For a little background on the Stuckx RocK collection, read my posts: HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE.
Let's start with the obvious; the RocK's design isn’t going to be for everyone. It's almost a caricature of a dive watch;
everything from the case thickness to the bezel height and the oversized hands seems a little bit in in-your-face. It ain’t gonna slide under a dress-shirt, that's for sure!
And thank god for that! The RocK is a return to the days when dive watches were instrument-like contraptions that were worn for doing crazy things like measuring elapsed dive-time. ;)
It has that down to a ‘t’ and some. It is very much evocative of a vintage depth-meter. And so its design makes it sit up pretty high on the wrist.
However if you turn the RocK over (it’s kind of like flipping a big fat turtle onto it’s back – awe, now I’m seeing the RocK in whole new light, it’s kind cute),
you’ll see that there has been an effort by Stuckx’s engineers to ensure that it will still sit comfortably on your wrist thanks to its concave shape.
So although the RocK is a gonna be a bit of a device for banging on doorways (a good diving instrument should be); it does wear surprisingly well on the wrist.
The Rock’s bezel is absolutely fantastic! Love the height, love the Sapphire inlay, love how easily it can be manipulated.
This is the Executor, so its Grade 2 Titanium case has been given a lovely silky DLC (diamond-like-carbon) coating.
I have always felt that the RocK's crown would have benefited from a 4 o'clock placement which would allowed Stuckx to increase its diameter.
My personal thoughts are that it’s a little out of proportion with the rest of the watch. It’s a bit fiddly on such a chunky watch, too.
These are just my personal preferences. On the flipside, the smallish crown furthers the RocK’s quirkiness and flanked by dual HEV’s it seems to at least be in harmony where it’s positioned.
The dual HEVs are super cool, without question the kind of superfluous feature that old farts absolutely hate on a dive watch, but I wouldn’t be without them (who knows what’s gonna happen when you’re trying to recover your soap from the bottom of the bathtub!).
However, they would have been even more of a standout feature if they had been left in the same color as the caseback.
One of RocK’s most special features is its dial with its 3D ring and markers, which make the watch look and feel a lot more expensive than it actually is.
Can’t say that, I’ve seen many other Boutique brands using such beautifully designed 3D dial features.
On the downside, the Executor has been fitted with a white date window. It’s positioned at 6, so at least it looks balanced, but I’d gladly forgo knowing what the date is.
The RocK’s handset epitomizes what imho a proper set of divers hands should be like, super distinguishable from each other and with a minute hand as wide the Grand Canyon allowing for lashings of lovely lume – there’s NO LUME on the seconds hand, though – aaarrrggghhh!
Okay, so there are one or two minor personal quibbles, but overall impressions are excellent! This is a really impressive looking dive watch with bags of character and loads of appeal.
Its design is unique enough that it will make a great addition to any collection. The possibilities for the future endless – just imagine the RocK in bronze, imagine it with a special complication – are you ready to have your world RocKed?! ;)
© OceanicTime
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