The bottom layer of the dial is a thick piece of ceramic, grooved to resemble the planking of a ship’s deck, with a small date window at six o’clock. It’s an interesting use of the material, and on top of it is an also-ceramic ring with the printed hour markers and two sub-dials providing information on the month (three o’clock) and the day of the week (nine o’clock). Applied hour markers would have certainly added to the watch’s appearance, but they are printed in an attractive font that gets the job done.
The two date sub-dials along with the date window make this quite the time-telling device, and a two-click crown makes setting everything simple. With the crown pushed in all the way, you can rotate it to manually wind the mainspring. I, for one, like the short moments of contemplation provided by winding a watch, and while thinking through a problem at work I could often be found winding away.
The crystal is anti-reflective sapphire, and the hands are diamond cut. Ion plated with a deep blue coloring, they are one of my favorite parts of the watch. The minute and hour hands occasionally catch the sun while you’re checking the time and glint cobalt. The second hand, slender and whirring away, is fixed with a “M” on the end. An extra that I personally found enjoyable because half the time it’s upside down, and I got to pretend the watch had been personalized to honor my last name. The watch is water resistant to 10ATM (100m), but with the leather strap you’d be better off keeping it at home should you be taking to the high seas anytime soon.
It is powered by a Miyota Cal. 9120 triple calendar automatic movement which was modified by Melbourne Watch Company to remove the 24-hour dial and move the date window to the six o’clock position. According to Sujain Krishnan, Managing Director at Melbourne Watch Company, the next release will feature the new Miyota Cal. 9122 movement, which has the desired setup straight from the factory.
Partway through my time reviewing the watch I took a day trip to Monterey, CA (I’m located in the San Francisco Bay Area, so Monterey is roughly ninety minutes away from me). Although a different climate to Portsea, it too is a city with a rich military heritage that is now known for its luxury hotels and residences (Pebble Beach golf course is located nearby). I wore the watch that day without really thinking about it, but with the ocean nearby for the first time while I had the watch, there were a few moments when I would look at the ocean, then at the watch, and then back at the ocean and think about how each related to the other.
Marine chronometers were first used in the 18th century, providing a standard time that could be used by navigators on long ocean journeys to determine the longitude of a ship on the ocean. Latitude could be determined by finding the angle of the sun in the sky, but longitude had long been an elusive and difficult item to measure. A marine chronometer, set to Greenwich Mean Time, could be compared to the calculated current time at noon aboard a ship, and the difference would provide an accurate measure of longitude – completely revolutionizing the navigational efficiency of sea-bound vessels. Today, ships use satellites and computers to measure location, though, so a marine chronometer or a watch inspired by marine chronometers, like the Melbourne Watch Company Portsea, are not really meant for the ocean, but more for people who appreciate the ocean and have some sense of connection to it. I feel this is true of me, and that with that in mind, the Portsea did speak to me in some sense.
While I spend most of my days working in an office, miles away from the ocean, I can appreciate the naval spirit, and each time I am near the ocean I find it a calming and natural experience. In small ways, the Melbourne Portsea inspired this same sense in me, even when not near water. Perhaps a bit bold to say, but in this watch I found my love of the ocean.
Melbourne Watch Company has been expanding rapidly since it’s inception three years ago and, according to Mr. Krishnan, has plans for a chronograph version of the Portsea next year, the introduction of a dive watch called the Sorrento that will use the same thick ceramic dial as the Portsea, a line of watches assembled in Australia (currently they are assembled by an OEM in Hong Kong), and are looking into opening a brick and mortar retail store in Melbourne next year.
The Melbourne Watch Company Portsea is a well-constructed and -designed watch from an exciting new player in the mechanical watch world. With a price of $645.39 (discounts can be found if you pre-order models in between production cycles), it makes a great daily wearer to the office and feels special enough to pull out for formal events. If you are interested in marine chronometers or an interesting alternative to standard dress watches, the Melbourne Watch Company Portsea is worth taking a closer look at. melbournewatch.com.au
Necessary Data
- Brand: Melbourne Watch Company
- Model: Portsea
- Price: $645.39 USD
- Size: 40mm wide
- Would reviewer personally wear it: Yes.
- Friend we’d recommend it to first: Former member of college sailing team who now works in an office and wants something appropriate for the setting that will remind him of fond times out on the water.
- Best characteristic of watch: Ceramic dial offers something different at this price point and really drives home the marine chronometer feel. Rose gold case and navy blue strap are a striking combination.
- Worst characteristic of watch: Printed hour markers and plastic-looking second layer on the dial detract from an otherwise high-quality finish
