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Aquatico Poseidon
Have you always wanted a Seiko Marine Master 300 but just can’t afford or justify the price? Well, like any iconic and popular watch, there is a homage out there waiting for you. The Aquatico Poseidon is an homage to the MM300 and at the discounted price of $250, may just be the one for you, depending on what you are looking for. If you are looking for a watch that is as close to the Seiko as you can get, this is definitely not it. If you want something that has the look but is not identical and you are okay with sacrificing quality, this could be an option.
If you are not familiar with Aquatico, they are a factory brand, or as some call a mushroom brand. What does that mean exactly? Well, unlike a microbrand, which doesn’t have a true definition, watch nuts have labeled it as a small brand, that has only a few employees, sometimes just one person, and makes limited production, usually 3-500 per production run. There’s more to it, but that’s the basics. Factory brands, on the other hand, are brands that portray themselves as microbrands but are owned by the same factories making some of your favorite microbrands. Honestly, it’s a little convoluted and possibly shady, but that that’s the watch world and that is China.
Specifications:
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Aquatico Poseidonย
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Diameter: 43mm Stainless Steel
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Lug to Lug Length: 50mm
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Thickness: 15mm
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Lug width: 22mm
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Weight: 118 grams
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Movement: Seiko NH35(NO Date)
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Water Resistance: 300m
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Crystal: Dome Sapphire with Inner AR coating
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Super Luminova (swiss Rc-tritec)
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Bezel: 120 Click Ceramicย
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Crown: Stainless Steel 316L Screw Down
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Tropic Rubber strapย
Price $359 (Current discount on-site brings it to around $250)
https://aquaticowatch.com/
One thing I always pride myself on is the ability to cut through the BS. So, this is just not a great watch. Some of you may be saying, well, it’s very inexpensive, and what do you expect. Well, I never claim to be an expert, but I have been reviewing watches for over a decade and I’ve bought and seen many. Even at this price, you could probably do better. Now just like any watch, there are positives and negatives, but I think there are more negatives with this Aquatico Poseidon.
The case tries to mimic the case shape, finishing, and monoblock style case back, because of course this is not a monoblock case back at this price, and don’t expect Seiko level finishing either. The case shape is similar though and has drilled lugs and the overall silhouette is nice, but again, it’s mimicking a great Seiko diver, so it does have some nice lines.
The coin edge bezel is actually easy to grip and actually has a pretty nice rachet and feel to it and locks into place without any play. The same goes for the crown, no issues at all, so there are some positives. The bezel insert though, the ceramic grain just screams cheap and the hue of the vintage or old radium lume paint doesn’t match the hue on the dial and hands, which is more noticeable in the dark, and it is all lumed up.
The Aquatico Poseidon has a sandwich dial and the dial itself is not bad at all, save for some debris that seems to be par for the course with watches from brands like these. The hand finishing is pretty rough as well, but many probably won’t look at it as close as I do, or with a 105mm macro lens, so for many, it won’t be a big issue. The movement is the Seiko NH35, and you can see it through the case back, but this dial does not have the date and that means, this has a phantom date wheel, which again, is pretty common for this price point. For those that don’t like black, there is a blue dial and bezel insert available as well, with the same patina lume.
The biggest issue I have found with this Aquatico Poseidon is noise. No, not with the rotor or movement itself, but with the lugs and or spring bars. Watch the video and you can hear this in action, but either the spring bars are not wide enough or the lug holes are too large and as such, every time you move the strap or move your wrist, you will hear this annoying clicking, and yes, it really is very annoying.
The 22mm Tropic Rubber strap isn’t bad though, a cheap buckle of course, but the strap is made of a good rubber compound and while not the most flexible I have seen, it doesn’t feel rough on my 7 1/2 inch wrist. The watch itself is decently well balanced with this strap as well. This watch used to be available on a stainless steel bracelet, but the quality of the bracelet wasn’t that good, so it seems they sold out of that stock, or just pulled the bracelets and released these models with a tropic rubber for the time being.
As I already mentioned, the lume color is off from the bezel and the dial, and the lume is great at first, very bright, but not very long-lasting. It will be completely faded in 2-3 hours, or mostly faded, so lume junkies, stay away.
How do you end a review like this? With the truth. If you do your research and look around, there are a lot of better options out there than this Aquatico Poseidon. Even if you need to spend a little more money, you could do better. Will it look like a Seiko MM300? No, it won’t, but then again, if you really want that watch, save up for the real thing, or at least, a better homage. If you feel you need this piece though and don’t consider the negatives listed here to be anything you aren’t ready to deal with, just make sure to get it at the best price possible, or possibly look for one preowned.
Could I have received an off sample? Always possible. But I doubt it. I also doubt I will be able to see any of the other Aquaitco models in hand after this review, so I can’t comment on the quality of those, but as always, with any brand, especially ones that are not that well known, to do your research.
