In maintaining the DNA of their ocean and sea inspired timepieces, Spinnaker launched the Fleuss dive watch in honor of Henry Fleuss, the inventor of the first breathing apparatus for divers. Thanks to Mr. Fleuss’s ingenuity, diving professionals have been able to explore the deep seas like never before.
For this review, we took the two-tone blue dial Fleuss into the wild and photographed it during a hike. We will be reviewing another all steel model later and will link to it below with cleaner photos. For now, please enjoy the nature shots!
Two things that stand out as soon as you lay eyes on the Fleuss are the bezel and dial. If you’re a fan of the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, then you’ll be attracted to this piece. The outer perimeter of the watch is lined with a smooth dome-like bezel with lumed markers inlaid in the acrylic material. Moving inward to the dial, there is a contrast of texture against the sleekness of the bezel.
The brushed rose gold tone hands add even more texture and also provide for a satisfying macro shot, even in subdued lighting with a cell phone camera!
The 43mm diameter case is constructed out of 316L stainless steel. The “316L” designation is also sometimes referred to as marine grade steel. This is the ideal choice for a dive watch because of its high resistance to corrosion.
Spinnaker carries the theme of “texture” into the case design with a satin finish meeting a polished chamfered edge. The height measures in at 12mm thick with a 51mm lug-to-lug.
The Fleuss model SP-5505-04 being reviewed in this post features a rose gold tone crown. The other models have a crown to match the steel case. They are all screw-down crowns and help give the watch its 150 meters / 500 feet depth rating.
Spinnaker fit the Fleuss on a matching blue strap, but being a dive watch makes it versatile and capable of carrying a variety of straps while still looking good. The tang buckle is brushed stainless steel with the Spinnaker logo and a springbar holding it in place.
The top of the strap has a suede-like feel to it with minimal off-white stitching. The bottom has smooth black leather, with the short side being signed Spinnaker and the long side is labeled as being water resistant leather.
Although the strap is considered to be water resistant, if you plan on taking the Fleuss in the water we recommend swapping it for a rubber or nato style strap. If that is your wish, you’ll want to look for something that fits a 22mm lug width.
The Fleuss is powered by a Spinnaker branded Seiko Instruments (SII) caliber NH35A. It is a 3 hand automatic workhorse movement with a date. This caliber is found in many affordable microbrands. You can learn all about it here.
If you’re looking to purchase the SP-5055-04 from Spinnaker’s site, keep in mind that their images show blues of this model to be leaning on the darker side. That is not at all inaccurate, but what they do not show is how the blues change depending on the lighting environment. The pics in this review were taken in natural lighting, in a wooded area, just before sunset.
The navy blue and rose gold reference SP-5055-04 is featured in this review. This is the only model with a rose gold tone bezel. Spinnaker released 6 colorways if this combo doesn’t float your boat. Each one retails for $285 USD.
The reference numbers are:
- SP-5055-01 – Black dial with tan markers, steel bezel, black bezel insert with tan numerals, dark brown strap
- SP-5055-02 – Black dial with greenish (lume) markers, steel bezel, black bezel insert with silver numerals, black strap
- SP-5055-03 – Blue dial with white markers, steel bezel, blue bezel insert with silver numerals, blue strap
- SP-5055-04 – Blue dial with white markers, rose gold tone bezel, blue bezel insert with rose gold numerals, blue strap
- SP-5055-05 – Blue dial with tan markers, steel bezel, blue bezel insert with tan numerals, brown strap
- SP-5055-06 – Black dial with tan markers, black bezel with tan numerals, brown strap
Buy the Spinnaker Fleuss SP-5055-04 from Spinnaker here or check the KTT watch shop to purchase the watch featured in this review.
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