Zelos Swordfish Frost
Zelos has gained an immense following in the watch collecting community, since it’s launch in 2014. They are known for groundbreaking designs, with exotic materials and crazy dials. They have even released a tourbillion! The Swordfish Frost 40 might actually be one of the least “wild” releases from the Singaporean brand. But it certainly has a few tricks up it’s sleeve.
DESIGN
To begin, I am a huge fan of the general design language of Zelos. Rugged and utilitarian timepieces that are somehow still highly wearable for everyday use. And I think the Swordfish 40 is yet another great design. One of the most wearable Zelos watches with the 40mm case size and reasonable thickness of 12mm.
The ceramic bezel is stunning, with lumed numbers and the orange triangle at twelve. This orange contrast is seen again on the second hand and the water resistance rating at six. The different variants will obviously sport different colors, but you can trust Zelos that they’ll all look great.
The dial? You ask. It is so white, but but still full of exciting little details. The indices are placed in cutouts below the frost-white dial, and they are not lumed. Not lumed? But it’s a Zelos? Worry not, there’s more than enough lume in the dial. It has become my number one party trick, together with the vanilla smell of my Oris Aquis strap.
MOVEMENT
Yes, it’s the NH35. Yes, it’s always the NH35. The boring, but affordable and reliable choice. Zelos offers a huge variety of movements across their model lines, but the NH-powered models are the cheapest. Thereby making them the perfect gateway drug for an up and coming Zelos addict.
BUILD QUALITY
As you’ve come to expect from the brand, the build quality is excellent. I firmly place Zelos towards the very top of my quality for money pyramid. Tolerances are tight, bezel and crown feel great, and I can’t find anything to complain about.
BRACELET
Small, but heavy and solid-feeling links compliment the case of the watch perfectly. The bracelet manages to look tough and sleek at the same time, just like the rest of the watch. Bonus points for screwed links, but minus point for the petty basic clasp without quick-adjust.
X-FACTOR
Full-lume dial, orange accent color, awesome swordfish on the caseback, all from the Rolex of microbrands (in terms of availability.)