The first thing to note about the watch, in my eyes, is that luminous dial. It could be because the first watch I bought myself had a similar dial material that I found myself drawn to it. That aside, it’s still a very useful thing. In the day, the flat black hands and indices stand out starkly against the white dial, no matter how bright the sun. And then, of course, once the sun goes down, the whole dial is alight, so you’re not squinting trying to figure out where exactly the hands are pointing to.
In daily wear, the watch performed admirably. The 39mm is a bit smaller than I’m used to, and may be a drawback for some. However, for someone headed out on an adventure of some sort, the smaller size is definitely helping to keep the weight down, as well as helping to ensure you’re not going to snag the watch on an errant tree branch, for instance. Our review sample was paired with the standard leather strap, which was comfortable and appropriately sized to the case. This also helps it transition to more of an everyday wear sort of piece. For true outdoor robustness, though, I’d either go for the bracelet (which adds about $80 to the price), or stick with the leather band, and then swap it out for a high-quality nylon strap of some sort.
As reviewed, our example comes in at a starting price of $690. Opting for the black dial knocks about $65 off the price, while opting for the bracelet adds around $80. There’s also a new PVD case/bracelet option you can chose as well, with it being an additional $45 (for just the case on leather) or $85 (case on steel). Whatever you end up doing (steel or leather, black or white dial, PVD or plain), the Outdoor would make for a remarkably competent daily wear watch. With its sizing and restrained styling, I think this is a watch that could work quite well either for a man or a woman. I’d also hazard to say that the styling is such that the watch isn’t going to seem “out of style” in a few years, which is another factor that could tip the scales in its favor. archimede-watches.com
Necessary Data
>Brand: Archimede
>Model: OutDoor
>Price: $690 (as reviewed)
>Would reviewer personally wear it: Certainly
>Friend we’d recommend it to first: Someone looking for a high-quality automatic to keep up with their adventures
>Best characteristic of watch: The fully lumed dial & utter simplicity of the piece
>Worst characteristic of watch: Some might consider the styling a bit plain
