A Blue Moon On My Wrist - Dievas Vortex Professional

Strange header, you reckon? Well, patience, we will get to that soon enough. Up till about 2 months ago, I have only seen this watch on others' wrists and on Gnomon's website. When I finally saw one in the flesh, it did not fail to impress.

The Vortex Pro bears the no nonsense Teutonic trademark - simple, unpretentious, understated, utilitarian yet stylish. The white dial is interspersed with Arabic and minute stick markers. three black hands complete the dial configuration. An ETA 2824-2 is shrouded within the 44mm, plasma coated, matte black, titanium case. As usual, the crown is bordered by a pair of proportionately sized shoulders. It comes with a pair of matching black calf leather straps with contrasting red stitch.

My only major gripe is once again, with the crown. The crown is adequately and proportionately sized. However, the shoulders can be a set of unwelcome addition. It makes it rather tough to screw it down into position. The second gripe pertains to the HEV. The matte stainless steel component sticks out like a sore thumb one an otherwise, flawlessly constructed and finished blacked titanium case. The straps are secured onto the case by screwed-in bars.

The ridged bezel offers excellent grip and requires 60 clicks to complete a full revolution. It is adequately rigid with no free-play. However, the ratcheting sounds a tad hollow to me but works perfectly fine, nevertheless.

The spartan case back is equally simple. There is so much real estate that could be maxed out to enhance it somehow. Maybe it's just me but I wouldn't mind the Dievas logo to dominate the centre of the case back.

Despite its 44mm girth, it sits pretty on my tiny, flat wrist. This is made possible by the steeply angled lugs which minimise overhang. The crown position benefits the manner in which I wear my watches.

Now, here comes the blue moon. Yup! I absolutely love the full-lume dial! Not only does it provide excellent clarity, it is gorgeously handsome! This is really one for the lume freaks.

I've long wanted more white dials in my collection and the Vortex Pro more than fits the bill (the lume is a helluva bonus). This watch is also surprisingly versatile. I usually relegate black-cased watches to the "casual" classification, thus limiting their versatility. But the Vortex Pro has proved to be anything but. I have worn this with my shirt and tie combo on several occasions without feeling awkward.

However, like all timepieces, this is not a perfect watch but the pluses far outnumber the minuses on my tally sheet. Furthermore, the lume alone, far outweighs the few undesirables associated with this utilitarian beauty. The meticulously constructed case, the simple yet stylishly apportioned dial and the flawlessly finished and coated titanium case makes this an absolutely value for money catch. I'd rather have this than a Sinn equivalent, if any. Once again, Dievas has proved that less, does in fact, add to more appeal.

Specifications:

Case Size : 44mm.
Lug Width : 22mm.
Case Material : Plasma coated titanium.
Crystal : Domed sapphire.
Water Resistance : 500m.
Movement : ETA 2824-2.

Pros :
- Unbeatable full blue lume!
- Meticulously constructed and finished.
- Nice colour coordination.
- Versatile despite its case colour.
- Easily legible dial.
- Comfortable left-hand crown position.

Cons :
- Difficult to screw down crown.
- Underwhelmed case back design.