It has been a while since we reviewed an AVI-8 watch. The last watch we reviewed from AVI-8 was Hurricane Kent Automatic. Today we are going to review the latest addition to their collection, the AVI-8 Hurricane Clowes. The model we will be reviewing is the Northolt.

Features

Movement : NH15-D6LS Automatic

Case Material : Stainless Steel

Case Diameter (mm) : 46

Case Thickness (mm) : 13.5

Lens : Sapphire Lens with Anti-Reflective Coating

Dial Color: Green

Band : Genuine Leather Strap

Number of Jewels: 21

Water Resistance : 5ATM

Warranty : 2-Year International

First Impression

Our first impression of the AVI-8 Hurricane Clowes was just wow. The design of the dial and its colour go extremely well together and the watch looks and feel bold. It is not a watch which will go unnoticed. The packaging is our classic AVI-8 and was well presented, with the rectangular box. Our expectation is really high for this watch and we hope the rest of the review will follow.

Dial

This has to be the perfect place to start the review of the AVI-8 Hurricane Clowes. The dial is molded with camo patterns which was inspired by the Clowes’ Hawker Hurricane aircraft. The mold has distinctive pattern and the colour is not the same throughout. Depending where the light is coming from, the colour of the pattern changes from light green to dark green.

There are three indexes on the watch. The first index is batons around the circumference of the dial, with thicker batons at each five minutes interval. The second index is numerals, with a 3D effect. The numerals are quite large for the dial and the 3D effect makes it look like the numerals are floating from the index. A cream colour has been used for the numerals and it goes well against the green background. The final index is to the hour measurement. The numbers are smaller and the numerals are in red. The colour of each index has been well thought of and goes well with very aspect of the watch.

A small but key feature which outer index has is the Clowes Hawker Hurricane Squadron logo. It is located at the 12 o’clock position.

Another feature to pay homage to the Clowes’ Hawker Hurricane aircraft is located at the 6 o’clock position. The Squadron motto is written in red, “First in all things”. You also have the RAF logo stamped above the 6 o’clock.

Alpha hands has been used for the hour and minute hand. They are both large and bold. They do not take too much on the dial and suits the dial and theme of the watch. The second hand is slim with the Clowes’ aircraft used at the end of the tip.

In terms of reading the dial, there is no issue at all. All the indexes are large enough and the hands do not block the numerals. A strong high grade Swiss lume has been used for across the numerals and hands. The aircraft at the bottom of the second hand also lights up. We are not the biggest fan of lume as they do not work properly, however on the AVI-8 Hurricane Clowes, there is no complaints.

The date window is located at the 6 o’clock position. There is a lot going around that area and it does overwhelm the date window. The black background with the white number does help to break the green theme and makes it legible.

Casing

The dial on the AVI-8 Hurricane Clowes is 46mm by 13.5mm. The dial is on the larger side but looks well. You want a large dial to show off the camo pattern design. In terms of comfort, the casing does not take too much space on the wrist and sits well. The curved lugs also helps to press the casing on the wrist.

In terms of colours used, it is spot on! The gold stainless steel polished look of the casing complement the green dial and the hands. The colour accent overall is well chosen. With the brown leather strap, casing stands out even more.

The crown is also on the larger side. The design used is a conical crown with debossed roundel. The crown is a push and pull and the design of the crown allows you to easily work the crown.

Sapphire crystal lens with anti-reflective coating has been applied. Given the large dial, you would expect quite a big of reflection, but the coating minimises that, and the dial is legible for all angle.

One small issue is that the back casing is covered. It has been engraved with the Hawker Hurricane logo, but we would have loved an open back casing. Seeing the different jewels and a custom rotor, would have been ideal.

Movement

Powering the AVI-8 Hurricane Clowes is a Japanese NH15-D6LS Automatic with 21 jewels. it is a decent movement and the time accuracy is -35 ~ +55 second per day. You can also expect a power reserve of around 40 hours. While there are better movement available, this will push the price of the watch higher. But overall, the movement used in the AVI-8 Hurricane Clowes is great.

Strap

The strap is 22mm in width and is large, which is need for such a large dial. In terms of comfort, the strap does need breaking into but comfort wise it is good. The strap has little creases all around which adds to the aesthetics.

Buy, Shortlist or Avoid?

As always, we need to talk about the price. The RRP of the Clowes is from £330/ $390/ €360. The price for the watch is not too exaggerated and very much reasonable. Given the price and all the features, the AVI-8 Hurricane Clowes is a must buy. From the colour, design and indexes, we cannot fault the watch.

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