Say hello to the playful new Isotope Hydrium X Blink diver in a cheery colorway of blue and pink aka blink.
The idea here is representation through color. As Isotope explains it, by combining blue and pink, they have designed a watch for everybody. At 40mm in diameter with a 48mm lug width, some watch enthusiasts will disagree with the “for everybody” line, but hey, at least they’re trying. Getting the conversation started is sometimes half the battle, especially in an industry where little to no conversing about these things takes place.
As for general inclusiveness with regards to watch sizing, 38mm really is becoming the sweet spot size for wrist neutrality. Maybe next time.
Inside the clean matte Isotope microblasted 316L stainless steel case is a “Swiss Landeron Mechanical Movement”. Isotope doesn’t mention the caliber number, only that it has 28 jewels and an accuracy rating of +/-12 seconds per day.
Wonder if that is a mistake since Caliber Corner and Landeron’s official site only show a Landeron24 (L24) with 25 jewels – although there may be other L24 movements with 26 or 27 jewels, there doesn’t appear to be one with 28. Also, why would a basic 3-hand ETA clone need 3 extra jewels? It certainly wouldn’t be the first time that a watch brand got their own movement specs wrong (as the one who single-handedly built Caliber Corner, you can image the amount of face palming I do when researching and writing about movements).
You might think it’s a simple mistake, but with so much emphasis that gets placed on the movement in a watch – from case designing and manufacturing to custom declarations and importing – it’s really important to know what’s inside. It’s something a brand should know well enough to convey the details to the buyer. Spread movement awareness!
For example, as a no date watch, if this is the “Landeron24” (which is essentially an ETA 2824 clone) does that mean it has a crown position for a phantom date? Ah, the stuff other blogs don’t talk about.
Movement importance aside, that’s not where the magic happens with this piece: it’s the sparkly pink salmon dial. Above the face of the watch is a thick double domed sapphire crystal. Surrounding the glass is a blue 120 click uni-directional dive bezel with single red marker, not lumed.
Speaking of lume, it has Super-LumiNova, but only on the perimeter of the lacrima shaped hands. In case you’re wondering, lacrima means tear drop in Italian, it’s also the name of a type of wine grape.
Isn’t the tiny seconds hand just so adorable?
The screw-down crown gets you 300m/1000ft of water resistance. It is sitting on a fluoroelastomer (FKM) tapestry textured rubber strap for fast drying after a dip in the pool. All things considered, the Isotope BLINK certainly looks to be an excellent summer piece.
Ringing in at a retail price of $888.35 USD. Only 100 pieces will be made available.
Source: Isotope Watches
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