Titoni Seascoper 600
Titoni is quite an intriguing watch brand. I have talked about Titoni a lot in the past; They are still an independently owned Swiss Watch brand, and they have been producing watches since 1919 (Under the name Felco). While a good amount of their lineup doesn’t excite me, the Seascoper line is one I have always been fond of. The latest incarnation, the Titoni Seascoper 600 is getting them a lot of recognition these days, and not just because of the sporty and classic good looks. Powering this attractive dive watch is their T10 Calibre Movement, which was designed in-house. Available in 3 colors and upgraded to COSC, this watch truly does offer a tremendous value with a price tag of just under $1900.
Specifications
42mm Stainless Steel Case
51mm Lug to Lug
22mm Lug Width
14.5mm Thick
204 Grams
Sapphire Crystal
Ceramic Bezel
600m Water Resistant
T10 Calibre COSC Movement
Price $1870
https://www.titoni.ch/en/collection/gents-watches/seascoper.html
Now, before I get started, yes, there are a lot of brands $2,000 and under that watch folk like to spend their money on or will argue is a better value. Oris comes to mind, Sinn is another. Maybe Hamilton. I can list a bunch, but you get the point. I think the key point, at least from a value perspective on this Titoni Seascoper 600 is the COSC Manufacture Movement. Sure, Oris has their own movement as well, released last year, and has a 5-day power reserve (the T10 has a 3 day PR), but it is nowhere near $1870, in fact, it is basically double the price. In North America, Oris is a much more known brand, and the movements are not completely comparable, but Titoni is still designing and assembling (not manufacturing) the T10, and putting it into a beautiful dive watch for quite an affordable price, all things considered.
What about the overall design though? Well, you can say it is derivative, but arent most watches these days. Let’s face it, you can only reinvent the wheel so many times, and when a watch brand does go crazy with the design, the hands, font, etc, people ridicule it and say it is too out there, or that is too outlandish, etc. It is clear where the inspiration came from for the Titoni Seascoper 600, but that is ok. The case and dial are both well finished and attractive, and hey, if you want something that is different, it is out there. Some say Titoni played the safe route, but this style is popular for a reason, and I think they did a good mix of being inspired while also adding their own special touches to create this beautiful watch.
If you haven’t figured it out yet, you should know I am pretty enamored with this piece. But come on, it is easy to see why. Yes, it does remind me of a Tudor Black Bay meets Rolex meets Longines. Is that really a bad thing though? More importantly, this is not some $300 wannabe, this watch is built for the enthusiast. The specs are listed above, but they don’t always tell the whole story. Beyond the fact that the Seascoper 600 has a helium escape valve, and the bracelet uses the pin and collar system for the links, I truly have nothing to complain about with this piece. The brushing and polishing are exactly what you would expect-it are beautifully machined and finished. The dial and hands complement each other, are easy to read and are a joy to look at. The bezel is ceramic, the crystal is sapphire, and it feels smooth against the wrist.
That’s not all though. The bezel is extremely crisp with its 60 clicks, and the crown is just as firm and precise. When you screw the crown back in, you will know exactly when it is locked into place, not just because of resistance and tightening, but the crown actually stops. Most crown action is equivalent to when you are driving fast and you need to slow down for an upcoming stop. When you press on the brakes, you do so with light pressure leading up to firm pressure, until you come to a complete stop. But, this is a full slam on the breaks stop feel with the crown, and it is very satisfying. I probably unscrewed the crown and then screwed it down again a few too many times, but I just love the feel of it. This is something you expect on a watch at a much higher price point, but here you have it on the Titoni Seascoper 600.
Another highlight is the push button ratcheting extension clasp. Microbrands have been using (or overusing) the ratcheting extension clasp for years, and I have seen too many of the same Chinese clasps over and over from brands just using off-the-shelf parts. Rolex uses the glide lock system, small brands like Monta have copied it and there are countless other brands using a similar system. So how do you integrate this functionality into your clasp, but still stand out? Well, Titoni has figured it out, and it was putting a button on top of the clasp, but hiding the button in the logo.
When you first look at the bracelet and clasp, you can see there is an extension of some sort, but it looks like you would actuate it from underneath. I remembered reading something about the clasp before the watch had arrived, but I honestly handle so many watches, I could not remember exactly what the deal was. Then I slid my finger over the logo, and could ever so slightly feel it depress. That’s when I remembered, that is how to use the ratcheting part of the clasp. Like a fidget toy from years ago, I can see people getting hooked on playing with the clasp extension button over and over. Probably not a good idea, you don’t want to wear out the components by doing that constantly but set aside some time each week to do so. Maybe when your wife is watching Dancing with the Stars or something on the Lifetime channel, and you want to annoy her a little bit.
If you are like me this day, a watch’s weight and balance are very important. Years ago, I wore big clunky watches on the wrist and never really cared if they were slightly uncomfortable, just as long as they looked cool (at least in my mind). To be fair, this was probably about 15 years ago now, though in my head it seems like ages ago. Now, I want a watch to be comfortable, solid but not weigh a pound, and most importantly have a balance between the case head and bracelet. The Titoni Seascoper 600 accomplishes all of those needs for me as this watch really does feel great on my 7 1/2 inch wrist. Oh, and the aforementioned clasp helps a lot here as well. Because the actual bracelet slides in and out of the clasp, not a piece of the clasp like on the standard ratchet deals, you can truly get a perfect fit any time of day, without it looking like you altered your watch in some way to make it fit properly.
I can not deny that I really do love this Titoni Seascoper 600. I know, I shouldn’t be so biased, but if I cant express when I truly enjoy a piece, then why do you want to hear when I don’t? Unlike many other blogs and websites, I won’t recommend this piece to you. I won’t say who this watch is for. You read the article and seen the video (wait, you haven’t seen the video yet? Scroll up to the top and watch it then!), you can make up your own mind. All I can do is give you my perspective, but I am very impressed with this watch. I’ll be honest, that is not easy to do these days. For those that will just right it off as another homage, or the brand doesn’t have the cache or all the other things we stuck-up watch enthusiasts can say (myself included), I will only say, you do not know what you are missing. I will leave it at that. You can check out all of the colors of this Seascoper at the Titoni website, as well as more info on the T10 movement and the brand’s history.
