We received the new E.C. Andersson the Poseidon for a few weeks to try out. And this is our hands-on review of this adventure / tool watch for the masses.
We covered the release of the new E.C. Andersson the Poseidon in May this year with the facts and our commentary. As Erik Andersson had reached out to us to spend some time with the new watch, we took it up and received the loaner some weeks ago for this trial. Here are our thoughts after our extensive wrist time experience.
Review: E.C. Andersson the Poseidon
Retail price for the E.C. Andersson Poseidon is SGD 1,160 before GST, shipped from Sweden. Limited Edition of 120 pieces.
Opening the box and handling the watch for the first time was a nice experience. The Poseidon feels like a very high quality product, worthy of comparison to the shield if not the crown, but more of that later. The rubber strap came with the holes indicated with small indents on the back, but not punched, so the owner can punch them himself. For the review watch, I had the honours and punched only two holes.
The case, dial and hands
The case is in a matte finished stainless steel affair. The shape is tonneau like shape, with wings extending from the 3 o’clock side as crown guards. The case is slightly elongated with a flat upper surface and an inward curve marked by a crease to the lugs. The strap is easily detachable via a two pin spring system. Both the strap and the attachment feels very sturdy.
The bezel is designed with a 0.5mm overhang and serrated with rugged teeth to ensure a good grip even with thick gloves. The bezel insert is ceramic, and marked for both GMT and Dive indicators, with the former in Arabic hour numerals in a clockwise manner, and the latter on the inner side with Arabic minute markings in 10 minute intervals in an anti-clockwise direction to show remaining dive time. As with dive timers, the final 15 minutes are marked to indicate the minutes left, and for the Poseidon, this is in the form of dashes. However, we note the Poseidon is not ISO certified for diving, as the specifications calls for a uni-directional bezel. And with a 120m water resistance, the watch is not designed for serious diving, and useful only for skin diving, or swimming. But, nonetheless, should suffice for almost 99% of all of us who are not professional divers.
The hands are large, lume inset bar shaped with a long sleek center sweep seconds hand accented with a triangle arrow head which is also lume inset. At 6 o’clock, an AM/PM disc rotates to show day/night, and is used in conjunction with the 6 o’clock marker which is a triangle with the letter N indicated. This is used as a compass to find the North in the wilderness. Here is how it is done:
- Turn bezel and place the ”II” marker on the bezel midway between 12 o’clock and Hour Hand – If you’re in the Southern Hemisphere place between Hour Hand and 12 o’clock on the obtuse angle side.
- Point the hour hand towards the sun.
- While in this position, look at what colour the N-arrow at 6’ is pointing at – Orange means the orange ”I” bezel marker is pointing to North. White means the white ”II” bezel marker is pointing to North.
All the indications are well marked and clear. Legibility is excellent both in good lighting as well as in poor. The lume is particularly attractive, and is very clear and shows all the important indications.
The crystal protecting the dial is a rather massive 2.4mm shockproof sapphire crystal. The AR-coating is applied only on the inside to ensure that the coating does not get scratched in use.
The movement
The case back is closed with a stainless steel screw down plate, and features a polished finish. Engraved on the back and in a matte finish are the usual verbiage of the brand, model and that the watch is automatic with 120m water resistance. Also, a schematic reminder of how to use the compass feature is engraved.
The movement is the cheep and cheerful Miyota 9134. This is a tough, reliable movement by Citizen, and should prove its worth in this use case, as it has been field tested in countless Citizen dive watches which is in circulation for ages. As a simple automatic winding movement, the Miyota is also known to be easy to regulate and can be serviced by practically any watchmaker.
The competitive landscape
Citizen Fugu 4.0 (starts at SGD 770) and its family lie in the competitive landscape. The Fugu case is larger at 44mm, are very capable dive watches, meeting a higher 200m water resistance and compliant with the ISO 6425, but lack the neat compass trick that the Poseidon offers. Both movements are very similar and from the Citizen Miyota manufacture.
Seiko PADI Automatic Diver SRPA21 (SGD 667) is very well known and adored by collectors, and also offer a very similar specification. Seiko also offer their Automatic Diver without PADI collaboration for a less money.The case shape is a more rounded tonneau shape, which Seiko fans call “Turtle”. It is a bit larger at 45mm in diameter, but also wears well, and comes with a SS bracelet.
The Dietrich Skin Diver SD-1 (SGD 1,490) is perhaps a good comparison. Price wise, it is in the same ballpark. It features a fumé style dial, which is rather attractive. And is water resistant to 150m. The case is 38.5mm, and comes with a beautifully fitted bracelet.
We hinted at comparisons with the shield in our opening statements, and so perhaps a quick comparison to the Tudor Black Bay Pro (SGD 5,090) is appropriate. We picked the BB Pro, but any of the Black Bay models would be similar. Pricing is of course on a different mountain altogether, but the Tudor appeal and brand name is quite strong, and is seen as some as a stepping stone to the vaunted Rolex sports watches. The BB Pro is 39mm, just 1mm smaller than the Poseidon. And has a water resistance of 200m, and meets ISO 6425.
Other competitors in the Swiss camp are from the usual suspects proposed by Breitling SuperOcean (from SGD 6880) and perhaps the new Norqain Neverest (from SGD 4,780). But as discussed, the Swiss alternatives are higher in pricing.
Concluding thoughts
Overall, we enjoyed our time with the E.C. Andersson Poseidon. It wears well at just 40mm case diameter, and the curved lugs hugs the wrist nicely and comfortably. The watch has a bit of a heft to it, and feels good. Feature wise, living in a big city, we did not get to test out the ruggedness, but have no doubts on its ruggedness. We did try the compass, and it works well as it agrees with our iPhone compass.
The Poseidon offers an interesting and viable option to the watch enthusiast who wants a high performance tool/adventure watch which is perhaps a bit off the grid. The watch can be a nice conversation starter in a world of Citizens, Seikos, Tudors and the like. And gets a big tick with high marks from us.
Photo Notes
The E.C. Andersson Poseidon was photographed in our studio with the Fujifilm GFX 50S II using the Hasselblad HC 4/120 Macro and HC 2.8/80 with H26 Extension Tube attached via the H Adapter G. Profoto strobes for lighting.
