Although it was mentioned above that prices start at $980, that is for the steel DARKMOON model (ref: 8463) with a mineral crystal and 50m water resistance. The black dials feature “Old Radium” Super-LumiNova lume on the hands and markers. They ship out on a 22mm lug-width vulcanised rubber strap with U-BOAT CAPSOIL text. The oil-filled collection is available in a 44mm 2 hand model or a 45mm chronograph. What we do know is that your local watchmaker most likely won’t want to touch this watch when you drop it off for a new battery, so prepare yourself to hear that it has to go back to U-Boat for service.Įither way, we like how U-Boat has incorporated the bubble into their marketing identity for the Capsoil and Darkmoon lines. It is yet to be seen whether the bubble will get bigger or smaller over time, and how “filling up” will affect it. The original Capsoil pieces have a door at 3:00 on the case that says Unscrew to Fill Up. Some will really like it, and others will be annoyed at the idea of having a spirit level strapped to the wrist. The bubble does play well with the no-bezel curved crystal (another element that feels similar to the Ressence), but it’s kind of like having an inverted cyclops from a Panerai floating around under the crystal. Perhaps production scalability was part of their decision to leave the bubble, or maybe it’s because the bubble is evidence that there really is oil inside. U-Boat says they intentionally left a bubble of air under the crystal so that the oil can be seen floating around.
#U BOAT WATCH AMAZON MODS#
We know from performing DIY oil-filled mods that it is possible to achieve results without an air bubble, but it takes extra time and precision. The U-Boat Capsoil isn’t crownless, but they did make it a destro piece by moving the slim crown to the left of the case.Īnother difference is that the U-Boat has a bubble. When it launched, the Ressence Type 3’s claim to fame was that it was a crownless watch which is wound and set by rotating the bottom (air-filled) half of the case. Ressence was able to overcome this obstacle by inventing a dual-chamber case with oil injected into the upper half and air at the bottom where the movement is housed. Interestingly, the Ronda tech sheets list the operating temperature of the 712 to be 0-50 C.Ī quartz movement makes sense, because a mechanical watch will not operate when fully submerged in oil. The dials of the Capsoil/Darkmoon models have red text that reads: Working Between 0/+60 degrees Celsius. The movement is a 2-handed Ronda caliber 712 with a battery life of about 60 months.
Although, it appears that U-Boat listened to criticism about it being a quartz watch and newer models have a solid caseback with no running seconds hand (making it less obvious that it’s a quartz watch).
The big difference between the Capsoil and the Type 3 (and Type 5) is that the Ressence is a mechanical watch, and the Darkmoon is powered by a $16.95 Swiss quartz movement.Ībove is a photo from Amazon of the battery-powered movement visible through an exhibition style caseback.
#U BOAT WATCH AMAZON FREE#
The oily liquid flows into the dial making it an absolute and deep black that surprisingly amplifies view of the hands that seem to flow free as in the absence of the glass.” -U-BoatĪlthough both are oil-filled watches that look futuristic and cool, they cannot be compared from an engineering and design standpoint. “CAPSOIL goes beyond the boundaries of traditional design, combining innovative features with retro-style lines. U-Boat’s new oil-filled Darkmoon watches are more obtainable, with starting prices of just $980 USD. The high retail meant that our video was the closest most watch enthusiasts would get to seeing one in action. The Type 3 received mixed reactions from the community, but mostly because of its $30,000 USD price tag. This new line takes on a more minimalist approach with a lower entry price, but looking at it, we can’t help thinking about other oily timepieces – because in the watch industry, there is nothing new under the sun, or moon for that matter (watch brands love the moon, especially the dark side for some reason).īack in 2013, KeepTheTime introduced the liquid-filled Ressence Type 3 at Baselworld. They just released the second iteration of this concept called Darkmoon. The U-Boat Capsoil collection was officially announced in November 2018.
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