Steinhart Ocean One Vintage - A Beautiful Homage to the 6200, A Review (plus Video)

I have a number of Steinhart watches in the collection. The Steinhart Watch Company is a small outfit in Augsburg Germany focusing mainly on homages with a few of their own unique designs. Currently in the collection, I have the Ocean Vintage GMT, the TRITON 1000 Titanium Titan, the Ocean One Titanium 500 Premium and the Ocean One 3D Ceramic Bezel. Today I have the pleasure to add another of the brand's offering, the Ocean One Vintage or O1V for short.

The O1V is a homage of a popular old model, the Rolex 6200. The Rolex 6200 was one of the very first Submariners introduced in 1954. Before that point in time, dive watches were very large and provided the diver with no other additional functions except the current time. The addition of a rotating bezel enables a diver to accurately monitor the dive times. Nevertheless, despite having a similar dial, markers, bezel and crown designs, the watch is definitely sized to current contemporary dimensions unlike the original Rolex 6200 which only has a width of 35 mm compared to 42 mm for the O1V.



Homage is a very touchy subject in the world of watch collecting. I am not here to justify a position on this matter but merely to explain my personal rationale why I am fine with the O1V homage to the 6200. There are two facts about me that justify my position on this issue. The first is my (lack of) financial capacity to getting a Rolex 6200 and the second is my personal aversion of buying a used watch. A homage is a perfect way of getting a watch that tries to follow closely the original design of a no-longer-in-production classic. It is affordable and gives the wearer the chance of experiencing such a "classic" on the wrist.

Rolex 6200 circa 1954 (photo taken from the internet)

Recently, I bought a homage to a famous World War 2 watch, the Rolex 3139 (the Gruppo Gama Venturo Field Watch #2). In that review, I gave an opinion that Gruppo Gamma was excessive when re-imagining the Rolex 3139. The original dimension of the Rolex 3139 was 30 mm but the Venturo Field Watch #2 had a width of 42 mm. This is an expansion of more than 40% from the original. Wearing the Venturo Field Watch #2 will not give you a close experience of wearing an original Rolex 3139 as it is incompatible, size-wise. I also proposed that anything beyond 20% from the original specification (size-wise) should not be considered a fair re-interpretation of a classic.

However, in the case of the O1V, the size difference is just 20%. This is within my definition of a fair re-interpretation of a classic. As such, the experience of wearing the O1V should equate somewhat with wearing an actual Rolex 6200.


The Purchasing Experience

To be honest, I have been eyeing the O1V for a few years already. When I decided to get one, I went through the Gnomon website to order. Made the order in the morning and in couple of hours I got a message from DHL to expect  delivery the next day. As usual, the service was just awesome.

In the packaging, Gnomon also provided an orange NATO strap as well as a polishing cloth.


The Packaging

The whole packaging comes in two sections. A white cardboard box with the brand name printed in silver is where the primary watch box and the documents are kept.

The manual, warranty and other promotional documents are  placed on top of the main watch box. The warranty is very simple. It just mentioned the start date of the warranty that last for two years with an additional 180 days of warranty given by Gnomon.



My only gripe about the documentation is the lack of key information about the watch. For example, there is a page in the booklet that requires the dealer to declare the actual movement put into the watch. At the moment it can either be the ETA2824-2 or the SW200. Unfortunately, the dealer did not declare which one is in my watch.

The lack of a serial number to at least tie the warranty to the watch is another point of concern to me. I have emailed Gnomon about this and the answer I got is that Steinhart does not provide serial numbers for their standard production models. How Steinhart would recognise a watch vis-a-vis a warranty was not answered.


The Watch

To reiterate, the O1V is a homage to the Rolex 6200 which was produced in 1954. The watch has the typical round shape with a movable unidirectional bezel. Made out of 316L stainless steel, the satin brushed and polished casing is 42 mm wide. It has a lug-to-lug length of 51 mm and a height of 16 mm. Lug width is 22 mm and coupled with the 316L stainless steel bracelet, the total package weighs in at 199 grams.

It is a simple analog watch with just 3 moving hands and a movable bezel with no other complications. The crown is a screw-down. The solid steel plate case-back is also a screw-down.

Protecting the dial is a box sapphire crystal with AR protective coating.

The watch has a water rating of 300 meters. In comparison, the Rolex 6200 has a water rating of 200 meters.


The Dial

The dial design is very simple and has the vintage feel to it. The chapter ring wall is straight and polished. The dial surface appears to have a curved surface (it is flat) caused by light refracted from the box sapphire crystal. A dark grey patina colour was used to paint the dial which makes it rather nostalgic.



Every texts and markers on the dial are painted on. At the edge of the dial is a minute scale. The hour scale markers, both the numbers and rectangular lines are painted with Old Radium SuperLuminova paint. All texts apart from the word "SWISS" (this is located at the bottom edge of the dial) are located on the upper quadrant.

The Mercedes handset is gilded with a patina tone and Old Radium SuperLuminova paint. Coupled with the luminous pip at the 12 o'clock position, the dial is easily referenced in the dark.



The bezel is thin with coin-edge side. The peripheral of the bezel extends ever so slightly beyond the edge of the watch casing. Very old-school in design. Like the Rolex 6200, the aluminium insert on the bezel have markers in the form of alternating lines and numbers for every 5th minute. A luminous pip within a red triangle can be found at the 12 o'clock position.



The bezel turns unidirectionally with a very audible 'clicking' sound. It takes 120-clicks for a full rotation. The ratcheting system used for the bezel is firm and there is no interplay of movement when set. Some may find it a tad too hard to make it turn but I prefer it that way. The likelihood of accidentally knocking it off when you have set it to the position you want is much lower.

In the photo above you can also see the bulging box sapphire crystal rising from the inner edge of the bezel. From the base to the top, the box sapphire crystal adds an additional 3.5 mm to the overall height of the watch. Steinhart has added anti-reflection coating on the inside of the crystal to reduce glaring. Nevertheless, in sunlight, the crystal creates interesting light play as you view it at different angles.



The crown is like a button and beautifully etched with the brand logo on the main surface. It is a wide crown measuring 8 mm wide. It is also a screw-down with a red tube connecting the crown and the watch body. Unlike contemporary dive watches, and as per the original design of the Rolex 6200, there are no crown guards in the form of side extensions from the casing. Although the lack of any crown guard may increase the risk of damage, in my opinion, such risks are acceptable. The addition of extra bits of metal does not justify the reduction in risk. Moreover, damage to the crown generally happens when the crown has been unscrewed. In such instances, any crown guard would not be able to do its job as the crown is exposed anyway.



The red colour on the crown tube is unique to the O1V and not seen on the Rolex 6200. In the photo above you will be able to see that the tube does not sit squarely against the wall of the casing once it is screwed down. A portion of the bottom part of the tube hangs beyond the casing wall. Steinhart should have looked into this issue when designing the dimensions of the watch. To me, this looks like a poorly designed timepiece. Granted you can only see it from the bottom but it is too obvious to disregard.



Despite the O1V's 42 mm width, the lug-to-lug length is 51 mm due to the straight nature of the lugs. As you can see from the photo above, there is barely any curvature to the lugs. If only the lugs turn in further, many more people will be able to wear this watch without the problems of 'wrist overhang'. Even with my 6.75 inch wrist, there is a slight wrist overhang when I wear the watch.

The lugs do have pass-through drilled holes which would facilitate strap replacement.



The Oyster-style bracelet is well made. At the lugs it is 22 mm and it tapers down to 18 mm at the clasp. The end-links are solid and the links are connected via screw pins. Steinhart also added a few half-links to make it easier to adjust as closely to an individual wrist size as possible. Furthermore, an additional four (4) micro-adjustment points are available on the clasp. On the O1V, the bridge between the bracelet is machined and the clasp is a simple friction fit with a security flap. The company's logo is chemically etched on the security flap.



What I like about the bracelet is its ability to completely fold over the case-back (see the photo above). It makes for a comfortable fit. Although this is a dive watch, Steinhart did not add any diver's extension system with the clasp. If you do want to use this watch for diving, I suggest you replace the bracelet with something more suitable.

The screw-down case-back has a nice etching of a diving helmet. Although some information about the watch is available on the case-back, key information about the actual movement as well as an identifier such as a serial number were missing.



Underneath the case-back it could either be the ETA2824-2 or the SW200 movement. Both operate at 28,800 BPH. Below is a table of key specifications for both movements.

Specifications	ETA2824-2	SW200
Jewels	25	26
Frequency	28,800 BPH	28,800 BPH
Power Reserve	38 hours	38 hours
Complication	Date	Date
Automatic	Yes	Yes
Manual Winding	Yes	Yes
Hacking	Yes	Yes
Quickset	Yes	Yes
Accuracy	+/-7 sec/day ~ +/- 20 sec/day	+/-7 sec/day ~ +/- 20 sec/day

It is important to note that both movements have a date wheel complication. Despite not having a date aperture on the dial, the watch does have a date wheel hidden underneath. As such, the crown has three (3) positions. The first is for manual winding; the second adjust the date which in this case is not visible, and; the third adjust the time with the hacking mechanism engaged.

Although both movements are similar, it is still nice to know which one has been allocated to this particular example.

Here is the result of an accuracy test done using the Toolwatch program. On the very first test straight out of the box, the watch registered an accuracy of -1.7 seconds per day. This is well within the stated accuracy of both movements. I am actually impressed with the result.


The Wearing Experience

A 42 mm wide watch is well suited for my 6.75 inch wrist. A slight wrist overhang was noted due to the lug design which extends the length of the watch to 51 mm. Perhaps replacing the bracelet with a NATO strap or a leather strap would help minimise that problem.



The box crystal is the star of the O1V. It is a focal point for the watch. The way light gets refracted mesmerises wearers and observers alike. This watch definitely is an eye candy.

The Rolex 6200 was a brilliant choice for Steinhart as a basis of the O1V. As a collector, it is very improbable that I would have the opportunity to get my hands on a Rolex 6200. The O1V is the best opportunity for me to at least experience having something similar.



Nevertheless, there are a few things that Steinhart should take cognisant when developing new watches.

The first is information. Keeping it vague on what movement is in the watch is very unfair to the buyer. The second is an identifier. A unique serial number is required as this would make it easier to identify the watch if ownership is being questioned.

Nevertheless, I would still continue to support the brand as it continues to make affordable Swiss watches for the public. If they can eliminate these two problems, I believe the future would be even brighter.


Specifications

Maker: Steinhart, Germany (Swiss made watch)
Movement: ETA2824-2/SW200(?) - manual winding and seconds hand stop function
Jewel:25/26 jewels
Dial: Vintage black
Luminous: Old Radium SuperLuminova on the markers as well as the hours, minutes and second hands
Case: Satin brushed and polished 316L stainless steel
Crystal: Box sapphire crystal, double anti-reflection coating on the inside
Crown: Screw-down and signed
Strap: Satin brushed 316L stainless steel bracelet with screw links and flip-lock
Lug Width: 22 mm
Water Resistance: 300 meters
Dimensions: 42 mm diameter; 51 mm lug-to-lug; 16 mm thick
Weight: 199 gm
MSRP: EUR510 (Steinhart website); USD550 (Gnomon website)
Launched Date: December 2013
Purchase Date: 5 March 2020
Purchase Date: RM2,390.82
Vendor: Gnomon
Warranty: Two year and an additional 180 days effective from 7 March 2020


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