Spinnaker Fleuss Vintage Diver Review

Spinnaker Watches is a UK based watch company that offer a vast range of quality and affordable marine style wrist watches.

This time we were lucky to get a closer look at Spinnakers vintage automatic FLEUSS diver which was inspired by Henry Fleuss, a British inventor who was behind the first ever self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (Scuba) in 1878.

If you love vintage style diving watches then you will soon discover why you should add this little known gem into your own collection.

Spinnakers affordable and timeless designs are a fraction of the price, with quality and attention to detail that surpasses many other microbrands.

It may even make you wonder how they don’t charge more of their watches.

Either way, their price competitiveness is your gain because there is “a lot of watch” for the money you spend.

If you think about it, many other microbrands are charging $400 – $600 for similar features, except Spinnaker, offers a wide selection of design choices to fit just about any watch enthusiasts design tastes. Yet, as of March 2019 Spinnaker released their exciting brand new line of vintage divers that have a beat up and stressed aesthetic, fittingly called WRECK.

So let’s take a deep dive into Spinnakers FLEUSS SP-5055-04 diver

Design

The FLEUSS perfectly encapsulates the timeless qualities of the early known divers that once played an integral life-saving function for professional divers.

A function that helped divers be aware of how much air they had left as they performed dangerous and potentially life-threatening underwater activities.

As years have passed they have become more technologically advanced to the point that they are bigger, better and more reliable.

Dive watches have now become vogue as years have gone on by.

The Fleuss is a watch that gets back the roots of the early divers, paying homage to its humble beginnings when the times were simple.

Its a classic 41mm diameter shaped with a brushed stainless steel case, matte color schemes, and beautifully textured dial.

This particular Spinnaker FLEUSS SP-5055-04 diver is two-toned stainless steel with gold highlights.

It has a semi bulbous Acrylic bezel bi-directional rotating bezel with white luminous markers on the hands, dial and bezel, finished off with a gold screw down crown with their engraved logo.

At the center of it all is the beating 24 jewels Japanese Seiko TMI NH35 automatic movement which contains hacking, 3 hands and date function with reliable timekeeping abilities.

Rated at a depth of 150 meters and, with a scratch-proof sapphire crystal covering the flawless textured dial.
All finished off with an exhibition case back with the iconic ‘Spinnaker’ custom back rotor and a comfortable water-resistant leather strap.

Unboxing Experience

It came nicely packaged in a simple dark blue box with the watch pillow, microfiber cloth along with all the necessary documentation.

Wearing Experience

Weighing at 95 grams its a very easy watch to wear for many different occasions.

I found that the FLEUSS had a certain kind of character to it, like it had a story to tell with it as you would probably find if you were buying on the second-hand market.

It feels kinda like shared the deep sea adventures with good old Henry Fleuss.

Now you can create your own

Pros

Solid construction with high attention to detail
The rotating bezel is super solid for the price point as there are much more expensive Swiss made watches out there where the bezels feel loose.
They nailed the vintage design and feels like there is a story behind it
2 Year Warranty

Cons

I cant think of any bad things to say about this watch. But if I was to mention 1 minor detail it would be the fading numbers on the bezel. But you can only see it if you look really closely and It may not look as sharp as it probably should. Not a deal breaker by any stretch of the imagination.

Final Verdict

I really like the way this watch feels and, it’s the small details that really count.

It feels smooth to the touch and the rotating bezel feels really solid.

The two-toned finish is incredible and compliments the Spinnaker logo on the dial beautifully and the printing of the dial indicators are just flawless and I am really happy with it.

The Spinnaker FLEUSS is an all-around nice watch that looks more expensive than it actually is and, you can be the owner for less than a $300.

I would buy another Spinnaker watch knowing what I know about the quality of the watches they produce.

Click here to check out the Spinnaker FLEUSS Watch Collection

Next Spinnaker I would love to review is the DUMAS