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Helson Bronze Shark Diver Arrives

25K views 46 replies 34 participants last post by  G-Shocks Are Cool. 
#1 ·
Well...Peter at Helson surprised me with international overnight shipping and the Fedex guy came knocking on the door earlier this week with this beauty in a box. According to Peter, this is the first one to be delivered.

Absolutely love it!!!!:-!:-!:-! The Brown dial combined with the Bronze is spectacular looking. The dial is a really mellow, chocolate brown that really responds well to a wide variety of lighting...it is simply gorgeous, and will play so well with the Bronze at is begins to darken and develop patina!). A nice surprise for me anyway was the fact that the Bezel insert is also a nice deep Brown and plays so well with the dial color (In reviewing the pictures on the website, I thought that the bezel was going to be a true black...and even in looking at the pics I took it does look a bit black...very hard to capture).


And that Brushed Bronze Case (Yes, Peter has chosen the UNI 5275 Bronze which I'm excited about...in this fresh, brushed state, it really has a gold look to it out of the box which looks good, but I cannot wait to get the patina going on this case as what I like most about this Bronze is the deep, dark, patina that develops with time and use...what a LOOKER...|>|>|>|>...I know that you guys know Peter has done a great job with this one on the ss Helson Shark Divers, and this Bronze case is no exception.


As great as it looks, it is also so well built with very solid construction, excellent machining, solid and precise 120 click bezel action, and very nice crown action that screws down cleanly and solidly and winds so smoothly as well. I also really like the hex bolt lug fasteners, which are a very nice touch and will prevent having to wrestle with screwdrivers and possibly scratch a lug when changing straps. Great total package!:) |>


You guys all know the specs and dimensions on this one...the only thing I will point out since the Shark Diver has had different movements in its lifetime, is that the Bronze version is driven by the ETA 2824-2 with incabloc shock protection (so I'm assuming 'Elabore' grade here, but have not confirmed with Peter at Helson).

I'm pretty sure you guys like pics, so here are some of the 'factory fresh' brushed Bronze on the stock leather strap (also comes with a nice quality rubber strap that looks identical to the Hirsch Extreme Rubber to me). I will be exploring some different strap options with this beauty.

Let the patina begin!!!















 
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#2 ·
Wow, the brown always one of my favorites in the Helson line up- I'm sure it'll continue to get second looks as time goes on; especially when the patina kicks in.
Enjoy!
 
#4 ·
It looks fantastic, and I think it will look OUTSTANDING once patina develops on the case.

Peter/Helson is a pleasure to deal with, and make a great watch-for me, the Sharkmaster was the deal to be had in 2010! It's a great deal for the money, and a great watch at any price.
 
#5 ·
The bronze+brown dial is absolutely gorgeous. Congrats!

Last year after emailing Peter, I decided at the last minute not to pull the trigger on a Shark Diver. I understand these new batch of Shark Divers have shorter lug to lug measurements which suits me better I think. The Helson SD might just be my first buy of 2011.
 
#6 ·
I'm not sure if it would be a good idea to use on a watch because of the seals and such but there are products to accellerate the patina on bronze and copper. A buddy of mine had a copper roof installed on the guest house at his farm and we sprayed this stuff on it and it had a nice aged look within two days. I don't know the name of the product but Google is your friend. Of course, there is also something to be said for honest, earned patina so it's up to you.

BTW, there is a good reason that the brown sold out so fast. It looks great. Have fun with it.
 
#7 ·
I'm not sure if it would be a good idea to use on a watch because of the seals and such but there are products to accellerate the patina on bronze and copper. A buddy of mine had a copper roof installed on the guest house at his farm and we sprayed this stuff on it and it had a nice aged look within two days. I don't know the name of the product but Google is your friend. Of course, there is also something to be said for honest, earned patina so it's up to you.

BTW, there is a good reason that the brown sold out so fast. It looks great. Have fun with it.
This link has some good info on do-it yourself patina.
 
#8 ·
Thanks for the kind words on the Bronze Shark Diver guys!!! :)

Peter at Helson has really done a fantastic job on these (which is no surprise given the high praise for the Shark Diver in general).

Like you guys, I definitely like these Bronze cases for the character and patina that develops with time.

Rusty Shakleford - I'm likely not patient enough to let this one develop patina fully on it's own and plan to give it a bit of a kickstart. I know that there are a number of chemicals out there that will do it, but I'm not willing to use those products on my watches. I did, however, use an environmentally friendly process (freshly hard boiled egg sealed in a zip lock bag with the watch case, which has been documented by Steve at Benarus) to accelerate the patina on my Bronze Benarus Moray with very good success. I plan to do that process on the Bronze Shark Diver as well, and I especially like the process because it is iterative and controlled by how much time you let the case hang out with the egg (sulfer).

Here's a few pics of my Bronze Moray Case going from factory fresh blasted Bronze, to mild patina, to a little more patina...and it has continued to darken nicely from that last pic.



 
#9 ·
Bronze SD with glossy black dial/bezel incoming. Tried to snag a brown less than 24 hours after word hit the streets but no luck. The black should still do the trick though--not too fond of the carbon fiber dials as the high tech nature of that material does not, to me at least, sit well with the "medieval times" bronze. Wouldn't mind seeing an orange dial... Still surprised they're not already all spoken for!
 
#12 ·
Congratulations!
Peter emailed me last night that my brown dial version is on the way. Can't wait for its arrival.

Steve
 
#31 ·
#13 ·
By the way, how does one go about getting watchmakers to "surprise" them with a new watch at their door or did you have some knowledge of this in advance and order/pay for it some time ago? What am I doing wrong...?
 
#14 ·
Thank you gentlemen for the continued kind words on the Bronze Shark Diver! |>

mtngt - your glossy black dial/bezel will be a sweet combination in this one...like you, the Brown and Black dial versions were the only ones I wanted to combine with a 'vintage' bronze cased watch. As far as being 'surprised'...I don't think you did anything wrong...this model came out of left field for me and I saw the reference to check out the blog which had the basic info...before I knew it I had ordered one. As it stands, I don't think I would have had a chance at the Brown dial had I delayed more than a minute in ordering it (and it appears in this case, a short 24 hours was too long)...so I got lucky in this case. I might have to ask Peter how many of each dial color are being represented, unless anyone knows the answer. Hang in there, your black dial will look sweet with this case.|>
 
#15 ·
Congrats, nice looking watch! :-! Thanks for the pictures and as mentioned before it's nice to see one of the brown dials (I wanted) in person . Looking forward to some pictures later on when it gets a nice patina. Wear it well and thanks for sharing. :-!
 
#17 ·
Re: I have never liked the Shark Diver.....

Striking, but not my style personally. I'm more of a PVD guy. But that looks great.
 
#21 ·
Re: I have never liked the Shark Diver.....

This one really struck a chord for me- i've got one of the black carbon dials incoming. This is the first CF dial I've seen that I really like. I think that combo will look great once the case starts developing a patina. BTW there's a certain organ builder in Holland that colors the bronze and copper organ pipes by dipping them in bovine urine... I dare anyone to try this- might not be the best for the seals....
 
#22 ·
Re: I have never liked the Shark Diver.....

Love the brown/bronze combo but somehow the case design never resonated with me. That said, I've got nothing but good things to say about Peter and his watches. I'm sure you'll enjoy it! Cant wait to see what else comes from Helson in the coming years.
 
#23 ·
Re: I have never liked the Shark Diver.....

Thank you guys for all the continued kind words and congrats on the Bronze Shark Diver!!!:-!

Willith - I did get some accelerated patina out of this piece this weekend and will plan to post some pics up soon...ok, teaser before/after pic below...

Sydney Dan - From the pics I've seen, I do think the black carbon looks really good on this one...please post pics up when you receive it. As I mentioned to Willith, I did get some nice (accelerated) patina developing on this case...and I'm very happy with the deeper, darker, case developing.

Ok...here's a little before and after shot:

Before:


After: (mounted on a different strap too)
 
#28 ·
Very cool. I like the tu-tone SS crown + bronze case / crown guards.
Looks much better on the more rustic strap.
Keep us posted as the watch collects some green and brite spots too !
I would suggest a mild salt spray once a day, like sea water. That will get that bronze chemical action going. Soon it will look like a shipwreck treasure !
 
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