Yema and I’m going again, approach again. Nicely, again to 2021, really. One of many first articles I wrote for Fratello was on a Yema watch…and never simply any Yema watch. The Navygraf Marine Nationale GMT Restricted Version I wrote about marked the beginning of Yema’s army profession as an official companion of the French Navy. The French Navy, or Marine Nationale, has been crusing the seven seas since 1626, making it one of many oldest naval forces on the earth, and having a French watch model “on board” makes complete sense. And so did the LE’s dial in Marine Nationwide Bleu. The comfortable, refined, and matte but recent aquatic shade of blue is on level. Greater than three years later, an analogous blue dial attracted me to the 38.5mm Yema Navygraf Tremendous Compressor.
Two variations of the Yema Navygraf Tremendous Compressor lay aspect by aspect in a watch field — the blue reference YNAV24SC-GMS and the black YNAV24SC-AMS. I didn’t hesitate for one second when requested to choose one to write down about. The recent blue model of this €990 / US$990 dive watch is the one which does it for me. Why the blue works higher for me than the black model is a really private matter of style, however I can clarify why I picked the coloured model over the extra sober Yema dive watch. It’s not simply the shade of blue but in addition the proportions.
The Yema Navygraf Tremendous Compressor in Marine Nationale Bleu
If you happen to’re not into blue dials, the brand new Yema Navygraf Tremendous Compressor within the French model’s Marine Nationale-inspired colorway is just not for you. Or is it? Just like the Navygraf Marine Nationale GMT Limited Edition, the blue shade on the dial of the compressor diver has an virtually introverted hue. Not solely is the shade good, however the absence of sunray stripes, vertical brushing, or a smoky impact makes it extra impartial, much less distracting, and simpler to learn. If the reasonably sized 39 × 12.85mm Navygraf LE from 2021 is simply too massive/too blue for you, you can/ought to attempt the marginally smaller Navygraf Tremendous Compressor. This watch has a 38.5mm diameter, a 46mm lug-to-lug, and an 11.15mm thickness (excluding the two.2mm-thick double-domed sapphire crystal). And since we’re speaking numbers now, it additionally has a 19mm lug spacing.
How can a 38.5 × 11.15mm watch be higher than a 39 × 12.85mm watch and win you over? We’re speaking about small, three-dimensional watches right here, the place each tenth of a millimeter issues; that’s how. On a small scale, minute adjustments in proportions can have a giant impact. In all equity, the brand new Navygraf Tremendous Compressor can also be fully totally different from the watch that began the collaboration between the French Navy and the watch model from Morteau within the French a part of the Jura. Not all dive watches are created equal, as you understand. A watch with an inner bezel seems nothing like one with an exterior instance. It’s a case of historical past versus modernity.
Clear and clear
Yema has been manufacturing Navygraf fashions because the Seventies. These watches’ dials characteristic exclamation-mark-shaped indexes, making a clear and clear signature search for the mannequin. The navy-blue dial of the Navygraf Tremendous Compressor exhibits loads of white Tremendous-LumiNova to supply a hanging distinction with the matte end. Moreover, the no-nonsense markers, arms, and bezel handled with Tremendous-LumiNova Grade A guarantee straightforward readability, even to a depth of 300 meters.
Typically, a watch named Tremendous Compressor simply seems like one. However Yema constructed a veritable Tremendous Compressor. This watch includes a compression spring throughout the case again, a mechanism that will increase the water resistance the additional down you dive because the water stress builds. Together with this performance, it has the standard Tremendous Compressor look with two crowns exhibiting a textured waffle-like end on the floor. The screw-down crown at 2 o’clock controls the interior 60-minute dive bezel, whereas the opposite screw-down crown at 4 o’clock controls the motion. Sure, regardless of its charming traditional dimension and recent and trendy colour, the Navygraf Tremendous Compressor is a strong and useful instrument.
The draw back of pure retro
One pure retro and really Seventies factor is the shark-proof Milanese mesh bracelet. It completely matches the look of the watch. It’s additionally fairly snug, however there are additionally just a few components I don’t like. It’s not truthful to check the bracelet of the Yema with the one on the Omega Seamaster Diver 300M “Silver Surfer” I lately reviewed due to the large value distinction. However as a result of I wore each watches on the identical day, I inevitably did.
The one on the Seamaster is perhaps a bit cumbersome across the clasp space, however at the least you possibly can regulate and function it simply. The clasp and adjustment system on the Yema are straight from the previous. Don’t anticipate to maintain your fingernails intact when adjusting the bracelet to the specified dimension. Opening the protection lock of the clasp whenever you take the watch off can also be not with out hazard.
Trendy components of a retro watch
The mesh bracelet is retro in look and performance, however the Navygraf Tremendous Compressor additionally has up to date components. As an example, you possibly can see the matte navy-blue dial with the interior dive bezel via a double-domed sapphire crystal. Behind a case again exhibiting the polished Yema crest beats a contemporary computerized motion the model developed and constructed in-house. It’s the second-generation YEMA2000 caliber, providing a day by day charge of ±10 seconds per day and an influence reserve of 42 hours. I guess having an in-house motion inside a sub-€1K watch from a watchmaking village in France as an alternative of Switzerland or Japan makes for a superb dialog over a very good glass of wine along with your friends.
Remaining phrases on the Yema Navygraf Tremendous Compressor
An inexpensive sum of €990 / US$990 buys you a really neat 300m-rated dive watch with a really distinct look that not solely talks the discuss but in addition walks the stroll. The supple Milanese bracelet matches the look, and as soon as on the wrist, it feels good, nevertheless it isn’t the nicest to regulate and open. Nonetheless, total my impressions are constructive due to the reasonable proportions, the useful Tremendous Compressor case, and, final however definitely not least, the matte but recent navy blue — sorry, Marine Nationale Bleu — of the dial.
What do you make of the Yema Navygraf Super Compressor? Does it look like a winner to you? Let me know within the feedback.
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