I'm not going to lie - as much as I wanted to NOT care about these (I saw the video before I went to bed ), that Purple Helix Dial is REALLY doing things for me.

 

I didn't really care for the Origin, but I'm a sucker for a GADA and this one looks pretty good.

The poor lume on my Aqua Terra was a let down and it's nice to see Jody make a direct comparison.

I do worry a bit about the AR coating, though. Even in the promo video, glare seems to be an issue. Maybe just due to the choice of double domed sapphire.

 

Not bad.....

 

I like the orange fumé dial. Looks like the watch is ticking all the right boxes. However - not to extent to actually pull the trigger, but I wish Jody all the best in next editions.

Greetings
Eryk

 

I like it

 

I really didn’t care much for the first dive watch from him. This one though is a stunner. Glad that they went with a 9015 on this one. Now to just tell myself I don’t need “just one more watch” lol

 

Poor man‘s CW

 

As an owner of a CW Sealander, the Ascent certainly has a lower price, but I'm not certain the finishing is much worse than the CW.

The Ascent's Miyota 9015 is probably considered a step down from the CW's SW200, but otherwise... I'd love to see a side by side comparison.

 

Looks nice, but does the crown look small to me?

 

Hey again. I think the crown is 6mm and very slightly recessed. If you get a chance, check the JOMW Release Video. Not my cuppa, but the watches present very nicely.

 

I agree with some previous commentators, I didn’t like the first effort either. This one does seem like a good step up in terms of design.

 

There's definitely something there...
It feels a little edgy though..
If it was made out of soap.. could do with running it over hot water to soften the curves and edges.

 

I am trying to save for a larger purchase later in the year, but I watched the vid anyway. I was very tempted. The simple blue one really got me. They really packed a lot of the features we like into that price.

 

How do you know that finishing is much worse than a CW? It certainly looks much better than every CW watch to date.

 

You haven't actually seen one, have you? I appreciate what Erebus managed to do for what they're charging, but lets not kid ourselves. This is a SARY grade case, it's not a light catcher by any stretch of the imagination.

 

Looks great to me. It doesn’t evoke that “must have” feeling in me though. Felt the same way about the diver.

 

That orange fumé is awesome! The black enamel looks sweet, too--but I have too many black dials already. Wish the green fumé popped as much as the orange.

 

I wasn't interested either until I saw those helix dials. Price for specs is more than fair as well. Debating between between black or purple helix.

 

Owning an Erebus would be heresy.

 

Really? Why?

 

For want of dark-red dial

 

What, no titanium option?

(Mostly kidding.)

Seems like an incredibly well thought out watch that offers amazing value, tons of options, and manages to target both watch nerds and the general public. Love the use of the 9015 movement. I almost feel guilty for not currently having plans to buy one.

 

Neat! Like the dull bastard I am, I'd go for the plain black dial. I'd be more interested if it came in 36 or 37 mm though.

 

I like the watch, if i could get for that price i would buy...but the final price after tax+VAT will be 500 bucks

 

I certainly can't complain about the price at all, at least the pre-order price. It's not much more than San Martin charges for their top end models, and those are going to be using Seiko NH movements.

But, just like the Origin, the design is incredibly derivative of other watches. The Origin was more blatant to be sure, Jody has made no secret of how much he likes Helm watches, so that one was basically "can we do a Helm Vanuatu copy, but not so much of a copy that Helm gets mad at us?"

This one is more of a hodgepodge of various watches. The case design is a Seiko SARY clone. Hands are literally copy/paste Grand Seiko hands. The markers look like smaller Planet Ocean markers. The whirlpool dials are also just straight C/P from Grand Seiko.

It's a nice watch, and I appreciate the effort they went to getting their logo applied. It just looks like somebody's mod though to me. Ali-X Seiko case, Ali-X GS-alike dial, Ali-X GS-alike handset. With enough MOQ, any number of the Ali factories would do that for you....which is what they did.

I don't really get it. It has absolutely zero identity of its own. Why go to the trouble of starting a watch company to just basically make mods and copies? San Martin already does that very well. And honestly, honestly, SM's newest diver GMTs with the gradient dials are way more original than these are.

 

I certainly can't complain about the price at all, at least the pre-order price. It's not much more than San Martin charges for their top end models, and those are going to be using Seiko NH movements.

But, just like the Origin, the design is incredibly derivative of other watches. The Origin was more blatant to be sure, Jody has made no secret of how much he likes Helm watches, so that one was basically "can we do a Helm Vanuatu copy, but not so much of a copy that Helm gets mad at us?"

This one is more of a hodgepodge of various watches. The case design is a Seiko SARY clone. Hands are literally copy/paste Grand Seiko hands. The markers look like smaller Planet Ocean markers. The whirlpool dials are also just straight C/P from Grand Seiko.

It's a nice watch, and I appreciate the effort they went to getting their logo applied. It just looks like somebody's mod though to me. Ali-X Seiko case, Ali-X GS-alike dial, Ali-X GS-alike handset. With enough MOQ, any number of the Ali factories would do that for you....which is what they did.

I don't really get it. It has absolutely zero identity of its own. Why go to the trouble of starting a watch company to just basically make mods and copies? San Martin already does that very well. And honestly, honestly, SM's newest diver GMTs with the gradient dials are way more original than these are.

Agree with basically all of this.

Watched the launch video and Jody seems like a decent guy, so I wish him well but these are pretty hard to get excited about.

When you buy at the affordable end of the market, a watch like this would just keep reminding me of the watches it borrows from, that have brand history or interesting movements or anything really that I can latch onto.

It's probably business savvy. He's making watches that are hard to criticise... But they're pretty hard to love too. The Mad Watch Collector's effort felt like this too. Watches designed to tick boxes but without much creativity / identity.

 

It’s giving off a CW ‘vibe’. It has step above design cues, and a stepped up case/dial finish, for sub $400. It’s the right size and height. The movement is fine (wear they are saving money) and the case back is sterile (money savings part two).

They will have a GMT and Chrono before it’s all said and done.

It should do well.

 

I just ordered the purple helix!

 

It's good to see them using the Miyota 9xxx movement.

 

Better than the diver.

But again, lots of safe, common denominator choices. I’d like to see more uniqueness and design risk taking. But, I get it the chef cooks the food for his customers.

 

The only thing I would question is, having short lugs, are the holes for the bracelet/strap far enough from the case for nice straps?

Other than that, it looks nice enough. But nothing I'd run to for purchase.