Spinnaker Fleuss Chronograph Review | It's Not A Looker In My Eyes
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I was really excited when Spinnaker got in touch with us a few weeks ago. I’ve heard a lot about them online and I know one of my YouTube friends Sam is a big fan.
Therefore, I was totally up for them sending me one of their new releases for review, which was only compounded when I realised Spinnaker was part of Dartmouth Brands who also own the Avi-8 brand, which I was impressed by in a previous article.
So, a few days later, I received the parcel, unboxed it and looked at the watch within and quickly came to the conclusion that this watch just isn’t for me. To be honest, at 43mm in diameter, I already knew that it wasn’t going to be a good fit for my small wrist, however, I hoped I’d still be able to recommend it to others. Unfortunately, even though I think it’s good value on a material level, I’m not sure that’s going to be the case with this one.
WATCH SIZE
Outside of the width, we have a lug to lug of 51mm and a depth of 12.7mm. When combined this is a large chunky watch, that’s going to suit the thicker wrists out there. I wouldn’t say it’s a gigantic watch, but you certainly notice the heft on-wrist at 98 grams with the standard strap and likely much more with a bracelet.
CASE
The case feels very well-crafted, with the 316L steel showcased in a variety of brushed and glossy finishes. I think this looks great from a side-on perspective, with the thin shiny areas adorning the sharper edges, creating an attractive, shapely curvature. When you look closely, I think the brushing is impressive too, with the horizontally brushed flanks and vertical lugs both looking neat and tidy. The screw-down crown, pushers and case-back make this watch a real diving candidate, with a nice 150m of water resistance. The rear has the Spinnaker logo lasered onto the centre, which looks cool, I’m a fan of the retro logo font Spinnaker use.
Given I cover the lower-priced wristwatches, this is the first time I’ve reviewed a watch featuring screw-down pushers. Both those and the crown have the right amount of grip on them, which makes for easy usage and the pushers themselves have a mechanical clunk that’s satisfying to use. You can use these to control the stopwatch functionality present in this Seiko mecha-quartz movement.
WATCH MOVEMENT
Indeed, this Fleuss chronograph is rocking the same movement we’ve seen in plenty of microbrand watches. If you’ve seen other posts of mine you’ll know I like these hybrid movements, which feel like they sit somewhere between quartz and true mechanical. This is far from an original choice, but it’s still a fairly good one. The module in question here appears well-aligned, which is nice to see.
GLASS
Another positive is the sapphire crystal over the dial, which is what I look for at this price and I’m pleased that box is ticked. This will give you awesome scratch resistance, at the cost of some impact resistance; which is a worthy trade-off in my books.
PRICE
The current retail price is £210 or potentially below £170 with one of the 20% discount codes that are floating around, which I think is very fair considering the positives I’ve mentioned. However, it also adds to the confusion. Why wouldn’t I recommend this watch if it’s supposedly good and well-priced?
DESIGN DECISIONS
As good as the watch looks on paper, unfortunately, there are some design decisions here that just don’t add up to a good final product here.
Firstly, you’ve got the acrylic bezel, which is ripped straight from the Blancpain ‘Fifty Fathoms’. This looks attractive by itself and functions well, aside from some unwanted play; however, it sits around a dial that’s having an identity crisis.
Some of the alternative colourways that I’ve seen on YouTube look much better, but this particular colour variant which I received is pretty ugly. The mash of red and mustard clashes awkwardly across the black dial, leaving me feeling like a Casio and Blancpain have had a weird-looking lovechild.
The sheer number of font styles present doesn’t help the situation, with there being different numeral types on the bezel, chapter ring, subdials and date window. There’s no consistency, leaving the whole thing looking unhinged.
The white date window has a silver surround, which is too thick in my opinion and looks out of place on this dial. I feel like it dominates the upper half of the watch for no good reason. The date wheel is also set very deep, meaning it’s easily shadowed and concealed from any sort of angle; you can even see the large space between the dial and wheel, which just looks a bit sloppy to me. I honestly think it looks like something you’d see on one of those Indian ‘Franken-watches’, which isn’t good news.
When you throw the unusual red and black strap into the equation, I’m just left thinking that there was no clear design directive with this one. It feels like too many cooks have spoiled the broth. It’s a real shame because there are parts I do like. I think the dial texture is pretty interesting and the applied sections that I loved from the Avi-8 watch make a return here and provide a nice amount of depth and legibility. Outside of the colour, the handset is a fairly decent choice too.
ARE SPINNAKER WATCHES ANY GOOD?
Nevertheless, I think the regular Fleuss looks a heck of a lot better, as does the blue-grey version of this chronograph, which seems to get away with some of the elements I just criticised. I know I’m harsh but with a few simple tweaks, I think this watch would look a hell of a lot better; if anyone from the brand is watching this, I hope you take this criticism as proper feedback, which is what it is.
If unlike me, you like the appearance, you really would be getting a good quality watch for the money. Even the strap, which is an unusual combination of waterproof leather and silicone, feels very well constructed and has quick-release tabs for fast changes. If I were considering this brand though, I’d be looking at some of their other offerings purely for aesthetic reasons.
If you are still interested in the Hydrofoil please feel free to use my discount code of ‘BENJAMINARTHUR20’ for 20% off your next purchase with Spinnaker.
