Halios HOLOTYPE Review

FIRST IMPRESSION
The HOLOTYPE came in beautifully made travel case. You could see that a lot of thought had gone into the watch’s presentation, but you also got the impression that there had been no need for any unnecessary frills; the HOLOTYPE is tool watch after all.

The HOLOTYPE came with two additional straps; one black rubber with deployment clasp and an all black Maratec Elite strap with black stitching (a special offer for the first 100 customers). Jason being the gent that he is had also included a small tool kit along with spare pins and screws; more or less everything needed to keep the watch on your wrist for the next 10 years or more, perfect!

Now to the watch itself; HEAVY, solid and understated about sum up my first impressions of the HOLOTYPE. The PVD work has been beautifully finished in a tactical matt finish, more than suitable for all you Special Ops boys; the enemy won’t spot your PVD HOLOTYPE twinkling away at them from your sniper position.

Another thing that immediately caught my attention was the height of the watch, it does seem to tower up from the wrist, but being only 16mm’s high; this would appear to be an illusion, however one that gives the watch plenty of wrist presence, a good thing!



AESTHETIC
The HOLOTYPE has a very unique rugged yet toyish quality. It’s a professional piece of kit, but I can’t help being drawn back to my childhood every time I put it on. A good mate of mine who ordered a black blasted version said that it reminded him of the Lego set he had when he was a kid.

INNOVATION
For me the innovation comes from Halios’ approach to design. Nothing has been grabbed off the shelf and everything has been carefully thought through from conception to manufacture. What you get is an original looking watch not just another boring, rebadged, generic looking diver (I have said this somewhere else before?!).





MOVEMENT
The Miyota 8215 21-jewel Automatic is tough and durable movement, I believe you’ll find one beating away in the ‘tool watch’ of tool watches, the legendary Autozilla. The only draw back is that it doesn’t hack; otherwise it’s a pretty great movement.

Its accuracy seems to be excellent, you probably know this by now but I’m not one of these geeks who has an atomic clock that I measure all my watches accuracy by, all power to those of you that do though!




CASE
316L stainless steel Width (at widest point): 44mm. Depth (including bezel): 16mm. Vertical lug-to-lug: 45mm Lug Width: 24mm Bezel Unidirectional counter-clockwise, 120 click Crystal Sapphire, anti-reflective coated.

Actually the case is kinda subtle on the HOLOTYPE, it’s the bezel and crown that make all the noise and give the watch its character. They are the true stars of the HOLOTYPES’ rugged appeal.

The bezel has a beautiful smooth action and makes a lovely clunky sound when being rotated. The signed crown is big and imposing. I would have liked it to have reflected the heaviness of the rest of the watch and in all honesty felt it to be a little light and unsubstantial.

The screw down caseback is engraved with Halios’ three crested moons symbol which is a little lost on the PVD version to tell the truth, but is better than having nothing at all.

The watch’s crystal is the sapphire type with AR-coating on the inside.



WATER-RESISTANCE
300m or 1000ft. Nothing too groundbreaking here, but it’s 100m deeper than industry standards for a divers watch. Anything more is said to be overkill anyway (who am I kidding, when’s the 1000m version due, Jason?).

BRACELET
Another impressive component of the HOLOTYPE is its bracelet. It’s hefty to say the least yet incredibly comfortable. It uses a trip-lock diver’s deployment clasp with wet suit extension; all that it is need for its intended purpose.

FUNCTIONALITY
A simple black dial, bold hands and white indexes makes this watch readable at a glance. The HOLOTYPE features a date window at the 3 o’ clock position.



DURABILITY
As mentioned earlier I believe the HOLOTYPE could easily stand up to the rigors of being used in the field by military personnel. Durable is its middle name.

LUME
The HOLOTYPE uses Seiko LumiBrite as used on many Seiko divers. The application process used by Halios doesn’t quite match that of Seiko’s but never the less is still pretty bright. I would rate the brightness from fair-good, and its longevity at good. The lumed triangle on the bezel glows like anything though!



VALUE
at just 360USD dollars, the HOLOTYPE is extraordinarily good value for money. You get a lot for your cash in terms of the watch itself and what actually comes shipped with it.

The HOLOYPE’S Coupe De Gras is its affordability. Who cares what your watch budget might or might not be? You can actually afford one these (it won’t break the bank) and if not yet, saving up shouldn’t take too long.



OVERALL IMPRESSION
I would assume that Halios’, demographic are men aged from 25 – 40 give or take 5yrs or so. These guys are most likely into watches, gadgets, outdoors type activities (other than perhaps picnicking and romantic strolls on the beach) and most likely extreme sports; or they are either the kind of guys who live vicariously through whatever action they encounter in the multimedia world of their PS3 or Blu-Ray discs. (Am I talking too, much!?)

Which ever category we may fall into, fact is we all like big boys’ toys, which the HOLOTYPE most certainly is and it fits the bill very nicely. Its toyish and toolish qualities will shine through and it will not disappoint.

In summation the HOLOTYPE is a unique well-built diver that promises to stand up to whatever its owner may throw at it. It’s fun, good looking and looks the part, and you might just attract the attentions of good looking lady or two when donning one (maybe)!


© OceanicTime
OVERALL RATING