PRESENTATION I don’t think a divers watch should be packaged any other way. The Rescue Diver Tactical Black is supplied in a proper dry box and not one of those inferior ones that most micros opt for. This is a quality box that I have seen watches 2 or 3 times its price come in.
Inside along with the Rescue Diver Tactical was: a set of tools including 2x screwdrivers, a strap changing tool and a rubber divers strap.
DIAL You could say that the dial is where TWCO have put the most amount of thought and effort. Starting with matte black, which is pretty much the perfect starting point for any dive watch dial. This is marked out with trapezoidal luminous indexes in an orangey off-white color and a black rehaut with a 60 min scale in 5-min increments.
The handset consists of a dwarf hour hand and a large sword minutes hand in bright orange – pretty standard fair on a diver but this is what we like. I particularly like the large orange circular pointer on the seconds hand – this is really cool!
A special dial feature specific to all TWCO Rescue Divers is the 3 minutes radio silence markers. There are two in red and two in green. They’re a bit of an historical reference dating back to the early days of radio communication. You can read a more detailed explanation HERE
Aesthetically they add little pops of color but are more about being a signature design feature of the collection. TWCO should be applauded for bringing something fresh to the table with the 3-minute radio silence markers. We are unlikely to use them but are happy to have them there! ;)
CASE Okay, this is where it all gets a bit uninteresting – I didn’t say bad just lacking in any originality. If you’ve been collecting micro-brand watches over the last decade or so you’ve likely seen this case before or something very similar. It’s a basic catalog design in a Submariner derivative style. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with it – it’s just not that exciting or original.
BEZEL Again this is a pretty generic divers bezel. On the plus side: it has some nice overlap with the case as well as really nice and chunky teeth that make it great to handle. The bezel has a dive-time scale in metallic red and silver with a large triangular 12hr marker with a small luminous pip in the center.
The bezel is rock solid and lines up perfectly. Thumbs up!
CROWN & CASEBACK These are both of the screwdown type. The crown is nice and chunky with teeth. It’s of a nice size, manipulation isn’t too fiddly – I hate a fiddly crowns – this one, however, is great.
The caseback is a little unremarkable. It is engraved with the TWCO logo and some of the watch's key features.
WR The Rescue Diver Tactical has a water-resistance of 600 meters. The watch makes use of quality Viton seals. Such as the 5 used on the crown alone!
DLC This is the Tactical model, so it’s not surprising that it has a matte black DLC coating. There is a huge difference in quality in DLC treatments. German DLC is about the best that there is. This is not German DLC.
I’m not too sure what it is but it’s a pretty ordinary treatment TWCO have opted for. Nothing special but at least no defects, so thumbs up again.
CRYSTAL The TWCO Rescue Diver Tactical is fitted with a tough Sapphire crystal with a slight dome to it. It has been treated with an anti-reflective coating. I’m not sure on thickness.
LUME I said earlier that the dial markers were an orangey off white color – however they actually have a bluish hue. I am not sure what the actual type of lume has been used. But when charged there’s plenty of glow.
MOVEMENT Powering this Dutch diver is the ubiquitous (and for good reason because it’s an excellent, robust and reliable movement) Japanese made Miyota 9015 Caliber automatic movement with 42hrs of power-reserve.
BRACELET This is generic 3-link bracelet with a divers trip-lock clasp with extension. It has been fitted to the case with old fashioned lug spring bars. Screwed lugs with solid bars would have been way better. The links are screwed but from both ends rather than one end, so are a little fiddly.
BUILD This is a solid and pretty well executed diver. Everything fits nicely such as bezel, crown and clasp. Dial print is of a good quality, lume is pretty reasonable. Nothing has particularly wowed me but on the other hand there have been no disappointments, so a job well done!
VALUE The TWCO Rescue Diver Tactical can be bought online directly from TWCO for the best part of 780euro exe. VAT. That’s pretty expensive for a 9015. Some value has been added with a great box but I think there’re a lot of watches of a similar quality / specification that are a little more competitively priced.
© OceanicTime
OVERALL TWCO are only a couple of years old. They are a professional company who put much thought and care into what they do. I love their original ideas such as mentioned above in the dial segment but feel they could possibly look towards designing their own cases and components in the future and perhaps even consider using Swiss movements.
Robert Suurland supplied me with this watch for review. He is an absolute gentleman – my thanks to him!;)
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