What is the watchmaking connection between Portugal and the UK? If you said the cool microbrand Escudo, you’d be correct. Escudo are inspired by the joint naval heritage of Britain and Portugal, two of the most far-reaching nations in the golden age of exploration, an age of traversing the globe’s oceans and setting out into the unknown. As such, their signature watch, the Ocean Seacrest, is a versatile tool ideal for tackling the trials of adventure as well as day to day life. Part of that versatility comes from the different colours it’s available in – an array now expanded with the release of the Escudo Ocean Seacrest Deep Azul.
If you’re at all familiar with the Ocean Seacrest then you may know that an Azul edition already exists with a blue dial and blue aluminium insert bezel. The new Deep Azul edition builds on this concept by keeping the blue bezel but pairing it this time with a black dial. It’s one of the most classic dive watch colourways in existence, combining the clear legibility of a black display with the aquatic flair of blue.
It works really well for the Ocean Seacrest because both the dial and bezel have details worth exploring and by having different colours, it encourages you to inspect both closely. Starting with the dial, I really like the arrowhead hour markers at 12/3/6/9, they’re reminiscent of the compass rose, which is the iconic compass diagram found on old nautical charts and maps. Doxa’s Clive Cussler editions use a similar motif to also convey the concept of adventure. As for the bezel, you’ll see that the arrow marker at the top features the colours of the Portuguese flag, which is a nice touch.
The Escudo Ocean Seacrest Deep Azul measures 39mm in diameter and is made from stainless steel, giving it solidly durable specs. It has a 200m water resistance rating, which is what you’d expect from a go anywhere, do anything tool watch. It’s not quite at professional dive watch level but then, when you’re sailing across the high seas you tend to be in a ship and not in the water. But if you happen to take a brief spill overboard, your watch should be fine – or in more day-to-day life, you don’t need to worry about the rain or the kitchen sink.
Housed beneath the new black and blue display is the Escudo Calibre 1488, which is a decorated version of the Sellita SW200-1 no date. It’s Swiss-made automatic movement with a 38-hour power reserve. It’s a real stalwart movement of the entire industry, widely used by microbrands and major names alike. However, now that Sellita have upgraded their movement range, it will be nice to see Escudo transition to the improved calibres once their current stock runs out.
In terms of price and availability, the Escudo Ocean Seacrest Deep Azul is £1,645 and limited to 300 pieces. It’s presented on a 3-link steel bracelet but also comes with a complimentary rubber Tropic rubber strap. To me, the Ocean Seacrest is a great execution of the themes of exploration and adventure and the Deep Azul builds on those themes nicely.
Price and Specs:
More details at Escudo.
