Goutte d’Eau Compressor Diver by Isotope Watches
Inspiration
The Goutte d’Eau Compressor Diver was designed by Jose Mendes Miranda of Isotope Watches. This retro design comes from the 1956 Max Bill Kitchen Clock and other inspiration from his childhood.
Case
Quite simply the 40 x 44mm case is beautiful on the Goutte d’Eau Compressor Diver. Designed perfectly for use underwater with its expansive and highly legible dial but I’ll get on that later!
What stands out is the little details are all superbly done. The duel crowns at 2 and 4 for instance. I have the Lemon version of the watch, and on the 2 o’clock screw-down crown which operates the chapter ring is a yellow (lemon) teardrop shape like the one on the dial. On the 4 o’clock screw-down crown is the logo. This crown engages the movement of the watch to wind up or set the time. Both crowns are easy to grip and the action on both is smooth.
The height of the watch is determined by the move movement chosen and the one in front of me is the NH38 version, it has a height of 13.4mm. Alternatively, if you select the SW200 the height reduces to 12.7mm. Personal with many SW200 in my collection the NH38 is a refreshing change and the height difference does not concern me.
Dial
What a watch dial, it’s simply and stunning! My first impressions of the Goutte d’Eau Compressor Diver were excellent, large highly legible indexes, and a beautifully crafted expansive sandwich dial. Although there is not much of the yellow on the dial it draws the eye, it highlights and accentuates the attention to detail this watch has in abundance.
Many companies try to be too intricate with designs Isotope have done this but made their watch design look simplistic. There is a real art to doing this especially done well. Clear to read during the day as it is the night because of the use of the BGW9 Super-LumiNova makes the the perfect tool and holiday watch.
Movement
Isotope’s use of two movements in the Goutte d’Eau Compressor Diver means that you have a choice to make as stated above the movement impacts the height of the watch and to some the 0.7mm may make all the difference. Both movements are excellent and easily serviceable by a good local watchmaker. The NH38 or the SW200 you can go wrong with both movement solid and reliable workhorses.
Bracelet / Straps
The 22 mm brushed Isotope Tread Bracelet made from 316L stainless steel is one of the best microband bracelets I’ve seen. It’s perfectly in keeping with the aesthetics of the watch. Functionality-wise it’s a bracelet has an excellent divers extension.
Watch Gallery
Packaging
I found the packaging excellent for the Goutte d’Eau Compressor Diver. It was delivered in a box with bubble wrap and was secure. A linen bag held the very nice watch roll and straps perfectly during transit.
Specification
Japan made:
- Automatic, self-winding Japanese Seiko NH38
- Power reserve 41 hours
- Accuracy -20/+40 s/day
- Automatic, self-winding Swiss Sellita SW200
- Power reserve 38 hours
- Accuracy -12/+12 s/day
- Brushed case, 316L stainless steel
- Case diameter 40mm X 44mm (with lugs)
- Height 12.7mm (with SW200) or 13.4mm (with NH38)
- Exhibition screw-down case back (Orange, Yellow, Green and Red)
- Stainless steel screw-down case back (Nordblad)
- Security inner bezel
- One crown with 4 gaskets at 2 o’clock for the inner bezel and one screw-down crown at 4 o’clock to adjust the time
- Anti-reflective crystal sapphire
- Hands, bezel and sandwich dial with Super-LumiNova® BGW9
- 22 mm brushed Isotope Tread Bracelet and extension clasp in 316L stainless steel
- 22mm Nato (Choice)
- 22mm Rubber Strap (Choice)
- Water-resistance 200m / 20 atm / 656 ft
- 2 Years International Warranty
Final Thoughts
This is really simple! Buy a Goutte d’Eau Compressor Diver from Isotope Watches starting from £379 it’s an absolute bargain. I’ve looked to find something I don’t like about this watch and I can’t find anything I dislike at all, and that is hard to do by any stretch of the imagination. If I was to describe this watch in a sentence it would be this!
A perfect tool watch that can be used for any sporting occasion and the best all round holiday watch you can buy!
And look out for our upcoming review of Isotope’s latest release the Isotope GMT 0º.
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