shades of blue. Learning that description, it’s understandable if some fairly terrifying images come to ideas. I’m nonetheless not pretty optimistic how Henry Archer (or, fairly, Henrik Schødt, the mad Dane behind the semi-eponymous mannequin) turned this on-paper outlandish combination of components into such a stylish and charming watch, nonetheless the Nordsø NEON III is just that.

First, slightly little bit of background on the mannequin. Henry Archer (an anglicized translation of Henrik Schødt’s establish) launched shortly after a certain coronavirus flooring the world to a sudden halt. Though that timing ought to have been fully terrifying for Henrik and his partner — the one actual proprietors of the mannequin — the timing couldn’t have been further fortuitous.  The watch commerce rapidly boomed, taking Henry Archer alongside for the journey. The mannequin shortly expanded out of Denmark and went world with its attain. Though the establish on the dial has been simplified for the North American market, the watches are as fully Danish as Schødt himself.

Assume “Danish design,” and minimalism will just about undoubtedly come to ideas, along with a great deal of lust-worthy mid-century stylish design. If you won’t think about a multi-hued, purple-dialed dive watch as minimalist, Schødt explains it this fashion: “Minimalism is not boring, it’s about mastering complexity. [It’s about] conserving points concentrated design-wise into its most raw form with out being boring, nonetheless fairly timeless.” Positive, the watch is vibrant, nonetheless at its core, the design itself is restrained — there’s no superfluous textual content material or totally different components to detract from the design.

In reviewing a watch like this, there’s no stage in beginning wherever else nonetheless the dial. Proper right here, the purple dial is radially brushed in concentric circles. It’s dynamic, nonetheless not as strongly shifting (and usually illegible) as a typical sunburst. Do you have to’re a fan of purple nonetheless want one factor rather more eye-catching, the Nordsø (Danish for North Sea) may be accessible in a purple meteorite dial. There’s no technique spherical it, the purple stands out. Though my typical vogue is further casual and subdued (assume flannels and sweaters), it solely took a pair events sporting the watch to remember the oft-repeated comment amongst watch collectors: No individual notices your watch, even an excellent, shiny purple one. Nonetheless you’ll undoubtedly uncover it in your wrist.

The hue chosen for the NEON III is a royal purple, which is changing into considering it’s complemented by gilt fingers and utilized indices. That’s possibly the issue that I is likely to be most skeptical of on paper. However, it’s inconceivable. As always, pictures exaggerate the affect of these components. On the wrist, the gold tone is refined nonetheless presents a warmth that wouldn’t have been achieved with silver fingers. In distinction, the sky-blue seconds hand stands out in opposition to the purple and unifies the design, tying into every the bezel and the minutes markers. The fingers, hour marker, and bezel indices are all filled with Swiss Great-LumiNova BGW9, which shines good and white in the middle of the day and light-weight blue at night time time with a great deal of depth.

Purple, gilt, and sky-blue are hardly the one colors you’ll uncover on the NEON III. The minutes fingers moreover alternate with teal, orange, and darkish blue. In my ideas, this truly mustn’t work, however proper right here we’re, and I prefer it. It’s merely the right amount of funky for my fashion. For those who want to persist with a purple dial, nonetheless tone points down a tad, the Nordsø Cosmic Purple restricts the color accents to the sky-blue. Discover that there are a lot of totally different colorways inside the lineup, along with pink, black, white, ice blue, and meteorite, once you’re not feeling so adventurous.

I requested Schødt regarding the design inspiration for the Nordsø, and why he chosen to lean so carefully into purple. As a result of it appears, Schødt spent virtually twenty years in 3D animation (he actually provided his animation studio to launch Henry Archer), and much of the color idea for what works in 3D animation immediately translated to his design sensibility in watches. Purple pops in 3D animation and is extraordinarily dynamic and versatile, having fun with properly all through the color wheel. Merely try the minute markers for proof. Schødt outlined that the NEON III represents his design fashion all packed into one watch and reflecting a cyberpunk aesthetic.

There’s nothing truly groundbreaking regarding the design of the dial or bezel of the Nordsø (or the watch, usually). It’s a standard skin-diver design that we’ve seen many events. Nonetheless the colors and normal execution of all of the climate collectively flip it into one factor that feels latest and new. The bezel is unidirectional and 120-click, though one gripe is that the grip on the knurling is slippery and by no means simple to realize purchase. It’s slightly little bit of a shame as a result of the crown has the an identical knurling design, nonetheless is sweet and grippy. Hopefully, that’s one factor which may be remedied in future iterations. With no numerals on the shiny ceramic bezel, it’s not going to be in all probability essentially the most legible, each. That said, it’s laborious to consider anyone shopping for this sit up for extreme diving, regardless that it does sport 200m of water resistance.

Given the wild coloration choices, conserving the case design conservative and acquainted makes it actually really feel like a extreme watch, albeit one with a further adventurous vogue. At 40mm in diameter and 47mm lug-to-lug, the Nordsø matches correct inside the Goldilocks zone for sizing, and the slim 10.5mm case peak maintain it sporting gentle and comfy (for reference, my wrist is 6.75″). Given the watch’s sub-$500 price tag, the ending on the case is powerful. No, the sharpness of the chamfers and the fineness of the brushing gained’t compete with one factor from Tudor or Omega, nonetheless the ending does actually really feel a scale back above most decisions at this worth stage. Plus, you get a present caseback for viewing the Miyota 9039 automated movement. This Japanese movement beats at 28.8kbph with a 42-hour power reserve. Though some could desire a Swiss movement like a Sellita SW200, conserving the worth down with a Miyota movement was a wise choice, as staying beneath the $500 worth stage makes the acquisition of a wild purple-dial watch further of a consideration than it’d in every other case be. The one draw again to the Miyota movement (and one factor that shall be acquainted to people who’ve owned one) is that the rotor is further audible than one other actions. Give your arm a swing and you may hear and actually really feel the rotor. It’s not horrible by any means, nonetheless it’s worth mentioning.

The Nordsø comes with two decisions for a bracelet: an abnormal three-link oyster-style bracelet or a beads-of-rice bracelet. Look, once you’re going to buy an excellent purple watch, it’s possible you’ll as properly go all in and select the beads-of-rice. I’m a sucker for a beads-of-rice bracelet, and this one is just as comfortable as you’d depend on. Good articulation, slim enough to not overwhelm the watch, slightly little bit of taper from the 20mm on the lugs, tool-free quick launch, and a correctly machined on-the-fly micro-adjust clasp. What further can you ask for? In truth, it’s watches like this that get us, as reviewers, so aggravated with watch producers that present low price folding clasps on watches 5-10x the worth. The micro-adjust isn’t as refined as one factor like Tudor’s T-Match clasp, nonetheless it positively does the trick.

For $499 USDthe Henry Archer Nordsø NEON III is an absolute blast. The colors are the star, undoubtedly, nonetheless the assemble prime quality of your full watch is bigger than aggressive. Whereas the NEON III could not evoke the early 90s in pretty the an identical technique as a result of the Zodiac x Worn & Wound Great Sea Wolf Laser Tag, it nonetheless gives that neon pop that outlined the interval, along with a palpable cyberpunk aesthetic. Though the NEON III is a protracted bus journey away from the Bauhaus faculty that impressed numerous Twentieth-century Danish design, there’s one factor tangibly Scandinavian in Henry Archer’s restrained technique. Maybe it’s merely the “ø” in Nordsø. Each technique, the Henry Archer Nordsø NEON III is a fulfilling, fairly priced watch that provides great value in a vibrant bundle. For further information, please go to the Henry Archer website.

Essential Information
>Mannequin: Henry Archer
>Model: Norsø NEON III
> Worth: $499 USD
>Measurement: 40mm diameter, 47mm lug-to-lug, 10.5mm thickness, 20mm lug width
>When reviewer would personally placed on it: I found myself sporting this further usually, and in extra settings, than I anticipated. That said, it’s a incredible watch to put on down on the town or as a dialog starter.
>Good good friend we’d advocate it to first: Anyone making an attempt to mix up their assortment of black-dialed watches with one factor absolutely fully totally different at an fairly priced worth.
>Most interesting attribute of watch: Gilt fingers and indices in opposition to the purple dial.
>Worst attribute of watch: Lack of grip on the bezel, comparatively loud rotor.