We love diver watches. They are just superb, with the technical movement and sleek overpowering design. The last time we featured a diver watch was the Spinnaker Bradner 5057-01. It was a stunning timepiece and the most captivating feature was the velvet feel strap to the watch. Luckily, today we are going to review another Spinnaker watch and it is also an exclusive timepiece, yet to be released. It is the Spinnaker Spence SP-5063-02.

Story of Spence

The Spence watch collection is a tribute to Dr. Edward Lee Spence, a pioneer in underwater archaeology with a passion for shipwrecks and sunken treasures.

Edward Lee Spence has made many discoveries and some of his well know discoveries are H. L. Hunley, a civil war submarine in the 1970 which was valued around $40 million and the SS Georgiana, said to have been the most powerful cruiser built by the Confederate States of America and valued over $50 million.

 The Spence watch collection from Spinnaker Watches, is a great tribute to a great living legend, Dr. Edward Lee Spence.

Specification of the Spence SP-5063

• Case: Stainless steel
• Case Diameter: 43mm
• Case Thickness: 18mm
• Strap Width: 20mm
• Bezel: Uni-directional Inner turning bezel with Super-LumiNova markers
• Hands: Super-LumiNova hands
• Crown: Screw down crown for time and date adjustments
• Lens: Scratch resistant Mineral crystal lens
• Movement: Automatic NH35 24 Jewels
• Water Resistance: 20ATM

First Impression

The first thing you will notice about the Spinnaker Spence SP-5063 is the colour. It is stunning colour and not something you see with watches. It has this earthy and coffee like colour. The other feature which will also stand out is the bezel, but we will come back to it later.

Dial

When it comes to diver watches which we have reviewed before and also Spinnaker watches, the dial is the center piece. However the dial Spence SP-5063 is very minimalistic. Not a lot of diver watches fan will like this.

The index is just a square bar and rectangular bars and there are no numerals at all on the dial nor anywhere else of the on the watch, except for the date window. To mark the minutes, there are white batons around the index. So do we like the dial and index? In a way the lack of numerals make the dial appealing and the white batons draws your attention straight to the dial as it contrast heavily against the brown dial. But some may argue that the dial is too simplistic and minimalistic to be a Spinnaker watches. There are some new Spinnaker watch models which are also following the minimalistic design.

In terms of the date window, it is placed at its normal position, 3 o’clock, at it is legible. It does not overpower the dial with its presence, and it is surrounded with a white box to make sure it is noticeable against the brown background.

The hour, minute and second hands on the Spence SP-5063 has a design similar to Plongeur hands. They are also all white to match the secondary colour, white, used on the watch. The hands are all highly visible and sharp in design.

The dial is finished off with the ‘Spinnaker’ logo located under the 12 o’clock and a some writing near above the 6 o’clock. Overall, the design is simple, however it may not be suited to all.

All the bars and hands on the dial have been lumed, so legibility at night is great.

Casing

The size of the casing, excluding the bezel is actually quite small but when you include the bezel, it is quite a large watch. The overall diameter is 43mm. The width of the watch is pretty big, around 18mm, because of the bezel. But on the wrist, the watch actually looks small. Maybe it is because of the minimalistic look.

The lugs on the Spence SP-5063 is quite small and are also curved. As you would expect, the watch sits well on the wrist and molds around the wrist because of the curved lugs.

One feature which was a disappointment is the glass. It is made from Mineral glass but it is not domed. With the curve lug, the watch sits quite flat on the wrist and a little dome on the glass would have made the watch stand out a bit more on the wrist and helped with reducing reflection.

The crown has been given a teeth cut design and has been signed. It is a screw down crown which is good to see as it is a diver watch. It is not hard and easy to manipulate.

To finish off the casing, you have an exhibition back casing. As with most exhibition casing, it is colourful with the jewels and it also has a custom rotor signed with Spinnaker logo.

Bezel

The bezel is very interesting on the Spence SP-5063. We showed the watch to a couple of people and the feedback from them is not very welcoming. Most of the feedback was on the size of the bezel. It is a big bezel and does take a lot of space of the face of the watch. However, it is overpowering compare to the rest of the watch.

The bezel is also minimalistic with only a couple of batons across the first quarter.

In terms of the clicks, it is smooth and crisp. It makes a really good noise when turned, which is always good to hear.

Movement

The movement inside the watch is a Seiko NH35 24-jewel movement with a power reserve of 42 hours. We have nothing wrong to say about the movement. It is powerful, robust and very precise.

Depending on how long you wear the watch and on hand movement, you can expect a time accuracy of around -20/+40 seconds per day and to fully get the 42 hours power reserve, you’ll need to rotate the crown at least 55 times.

Strap

We love the strap. It looks rugged and that has old style look to it. It also has a couple of scratches to the strap, done intentionally, to match the rugged look.

The strap is soft and broken into, which is a bonus, and is very comfortable. It also has stitches at both ends similar to the Spinnaker Bradner.

Overall, it is a great strap.

Buy, Shortlist or Avoid?

Now this is going to be tough but we have to be honest. It is a great looking watch. The colour of the casing, dial and strap will not be seen anywhere else however there are a couple of small issue and also the bezel.

We will say that this watch needs to be on your shortlist. It will need some careful thinking time before purchasing this watch. But if you love the colour, go for it!

Do visit https://www.spinnaker-watches.com/ to find out more!

So this was our review of the Spence SP-5063 – 02 from Spinnaker watches. There are a lot of features to look forward on this watch and it also raised some questions. We’d love to know your thoughts, do let us know in the comment below.

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