Yema watches recently went through a re-brand and a model lineup overhaul. With a history that dates back to the late 40’s in France, there are many watches in their past. In fact, at one time, I even owned a Yema Seaspider Auto. It was a rugged yet slim diver powered by a Seiko automatic movement, and was one of the few watches I regret selling.
The new Yema expands on its past with series of new collections (Diver, Land, Pilot, Racing, and Limited Editions) based largely on quartz movements. In this review, we will take an in-depth look at the YMHF0310 300m Diver: an all digital divers watch that focuses on practical features and a simple user interface.
Let’s start with the details:
- 47×15.5mm.
- 22mm lugs.
- Chrono, temperature, countdown timer, time zone, and depth meter.
- EL Backlight.
- Stainless steel case and bracelet.
- Digital display.
- Mineral glass crystal.
- Bidirectional bezel.
- High-gloss black PVD.
- MSRP of $695 (Watch Report readers can use the coupon code “watchreport25” for 25% off).
My last Yema would be best described as awesome; it was a treat to wear, and definitely designed with a keen attention to detail. So how does a newer Yema compare?
The Yema 310 diver is a thoughtful and throughly useful interpretation of the modern digital dive watch. As with most dive watches these days, the Yema is large — 47mm across, and 15.5mm tall. It’s not especially heavy (I wore it on the included rubber strap), but it will block most sleeves and cuffs. The screen is divided into a large area at the top and a lower area for additional info and current menu selection. There are four pushers enabling the feature select, stop/start/reset, and the EL backlight.
The screen is a reverse LCD with a slight greenish hue. The screen’s contrast is very good, but not at all angles as sometimes it appears washed out. Feature controls are dead simple; the screen tells you what function you are dealing with, and buttons on the right side of the case handle starting and stopping the measure. On the main time screen, you can view the date, running seconds, and even the current temperature (this feature is likely more accurate while submerged as the temp of my wrist seemed to add a few degrees to the reading — a common problem with digital thermometers built into watches). The countdown timer, chronograph and second time zone work beautifully, and the EL backlight is very bright.
The Yema 310 Diver comes fitted to the steel bracelet, and Yema includes a very nice fitted rubber strap in the box. After having a fair amount of trouble sizing the folded steel bracelet, I moved the Yema to the included rubber strap, which is excellent. I highly recommend the rubber strap over the bracelet which is very comparable to the bracelets included with some entry level G-Shocks; its not solid steel, so it rattles, and it uses folded steel end-links as opposed to the far superior solid variety.
I should mention that while this Yema diver includes a dive recorder, I was unable to test it as I had no opportunity to dive with the watch.
Yema is selling these direct from their website for $695 before any discounts, however they have been kind enough to create a custom WatchReport.com coupon code, so no need to pay full price. If you are interested in this or any of the other models Yema makes, use the coupon code “watchreport25” to get a full 25% discount. In the case of the Yema YMHF0310 Diver, you get a very nicely built and thoughtfully designed digital dive watch that is easy to use and includes a very comfortable rubber strap. I really enjoyed wearing this watch, and found the feature set completely useful and totally practical.
We would like to thank Yema Watches for the review sample and discount code for our readers.
By James Stacey
