Obris Morgan 70s SeaStar Automatic Watch Review

Obris Morgan Website

Packaging

Case

The all new Obris Morgan SeaStar 70s is definitely a watch to take a look at, especially this model. Upon initial impressions I was really blown away by the fit and finish - including some awesome accessories the watch came with. The case itself on my model is completely sand blasted and done right. It is very smooth to the hand without any sharp edges nor errors/marks. The case itself is rather thin which was a delightful surprise, coming in at 11.5MM thick with a case diameter of 39.5MM across. The watch features a 49MM lug to lug span and 20MM lugs. A nice detail referring back to most watches from the 70s are the drilled lug holes which really make swapping out straps a breeze on the SeaStar. On wrist, the watch wears very thin and almost conforms perfectly to the curvature of my 6.5" wrist. In terms of extra specs, we get a fully anti magnetic watch with the use of a metal plate hovering above the Miyota 9015 below the caseback. This is really quite smart and inovative as I have never seen a smaller company do this before. The watch also features two screw down crowns for that 200M of water resistance. One of the crowns is a HE valve for you serious divers out there - But I doubt most users really wont ever go diving...It does however give the watch a more vintage and tooly look in my opinion. Heading to the screw down caseback we get a very nice moulded seastar emblem which is very neat and detailed, for some visual excitement.

Dial

The enamel black sunburst dial is crisp, clean, legible and features hand filled BGW9 lume which glows blue on all the chrome applied indices/hands/bezel. It is rather a legible dial with a very new and simple
Obris Morgan logo below the 12:00 position, which more fans seem to like. At 3:00 we have our black date window to match the dial and a white outline to match the hands and markers. Some nice details which you may notice is the pop of Neon Green on the sweeping seconds hand which matches the green "200M" printed above 6:00. As you would expect at this $369 pricepoint the crystal utilized is an inner anti reflective coated genuine flat sapphire crystal. The 120 Click lumed bezel is a 12 hour bezel instead of our typical 60 minute dive bezel. However, if you really wanted to use it to time sixty minutes you most definitely can. One thing that was really noticeable was the smooth and precise bezel action. Now, it is not rolex buttery smooth, but its' almost there.

Movement

Most of you are familiar with the japanese made Miyota 9015 automatic caliber - as it is used widely in the watch industry. It is a 4HZ movement meaning that it beats at 28,800 BPH allowing a nice smooth sweep of that seconds hand. We get around a 42 hour power reserve and a stated and regulated accuracy of +6 seconds from Obris Morgan themselves. Now usually these movements can be a bit loud with the excessive rotor spin - BUT considering we have that anti magnetic metal plate the movement is actually rather quiet and I could not hear it whilst on wrist..

Bracelet

The 3 Link solid steel sand blasted bracelet is a nice one, and I dont see myself swapping out to the rubber strap for a while to be quite honest. It features screw links, solid end links, and the same level of finishing as the case. We also get a nice solid custom milled clasp along with a signed buckle which seems custom as well. It certainly suits the character of the watch and I do not see and issue with it. However, if you are a strap guy I would not hesitate swapping out for the genuine rubber strap if you want some more versatility.

Conclusion

Furthermore, this is my first experience with Hong Kong based Obris Morgan and I must say it has been quite a good one. The international shipping was very fast, everything pretty much exceeded my expectations from the build quality down to the bracelet and bezel action. I am not sure if it actually feels like a microbrand watch because everything is rather perfect and symmetrical down to the decimal point. I think they did a great job in all honesty and I can now see why they are one of the more popular and more respected smaller watch brands in the industry.