Online Review : Ocean Forty-Four Automatic Mini-Review

Credit to Watch You Seek :

Packaging and Presentation:

I purchased my Ocean 44 from Gnomon in Singapore and not from Steinhart directly. I’ve bought many watches from Gnomon in the past without any issue whatsoever so I was comfortable buying from them. The Ocean 44 came well packaged in a cardboard box which was more than enough packing material to keep it safe. Watch comes in a plain white outer cardboard box and a very nice black pressboard inner box with a faux alligator leather insert on the hinged lid. Inside the box is a nice grey felt with a grey pillow. Packaged with the watch is a movement booklet which details the movement used as well as all other movements used by Steinhart. No bells and whistles but more than enough to satisfy the tool diver aficionado. 8/10

Case:

My Ocean 44 has a stainless steel 44mm case with 22mm lugs. The case is brushed on the top and polished on the sides. No bells and whistles with the case but I wasn’t expecting any so no disappointments. There are a couple minor issues with my case which bear mention. The finish on the caseback itself seems unfinished. Mine has sharp edges which has actually shaved the hair off of my wrists from being worn. The plus side is the engraved caseback is very nice with the famous Steinhart Ocean seahorse and rider! The etching on the top of the crown is also quite sharp and could have benefited from some polishing compound. The crown itself screws down very smoothly requiring 5 complete turns. The lug holes are very close to the edge which always makes me leery of a springbar failure. For me, the case is the ideal size for my wrist and personal preference. It’s definitely toolish in construction however it is also sleek enough to be worn in a semi-formal situation. Crystal is a flat sapphire with AR coating on the underside. 8/10

 
Dial and Hands:

It’s obvious that the design cues are straight from the Rolex DSSD diver…and there’s nothing wrong with that. The dial is very refined with nice silver framed lumed indices. Hands are a standard silver Mercedes set. The dial itself is the same size as is found in Steinhart’s 42mm model divers therefore may look a little small to some with the 3 o’clock date window set in far from the case sides. Personally I think the dial is just the right size for the watch. Lume isn’t nuclear but it does maintain throughout the entire night so that I can still read the time at 5 in the morning. My Ocean 44 had a couple minor issues with respect to finish but nothing major. There was some dust on the dial as well as one particularly annoying speck on the seconds hand. This did not bother me in the least as I was intent on swapping out the Mercedes hands for MoD hands so I just asked my watch guy to blow out the dust. The real stand out feature of the dial is the engraved rehault. Again, taking it’s design cues from the Rolex DSSD. I really like this feature however I wish the wording had been better thought out. “Ocean Forty-Four” at 12 o’clock is fine however “Professional Dive Watch” at 6 o’clock seems a little silly…I know that it’s a watch, I don’t need that aspect advertised on the dial. Maybe “Professional Dive Grade” or something similar would have been better. 9/10 (with modded MoD hands) 

Bezel:

It was the bezel that actually first attracted me to the watch. Bezel insert is sapphire and is really an amazing feature at this price point. Ironically it’s the bezel insert that gives me the most consternation. The numbers are printed on the back of the bezel insert in silver. In bright light the insert appears almost black due to the angle. As much as I really like the notion of a sapphire bezel insert I think I would prefer something that is consistently visible and readable…without having to angle my wrist “just right”. The bezel action is actually much better than I anticipated. It is 120 clicks and rotates extremely smoothly without any back slop whatsoever. It really is one of the best rotating bezels that I’ve encountered. 8/10

Bracelet:

Bracelet is all business! Flip lock clasp, solid end links and screwed links. Clasp is brushed with a polished flip lock with the Steinhart logo etched into the flipper itself. Bracelet is brushed on top and polished on the sides. The only thing that would make the bracelet perfect would be a diver’s extension. 9/10

Movement:

Movement is the venerable ETA 2824 which require no introduction or detail. Mine is maintaining a consistent +3 seconds over 24 hours which is the best 2824 in my collection. I’m a real stickler with respect to timing so I could not be happier with this one! 10/10

 
My overall impression of this watch is extremely favorable. It’s probably one of the best value for dollar divers out there in this style. There are a few minor quality control issues which I am sure can be resolved but for the cost of the watch I was not expecting perfection. I would highly recommend this watch to anyone! 52/60