Elliot Brown Bloxworth Heritage Diver
Elliot Brown Watches, based out of the UK, is known for making hard-use watches to be used for almost any occasion. Many rugged or tough watches are extremely tactical looking, and most likely not one you would wear for a night out or with a suit. Enter the Elliot Brown Bloxworth Heritage Diver, a dive watch yes, but with aesthetics rooted in the 50s and 60s dive watches, with a beautifully patterned dial, a ceramic bezel insert, and a choice of a bracelet or rubber straps. As with all EB watches, these are built to be used and abused, with triple-sealed crowns, compression bolted case backs, metal movement holders, and extreme shock resistance, and all being individually tested to 200m water resistance. As per Elliot Brown, all watches are built and assembled in China, with a member of their team overseeing production.
Specifications:
Elliot Brown Bloxworth Heritage Diver
9H-3H – 41mm excluding crown and push-buttons
12H-6H – 50mm max to tip of case shoulders
Maximum thickness – 12.5mm
Strap width – 22mm
200 Grams
Swiss-made Ronda 713 quartz movement
Domed ‘Box’ anti-reflective sapphire crystal
Ceramic non-scratch uni-directional 120 click timing bezel
Domed screw-down crown at 4 o’clock with triple seals
100% tested at 200m in water
Price $689 USD including shipping
https://elliotbrownwatches.com/collections/bloxworth-heritage-diver
Now, I have to admit, I was a little taken aback when I found out these watches were completely made in China. There are countless watch brands made in China, so this is nothing new, but I guess my biggest gripe would be that there is no mention of manufacture or assembly on their website. I combed it twice. If there is, I missed it, but it means it is not front and center on their about pages or under descriptions for each watch. I am sure many assumed, as I did, that these watches were tested and assembled in the UK, as they go into detail about so much of the testing and partnerships on their site, it just implies this in my opinion. But, that is not the case. I just want more transparency in all, by all brands.
So, that brings us to this new model, the Bloxworth Heritage Diver, the latest iteration of the Bloxworth, in an all-new size and look. At just 41mm when measuring the bezel, with an all-new dial, a lumed ceramic bezel insert, and no date complication, this watch has the look of divers from the past but with an all-modern build. The majority of the case is all satin-brushed, with just touches of high polish along the edges of the case and on the crown and coin edge bezel, just enough to catch some light without being a scratch and fingerprint magnet. The downturned lugs have massive screw bars, easy to remove with the provided tool. The screw-down crown is out of the way at the 4 o’clock position and screws down close the case, meaning it really shouldn’t get snagged on anything and won’t cause you any discomfort while on the wrist.
The bezel of the Elliot Brown Bloxworth Heritage Diver is a touch on the loose side, and I have commented about this with previous EB models, and this is done on purpose. It is loose but does click firmly into place, so it should be easy to move with gloves or wet hands, which is what Elliot Brown intended. The bezel insert is ceramic and is fully lumed, and on the bezel and dial, you will see what looks to be old radium colored SuperLuminova, but this is a bespoke pigment, called Purbeck Stone. An interesting name for the color of lume, and it does not have that orangish hue like so many microbrands do, such as Steinhart as an example. Depending on the light, this can even look more off-white, so if you don’t like that fake patina lume paint, this may be more pleasing to you.
When you look at the watch as a whole, you realize that except for the ratchet clasp that many brands use, the bracelet, the case design, and of course the dial and hands are all custom, nothing off the shelf. Further, the fit and finish really are fantastic. Between the end links, the smoothness of every part of the bracelet and case, even the case back with the stamped shield logo and different textures have no rough edges to rub against the wrist.
Yes, under that case back is a quartz movement, a Ronda 713 Quartz with a 5-year battery. As explained on the Elliot Brown Website, all the watches are tested and regulated and have an internal shock protection system as well as a metal movement holder.
When talking design of the Elliot Brown Bloxworth Heritage Diver, I want to point out that the Heritage branding was done late in the game, after the watch had been released for a bit. It was originally listed on the website as the Bloxworth 3HD (3 hand diver) but I assume EB wanted something a little catchier and even though this model does borrow most of the original Bloxworth DNA, with the bezel insert, the overall size, and dial design, I can see how it is retro-inspired, and it really is quite an eye-catching piece, in this configuration or any of the other 5 configurations they offer, which include two models that do not have the basketweave texture on the dial, a bright orange, and a piano black dial. All models include a domed sapphire crystal as well, which has a bluish/purple internal AR coating.
The lume on my example is what I would classify as decent. The initial glow is good, but the hour markers and numerals fade rather quickly with the hands and bezel insert staying strong for 4-5 hours before completely going dark.
On my 7 1/2 inch wrist, only one link needs to be removed for a good fit and depending on the time of year or day, I would have to move part of the extension in or out for that perfect fit. Even though this is a smaller watch, I think they could have made the bracelet a little bigger, as I don’t really see this fitting a wrist much bigger than mine as is. If you have a large wrist, I would ask if extra links could be included before purchasing.
As a watch reviewer, you know already what the comments will be for the most part when a watch such as this is $700 and has a quartz movement. This watch could be assembled by Swiss Elves and because of that quartz movement, watch enthusiasts will make a fuss. But, regardless of where this watch is made and assembled, the finished product does seem to live up to what they claim, at least from what I can tell. The Elliot Brown Bloxworth Heritage Diver and all the Elliot Brown Watches I have reviewed over the years do seem to be very tough and well built and I have heard from countless owners in the comment section about what they have done with their watches and how EB will take care of any issues. That is from owners who purchased their watches, and you can’t get better feedback than that. These watches are built for owners who are less concerned about the “soul” of a watch and want an attractive piece that can take a real beating. I think these fit that bill perfectly.
