We have introduced Phoibos watches before when we did the ‘a moment with‘ segment with their founders. We learnt a lot of things Phoibos watches founder and the successes along with the difficulties they faced. But today we are going to do a of Phoibos Reef Master Diver Watch, the Reef Master PY016B 300M Automatic Blue.

Phoibos Reef Master Diver Watch

Before we start the review, lets find out about the specification of the Phoibos Reef Master Diver Watch PY016.

• Dial: Sandwich dial  
• Caliber No. SII NH35A
• Case: 316L Stainless steel 42mmX 48mm
• Strap: Black crazy horse strap and one rubber strap with signed buckle free
• Glass: Double domed sapphire crystal with anti reflective under coating
• Water resistance: 300M(1000ft) suitable for Swimming & Snorkeling & Scuba Diving
• Case size: Diameter 42.0mm  Thickness 14.0mm
• Bezel: 120-click unidirectional ceramic bezel
• Crown: Screw-Down crown
• Lume:15 layers Super-LumiNova BGW9 on hands, indices, and bezel marking
• Warranty: 2 year

Unboxing Phoibos Reef Master Diver Watch

The casing

The casing itself is 42mm and is perfect. It is not too large that is takes over your wrist nor too small to make it hard to read. It sits well on the wrist and the slight curve from the back casing and lugs, helps the watch to mold on the wrist. The width of the casing is 14mm which is quite thick but with the 42mm casing, it is not noticeable.

The back casing is something really aesthetically stunning. You have Phoibos’ logo engrave beautifully and the back casing is also elevated a bit. This slight elevation may not be noticeable but is very useful when it comes to the crown.

The Dial

The dial is the centre piece of the watch and the gorgeous blue dial and the white marking for the index and bezel draw your eyes straight away. Both the blue and the white really goes well together and complement each other.

On feature which we are new to is the ‘sandwich dial’. First introduced to the watch market between 1930 and 1940, a sandwich dial is where the upper and bottom dial were connected by a transparent Perspex disc to protect the luminous material. Even though we have not seen this type of dial before, but it is a great feature especially during low light visibility, we’ll come to that later on.

The dial has only three-hour marking at 12, 6 and 9. The 3 o’clock position, however has been taken replaced with a date window, which is quite large enough to see. To mark the rest of the hour, a baton marking has been used, which is also lumed, with 1 minute interval between the hour batons. No complaints here, the dial is simple and very easy to read.

The hour and minute hands are quite bold and easy to see. They have also been lumed and a blue base has been used to give the visual effect of hovering. The second-hand is thin, sharp and has a lumed disc at the top. Altogether, the hands are simple and pretty perfect.

The logo is quite large and placed under the 12 o’clock position. However the logo is not lumed. This is one feature they could improve on. A lumed octopus Phoibos logo would look amazing!

 The Bezel

Now lets talk about the bezel. The Phoibos Reef Master Diver Watch PY016 has a ceramic insert with 120 clicks. The bezel itself is well made and the toothed grip makes it easy to use. The clicks are smooth and quite easy to change. Visually, the bezel is stunning. You have the blue background with the white numeral, and as before, it really goes well together. In terms of the numerals, the numbers starts from 20 and end at 55. From 12 o’clock hand to 3 o’clock, the numerals have been replaced with batons, with the 1 and 2 o’clock hands having a longer baton. The batons along with the numerals have been lumed and it is a stunning sight to look at during low light visibility.

The Glass

The glasses used on the Phoibos Reef Master Diver Watch PY016 is a double domed sapphire crystal with anti reflective coating. The dial is very clear to see with the crystal glass but there is still a bit of reflection during daylight. It is not a great issue and can get used to.

The crown

The crown used is a screw down crown. The crown is ‘toothed’ around the circumference and has been signed with Phoibos’ logo. The size of the crown is perfect for the watch and goes well with the 42mm casing. The slight elevation from the back casing makes sure it does not poke the wrist and overall it blends well with the casing.

The strap

We have a black crazy horse strap on the watch and an additional rubber strap. The black crazy horse strap is quite thick, around 30mm, and needs to be broken into. In terms of comfort, the strap is very comfortable and supple. The strap has a matte finishing to it and this maybe from the special wax used on the full grain surface. The strap should fit a smaller wrist, as our wrist size is 17cm in circumference, but another hole will make it better fitted for smaller size wrists. Visually, the strap looks great with the blue dial and stainless steel casing. The buckle is standard and has been signed.

The rubber strap is simple and made from silicone. It has rectangles cut out from it, as you would with popular rubber straps.

However, we have an issue with the strap. It has no quick release pins. This is a must have feature for us and it is quite disappointing the straps do not have it.

Movement

The movement inside is a Seiko NH35A Automatic. It has 24 jewels with a power reserve of 40 hours. So far the movement has been pretty accurate. However the accuracy of the watch throughout the day was approximately +10 seconds/day. This is a bit much compare to other automatic watches we’ve reviewed.

Price

The price of the watch is $229/ £170/ €205. We have to say this is an affordable watch. It is a great looking watch, with some great features. If you look in the diver’s watch market, this will be classed as a mid price range watch.

Any Improvement?

The Phoibos Reef Master Diver Watch PY016B is a great diver watch but there are some improvements that need to be made. To start off, quick release pins will definitely be great. The bezel may need to be a little bit harder. What we mean is that the bezel has tendency to move a couple of clicks by itself during the day. This may be because of the watch brushing with clothing or other stuff, but a harder bezel should sort this issue out. Finally, another hole, or a couple more, will be great for people with a small wrist.

So this was our review of the Phoibos Reef Master Diver Watch PY016B, we hope you’ve enjoyed it and we would love to know what you think about it? Do leave us a comment below.

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