Watch Review: Ocean7 LM-3 Divers Watch
The LM-3 is the third watch released by the Ocean7 Watch Company. For those unfamiliar with this new player in the watch world, Ocean7 was founded last year with the goal of designing and building world-class watches with the assistance and advice from enthusiasts worldwide. According to their website, their “mission is to provide innovative products in niche markets with the highest quality manufactured watches at prices that can be achieved only by selling direct to consumers over the Internet.” Their first watch was the LM-1 Limited Edition. Made in an edition size of 150, the LM-1 quickly found a strong following with it’s over the top styling and impressive build quality. Sadly the LM-1 L.E. has now sold out and will not be available in the future. Ocean7 offers two different lines, within it’s brand, to it’s customers. The first are watches in the LM series. The LM watches are always Swiss Made featuring custom designs. While the entry level line is the G series which offers lower priced models that still meet a high level of quality but may not be exclusive to the Ocean7 line up or Swiss made. The price of the LM-3 starts at $699.
Case-
The watch features a brushed 316 stainless steel case and bezel. It measures 42mm in diameter. The height of the case is 17mm. The first thing you will notice about the LM-3 case is it’s weight. This thing is solid. With the steel band it weighs 278 grams, without, 139 grams. In comparison, the larger diameter LM-1 L.E. weighed in at 105 grams. This being said the watch never feels too heavy. It feels rock solid with no annoying rattles or other problems. The watch is rated and tested at the Swiss factory to being water resistant to 1000m. Like all LM series watches, the lug spacing is 24 mm and thankfully the watch has drilled lugs. This allows quick and easy strap changes with the help of nothing more than a paperclip. The drilled lugs also help reinforce it’s tool watch image. Since the LM-3 is not a limited edition it does not have an edition size but rather a standard serial number. What’s nice is the serial number has adopted a system like other manufacturers where the first character in the serial number helps indicate what production run the watch comes from. The watch I bought was from the run or A. The next batch will start with B, and so on.
The signed crown is located at 3 o’clock location and the watch features a signed helium release valve at 10 o’clock. Have I mentioned the watch has a real weight to it. The watch also features a sapphire 4 mm thick crystal. The watch does not feature any AR coating on the outside of the glass. For some this may be a negative but not me. I have found that almost all AR coatings are able to be scratched and damaged. Even the ultra hard AR coating on the Sinn U series watches have been scratched. The bezel on the LM-3 is a 120 click unidirectional design. The bezel feels much more decisive than other watches in it’s price range. It clicks nicely and lines up perfectly at 12 o’clock. It also features a lumed pip at 12. I particularly like feel of the bezel edge. It’s larger than the edge on the LM-1 and nicer. Very easy to grip but not so harsh, very well finished.
One aspect of the case that I think needs to be mentioned is the fact that the LM-3 shares the basic case design with a few other watches. (Nauticfish, Schaumburg, Enzo, etc) It’s similar how the VW Touareg, Porsche Cayenne and Audi Q7 all are based off of the same platform. However these three vehicles have completely different personalities and the watches that share this case are the same way. The one constant is that each watch using this case has received positive reviews and each manufacturer has been able to personalize the watch so that they don’t all look like clones of each other.
Dial and hands-
The dial on the LM-3 is amazing! One of the best looking I have ever seen. It has a blue color that really has to be seen in person to be fully appreciated. At certain angles it looks a dark sapphire blue and in other angles it looks like a nice cornflower blue. It reminds me very much of the dial in the Tag Heuer McQueen Monaco. The hands are modeled after the classic Plongeurs, but feature an innovative skeleton design that allows for more of the dial to be seen. Wearing the watch out I have already been asked who makes it twice. Be prepared to get asked about the watch if you get one.
The watch features a white on black date wheel at the 6 o’clock location. In order to simplify the dial, you will not find any distracting text on the dial but all the specs can be found on the case back. I don’t know why more dive watches don’t do this. Do I really need to know that it’s an automatic and was made in Switzerland all the time? Do I really need a big arrow pointing at the date? NO! Other watch companies please listen up.
Now to the topic of the lume. To cut to the chase… it’s not bright. 
A decision was made earlier this year to change from the greener super luminova C3 used in the original LM-1 to a pure white super luminova C1 color. I personally think the dial looks great in daylight. The white helps accent the blue dial and provides much better contrast in daylight than Green C3. At night the LM-3 is more difficult to read though. However I don’t think it’s a bad batch of C1 but just the fact that C1 does not glow as well as C3. Here a side by side picture of the LM-3 next to my Damasko DC-66 which also uses pure white C1.
So the debate has started should future watches use C1, or C3. What’s nice is that the debate is open to the public on the Ocean7 forum. Like everything pertaining to Ocean7 watches, Mitch, the owner of the company, seeks advice from owners and possible future owners. He also provides more updates and insight to the daily goings on that after reading the forum for only a few days you might think that you are on the Ocean7 board of directors. It really is amazing and quite interesting to see how much goes into the operation of a watch start up.
Movement-
The watch I received features the bulletproof Swiss ETA 2824-2 automatic movement. It is said it has a metal spacer ring inside but I have no way to open the case and confirm this.
With the ongoing Swiss watch movement shortage Ocean7 has indicated some future versions of the watch may feature a Sellita SW200 movement. This movement is almost identical to the ETA but is slightly easier to get. The SW200 is currently used by other Swiss manufacturers and has been shown to be just as robust and reliable as the ETA. Unfortunately there are some who believe since Sellita does not have the heritage of ETA it is a lesser movement. However when pressed for facts, Selitta critics are unable to back up there opinions with facts.
An Initial Accuracy Report-
When I received the LM-3, I immediately set the time to sync with [url]www.time.gov[/url]. As of this morning it was running about +7 seconds a day fast. While not as accurate as my LM-1 L.E. (+1 a day) it’s well within spec and extremely close to COSC specs. It is possible that in the next two months the performance may change slightly as the movement breaks in. Only time will tell.
Strap/Bracelet-
The watch comes delivered with either a black strap with steel buckle or a stainless steel bracelet. The bracelet is a $150 option which I think is well worth the extra money. It’s design is a basic 5 link design and features a very nicely signed butterfly clasp. The clasp is reminds me of the clasp on a Zenith Rainbow Flyback Chronograph that I once owned. Not a bad comparison for a sub $800 watch.
The strap on the other hand transforms the watch into a real tool watch. It’s very no nonsense and tough looking. The strap is unique because it not made out of rubber but instead polyurethane. The P.U. strap is available in black, orange and later this month yellow. The buckle is nicely signed. The watch on the supplied strap wears very nicely with no balance issues. After a month of wearing my LM-1 L.E. on the same strap I find the P.U. strap to be one of the most comfortable straps I have ever worn. It really conforms nicely to the shape of your wrist in the same way a leather strap does.
One of the huge selling points for me on the LM series watches are it’s 24mm lugs. I think with the success of Panerai watches has brought a ton more 24mm straps. More quality straps are offered in 24 mm than any other size, in my opinion.
Packaging/Presentation-
The watch comes packed safely in a bubble wrapped nice wooden box. Inside the wooden box is a warranty card, warranty paper, cleaning cloth, pillow, business card and hangtag. To me the wooden box is just as nice as I have received buying other high end watch brands. Ultimately though I think most boxes will end up in owners closets.
Overall-
I have to say, as nice as I thought the LM-1 L.E. was made, I think the LM-3 is even nicer and better quality. When you hold the LM-3 it feels like a solid very well made watch costing much more than it does. To me, the LM-3 reminds me of a better finished, more comfortable Kobold Seal. I know that’s a strong statement considering the Seal on bracelet costs roughly 4x of what the LM-3 costs. However holding the watch it has the same feel. The Seal has a 60 click bezel while the LM-3 is 120 click. The bracelet on the LM-3 IS 24mm wide so to me it feels better balanced on the wrist compared to the 22mm bracelet on the Seal. I also find the bezel/dial ratio on both watches very similar in size. The accuracy of the Seal I owned vs. the LM-3 is about the same. Now to be fair the Kobold has a nicer H.E.V. and adds some extra shock protection that the LM-3 does not have. I don’t know if in the real world either is worth the extra money but who knows.
I think the one area where the LM-3 suffers is the overall lume performance. If you are a lume nut I don’t know if I would recommend the LM-3. It’s lume is really only average. For some this may be a deal breaker. For me I am willing to have less bright lume for the sake of having the white C1 lume that really compliments the dial and offers great contrast in daylight. I know this is a heated topic but I actually applaud Mitch for going with C1 on the LM-3.
I think the LM-3 is a great addition to the Ocean7 lineup because of the number of people who were turned off by the large size of the LM-1 L.E. Going between the two models the LM-3 feels smaller to me, although heavier.
In conclusion, the LM-3 helps solidify Ocean7’s status, in my mind, as one of the most exciting new brands at any price point. I can’t even count how many new watches are scheduled to be released in the upcoming months. These include models using stainless steel, titanium and even ceramic cases. There are chronographs, GMT’s and traditional divers. Watches with black dials, orange dials, yellow dials, carbon fiber dials… Simply Amazing for a one year old watch company!
I really want to thank Mitch for continuing to provide such an in depth view of the Ocean7 brand through the Ocean7 forum. I can’t think of another watch company that allows as much feedback, has provided as much info, and has given watch enthusiasts instant access to the owner of the company. Sure there are other small watch companies that have offered great insight to the watch industry but I think Mitch has raised the bar. I can safely say Ocean7 products and service are second to none.
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Tags: Automatic Movement, Info, Share, Updates, Watch, Watch Review, Watches
