I spent way too much time on Aliexpress. I mean, a couple of hours each week probably. And much of that on the Pagani Design store page... So, when i discovered this Addiesdive model... I knew it was time to diversify my collection of affordable watches.
NEWCOMER? OR JUST ANOTHER ITERATION FROM THE CHINESE SHOPS?
Pagani Design has become a household name on the affordable watches markets, especially in the "hommage market". However, I had never heard about Addiesdive. The pricing is quite similar, but Addiesdive offers something quite different, because this model does not pretend to even look like remotely Swiss or existing. I mean... Look at it: in spite of the diver specs (screw-down crown, no exhibition case and 200M water resistance) it has a dial much more reminiscent of a "flieger". However, it works! There are actually some designers who gave thought to it behind the scenes instead of working the photocopy machine.
SPECTACULAR DIAL
The case is awesomely slick, with lugs slightly curved, and, contrary to most divers, it's not huge: I have a small wrist, but this one fits it absolutely perfectly. It's just a shame that the first bracelet's chain sticks outa few millimeters out like this. Me thinks they just bought the bracelets en masse from some other store and tried to make it work. It does not. But nevermind. The bracelet is actually better than everything i was led to believe.
Now, let's talk about the dial: I don't know if that transpires enough from my photos, but the dial matter is grainy, which makes it catches the light (and the eye) pretty nicely. As for the hour markers,, they are slightly embossed and coated in super powerful lume as you can see - just like the hours and minutes hands. It's really striking in the dark, even though i'm not sure how long it lasts, but it works also particularly well with the bezel loom... Speaking of the bezel, this is my second watch with bezel and i must say this one compares favorably to the Pagani Design I have by not having ANY backplay to it... On the minus side however, the bezel is quite tough to rotate, and the "click" is not as satisfying let's say.
DOMED SAPPHIRE CRISTAL!
I almost forgot one of its main feature: a DOMED Sapphire crystal coated glass! It's really not that common, and really not cheap. I mean... Count 25$ minimum for one sapphire crystal, and also add 40$ for the Japanese NH35 inside the watch... And compare it with the 90$ this watch cost me, you realize that they mean business at "Addiesdive", whichever branch of the tentacular Chinese watch industry they really are. I'm gonna give this piece a lot of wrist time for sure. And before I forgot, another thing: it came in a really cool and distinctive box.
CONCLUSION
A really happy purchase. I'll definitely keep an eye on the future Addiesdive watches.