NIXON 51-30 (surf chics like 'em big)

By TLex Don’t ever let anyone fool you into thinking that having a small watch is ok, it’s not! All this - it’s not the size of your timepiece that matters; it’s how you use it that counts – is rubbish! Trust me nothing impresses girlies more than a big watch. That’s why OceanicTime is suggesting the NIXON 51-30 Tide and Divers watch to help you keep up your manly appearances for the rest of the summer ;)





Now that I’ve upset your sensibilities I can tell you a little about NIXON and the 51-30. Nixon who are based in California have been making sports / fashion watches for skaters, snowboarders and surfers for the last decade; design-wise they certainly lean far more heavily towards fashion than they do sport, but nonetheless their watches are being put to the test day-in day-out on the waves, slopes and streets the world.






The 51-30 is one of these watches that has over the last couple of years (as the trend for oversized watches has taken a foothold) become more and more interesting to me. I just recently tried one on (for the 3rd time) in a surf store in Bali. And to be honest it felt a little cheap and plasticky, and the bezel grinded nosily round the dial, but at the same time it felt like a really tough watch and looked so good on the wrist that I found myself reaching for my wallet.






As its name suggests the 51-30 has a 51mm case diameter; yes it’s a big watch, but that’s part of its appeal; and for the gentlefolk out there, NIXON make a 42mm version of the same watch called the 42-20 TIDE. The watch is available in either bracelet or rubber strap versions (PU), with a total of 20 different colors and finishes to choose from. There’re also a number 51-30 Chronos, but they don’t look nearly as nice as these do.






The 51-30’s stainless steel case is water-resistant to 300 meters. It has uni-directional rotational divers bezel, a hardened mineral crystal and is powered by a Swiss quartz movement BUT something that I personally find bloody GENIUS about the 51-30 is it’s lack of second hand – having a quartz movement would have meant an unsightly ticking annoyance making its way round its huge dial; as it is the watch is tick-free and has a very clean minimalist dial. There is a sub-dial at 4 o’ clock that can be used (by means of the 2nd crown at 8 o’clock) to set the tide.







BUT wait, the fun doesn’t stop there; there’s s CERAMIC version of 51-30 that comes in either black or white, and has a sapphire crystal and an exhibition caseback that displays its Swiss automatic caliber. That one costs 2’600USD however the steel quartz versions shown here are a far more reasonable 325 – 450USD, so what's stopping you?!.