Revelot R11 Hexmariner 42 Arctic White Steel - A Modern Interpretation of a Submariner But Affordable, A Review (plus Video)

When the brand first started, I bought a simple quartz dress watch for my daughter. Back then, all of Revelot's offering were quartz powered. It was just a few years ago that I noticed the brand started offering automatic models as well.

 

While browsing in a watch shop in NU Sentral, I was introduced to the newest automatic powered model from Revelot; the R11 Hexmariner. I was impressed because what the watch offered in terms of materials used as well as the manufacturing process done to it belies the ridiculously low price its offered at. A stainless steel 200 meter diver with a bracelet that has many surfaces, sapphire crystal on the front as well as on the display case-back plus the use of an NH35 automatic movement - all for just RM1,299 is just incredible.   

After some discussion with the friendly dealer at Timekeeper, Ms. Era, I walked away with the R11 Hexmariner 42 Arctic White Steel. This is the first Revelot watch to join the collection.

 

 

The Brand: Revelot

 

Revelot is a Malaysian brand started in 2017. The name Revelot is a marriage between the word Revel (to celebrate) and Zealot (a person who is fanatical in pursuing their ideals). Using Kickstarter & Indiegogo crowdfunding platforms to expose some of its designs to a wider audience, the brand had an impressive start. Since then, it has never looked back. 

 

The brand has a commitment to create products that are one step above the mass produced fashion goods yet competitive in pricing. In this regard, Revelot remains true. The products on offered would generally be priced way above what Revelot is pricing if made and sold by other brands. As a fellow Malaysian, I am rather proud of them! 

 

An interesting sale technique that Revelot has been using is the ability to mix-and-match any watch casing with any type of band (bracelet or strap) when buying by pricing each item separately. There is also the possibility to buy just the watch casing on its own. This is very unique indeed.   

 

For more about the brand visit: https://www.revelot.com

The Series

The are 22 models under the R11 Hexmariner 42 series with the following permutations; stainless steel or bronze casings; coloured or meteorite textured dials; bracelet or strap options.

 

R11 Arctic White Steel RM1,499	R11 Arctic White Steel RM1,399	R11 Army Bronze RM1,499
R11 Army Bronze Meteorite RM1,899	R11 Army Gilt Steel RM1,499	R11 Army Gilt Steel RM1,339
R11 Black Gilt Steel RM1,499	R11 Black Gilt Steel RM1,339	R11 Darkside Bronze RM1,499
R11 Darkside Bronze Meteorite RM1,899	R11 Darkside Steel Meteorite RM1,899	R11 Darkside Steel Meteorite RM1,739
R11 Monochrome Steel RM1,499	R11 Monochrome Steel RM1,339	R11 Storm Bronze RM1,499
R11 Storm Bronze Meteorite RM1,899	R11 Storm Steel RM1,499	R11 Storm Steel RM1,339
R11 Stormrose Steel RM1,499	R11 Stormrose Steel RM1,339	R11 Stormrose Steel Meteorite RM1,899
R11 Stormrose Steel Meteorite RM1,739	General Specifications: -Stainless steel/bronze -Bracelet/strap -NH35 automatic movement -Sapphire crystal -Ceramic insert for bezel -200 meters water rating	Note: All prices found on Revelot website.

 

A number of the models listed above have sold out and no longer available. It would appear that Revelot will only produce a model in one (or just a limited) production run only. The likelihood that Revelot will produce more of the same is low at the moment as their focus will be on introducing new models. Currently, Revelot is focusing on the R11 Hexmariner 39 (this is the 39.0 mm wide version compared to the 42.0 mm wide version which is being reviewed in this report) line coming on stream from January 2023 onward. 

The Watch

Made out of stainless steel, the R11 Hexmariner closely resemblance the Rolex Submariner to some degree. At 42.0 mm wide and a length of 48.0 mm, the Hexmariner is just slightly larger than the Rolex Submariner (41.0 mm wide and a length of 47.6 mm) but wears similarly. 

Visually, the R11 surface areas are given more angular edge by introducing chamfers and bevels to most surfaces. Both brushed and polished metal surfaces are done rather elegantly to give a new re-interpretation of the classic Submariner icon.

 

The white dial of the Arctic White Steel has a crystal star pattern. There is a brushed sloped chapter ring with Arabic numbering etched for every 5-minute interval. The etching is very subtle and to view it properly requires one to angle the surface of the chapter ring square to the line-of-sight of the viewer. Between the Arabic numbering '30'  are the words "LAUNCH" and "EDITION". This particular design feature is so delicate that I suspect Revelot created it in a similar vein like how Rolex does it with its logo etched on the crystal using lasers (also known at the Rolex LEC).   

 

The dial surface has a diameter of approximately 28.0 mm. There are two timing markers. The first is at the end of the dial; minute line markers printed in black and connected to a black ring at the edge of the dial. The second is the 11 applied hour markers in the shape of a six sided polygon except for 12:00, 3:00 and 9:00 where the polygons are elongated. For 6:00, there is no hour marker as the position has been taken over by the date aperture. The hour markers are all painted with BGW9 Swiss Super-LumiNova® luminous paint. I like the fact all the hour markers are framed in metal which gives it a nice cool effect. 

The placement of the date aperture at 6:00 is a compromise that I can partially accept. Personally, I am never pleased with a date aperture that replaces an hour marker. To me, I don't find the date complication to be much use. More important for me, especially for a mechanical watch is a power reserve indicator. Nevertheless, Revelot incorporated a date complication for the R11 and placed it at 6:00 which is visually more symmetrically placed in my view. Others may disagree as the reference for symmetry should be the crown axis which would ideally placed the aperture either at 9:00 or 3:00. I also like the fact that Revelot chose to cut the aperture in a generally similar shape as the 12:00 hour marker. To ensure visibility, the date wheel has a negative background.

 

There are five lines of texts and a logo. The logo and the brand are located at the upper quadrant while the words 'HEXMARINER', 'AUTOMATIC' and '660ft = 200m' are located at the bottom quadrant. The texts and logo are printed in black directly on the dial.

The handset uses a broadsword design for the hours and minutes hands and a lollipop design for the seconds hand. Parts on all the three hands are painted with luminous paint. Only the hours and minutes hands have black background while the seconds hand has a plain metal background.  

Protecting the dial is a flat sapphire crystal with anti-reflective protection. The top of the crystal is set slightly beyond the top edge of the bezel. To ensure protection for the crystal against possible side impact damage, the edge of the crystal is beveled. This is clearly seen from the photo above.

 

The unidirectional ceramic bezel has its markers painted with BGW9 Swiss Super-LumiNova® luminous paint. The bezel moves in 120-click increments for a complete rotation. Although the edge of the bezel looks good for grip, I find it not that easy to manipulate. Nevertheless, the increments are consistent with a nice audible 'click' when moving from one position to the next. There is also no obvious play or movement in the bezel once it is set in place.

 

The signed screw-down crown is located at 3:00 and protected by two shoulder tabs that extend from the casing. Note also from the photo above that there are no pass-through lug holes for the lug pins. More about this later. 

 

 

Revelot uses the BGW9 Swiss Super-LumiNova® luminous paint on this particular model. Revelot also use the C3 Swiss Super-LumiNova® luminous paint (greenish tinge) on other models. Above is the photo of the watch in the dark which gives a bluish tinge. Compared to dive watches from Seiko, the brightness is not as good.

 

The Hexmariner comes with a very nice decorated exhibition sapphire glass case-back. The case-back is a screw-down and has information about the watch at the peripheral. Surprisingly, no unique serial are given for the watch (I can't find it anywhere on the surface of the watch casing). The only information is the water rating, the type of movement used, the materials used and the text, LAUNCH EDITION". Underneath the sapphire glass window is a perforated metal plate painted in a golden tone with the same crystal star pattern found on the dial. On this metal plate, the brand name and the series name are added. 

 

Underneath the perforated metal plate is an decorated Seiko NH35A automatic with date function. This generic 24 jewel workhorse from the Seiko Group, sold to other watchmakers. operates at 21,600 BPH and has a power reserve of 41 hours. Manual winding will take about 55 turns of the crown to be fully wound.

 

Unfortunately, this watch does not fulfilled the ISO6425 standards. Nevertheless, the casing has been water rated to 200 meters. Revelot advertised the watch as a casual diver suitable for swimming, snorkeling or some leisure diving. I may just used it for swimming but but nothing more than that.

 

If you want to get an R11 Hexmariner, you must get one with the bracelet. This is because the bracelet on this watch is heavily engineered with multi-faceted surfaces with brush and polish finishes. Moreover, the solid end-links and milled clasp are CNC finished for that high-end value feeling. Note from the photo above that the bracelet is equipped with quick release spring-bars for easy switching. It will be cheaper to get an aftermarket strap than to get a bracelet for the watch from the manufacturer.

 

The 22.0 mm wide lugs do not have pass-through lug holes. With the quick release spring-bars system coming standard with the watch, not having pass-through lug holes is not an issue. Nevertheless, I would still prefer to have the lug holes as it will facility strap changes if there is a problem with the spring-bars. 

The links are attached together using a pin-and-sleeve system. The clasp has three micro-adjustment points to facility better bracelet sizing. Note the logo etched prominently on the clasp surface. Note also that the clasp only has a push-button system to unlock without additional locking latch as backup like most other divers. The bracelet also do not have any extension mechanism (for divers to wear the watch over their diving suit).

The total package has a weight of approximately 200 gm.

The Wearing Experience

For a new brand that dabbles in a few styles of watch design in its product offering, Revelot hit the diving watch design right on the bullseye with the R11 Hexmariner. It looks well engineered with extensive machining but priced at a level that surprises practically everyone with its affordability.  

On its website, the company highlighted its marketing strategy by minimizing unnecessary middleman costs to achieve better pricing for customers. The pricing does appear to justify the strategy but time will tell whether this strategy will remain in the foreseeable future. When every watch brand, once having established their reputation, starts to add 'premium' to their pricing, I can't see Revelot not joining the bandwagon. Hopefully I am wrong about this but history has shown otherwise (just look how Seiko's pricing scheme for their Seiko 5 lines have moved up in last couple of years). 

Above is a video of the watch on my wrist. For reference, my wrist has a circumference of 6.75 inches. It wears well and not that imposing on the wrist. 

The Hexmariner is an excellent homage to the iconic Submariner. Not a direct copy but a more modern interpretation to all the key specifications that made the Submariner a classic. With the use of modern manufacturing techniques, the Hexmariner is a watch I think would fit well in any collection. Moreover, the cost of ownership is also so affordable.

The Purchasing Experience

I bought the watch at Timekeeper in Nu Sentral. The dealer was a Ms. Era who is very knowledgeable about the brand. To be honest, I wasn't looking at buying a watch, just browsing. However, she was able to direct my interest to the Hexmariner. She was able to do everything, even resizing the bracelet in front of me.

 

To keep costs low, the watch-box is a simple thin cardboard box as seen below.

 

Specifications

 

Watch Model: R11-7B4D1B1

Case Material: 316L stainless steel

Crystal: Sapphire with anti-reflective protection

Band:  316L stainless steel bracelet with quick release mechanism

Band Model: S22-1B1BB3

Bezel: Uni-directional

Dial: White

Illumination: BGW9 Swiss Super-LumiNova® Lume

Case Diameter: 42.0 mm

Overall Length: 48.0 mm

Height: 13.0 mm
Lug Width: 22.0 mm

Weight: 200 grams 

Water Resistant: 200 meters
Movement: Seiko NH35A automatic with date function

Jewels: 24

Frequency: 21,600 BPH

Power Reserve: 41 hours

Winding: 55 turns of the crown to be fully wound  

Complication: Date

MSRP: RM1,499.00

Purchase Date: 29 December 2022

Purchase Price: RM1,299.00

Warranty: Two (2) years
Delivery Date: 29 December 2022
Serial Number: Not provided

Vendor: Timekeeper, NU Sentral

 

 

Photo Gallery

 

 

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