ZORETTO Jota 1000M Dive Watch Review - The Elite Microbrand?

Today gents we are going to examine a new pickup of mine , that being the Zoretto Jota dive watch. I was certainly amazed by the quality and the components Zoretto has to offer for a relatively affordable price. Initially, I had no idea what to expect from a small boutique brand producing mainly dive watches, but I can say for sure, they produced one hell of a watch.

www.zorettowatches.com

Packaging

The watch came fairly quick shipped by FedEx international and was at my doorstep in New York within 3 days from Hong Kong. The watch comes inside a black tube with a o-ring around the top for water resistance I assume. Inside the tube was the watch, warranty card, one extra black leather strap with a stingray type texture, and the Jota.

Case

The 43MM solid stainless steel case is certainly larger than your average 40MM dive watch but it is in proportion with the rest of the case components. The watch has rather short triangular lugs which helps it wear a bit smaller on the wrist than specifications suggest. It certainly reminds me of a vintage themed diver in many ways aesthetically and is pleasing to the eye with its fully polished 316L steel case. A nice thing to see from Zoretto is the drilled lug holes, making it effortless for me to swap between the bracelet and the leather band provided. Between the lugs, measuring in at 22MM while the width measures in at 15.5 ( including the domed sapphire crystal ). Stated on the Zoretto website, this watch is suitable for saturation diving and has a water resistance of an insane 1000 Meters. Also equipped on the side of the case is a helium escape valve. The lug to lug distance is 50.5MM and the side profile slightly reminds me of the Longines Heritage diver, which it should because this watch is themed after dive watches from the 70s Era. Jumping to the caseback, it is fairly simple with logo, specs, and a MM or so thicker due to the high water resistance rating we can expect from the Jota. Once on wrist the watch does conform nicely due to the downward departure of the lugs towards the ends of the case.

Dial

The black dial on my model is certainly pleasing to the eye, and it does have a vintage aesthetic within the style of markers, and hands used here. There is a date aperture between 4:00 and 5:00 with a black background to match the dial, and white numerals to match the markers. It is certainly legible and framed neatly. Zoretto logo is printed beneath the 12:00 in white as well as "1000M" - "Automatic" above 6:00. I do like the font used here for the print work and it matches up with the rest of the dial and bezel design. Now getting to the bezel , it is a 120 Click UniDirectional dive bezel which is very tooly and precise. I have yet to find any backplay or alignment issues which speaks of good quality control. Three framed applied markers at the North-East-West section of the dial are bold and help your eyes get a quicker sense of the time.

Movement

I always love when smaller boutique brands use swiss automatic movements, it gives an overall better sense of value and quality in my eyes. The ETA 2824-2 automatic movement equipped in this watch is a well known reliable 25 jewel movement. This same movement is used across the board from luxury brands and mid range brands with different levels of customization and modding. Typical power reserve is 38 hours and this one is running at +3 seconds a day which I was surprised to see.

Strap Options

The Jota comes equipped with a solid end link BOR style bracelet ( Beads of Rice ). These bracelets are also seen on some other divers including DOXA. The bracelet is 316L solid steel and utilizes screw in links on both sides so you will need two flathead small screwdrivers to add/remove links. Another nice feature on this true diving watch is the ratchet extension located on the clasp which allows for on the go micro adjustment or if you plan on throwing it over a wetsuit in a quick minute.
The second strap supplied with the watch is a black genuine leather band with a signed/polished buckle. This strap remonds me of a Stingray strap and is most definitely comfortable and broken in already out of the box.

Conclusion

Now Zoretto is no newcomer to the boutique watch industry and they have surely proved themselves since 2014 as a brand that can produce some really high quality watches for affordable prices. The watch ticks all my boxes for the price and I adore the quality of the polished case and its lovely shape. The movement is robust, accurate, and swiss. The overall vintage aesthetic is not easy to find in other brands with these specifcations for this price. I call this a win from Zoretto and really look forward to what they have planned for the future. I hope you enjoyed and please do watch the full hands on video below. Watch Addict - Out.