NEX La Mer
Oslo-based NEX, is one of the newest Norwegian watch brands. They offer high quality watches at reasonable prices.
DESIGN
This is no hardcore diver. Some design choices have been made to improve the models capabilities as a daily driver, thus lowering it's performance as a diver. Indices and hands are quite small, I would not trust their legibility underwater. But let's face it, I have lots of other watches for diving, and I never swim. For daily use at the office, though, I think the slightly smaller hands and indices work very well. The size also allows more of the fantastic dial to be seen.
The dial is the best part of this watch. It's very subtile at times, and highly textured and vibrant at other times. I absolutely love it.
MOVEMENT
NH35, it's boring, but it's very reliable and a safe choice at this price.
BUILD QUALITY
On the dial, all hands and indices line up perfectly. My two gripes are with the bezel and the crown. Bezel action is a bit flimsy and I am not able to line it up properly. I sometimes find it difficult to screw the crown back in after winding the watch.
BRACELET
The bracelet is not really my style. To me, it's a bit too polished. Quality is decent, but I find that I prefer the watch on a nato or sailcloth strap. NEX has gone for a butterfly clasp on this model. A strange choice for a diver, but a good choice for a daily driver. There is no micro adjust.
X-FACTOR
It's Norwegian, it looks awesome, only 30 pieces are ever made.
CONCLUSION
This is not you hardcore diver, but it's a very wearable everyday piece with a couple of tricks up it's sleeve. By using discount code NORTH30 it can be had for 230$. That is a great deal and it compares favorably against similarly price competitors.