EDMOND Pole Guardian PVD [Ref. BB G03 M] REVIEW

BACKGROUND A year or so ago I reviewed the Swiss made Edmond POLE GUARDIAN, a 300 meter water-resistant explorer / adventurers watch, a timepiece that has always intrigued me.



Despite being a non-diver – it performed brilliantly and gave me the chance to wear something rugged and sporty but with an avant-garde, openwork-style usually only reserved for haut horology.



If you are not yet au-fait with EDMOND Watches, please follow the link embedded, below to discover the brand. In addition to the Pole Guardian they have other nautical watches as well as a dedicated diver’s model.



DIAL With its generous aperture and an open-work 24hr dial showcasing working cogs, the Pole Guardian is quite a sight. For this special PVD version, all the previously red elements are now in sporty blue and all the applied lume is now in black.



Let's quickly walk through all the features of this special 24hr dial. To start with we have a matte black background with 5 major elements:



1: An outer ring where all the hour markers are - these are 3D polished appliqué with Swiss Black lume.



2: A set of 4 cogs, three large cogs with hours: 6/18, 9/21, 12/24 (ED logo) and a small central cog. 

The large 24hr cogs are secured to the dial via a black strut-brace - engraved with "EDMOND Pole Guardian".



3: An open-work date aperture with a large blue anodized indicator above it.

4: An outer re-haut with minutes.



The dial is finished off with a set of polished wide trapezoid hands with Black lume and a central sweeping seconds hand with a red tipped arrowhead.

The only other thing to remark about the dial is the "Swiss Made" text proudly showing at 5 and 8 o’clock.



I was always a fan of the original Pole Guardian but feel that the PVD version with its black case, black lume and blue elements aesthetically takes things up a notch. 

Yes, some readability is definitely sacrificed in the name of style but I’m just fine with that.



CASE The Pole Guardian has a generous 44mm 316L Surgical Grade Stainless steel multi-piece case which has been given a black PVD coating.

PVD as a coating has served us well for decades; however these days it has been superseded by DLC which is infinitely better at resisting scratches.



Mid-Case: This has a black satin finish.

Upper / Lower Case: Two additional pieces are secured to the main case with 8 hex-bolts (4 on top and 4 underneath). These pieces are in a gloss-black finish.

Bezel: A solid Stainless steel, perfectly round fixed bezel with a black satin-finished top and sides.



Crown: Integrated into the mid-section of the case is large semi-circular crown guard with a hinge system that allows the crown to be fully and safely closed. It is opened via a small lever at its top.

Edmond's crown locking technology allows you to completely open the guard and crown with one click. And to close is it - similarly with one push of the lever.

EDMOND Watches have spent a lot of time and effort perfecting their system and I can verify that it works beautifully but not only this, it looks really cool.



Caseback: Screw-down PVD Stainless steel caseback with Sapphire crystal exhibition window.
CRYSTAL The Pole Guardian is fitted with a high-quality, scratch-resistant flat Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating.



LUME The hands and dial markers of the Pole Guardian have been applied with Black SuperLuminova. I would rate the lume at "poor". 

This was never going to be its strong point – however I just recently reviewed a ZRC GF300 black edition (also with black lume) and was blown away by just how bright black lume can be.

IMPORTANT An alternative PVD Pole Guardian with Green SLN is also available if lume (lack of) is an issue for you.



WR The Pole Guardian PVD has a respectable 200 meters of water-resistance.



MOVEMENT The Pole Guardian is powered by a Swiss made Sellita SW200 automatic movement with: 28 800 alt/h 25 rubies, customized with the Edmond "Power Ring", and a power-reserve of 40 hrs.

The Power Ring is another EDMOND innovation: it is customized piece of additional mass that not only provides better automatic winding but adds another dimension to the winding-rotor’s design.



BRACELET The Pole Guardian PVD comes with a beautiful full black PVD Stainless steel bracelet with a combination matte and gloss finish. It closes via a butterfly clasp.



LUGS The lugs are held onto the bracelet via a set of dual lug screws. These are very sturdy and give a nice feeling of security.

BUILD This is a superbly built and very beautifully finished watch. Everything is top-notch. A huge amount of time and effort has been spent on the watch's design and functionality. It looks good - it feels good!



PRICE You can buy the Pole Guardian online from Edmond for 1940CHF. This has actually come down a few hundred Swiss Francs and is still good value for money. You get a lot of unique watch for your money.


©OceanicTime

FINAL THOUGHTs Because I have actually already reviewed the regular steel version of the Pole Guardian, I would prefer to comment on the differences in the two – namely PVD vs. Steel finish, Green vs. Black lume and Blue vs. Red elements.

It’s really difficult to separate the two finishes available for the Pole Guardian. While brushed Stainless steel will be easier to maintain in the long run, PVD does give the watch a more subtle and some might say special feel.

The Steel version uses Green SLN, while this particular PVD version uses Black SLN. It’s a no brainer, if lume is priority, don’t get the version with black lume as there is still a PVD PG with Green lume. The black lume is purely for looks.

This version has blue dial elements – however a second PVD Pole Guardian with red elements is also available. The choice is yours. ;)