PANTOR Sea Turtle HANDS-ON

This is the new Sea Turtle from PANTOR Watches, a relatively small brand that are solely focused on mechanical diver’s watches and who have continued to go from strength to strength.

PANTOR Watches’ entire collection has just recently become available to purchase on Amazon.com



The Sea Turtle joins a collection of dedicated dive watches inspired by ocean fauna that includes: the NAUTILUS, Seahorse, SEA LION and Seal.



With its classic 45mm in diameter cushion case, you could say that the new Sea Turtle is a big brother to the 42mm Seal Lion.



The Sea Turtle whose case is made of Marine-grade 316L Stainless is finished with a subtle brushed finish along its sides while the top of the case has a high polish.



The case is fitted with: a solid steel 120-click diver’s bezel and a flat Sapphire crystal. The bezel has a nice a high profile and large teeth ensuring an excellent grip.



The bezel is topped with a black insert with a silver 45-min scale and a vintage-style orange luminous pearl at the 12hr position.



The bezel is super tight, as in it has zero slop or play and it also lines up absolutely perfectly. The dive-time markers are nice and sharp.



On the right lateral side of the case is a signed screw-down crown. The crown is without crown-guards, an aesthetic choice following the vintage design codes of watches like Aquadive’s legendary Bathyscaphe.



Over on the opposite case side is an automatic Helium Escape Valve making the humble Sea Turtle fit for SAT diving duty.



Flipping the Sea Turtle on its back we are treated to an engraved turtle motif with said critter in full flight as he makes his way through the sea.

The Sea Turtle has a very respectable 500 meters of water-resistance.



The Sea Turtle’s dial is available in matte black. I am not aware of any other colors on offer at this point. The dial is very simply laid out with a combination of circular and trapezoid markers at 3, 6, and 9.



While the 12hr marker is kinda’ like a massive tooth or perhaps a shield shape. The dial is fitted with a silver chrome handset. All hands and markers are with C3 SLN lume – sweep sec. incl.



Powering the Sea Turtle is a Japan Made Seiko NH35 automatic movement with a slanted white date wheel at 4:30 on the dial.



Full dimensions of the PANTOR Sea Turtle include: a 45mm diameter case with a thickness of 15.2mm and a lug measurement of 22mm.



Speaking of the lug width, the Sea Turtle is presented on a black rubber diver’s strap with a modern Panerai-esque style plus a Pre-Vendome style solid steel buckle.



Both strap and buckle are a little of topic, but they do the job. The rubber used for the strap is silicone rather than actual real rubber.



A second tan leatherette strap was also supplied with the Sea Turtle along with a strap changing tool.



Final thoughts? The Sea Turtle is hefty diver with a rugged bezel and crown. I’m a fan of bezel and crowns with good ergonomics as these have.



The Sea Turtle’s case has been finished rather nicely for its price-point, too. Feeling nice to the touch and without any flaws.

The bezel as mentioned is tight while the winding crown is adequately solid.



At its price point which is just shy of 600USD, the Sea Turtle has a lot of competition; in particular from the slew of Kickstarter projects currently on offer.

However, to its advantage the PANTOR brand has been going strong for the past half a decade or so. When purchased from Amazon it comes with a little extra added assurance.


©OceanicTime

The Sea Lion will likely appeal to anyone looking for an affordable yet bulletproof alternative to a Swiss retro diver. Please follow the link embedded, below to visit PANTOR Watches and discover their full diver’s collection.