Oniss Diver Automatic

ONISS SWISS SUBMARINER STEEL AUTOMATIC WATCH

When I bought this watch on EBay I wasn't quite sure what I was getting but I could see from the photos the seller provided that there was an ETA 28xx series gold plated movement inside.

The seller didn't advertise that The Oniss had an ETA movement they simply said it was a Swiss movement. Usually when a seller says "its a Swiss movement" it means made and assembled in china but we were thinking about Switzerland while we were making it. Since the asking price was a reasonable $189.00 and the pictures looked so damn nice I decided to spend the money and have one shipped my way.

The watch arrived a couple days later and what can I say other than I was stunned!

This Oniss was advertised as a "Submariner" but I have to say this is way outclassing "the" Submariner without even trying. Firstly this thing is huge boasting 22mm lugs, that's two millimeters wider than "the" Submariner and the rest of the watch has been enlarged to match. You might not think that two millimeters is that big but on your wrist its the difference between a watch and a wall clock! the advantage is obvious you can actually tell the time on it without having to stop what your doing and stare at your tiny Submariner, Size really does matter!

For $189.00 the fit and finish is remarkable! the large luminous hands and hour markers are clearly visible in the dark. The unidirectional bezel turns smoothly and soundly with a nice firm ratchet click that reminds me of a much more expensive watch. The presentation back allows you to see the nice gold plated ETA movement inside and the case back says its water resistant to 300 feet or 100 meters.

I noticed a couple things right away that bothered me just a tiny bit,

(don't let that bother you I'm never satisfied)

firstly the clasp and center links on the bracelet are highly polished which will scratch up very fast, that's not a problem I expect polished parts to scratch during normal wear but the clasp was also stamped out of raw materials and there was still a lot of burring on the inside edges that would quickly cause lots of wear on the bracelet where the edge of the clasp and the bracelet come into contact.

This wear would happen normally too so its not a big deal but I de-burred the clasp edges anyway just to reduce wear.

(There is an advantage to polished surfaces on stainless steel. Any novice with a Dremel and a steady hand can simply re-polish the polished surfaces with a polishing wheel and some silver polish or if your really savvy some steel polish compound but household silver or copper cleaner will work nicely on a polishing wheel on the Dremel.

The satin/brushed finishes are more difficult for a novice to repair as sanding the brushed surface properly requires much more skill ...)

Secondly the end links on the bracelet (solid end links.. huge solid 22mm end links, a very nice touch in my opinion, usually an option you only see on more expensive watches) are not quite squarely cut and finished so on the watch there is a gap visible between the lug and the end link again not a really big deal and its not really that noticeable but I'm a perfectionist.

With those two minor things out of the way the only other thing I can think of is a day date model would be nice too.

This watch easily gets an "hour, minute, and second hand up" (otherwise known as a two thumbs up) and its also available in blue and an ETA Quartz Chrono model in the same size and colors too.

Click Pictures for large Images...very large images...Dial-up users beware!