Hello everyone, and welcome to another Singaporean review! On this shiok Saturday, I’m reviewing the new Supa from local watch microbrand, Advisor Watches.
The Advisor Supa is the brand’s most serious dive watch till date, and is currently live on Kickstarter here. It’s the best specced Advisor watch ever created, with the brand owner sharing to me that he thinks that this is his best effort yet. Let’s see if it’s any good!
Advisor – the Brand
I’ve previously reviewed the Advisor Astrohelm (one of my very first watch reviews) more than a year ago, whereby I covered Advisor as a brand in detail. If you’re interested in the brand story of Advisor Watches, do check out the article here! In addition, I also reviewed a pair of Advisor Ascents, which in my opinion is one of the best affordable supercompressors you can find in the market today. For those interested, you can read the review here.
Advisor Supa – Build Quality
The build quality of the Supa is rock solid.
Firstly, the Advisor Supa utilises a domed sapphire crystal. As aforementioned numerous times in my previous reviews, I’m a huge advocate of sapphire crystal due to their inherent scratch-resisting properties. Personally, I always look for sapphire crystal in my modern watches as it adds greatly to the durability of the watch. Furthermore, there’s also AR coating on the underside of the sapphire crystal to prevent the bulk of nasty reflections! Elsewhere, the WR rating of the Supa is stated to be 300M, which is more than adequate even by dive watch standards!
The case of the Advisor Supa is forged out of bronze. I enjoy the natural patina that bronze develops with age, and the unique character that it brings. As the patination of bronze depends on a variety of factors (exposure to air, water, etc), no two bronze watch patina in the exact same way. Starting as a shiny, rose-gold case, the watch will eventually patina into a rustic brown (as shown above). I love the transformative effect, and personally I find a bronze case much more interesting than plain old stainless steel. Furthermore, bronze arguably looks the best on dive watches – the popularity of the Tudor Black Bay Bronze is a testament to that! In addition, the 120 click unidirectional bezel of the Advisor Supa is made of ceramic for an added exotic touch, as well as added scratch resistance. The bezel is satisfying to rotate, with little to no backwards play.
Inside, the Swiss-made Sellita SW200-1 movement powers the Advisor Supa. The inclusion of a Swiss movement is great in my opinion, as many microbrand watches around the Supa’s price point ($429 USD) still utilise cheap Japanese movements like the Seiko NH35A or Miyota 8 series. For those unfamiliar with watch movements, the Sellita SW200 is basically a ETA 2824 clone, with some small improvements. It’s nothing to be scorned at – several well-established luxury brands such as Oris, Raymond Weil, and Montblanc use Sellita SW200 base movements in their watches. These watches are often two to three times the price of the Supa, so that speaks to the quality of the Sellita movement in itself! For more information regarding the Sellita SW200 VS ETA 2824 debate, Watch Flipr has an article on it here. Some basic specs: the Sellita SW200 beats at 4Hz per hour (contributing to the smooth sweep of the second hand), has 38 hours power reserve, 26 Jewels, and is hacking with quick date function.
The Supa comes on a textured rubber strap, which I find comfortable on the wrist. It’s nothing mindblowing – though I wasn’t expecting it to be, at ~$400 USD – but it definitely gets the job done. There’s also a signed bronze buckle, which should patina nicely along with the case of the Supa.
The lume on the Advisor Supa is one of the best I’ve encountered thus far – even by dive watch standards! The entire dial of the Supa is generously slathered with BGW9 lume, and I’m particularly impressed by how Advisor decided to lume the minute track as well in addition to the ceramic bezel.
In fact, Advisor went the extra mile and lumed the crown! On my review piece, the crown is lumed with C3 Superluminova, though Advisor tells me that on production pieces the crown will feature the same lume as the dial (BGW9) instead.
Overall, the Advisor Supa is probably one of the best built divers around the $400 USD price range. It features sapphire crystal (with AR coating), a 300m WR rating, a bronze case and ceramic bezel, a Swiss Sellita SW-200 automatic movement, a comfortable rubber strap, as well as strong and long lasting lume – one really can’t ask for more, given the price!
Advisor Supa – Design
While the Advisor Supa may not reinvent the dive watch design wheel, it is a nicely composed package that manages to set itself apart from the flood of microbrand dive watches in the market today.
The first thing I noticed about the dial was that it’s dual layered. There’s white (full lumed) minute pad layer, as well as a raised black center sector in the middle. Layer dials in dive watches are uncommon – most dive watches have a simple flat dial – so I was pleased to see Advisor deviating from the norm with the Supa! I also appreciated the black date wheel, which helps it integrate with the black center dial portion better. A lot of microbrands (and several big ones) still use a standard white date wheel even on a black dial, which is incomprehensible to me.
I also love the play on shapes present on the dial of the Supa. Here, the applied indices are all rectangular, which complements the rectangular syringe hands nicely. The rectangle theme extends to the minute pad as well! There’s also a crosshair pattern on the dial, which I found intriguing. Usually, the crosshair dial is an aesthetic found in vintage dress watches, so I found the incorporation of it here interesting.
Perhaps the most striking aspect of the watch, the bezel on the Advisor Supa is bold stylistically. Honestly, I can’t quite describe it in words, though it instantly reminded me of the bezel of the Richard Mille RM 28. It’s sporty, and I love the rugged vibe that the rivets of the bezel exude. A lot of microbrands use the “Submariner” style bezel, so again I appreciate Advisor deviating from the norm here!
Moving on, we get a signed screw-down crown, which is substantially sized to make hand-winding an ease. The crown is also positioned off-centered at 4 o’clock. I’m personally ambivalent about this, but again it’s just another aspect whereby Advisor decided to take the path less travelled. In addition, I think the faceted lugs are a rather nice touch too, giving the side profile of the Supa a more striking presence.
The stainless steel screwed caseback – not bronze, to prevent any allergic reactions to the wearer’s skin when patina occurs – is inscribed with several relevant information, including a limited edition serial number. According to Advisor, the Supa will be limited to just 200 pieces per colour variant! There’s also a rather detailed artwork engraving of what I believe is a diver encountering a sea dragon.
Despite the Supa’s 44mm diameter, it actually wear smaller than its specifications might suggest due to its short lugs. I actually found it to wear well on my 7 inch wrist! It’s not terribly thick either, making this a very viable contender for an everyday watch.
All in all, I like the tasteful design of the Advisor Supa. It’s not going to blow your mind away, but the right details are there and it comes together in a bold, striking package that allows it to set itself apart from its competitors.
Shootout: Advisor Supa vs Neminus Master Diver 1000
If you’re looking for an affordable bronze diver, the Neminus Master Diver 1000 is probably one of the best alternatives. In fact, I reviewed the watch here.
In terms of specifications, the two watches trade blows. While both watches share a bronze case and a ceramic bezel, the Neminus Master Diver 1000 has the edge over the Advisor Supa in terms of its WR rating, as well as the inclusion of a helium escape valve. However, the Supa features a Sellita SW-200 movement, as opposed to the rather pedestrian Seiko NH35A found in the Master Diver 1000.
From an aesthetic perspective, it’s an equally tough fight. Both watches are undeniably great lookers. Nevertheless, I must say that the Master Diver 1000 has the stylistic edge due to its unique teal cracked dial. There’s nothing wrong with the design of the Supa, but it simply doesn’t catch one’s attention the same way the dial of the Master Diver 1000 does. However, I must say that in my personal experience, I much preferred the way the Supa wore. The Master Diver 1000 is a hulking beast on the wrist – it’s big, heavy, and thick. In comparison, the Supa wears smaller and more comfortably, and made for a better everyday watch.
When it comes to value, I have to say that at the current Kickstarter pricing, the Advisor Supa has the edge. Despite being S$100 cheaper than the Master Diver 1000, it possesses the better movement, which matters more to me than its comparatively lower WR rating. My personal opinion is this: if you’re a fan of big, bulky watches, or you’re a professional diver, the Master Diver 1000 is a great watch with a phenomenal dial. However, if you’re looking for more of an everyday watch, I think that the Advisor Supa is a great value proposition that wears much better on the wrist.
Conclusion – so the Advisor Supa “shiok” or not?
Definitely. For its current Kickstarter price, I think that the value is near unbeatable. You get sapphire crystal with AR coating, a bronze case with ceramic bezel, a Swiss Sellita SW-200 movement, 300M of WR rating, and incredibly strong Swiss Superluminova. The overall aesthetic package of the Supa is nicely composed as well, with attention to detail evident. Lastly, the Advisor Supa wears terrifically on the wrist as well. If you’re on the market for a bronze diver, you got to seriously consider the Advisor Supa.
For those interested, the Advisor Supa can be bought from their web-store here. For those interested, you can use the promo code “SUPA20” to enjoy $20 USD off the Supa (valid till the end of August 2020). After the discount, the Supa can be had for just $429 USD/~S$577, which I think is highly justified given its specifications.
Technical Specifications:
- Case Design: Angular Shape (Custom-Made)
- Case Material: Marine-Grade CUSN8 Bronze
- Case Back: Screwed In Embossed
- Diameter: 44mm
- Height: 14.5mm
- Lug Width: 22mm
- Lug to Lug: 51mm
- Bezel: Marine-Grade CUSN8 Bronze with 120 Clicks Uni-directional Matt-Black Ceramic Insert
- Dial: Double-Layered Dial
- Date: Date Function at 6
- Index & Hands: Applied Index
- Luminous: Swiss Super-LumiNova (BGW9 or C3)
- Crystal: Domed Scratch Resistant Sapphire with Triple Layer of Anti-Reflective & Anti-Finger Print Coating
- Crown: Screwed Down
- Movement: Swiss-Made Sellita, SW200-1 Automatic, 28,800 vibrations per hour (VPH)
- Water Resistance: 300m / 1000ft
- Straps: Quality Rubber Straps
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