EDOX Hydro-Sub Automatic CHRONOMETER LE [back from the 60s]

The Edox Hydro-Sub is back but not as you know it! 

After decades of languishing in some Swiss archive somewhere or trapped beneath a polar ice-cap, the Hydro-Sub is back with a new ‘60s inspired retro redesign that recalls the OG Hydro-Sub from said era.

For those of you that remember Edox’s Hydro-Sub of more recent years (2014/15); you’ll remember that it came with a wildly asymmetric case design that featured a crown shielding system – 

a bit of an obtrusion that I actually thought was a pretty cool feature but let’s face it was mostly redundant.

Today’s Hydro-Sub has dispensed with such absurdities in favor a clean, classic design recalling the 60s model of the same name that certainly suits current tastes a whole lot better. Introducing the new Hydro-Sub Chronometer making its comeback six odd decades after it was said to have caused much excitement within the watch industry (I guess you had to have been there). Will it do it again? The Hydro-Sub Chronometer LE with its new and improved vintage flavor exuding the historic DNA of the OG ‘60s Hydro-Sub, a watch that helped put Edox on the horological ocean faring map – but naturellement built using modern tech. Presented as a Limited Edition of 500 pieces and engraved with ‘one out of 500’ on its case-back, the Hydro-Sub Automatic Chronometer comes in three looks; the one featured here, a slightly better looking one with Old Tritium colored lume and one in black and yellow.

The Hydro-Sub is water-resistant to a respectable 300 meters thanks to those features that were also present on the OG model such as its screw-down crown with double O-ring seals. 

However for the modern day successor the unidirectional bezel with its 60-minute dive-time scale is made out of scratch-resistant ceramic as opposed to aluminum or Bakelite or whatever the historic model used.

Meanwhile a 2.5mm-thick crystal Sapphire with anti-reflective coating on both sides ensures a crystal-clear view of that beautiful inky dark blue dial. 

The lines of the OG timepiece are carried over to the Edox Hydro-Sub Chronometer LE, from the blocky lugs to the vintage-inspired central handset, which includes a long triangular seconds pointer.

The dial indices and minute and hour hands are coated with Swiss-made Super-LumiNova luminescent material ensuring excellent visibility when underwater or in low lighting conditions. Historically the Edox Hydro-Sub became renowned in the watch industry for its crown system with tension ring and shock-absorbing gasket for guaranteed water-resistance.

This watch was water-resistant down to 500 meters, which was a remarkable technical achievement in the ‘60s helping Edox make a name for themselves in the world of wristwatch water-resistance. 

MSRP is 1’790euros.

Thoughts? It’s a kinda' like a slightly better looking Bulova OCEANOGRAPHER; I like it a lot but I just wish it wasn’t an Edox. 

The orange hand is what makes it for me. Btw if the OG model had 500m of WR then why not this one too; I mean it’s just a number at the end of the day but wouldn’t it be truer to the original?

But that’s me and I am somewhat obsessed by water-resitance and I'm a bit jaded when it comes to these marketing-company owned brands like Zodiac and Edox. The watches look nice back lack soul. 

But what do you think?