Watch Review - Zelos Titanium Swordfish, Frost Colorway

This is my first real microbrand watch.  If you're unfamiliar with microbrands, well, do some Google work, I won't bother explaining it here because chances are you already know.  And if you know much about microbrands, you've undoubtedly heard of Zelos.  I've had my eye on their Swordfish model for a while, and when they launched the titanium model the 'frost' variant really caught my eye.  I happened to of just sold an old set of bicycle wheels I had hanging around the day before they launched the ti models, so I handed that money over to Zelos in exchange for a frost titanium Swordfish of my own. 

STATS:

• Manufactuer: Zelos
• Model: Titanium Swordfish, 42mm, Frost colorway
• Materials:
• Case: Titanium
• Bracelet: Titanium
• Crystal: Sapphire, flat, inner AR coating
• Bezel Insert: Ceramic
• Movement: Seiko NH35
• Automatic mechanical
• Date complication
• Hacks and hand winds
• 42hr power reserve
• Dimensions:
• Case Size: 42.0mm
• Lug to Lug: 47.9mm
• Lug Width: 22mm
• Thickness: 13.9mm (including crystal)
• Weight: 133g (sized for 6.75in wrist)
• Water Resistance: 30atm/300m
• Crown: Screw down
• Other:
• Full lume sandwhich dial
• Lumed markings on bezel insert
• Signed crown
• Aadjustible clasp on bracelet
• 120 click unidirectional bezel
• Quick release pins on bracelet
• Individually numbered caseback
• Color matched date wheel
• Price: $370 / $450 (launch / regular)

WHAT I LIKE

I've always really liked the design of the Swordfish.  The case is Seiko Samurai-esque, but not a knock off, and the dial and handset are certainly uniquely Zelos.  It's got a sandwich dial - meaning instead of the indices being on top of the dial they're actually cut out of the dial instead.  The frost version has a white dial that is fully lumed, it glows blue with BGW9 lume.  Many full lume dials have a green tint (lookin' at you Citizen) which I just don't like...sure it looks cool in the dark, but not so much in the daylight.  The Zelos dial is bright white.  They've done several frost models before, but this is the one they really got right IMO.  The hands are black, not silver, so they stand out.  The cutouts for the hour markers have a small black outline - this really improves contrast and makes the markers pop.  Without the outline the tan(ish) colored markers blend in with the dial too much.  The date window does not have an outline, and the date wheel is color matched to the dial, a good look.  The black ceramic bezel (with a non-glossy finish, thank you) looks great with the white dial.  Of all the frost models Zelos has done in the past, this is by far my favorite.

I really like the look on khaki colored canvas strap.

The handset is great.  They're fat, have lots of lume, and they're the right length.  The hour hand reaches to the bottom of the markers, the minute hand up just below the minute hash markings, and the second hand goes all the way out to the edge of the dial.  

Zelos is known for their lume, and this is no exception.  The dial glows blue with BGW9 lume, as does the pip on the second hand.  Everything else (hour/minute hands, indices, and bezel markings) are all lumed with C3 X1 and glow green.  Plenty of lume to last all night.

Lume baby!

Zelos releases their watches in batches, and I don't think they ever do the same variation twice, and popular models sell out pretty fast, sometimes a few days, sometimes an hour or so.  The upside is if you get one, you've got something pretty unique.  They only made 250 of these frost colored titanium models.  Each one gets a numbered caseback too, which is cool (mine is #110).  The obvious downside is if you don't get the one you want, tough luck buttercup.  But, join the Facebook group and keep an eye out and you can pick one up second hand.

The NH35 movement is a standard in the watch world, and very commonly used in microbrands.  I've got no complaints.  Mine even runs really well, only a handful of seconds fast per day.  

On a single pass nato strap.

I also have to mention the owner of Zelos, Elshan Tang, in the 'what I like' section.  He's super active and responsive on the FB group.  He takes criticism well, he doesn't take it personal and get all bent out of shape over it, and he listens.  Zelos watches are constantly evolving and changing due to the input from his customers.  Many brands could learn a lot from Mr Tang.

WHAT I DON'T LIKE

I do have some gripes, and they all revolve around the bracelet, and many of them are my personal preference to choose longevity and robustness over convenience.  Out of the box I couldn't get the bracelet installed securely thanks to some tolerance issues, with just a little force on one of the endlinks it would pop loose.  I ended up swapping the endlinks to opposite sides of the bracelet and that fixed the issue.  I've seen other reports of the same issue on the FB group.  Sticking to the endlinks - the quick release springbars.  They suck.  The pins are so tiny, it doesn't take much force for them to break off.  I know regular spring bars require using a tool...but so what? It's a a much more robust system.  Thankfully a standard 1.8mm spring bar will fit the endlinks, so you're not stuck with the quick release bars.

Nicely engraved, and individually numbered, caseback.  Note one quick release spring bar has been replaced with a standard bar.

The bracelet is put together with screws.  A few issues here.  The first is that there are only so many removable links, and if you've got a small wrist, you might be in trouble.  For my skinny(ish) 6.75" wrist I had to remove all but one of the removable links.  For me personally that's great, there's fewer screws in the bracelet now, only three.  And that's good because the screws can come loose, lots of reports of that on the Zelos FB page.  I put a bit of blue loctite on mine and haven't had any issues, but I've also worn it almost exclusively on a strap.  I'd prefer a pin and collar system.  I know it's more of a hassle to size the bracelet, but once it's done you never have to worry about it again.

There's some issues with the clasp too.  On the plus side, the clasp is adjustable, meaning you can tighten or loosen the fit without any tools throughout the day as your wrist shrinks or swells.  I would call it a semi-quick adjust clasp, you can tighten it while the watch is on your wrist, but you have to take it off to loosen it up.  The clasp and mechanism itself is a copy of the Christopher Ward clasp.  So much a copy it bothers me honestly, it's a knock off.  It's also in stainless steel instead of titanium like the rest of the watch and bracelet, and there's no good reason for that I can see.

The clasp is an exact copy of the Christopher Ward design.

The clasp has a machined Zelos logo which looks really great...but, it should have been tumbled after the machining process because there's some *really* sharp edges left behind.  So sharp that some folks have complained about it cutting their clothes (I've not worn it enough with long sleeves to confirm or deny that), and so sharp I scratched my nephew who was only a few weeks old at the time.  It didn't draw blood, but it did leave a mark, and I felt like an ass.  As a dad with a toddler at home, I spend a lot of time with my arms around a kiddo either carrying or playing with her, and this clasp makes me nervous doing that, which should never be a concern.  I wear it almost exclusively on a strap because of this.

Looks great.  Too bad it cuts stuff.

Lastly - a tiny nitpick.  The inner 'shoulders' of the lugs are polished.  But, so is a little triangle on the case, there's just no way to polish the lugs without also polishing the case right there apparently.  It looks a bit funny, and I'd prefer if the entire case were just brushed without any polish.  I don't think anyone else has noticed this...at least not that I've seen, so maybe it's just me.

SUMMARY

It seems like there's more complaints than praises, but that's really not the case.  I like this watch a lot, I just don't like the clasp.  So, I just wear it on a strap.  It's a really great looking watch!  When we had our beach vacation earlier this year, this was the watch I took with me, on a Barton Elite silicone strap.  We played in the pool, and in the ocean (which was dirty thanks to debris stirred up by a hurricane that just came though).  It was a great companion for the trip and I never worried about it.  I picked it up at the launch price (they were all sold out before they even went up to the 'normal' price) and feel like it's a very good bang for the buck at that price, even with the issues with the clasp. 

I haven't yet mentioned all the stuff that comes with the watch.  Nice wooden box, watch roll, metal warranty card, and a leather strap.  I messed up my leather strap trying to trim it down to 21mm to fit another watch.  The wooden box is now my strap box.  The watch roll, eh, I don't need it, it's sitting on a shelf.

You can't buy this one new anymore, but you can check out the full Swordfish line right here.