This Affordable Automatic Dive Watch Boasts a Dial Coated with the World’s Blackest Paint
The dial details appear to be floating in a black abyss.
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Wren was founded by Craig Karger , the writer behind the popular watch blog Wrist Enthusiast. It is inherently a watch brand by and for the enthusiast community.
So, when the community requests a black dial, as Wren concedes it has for years, the brand answers with the blackest dial possible. The new Dive One Abyss applies Musou Black, a coating that absorbs 99.4 percent of visible light , to the top layer of the diver's sandwich dial.
The Dive One Abyss comes on a stainless steel flat-link bracelet. - Credit: Wrist Enthusiast
Musou Black is a water-based acrylic coating developed by Koyo Orient Japan. It prevents almost all the light that hits it from bouncing back into your eye, effectively creating a featureless black hole wherever it is applied.
Aside from the new color, or lack of color, palette, this is a standard-issue Diver One. The mesmerizing effect of Musou Black and the intense contrast it creates amplify every detail of the watch's dial and bezel design.
The Dive One Abyss features a 41mm case. - Credit: Wrist Enthusiast
Every detail on the dial and bezel, including the hands, is done in Aqua, the color featured on Wren's debut Diver One reference. It is a faded turquoise, but the stark contrast gives it a neon-like glow.
Floating in the dark
The Diver One's standard sandwich dial amplifies Musou Black's effect. The hour track is cut out from the top layer and shows through in Aqua from the bottom layer. This leaves no detail on the same plane as the black top layer to catch stray light and disrupt the vacant effect.
Musou Black covers the top layer of the sandwich dial. - Credit: Wrist Enthusiast
Fully lumed
A black ceramic bezel insert matches the dial's motif, but with a slightly glossy finish.
The indices, hand inlays and 60-minute bezel markings all feature blue-emission Super-LumiNova.
The Dive One Abyss features a fully lumed ceramic bezel insert. - Credit: Wrist Enthusiast
Harder than it looks
The stainless steel case and accompanying flat three-link bracelet are finished with a clear DLC coating that improves scratch and scuff resistance.
Ticking away inside the 41mm case is a Sellita Caliber SW200 automatic movement, which beats at 4Hz and provides a 38-hour power reserve.
Wren's screw-on caseback features a relief engraving of a wren. - Credit: Wrist Enthusiast
Availability
The Musou Black Dive One Abyss dial is available now from Wrist Enthusiast and Time and Tide for $1,195. The first run is limited to 100 pieces, and no information is currently available on when a second run can be expected.
Wren Diver One Abyss
Specs
| Case Size 41mm |
|---|
| Movement Sellita Caliber SW200 automatic |
| Water Resistance 200m |
About the Author: Brad Lanphear is an associate editor at Gear Patrol covering watches and style. Before joining the publication, he previously wrote for Heddels and Men's Health. Now, he's on a never-ending quest to find the perfect pair of Japanese denim.
