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For this first edition, I wore the black and lime green Stowa Prodiver in titanium with the ceramic bezel inlay on the green NDCstraps double-pass elastic strap that my buddy Ryo-san lend to me for a week.
Full disclosure: I grew up wearing a small Casio F-91W (like anyone else), but I never got into watches until I met Stan; he’s the one that introduced me (and Yukina) into the wonderful hobby of watches, though it seems like Ryo got his bug a bit sooner thanks to Ritsuko (she has several Casio G-Shocks over the years, among many other pieces in her collection).
Anyways, with that out of the way, let’s get into the watch. I haven’t wear a Stowa ever, let alone a diver from them in titanium, but I have done research about their history, and while they’re known for their Flieger and Antea lines, they also have dive watches in the catalog as well, and it all started in the 1960s when they introduced the Seatime watches, with some in particular providing both the case shape and a dial/hand design that would later became a signature of the modern Stowa Prodiver of today.
Speaking of which, when Jorg Schauer was in charge at Stowa, a modern take on the Seatime was produced in limited numbers in 2004 with a simple dial design, then in 2005, it became a production model with a more recognizable dial inspired by the old models of the 1960s. Another year later, and the Seatime Prodiver came out; it’s basically a beefed-up Seatime with a slightly dome crystal, solid case back and a helium release valve, with the former two being why it’s water resistant to 1000 meters and the latter being useful for saturation diving. Along with those changes, the dial design got a rework, trading away the Western Arabic numerals with large indices, and the bezel insert was changed to a fully graduated one segmented in black and silver. Two other changes would come after: one in 2014 when Stowa switched from stainless steel to titanium, and the other in late 2020, when they switched out ETA 2824-2s to Sellita SW200-1s due to the shenanigans around the Swatch Group’s restricting supply of ETA movements to third-party brands.
That’s a handful there, isn’t? But I can’t ignore that.
Let’s talk dimensions: the case is a big one at 42mm, and the lug-to-lug length is a long one at 50.3mm, with a lug width of 22mm (though you won’t be changing straps soon as there are screwed-in lug bars on both ends).
Now as I mentioned earlier, the case is made from titanium and the movement inside is a Sellita SW200-1.
How does it feel to wear, then? Well, it wears big on my wrist, no getting around that, but not heavy since it’s made from titanium. As a reference point, my similarly-sized Fortis Stratoliner S-41J (the Blue Japan one) wears heavier than this, as it’s made from recycled stainless steel, and for an apples-to-apples comparison, my Ollech & Wajs C-1000 MkII has a similar case profile, but like the Fortis, it wears heavier cause the case is also stainless steel. I’m not certain what grade of titanium Stowa used for this, but it could be grade 2 since it has scratches and a rather matte surface; they don’t cut corners with this case design for sure, though.
I can’t talk about what it feels like on the included cut-to-size rubber strap, since Ryo swapped that out for this 21mm elastic NDCstraps strap, but he did mention to me about how wearable it is on his wrist when paired with this strap. I won’t go in-depth about it, but this is made from real Marine Nationale parachute elastic, both new and new-old-stock. It definitely feels comfortable on this strap.
The bezel on this has a ceramic insert (as alluded to earlier), unlike the aluminum one on the other models, and has 60-click and is unidirectional. The ratcheting on this has a rather loud and audible clicking sound, despite using a lighter material for the case. There’s a slight play, and it does bounce a little, but Ryo told me that it’s not that much of a bugbear to him. It’s still solid, all things considered.
I talked about the movement before, but it is a Sellita SW200-1 with 26 bearing jewels, along with hacking, hand-winding, and a quick-set date; previous batches have an ETA 2824-2, and the SW200-1 is similar to that, though it might not be up to par with its ETA counterpart. That said, any watchmaker that knows a damn thing or two would be able to service it.
The thing about this one that I like is how much value you’re getting out of this, even if it is more expensive now than it is before. The design isn’t everyone cup of tea, sure, especially compares to their pilot and Bauhaus pieces, but it does have fans out there. As for me, while I can’t pull it off like how I could with my Fortis Stratoliner and O&W C-1000, it’s a little diving instrument that’s both no-nonsense and good-looking at the same time, and I totally have respect to Ryo for being able to pull this off.
----- What do Setsuna’s friends and bandmates have to say? -----
“The only thing that jumps out of me is the presence on my wrist, especially compares to my Doxa 300T Searambler, which is like a Seiko Turtle in terms of case shape. But the case being made from titanium does negates this somewhat. I really can’t pull it off even with that though, unlike my titanium Sinn 103 DIAPAL, but the design is striking, for sure, and it’s as solid as a rock. Rather ironic that this is Ryo’s, since he was worried about his girly pretty boy image back when he started his idol career, which is opposite to a similar problem that his friend Makoto has back in her early idol days, and yet, he now has this chunky throwback beast of a diver in his collection (with a helium release valve like my Doxa, no less), and I respect him for that.” – Yukina Minato, lead and vocalist of Roselia and Setsuna (Nana)’s girlfriend of 6 years.
“Yeah, it’s rather chunky, for sure, compare to my Nivada Depthmaster “Pac-Man”, but wow…what a distinctive design it has. I know it’s inspired by the 1960s, but I didn’t think it would be this eye-catching. Sure, it’s like Marmite, but there’s an audience for this kind of thing. Also, having a Sellita caliber means that any watchmaker worth a grain of salt can service it, like Stan. It’s a nice little instrument, for real, and I can’t see anyone else other than Ryo-kun being able to pull it off…” – Ritsuko Akizuki, veteran manager for idols at Namco Production with 13 years of experience.
“Can’t get around how large and chunky it is, even in titanium, and especially compare to my Nivada Depthmaster (not Ritsuko’s “Pac-Man”)…but still, it’s a solid watch, up there with Ryo’s Fortis Flieger, only that it’s water resistant by about five times and has a timing bezel. It certainly fits Ryo when he sports it, for sure, and that design is certainly unique…” – Yumeko Akizuki (née Sakurai), indie idol and Ryo’s newlywed wife of three-and-a-half months.
“Holy cow…it’s light and big. I really can’t pull this off like I would with my O&W Rallychron, but it does look striking and feels solid. I have nothing but respect for Ryo for pulling this off, and that’s saying something given how he debuted as an idol more than 15 years ago.” – Rinko Shirokane, keyboardist of Roselia and close friend with Setsuna (Nana).
“Seriously, this is some solid shit…it’s too big for me, frankly, but not too heavy to wear like my Muehle Sportivo chrono. Clearly they don’t cut any corners making this, and for a retro-inspired design, it’s rather unique compare to what’s on the market, aside from Rika-senpai’s Doxa 300T Divingstar, but that’s more like a Seiko Turtle in shape and it has a twin-scale bezel. I know Mika-senpai has a similar one in orange with the same Sellita caliber, but that has an aluminum bezel insert, whereas this has a ceramic one. That said, it’s a value proposition, as clichéd as that saying may be, and just a damn good watch in general.” – Ai Miyashita, fellow PDP member and Rinko’s girlfriend of 5 years.